Slagar

Ashes of the Old World (A Dieselpunk Nation Roleplay)

=-=Year 444 - 445 Usoma
Arctic Silence=-=

Figures appeared on the arctic tundra, moving slowly across the wasteland in the cool winter air. The large figures were only stopped by the pending misty aura infront of them, a vast ever moving storm unnatural in its appearence which swirled infront of them, and coming to the front was Tubaj Bloodaxe of the group, gripping his axe. The Tusab were covered head to toe in seal skin, patches of fur from various animals making up their cloths. Their destination was beyond the winter vortex, and even the elite backbone of the Bloodaxe tribe feared to venture forward. Tubaj himself was nervous, for he knew full well what was beyond the vortex of winter snow and mists. Pulling their sleds and keeping their weapons tight, the Tusab ventured forth and felt the sudden rush of icy hell upon them.

Tubaj held onto his axe like a staff, guiding himself as the Tusab ventured from cave to cave, ridge to ridge, snow laden fjord to snow laden fjord. The damnable place was not natural by any standard, and temperatures dropped increasingly to a point which even made the Tusab freeze. Few if any creatures called this middle land their home, and only one creature had dared such a thing.

"Chieftain! Look! Wrad!" Yelled a scout, peering beyond the current camps. Tubaj had gotten up from the warm fire to look across the wasteland, noticing the barely visible black figures of the Wrad moving about. Tubaj grunted as the scout held tight to his weapons in fear.

"Calm yourself, fool. They will not attack us."

"My chieftain, how do you know this? They are undead, for all we--"

"If they planned to harm us, they would have done so by now. Now keep your weapon close. We approach Tara'suga soon."

The Tusab worryingly packed their sleds and moved onwards through the increasing winter hellscape, some warriors before even reaching the first signs of the Wrad civilization had simply dropped to their knees and died, their companions leaving them as they shivered and froze. When the Tusab warriors arrived, they saw the massive blackened walls and crumbled spires, countless and huge. Vast was the ruins of middle Usoma, and no creature knew much of its history except the Wrad themselves. As the Tusab grew closer, the ice storm ceased, but warmth did not come. The warriors camped from ruin to ruin, and came across the scattered remains of the Wrad who dwelled in that land, avoiding the Tusab as they camped.

The closer the Tusab came closer to their quarry, the more disheartened they had become. Tubaj and his warriors had gotten lost for a time wandering in the ruins, having to turn back around and hike across a vast bridge just to get to the other side of some massive canyon. When the Tusab had gone by a local settlement of Wrad, seemingly wandering aimlessly on some stone manor which was better preserved then others, the warriors found members of their own kind as revenants, slavishly working away at random and pointless tasks. Tubaj wondered as he witnessed a revenant seemingly 'plowing' some ice ridden field what it all meant. The warriors debated to attack the Tusab and free their brethren of this fate, but Tubaj silenced the group and forcefully marched them onwards.

At long last however, the Tusab were at the gates of Taga’suga. The land of Taga'suga resembled a great stone library, massive in scale compared to all the buildings around, almost like a palace dedicated to some long begotten education crumbled in time. The gates were guarded by Wrad dressed much like medieval knights, but their armor was very silverish and their swords ornate. The Tusab, running low on food and having no other source, decided to attack the settlement from the rear entrence, guarded by armored Revenants. Tubaj and his warriors attacked a side entrance and carried away the revenants after a fierce battle, and ate the frozen corpses, drawing the attention of the necrotic populace.

The next day, the rear entrance was fortified with several more revenants and a Wrad commander, and Tubaj and his warriors again smashed into the city again, but abeit with less success. The revenants were much more easily downed, but the Tusab lost a warrior and the Wrad commander successfully retreated, and injured several other warriors. Tubaj was inside Taga’suga and camped within a long forgotten reading area. The Tusab barricaded the entrances by piling books, but in doing so, they had grievously angered the Wrad inside. The Wrad refused to attack the barricades, but instead picked away at it by collecting the downed books and retreating, followed by armed revenants who kept the Tusab at bay. Skirmishes soon turned into all out fighting, as Tubaj was personally challenged by Taga’suga's horned Herald. A powerful wraith crashed into the camp by jumping from a higher balcony and slammed into the ground, causing a mass of ice and snow to swirl around him. Tubaj and this wraith dueled for some time, but magic got the better of the chieftain and was nearly killed. Only the timely intervention of one of his warriors prevented him from being killed, and Tubaj was soon tearing apart of the ghostly enemy by ripping away his cloak and armor.

Just as Tubaj was about to deliver the killing blow, his massive fist felt a sudden crack of pain, his hand going numb and his began to feel extreme cold. His warriors began to drop to their knees in pain as the Herald got upon it's 'feet' and collected itself. Tubaj turned to a new figure who entered into his barricaded room, a more formal wraith with a silver crown, and who's robes were silver lined. Tubaj tried to go for his axe, but his pain did not cede and he collapsed.

Tubaj awoke hours later, he had opened his eyes to find nothing but darkness. He blinked a few more times and scratched at his face, but he felt weight and a freezing pain upon his arms. Tubaj realized quickly he was in darkness and felt the bindings of his hand, feeling what felt like ice, linked like chain, to some surroundings. He heard faint whispers and a distant whimper as he got up, hearing the shackle of his bondage to realize he was bound by arm, leg, and neck. He peered around the darkened room.

"Call out, how many of you are still alive." He had assumed at least most of his warriors were still alive. Several loud grunts and yelps confirmed he was surrounded by his warriors. Tubaj wandered in this dungeon, waiting and waiting, until he heard a door open. Tubaj peered into the sudden introduction of light and felt more blinded by it then the darkness. A number of Wrad entered the room, and in doing so, Tubaj's freezing shackles began to become much more colder then before. He nearly fell to his knees, barely able to move as the Wrad simply prodded him along with their weapons.

As Tubaj walked up into the library, he noticed how darkly lit the place was. He was annoyed by this, but understood the Wrad in some sense. Being of the most fanatical warrior, he understood undeath and its limitations to some degree, and as he was led to the inner chambers, he began to realize just how foolish he had been. He had assumed the city of Taga’suga was little more then a ruin, a library, a easy victory for him. However, he was shocked to find countless Wrad wandering in the courtyard of some place ruin, much of it being suspiciously rebuilt by a small army of Revenants who worked around the clock to restore the monuments and structure long since abandoned to time. The wraiths had repurposed much of the land it seems, which was unusual, due to the Wrad being religiously conservative. As Tubaj was brought into the main hall of this library palace, he winced at the opening of black doors and was forced to enter a dark room.

Upon entering, he found himself in the darkness, surrounded by the nothingness as the Wrad forced him to kneel. He didn't realize until a glimmer of light had shone through the door being closed that there was a throne in front of him, occupied by the wraith who had appeared at the end his failed skirmish. More strange, the wraith, likely a powerful king of sorts spoke, its voice filling his mind and the room with lonesome horror.

"I admire your zeal, beastfolk, but your bravery is little more then foolish vigor." It began. Tubaj was shocked it spoke his language at all and squinted at the creature.

"Pray tell, what manner of madness brought you to attack my people, injure my slaves, and nearly kill my lords."

Tubaj spat upon the ground in defiance "I answer to no creature but Zuuldrick, fallen thing! My god brought me here to listen, and you dare stand in the way of the gods chosen!"

There was a pause as Tubaj heard the wraith get up and walk forward, coming clearer into his view.

"Barberous and foolish. I am aware of your mission. You know who I am?"

Tubaj looked up, curious but still angry.

"I am Olam'per, King of Julania, Emperor of what you creatures call Usoma. Before you were but servants of your gods, my people walked this world. Now you are here and I have you message for you, but you have also earned my eternal spite." It calmly said

Tubaj listened, but refused to believe it. "You have been called, for the time has come to make this land the home of the gods once again, and you will be my herald upon which shall trumpet my coming."

"I shall play music only for the gods, not your wretched kind!" Tubaj replied. "Kill me or free me, I shall plunder this library ti--"

"You will be silent" The wraith replied, Tubaj paused but began trying to speak again. Only this time, not words came out. He began to scream, but only produced silenced. The wraith came closer, kneeling to him till Tubaj peered into the dark king's cloak. He saw a frozen body of some ancient being, eyeless and dry, inside. It was warped far beyond compare, but it was definitely not beastfolk he had known, it almost looked elvish. Olam'per's hand touched the left side of Tubaj, and again he felt pain in his body. Tendrils of dark blue shot out across his face, covering him. Tubaj continued to scream, but again no words came out. This continued for a time, before long the wraith retracted its hand and stood back up. Tubaj winced, and the guards prepared to bring him back outside. Yet, in a sudden jolt of energy, refusing to be treated in such a manner, Tubaj knocked aside the wraith guards and tackled them. He grabbed one of the guard silver halberds, and attempted to skewer the dark being in front of him.

Instead, Tubaj's heart fell and his face turned to terror and confusion. He tried stabbing forward towards the wraithm but he couldn't. He tried in difficulty to harm the dark king, but his arms stopped him. He realized perhaps a bit late that the torture was not for cruelty's sake. He tried to slam his weapon upon the dark king who only looked him with a emotionless glare from his black hooded form. With a flick of the Olam'per's fingers, Tubaj suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to kneel, and did so. Angry and furious, heated with burning hatred, the Bloodaxe chieftain knelt before the dark king and his frozen shackles began melting away.
_______________________________________

Usoman politics could be very brutal if not handled correctly, but this wasn't exactly on the mind of those in the city of Ghustbov. Ghustbov was the southern most city near Greater Talania and its overseer was always deeply worried. Not by the aggressive policies of the southern most neighbor, but by groups of wandering Okan around the city. The Okan, while a slave race under Usoman law, held a much more comfortable position then even the Kevian second class. Race tensions between Kevians and Neusians in Ghustbov reached a boiling point when a Neusian teenager who had strong connections with the local militia had accidentally killed a Kevian boy in a brawling accident at the local pub. The incident had caused tensions to boil over, but the Okan seemed utterly fine with this since it was very obvious they were profiting off the situation.

Being small and simple slaves, along with being annoying pacifists in their politics, Okan were not above smuggling weapons and helping the sale of weapons. Kevian and Neusians bought weapons in bulk from weapon smiths in other cities, and used Okan to distribute them since they were so close. The overseer knew the Okan had secret markets across the city, and he cracked down with no success in breaking them. He didn't wish to challenge the social and economic hierarchy of Usoma, but neither could he avoid a full blown riot. The Okan, being dispersed across the city's sectors in good housing, could quite easily make their sales and hide their caches. Having had enough of this foolishness, the overseer dedicated a segregation policy was needed to clean up the black markets.

The Okan were placed into camps outside the city and placed under heavy guard, but a couple Neusian militia used this recent event for their own selfish ends. A Militia commander of the city put in charge of the Okan placed huge ration token taxes on the slaves just to have the 'privilege' of living in their own tents rather then sanctioned (and much more warmer and insulated) homes of humans they were assigned to. Complaints ran high, and the Militia commanders demanded more and more of the Okan. Eventually, the Ghustbov overseer heard the pleas and tried to replace the commander, but the complaints only grew, as the new commander was 'shipped off and swiftly replaced' by the previous commander. The Militia commander soon held the Okan ransom, demanding higher rations and smaller schedules, or the Okan would face brutality. The Overseer, pressured by angry fisher guilds, agreed.

However, the troubles in Ghustbov has created a unstable environment for spies and agents to make their home, including amongst the corrupt militia commander Yolban Hue who organized the operation. Personal animosity between the militia and the overseer only grew further, when the Okan returned to their holding malnourished, tortured, and sick, inadvertently spreading disease into the city and the race were again placed into quarantine. Okan, demanding vengeance, refused to fish for the Militia and actively stepped up their support for the Kevians. Tensions runs high in the city, with only bloodshed seemingly what is ahead unless something is actively done.

Ashes of the Old World (A Dieselpunk Nation Roleplay)

=-=Year 443, Usoma=-=
Beasts from the Sea

"Keep those ropes, boys!" yelled Casmen Barber, Overseer of Tenmarnan shouted. The snow storm was drawing closer to the city as was predicted months ago, but the overseer had no interest in the late work of his men as they began to hoister materials on rickety scaffolds. Men laden with furs and insulated cover gave out harsh words as they pulled and tugged the construction materials up a three story height, since the machinery normally used to hold it has broken down due to the weather. Casmen watched as his workers struggled, for they needed to finish building the wall and fix up the wiring, or the entire eastern protective wall could be without heat, or worse, unfinished when the storm hit them.

One of the workers who had been pulling on the rope to bring the materials had backed up onto a ice sheet, and slipped. This caused a nasty chain of events, where the men began to slip one by one with a call of the workers ontop of the construction site calling out in suprise. It was thankful that a Wildar slave who had been helping to loading had rushed to the rope in time and normalized the pull, saving the materials from falling into the ground. Casmen smiled as the men regained their strength and were able to pull the materials to a safer ledge, where work could continue.

However, as Casmen looked on, a scout in white gear had come from behind him. "Sir." He began.

"Leave the scouting report on my desk, son. This wall building needs a personal touch." Casmen replied, continuing to watch from a overseer's position as the men and slaves alike continued to work in diligence. However, the scout did not leave.

"There is a. . erm. . courier here to see you, sir." The scout replied, his voice more cautious. Casmen's smile of saved optimism frowned into a confused murmor, when he turned, he at first only saw the well laden scout, only recognizable as human by his shape and bellow him was a covered young Okan in his own winter gear, only his eyes were visible from beneath coats and a large scarf that he wore.

"I have a message from Overseer Kedican, sir." replied Coban Mackerbei from beneath his scarf. He struggled as he pulled from his back a message tube and handed it to Casmen who silently took it and opened it. Casmen read it silently to himself, grunted, and looked at the scout "Dismissed."

"As you wish, sir." The scout walked out back into the streets of the city, and Casmen looked down at the Okan. "You must be Kedican's new courier. Well, hang out in the camp here till I can pen my reply to him."

Coban gave a sigh of dramatic relief and with youthful vigor climbed at sat upon a wooden crate at the overseer's position. He looked around at the construction site, not noticing much that the overseer was writing himself on the back of the message he was sent. Coban, in his rest, decided to prod at the overseer. "I thought Okan walls were suppose to be city limits, sir." He commented, looking at the new construction site. Casmen paused and looked at the young Okan, but not with the same friendly look he had given before.

"You are correct, but the city needs to expand. What do you know about city limits?"

Coban smiled "Not much but what me Ma use to tell me about them."

Casmen nodded "Yup, but, as you should know, not a lot of folks like to have their couriers talk back to them."

"Was that what happened to the last courier?"

"No? At least, I don't think so. Nor does it matter. Here." Casmen finished up writing his piece and gave it back to the Okan. Coban smiled beneath his scarf and placed the message back into the tube. "Ill get this back, right awa--"

"Dont talk back, its just safer that way." Casmen interrupted him. Coban's smiled turned into a frown, not that Casmen saw from beneath the scarf or cared, as he turned and began issuing orders back to the the near by workers. As Coban turned to leave, he looked at the message in the tube, wondering what it read out, but dared not ask further of it. After a momentary pause, he continued on his way back to the great Usoman capital to deliver the message.
________________________

Not a lot is known of the Usoman economy, not even to the Usomans themselves, but it involves a lot of coal. Too much coal to be exact. Coal nodes are common in the Usoman wastes and run primarily on fossil fuel to keep the cities warm and lit. Technology in Usoman cities is limited as it is, and many resources are put forward on the basis of Coal. Yet, the coal boon had caused a shortage of a different kind. Storage.

Usoman cities had limited storage, and a warning appeared from the worker representatives that batches of coal could not be mined further until storage capacity had increased. Workers were unfortunately throwing loads of the black mineral onto crates of food, supplies, and weapons which was causing unncessary sickness. Capacity was full, but the cities were bound by walls which prevented further expansion unless the cities built basements to accommodate the supply. The supply limit to outgoing merchants was already limited, and Grand Overseer Kedican Whilstov was reviewing the situation with some interest. Kedican proposed to his advisers within the walls of the government building in Ugolanbrav to expand the walls to accomidate a new warehouse district outside the city, developing Ugolanbrav further. The advisers agreed, but how they worked on the project was a different tale.

The work crews exited Ugolanbrav, set to work day and night to create palisades and use the resources to begin building large scale warehouses outside the city. The plan had been to set the resources on top of a hill, with a frozen moat to keep thieves or invading armies from exploiting the warehouses being separate from the city, and had a underground access to a nearby barracks. The work crews got to work and dug out a snow trench, but when they began to work, they had delayed. Tired workmen were worked hard by their foremen, and suffered wounds, resulting in a slow and demoralized build which took months rather then weeks as was expected. While lumber and sheet metal were to be used in the construction, the workmen resulted to building snow forts and using stone instead in order to save time from building formal walls. The warehouses themselves ended up being delayed further and further, and when Kedican reviewed the site, he was dismayed by the lacking of structure.

Kedican reviewed the work crew orders, finding his foremen to be overly cruel, and have given him far to many casualties from work accidents which terrifyed the grand overseer. Unable to scrap the project, fearing a loss of reputation, he instead ordered a fresh crew and oversaw the project itself. His first experience with this project was miserable, as many of the walls and structures had to be redone from scratch and with limited resources. Kedican had forage teams start bringing in lumber from other building projects to finish his own, and to begin chopping down lumber from the near by winter groves. While true that the groves were deeply sacred to the local Wildar clans, Kedican believed he could keep their reprisals at bay at least if they ever come. With lumber and metal finally in his grasp, the walls of this new warehouse district were build within a week under his guidence, and the warehouses were well underway.

Yet while he was gone from office, his neglected post had been overshadowed by a group of scribes calling themselves the Big Seven, a group of political advisers who were running the bureaucracy of the city in Kedican's stead. The Big Seven had been young reformers and had ideas of expanding their role in the city, setting up new political positions under Kedican's nose and making good friends with the Militia. After a biased review of the city's finances, the Big Seven began convincing other guardsmen and scribes to join their political cause and were soon making radical demands within the city itself. Kedican only noticed this happening when he was warned by his Propaganda adviser, Charles White. Charles had thought of joining the group at first, but when he was insulted by the leading members for his 'ignorance to political realities', Charles was quick to save face.

Kedican and Charles returned to the government building immediately and got to work dismantling the political party, and ordered the arrest of three members for illegal activities. In order to send a message, Kedican had all three executed, having them stripped to their undergarments and thrown into a ice puddle outside the city. Once dead, Kedican called the other members of the Big Seven into his office and told them of the news, and under the guise of ignorance to their ploy he played on their fears of being caught. Charles, who was present in the meeting, gave a disturbed smile as the scribes shook within their boots and once informed of their innocence, they were allowed to leave. One scribe had left his seat much more watery then before, much to Charles's amusement. When Charles asked why he had spared them, Kedican simply had answered "I don't want to hire new help, nor spend the resources to train them. This will be enough for now."

Yet when Kedican returned to the construction site, he was dismayed how much the work had fallen to a standstill in his absence. The Foremen, ever so afraid of Kedican, refused to work their men until he returned. There was nearly a small war when one overseer, not wishing to look incompetent in front of the Grand Overseer, tried to fight with his workers to complete the project. Kedican returned to his annoyed shock that the workers were armed and fully ready to kill each other for his cause, and only him returning had prevented this. After deescalating the situation, Kedican got the group to work in peace and completed the project several months late, but at least finally completed.

With the new Warehouse district in check, coal could be siphoned to new warehouses to further increase the supply, much to the merchants and other overseer's delight. Building projects were blossoming in Usoma, and a need for lumber was rising. Yet, as Kedican was relieved to find he had succeeded, he found that his government was in peril. If his disappearance from any field could cause such division, his death could signal a collapse, something which he wished to avoid. Kedican began collecting advisers to him to try to remedy the situation, but not many had a means outside further authoritarianism could provide. Some liberal minded advisers were silenced secretly by Charles and his gang of Militia before the meeting, and Charles stood out in suggesting of granting further automony to the advisers to make more broader decisions. Kedican agreed, granting advisers his voice to make some basic public decisions for the good of Usoma from there on out, much to the propaganda adviser's delight.
________________________________

Beastfolk wars are an ancient and unending display of blood and cruelty, and the Battle of Bula Voula was no different. In a small Usoman outpost called Bula Voula near Sigrad. The Outpost defenders, led by Davie Bullem were spying on the more recent conflict between the Bloodaxe and Wrecktusk. Davie was angry however, not that the Tusab armies were so close, but because Charles was again very wrong and picky about his information.

In context, to as far Davie knew, the Bloodaxe and Bloodtusk had a blood feud as old as the Wrad, but neither liked the Wrecktusk whom they considered a inferior clan. These three clans fought each other often, and only the Wrecktusk had accepted their place as Usoma's patron ally, with maybe some neutrality from the Bloodtusk. The Bloodaxes were genocidal. Their chieftains and clan rhetoric made them vicious enemies of the Usomans, and they were naturally of course Usoma's most powerful Beastfolk clan by far. Their tribal lands was practiaully a city within itself, they supported a massive navy of over 250 warships of medieval standard, and commanded a domesticated monopoly on penguins which made them ultra rich. The reason for the feud between the Bloodaxe and Bloodtusk was never really well known, only that it existed and it truly did involve a talking seal, but to the Usomans, it was just another hostile element of the Beastfolk.

For the reason they were fighting now was not much of a mystery, but it wasn't another instance of a anthropomorphic seal tricking the chieftains to murder one another as Charles once implied. Rather, as Davie learned from Wrecktusk allies, was that the Bloodtusk had been fleeing from their home after a successful Bloodaxe campaign against them, and they fled straight into the path of Sigrad. The Wrecktusk chieftains allowed the Bloodtusk refugees into their camps, and allowed them stay at their glacier holdings, and the Bloodaxes followed with a war chant. The Wrecktusks had not actually asked for help, but rather, they had asked for parlay with the Usomans, wanting them to help make peace with the Bloodaxes in their stead with diplomacy. This had failed due to Davie's earlier information, painting Usoman neutrality forefront and center, but instead, it had signaled the Bloodaxes to launch their attack knowing the Usomans would not aid them.

Thus cultivated the disastrous battle of Bula Voula which Davie watched at a distance, much to his anxious anger, as 3,400 fresh Wrecktusk warriors were utterly demolished by Bloodaxe armies numbering 9,300 or so. The army was surrounded and brutally devestated by skilled Bloodaxe soldiers who butchered the Wrecktusk. In desperation, a Wrecktusk shadow shaman summoned a flailing spell of winter to slow the army, but the spell was backfired by a Bloodaxe occultist who used the blood of a captive to silence the shaman and strangle him unconscious. The battle ended and that was when the executions began. Several hundred captives from the battle were beheaded by the Bloodaxe's great chieftain, Tubaj Bloodaxe personally, the rest were taken into captivity. Davie, seeing that the Bloodaxe clan was now the sole power among the Tusab, returned to Sigrad to discuss the military situation with his counterparts and the overseer.

The best solution was to return the power structure to a manageable level, one in which Usoma could benefit from. The Overseer of Sigrad, Justin Veeger, angrily denounced the whole situation and demanded military action from Usoma, but Davie had a much more direct idea. He proposed of uplifting the Wrecktusk from their defeat and making concessions to make their clan strong to fight and defeat the Bloodaxes before they rose to further prominence and began taking on Wildar, or worse, the Wrad. Davie's plan was put to a vote, where his counterpart in Sigrad agreed only at because it was 'easy, effective, and relieves me to go back to playing cards at the tavern'. After a brief discussion of how to further aid the Wrecktusk, Justin dismissed the group.

Davie and several men visited the Wrecktusk who were not happy to see them. Blaming the Usomans for the defeat, Davie and his men were betrayed and captured, with the chieftains planning to eat them for the annual feasts. In spite of some casualties and screaming, Davie convinced his captors to free him and forgive them for their actions, and in return, he promised to provide the Wrecktusk some guns, which was normally forbidden amongst Beastfolk-Usoman trade. The Wrecktusk had no clue what to give for this trade, and neither did Davie, so in a rather unfortunate miscommunication, Davie had asked for 'able bodies to fight the Bloodaxes' in a vain attempt to garner some sympathy. The Wrecktusk chieftains interrupted this as to give the Usomans slaves, which they happily agreed too since they were holding the Bloodtusk refugees. After a bloody betrayal, the Bloodtusk clan was again forced to move and were chased out of the Wrecktusk lands, and many of their peoples were given as captives to the dismayed Usoman captain.

Davie returned to Sigard and began pilfering guns in secret for the trade, and often just ended up freeing the captives. Tusab slaves were rare for good reason, lasting only hours in slave conditions in Usoman mines and labor camps, which was often due to their heat. The Tusab captives, oddly, thanked Davie for freeing them in spite of being aware of his role in the 2nd despora of their tribe and the Bloodtusk moved southward towards a sub clan near Okadius. Davie would return to the clan, gifting the Wrecktusk guns and ammunition, but not exactly teaching them how to use it. The Wrecktusk, believing they now held divine weapons, quickly demonstrated their use but often found great difficulty using them, but were still rather impressed. Davie was happy to be alive and at least 'helping' the clan, but realized that this would not last for long, so he came up with a odd solution instead.

The Sigard Overseer, angry over Davie's actions, had nearly had him executed and wrote a long list of grievances back to the capital over the trade. Yet, he kept Davie's advice of empowering the clan, and began trading supplies to the Wrecktusk for useless captives which were often just freed. The Bloodtusk and Wrecktusk owed much to Sigard who found allies in both, but keeping the allied forces united against the empowered Bloodaxes was difficult. The Wrecktusk turned to the lucrative trade of slave trading rather then their normal whaling, trading further captives for supplies. While the shipment of guns stopped, metals, wood, and furs found their way into the clan's hands which were traded amongst other clans for warriors, more sellable captives, and diplomatic gifts. Diligent as always, the Wrecktusk began to rebuild their lost strength.

The Bloodaxes however were not idle in all of this, upon returning home, spies amongst the Wrecktusk informed them of the incidents in the Wrecktusk camps. The Bloodaxe cheftains turned to their great chieftain for advice, who demanded another sacrifice and a summoning. After collecting a wildar captive and sacrificing it upon a sea cliff altar, a voice from the sea spoke to Tubaj, calling him by name. In the fervor of bloodlust, drugged milk, and several ritualistic murmurs, the voice commanded war and desolation upon the Wrecktusk and Usoma, directing the chieftain to journey into the 'Heart of Ice', or the Wrad Ruin of Taga’suga to recieve further instructions. Taking his axe and several warriors, the chieftain left for the Wrad homeland to make his sacrifices there.

Ashes of the Old World (A Dieselpunk Nation Roleplay)

<Snipped quote by Skepic>

You're also not going to get anything out of me in a timely manner there either. So this is going to be the best place to do it. Both of us can type. So the both of us can lay out our respective cases in a proper time and where I don't need to risk getting caught at work settling RP business.

@Dinh AaronMk

k

Ashes of the Old World (A Dieselpunk Nation Roleplay)

=-=Year 443, Usoma, Northern Tyverien=-=
=-=The Shadow over Ugolanbrav=-=

High in the office of the Grand Overseer, Kedican Whilstov held his hands behind his back, looking out over the city of Ugolanbrav. Years of survival led to a society of order and command, and its streets were ever busy. From the corner to his left he could see the busy work of men loading new batches of coal into warehouses, along with other materials. Hothouse farmsteads where to his right, where countless specialized botanists, farmers, and workmen delicately kept up the insulation needed to grow crops in small but important batches. Yet, to the center of his office was a grand walk, one of the few organized pieces of art dedicated to any Usoman city, a elongated courtyard were merchant stalls all ran from the main government offices and rich districts, to the docks beyond. It was the centerpiece of Usoman life here in Ugolanbrav, and only one figure amongst thousands was walking along which interested him. The pane of glass which allowed him to see from the height of the office across the entire snow laden landscape was the only light within the office, and too his side, Kedican’s friend and Propaganda adviser joined him in the viewing.

“It be nicer if the flags were actually colorful.” Spoke Charles White.
“Perhaps, but it's hard enough to find dyes here without attacking some savage tribe for it.” replied Kedican.

“Perhaps we should get down to some business then instead of looking out a window at the fine peasants and slaves keeping this wonderful civilization from collapsing, eh?” Charles replied with cheek. Yet, he relented whe Kedican only coldly turned around and turned on a lamp and sat down at his office desk.

“First things first, a lot of people are concerned about the mob attacks. Militias I am about half certain are helping them at this point.” Charles produced a paper and flopped it down on the desk “Signatures from 12 folks saying Richard Wiley is the main boss, merchant’s son turned attempted revolutionary in Sigard.”

“Kill him.” Kedican replied

“You sure? Might turn him into a martyr.”
“Did you plan to just go up to him and shoot him in broad daylight? I mean take him out of the city and shoot him and then drown the body.” Kedican said with some frustration “These pseudo liberals make me almost regretful for supporting reform, now all they talk about is my supposed incompetence.”

Kedican lit a light and took out a cigar, imported from Fenice. He lit it and began to smoke “Make sure that those morons in the Militia actually get the right person this time.”

“As you say.” Charles replied. He shuffled through his coat pockets and pulled out a scout report. “Also, your scouts from the north regions sound concerned still. Tusab are still warring with the Bloodtusk and Wrecktusk out there, and Sigard’s Overseer is still shitting his pants over it.”

“Any idea what it is over?”

“No clue, sir. Jus--” As Charles was about to inform, they were interrupted by the door suddenly opening and stepped in a large and bulky figure. His white winter overcoat made him out as a elite soldier of Usoma, but his recycled metal pins on his jacket made him a bit more higher in rank.

“Davie Bullem.” Kedican greeted coldly. “You should knock more often.”

Davie, or Dave, or David, the name not exactly mattered, he was a skilled scout with a long list of brave and pragmatic skills which made him currently the most skilled and talented of Usoma’s soldiers, or at least in the eyes of Ugolanbrav’s people. Davie arrived unarmed, and looking red from both the cold and from anger. “It is bad enough I have to come unarmed, get my fucking gun taken from me by some low life who will probably damage it.”

“Normal people dont have guns in their meetings, or offices.” Kedican reminded his general

“Since fucking when? How fuckin--” Charles glared at Davie, and gave his rather pale grin. Davie knew full well not to cross Charles or his neophytes within his order of propagandists, and tried to avoid him. He silenced himself as Charles continued to speak.

“Like I was saying. Likely, the Bloodaxes wanted to war because some talking seal told them, who knows or cares. Our allies in the Wrecktusk want support, but they decided to attack anyway before really getting our opinion. Now the Tusab are just trying to kill one another. I’d advise that we strike while such things are still up in the air, on the side of our. . .’allies’. . .of course.”

“What a bunch of crock.” Davie retorted “Tusab will unite if we get involved.”
Kedican raised an eyebrow to this “You know this how?”
“Had a couple mercenaries support some Wrecktusks once in raiding a sub tribe of the Blood axes, not my guys per say but they were human. They got massacred and their heads used as fetishes when three damn war parties descended on them specifically just to kill them, thinking the whole time they were my guys. You send a army to deal with the Tusab, you are going to have a Northern Federation on your hands before you know it.”

“A theory and little more, the fact is--” Charles was about to speak up, but Kedican spoke far more quickly. “Correct or not, I am not going to sacrifice valuable lives while we have more real issues here. Let the tribes kill each other as they always do, and if they do it enough, we may act on it when its a safer campaign. Continue to scout out the situation.” Both nodded their heads “You are both dismissed.”

Charles and Davie both left in silence, and this was swiftly followed by a officer awaiting outside who waited for them to leave. When he entered, he was holding a rope lead, and a small Okan fell beside him with a tug. The officer handed Kedican some papers and untied the young captive, who worryingly looked about his surroundings. The officer and Kedican exchanged salutes and he left in peace.

“Coban Mackerbei?” asked Kedican. The Okan, who looked young and wide eyed only nodded his head. Kedican peered down at the rope collar on his neck, and looked him over “Healthy enough at least. You are to be my new courier.”

“Courier, sir?” asked the Okan. Kedican gave a sigh “Yes. I need you to deliver some letters for me.”
____________________
Singarum, Volka, Blayam.

These three cursed words were written over the signed city of Ugolanbrav, and now it was graced by another figure as well, the famed occultist Tomas Maccaerei. Tomas’s blad head and elder look was only graced by the appearance of his profession. He wore upon him at almost all times a mechanical device which both protected him and ritually kept him in a state of magical focus, and he held onto a halberd carved from runes of the shadowed gods. Yet he was far from pious and even more far from liked, as he waltzed into the city along with his charade of acolytes. Tomas’s career as an occultist began ironically in Ugolanbrav where his cancerous sickness had only been cured by his deep fascination in the blood magic of his pious teacher, and his communion with the god Zuuldrick earned him a place in the Circle of Usoman Warlocks. Yet, his thoeries and practices also earned him his quick banishment and he spent far more time traveling between city to city, pilfering its libraries for lore, exploring the ruins of Wrad castles, and performing rituals amongst the Tusab. If anyone in all of Usoma had a more sinister reputation and fame, they were simply then not known. Tomas was invited back to the capital at the request of the warlocks, his services were simply now to far to ignore in spite of previous crimes.

Yet trouble did follow him in his wake, for as soon as Tomas entered the circle, he began his welcoming speech by accusing elder members of corruption and of impiety, to the point where he demanded a magical duel with his hated rival, the arch warlock Quadmos Bolkar. Mr. Bolkar agreed to the duel within the chamber in spite of his peers wishing to calm things down, but Tomas very quickly and with supberd ease defeated his political rival and used his magic to quite literally tear him limb from limb. When the duel was done and a silence crept over the chamber, Tomas declared himself Arch Warlock and directed the group as he saw fit. His first task was to pilfer the warlock library.

For weeks, Tomas went over old tomes and bestiaries, and added countless new grimoires to the morbid collection. The acolytes looked on with amazement as Tomas melded entire books into existence with his summoning, specifically on his own experience, and began to pen his own magnum opus, The Grimoire of Inner Usoma. It was a book of necromancery unlike any other penned in recent years, filled with countless amounts of local lore, ethnography, and theories on the Wrad, on magic, and the nature of Usoman weather. While penning his piece, Tomas began making demands of the council to fill up ‘his’ library with books of other magical lores, and when it was clear they did not know where to look, he sent several of his servants to the markets to look.

It wasn’t common knowledge of the world outside of Usoma, in fact, it was practically a state secret except for some merchants and overseers. It was simpler to keep Usoman society going if no one knew of the warmer weather in lands such as Fenice or Talania. The occultists began searching for answers amongst merchants, learning of Fenice only through tales and small increments. While trade was possible between Usoma and her neighbors, it was often only at the best a trickle. Usoma had to offer much in the way of furs, ivory, and coal, but even its most elite export was well hidden or i'll liked for obvious reasons. Magical Foci made by wraiths often was not easy to look pass. When they heard of Fenice magic, they reported their rumors back to Tomas in which he looked on with peaked interest.

Tomas made his way to the Overseer tower to present his agreement with the Grand Overseer. Tomas and Kedican spoke, but it was passive aggressive and both viewed each other with suspicion and contempt. Tomas had wished to leave with his acolytes for Fenice to study abroad and bring knowledge back to Usoma, but Kedican did not trust Tomas to not use his dark powers for more personal gain, and he did not want to offend the Sun Elves with a hot headed occultist who practiced blood magic. After more of a heated exchange between the two, Tomas left in frustration.

During the mid morning after over a month, Tomas announced that he would be building a underground library, and had it approved by the city. Kedican hoped that the warlocks would be more appeased if they had larger space for their rituals and tomes. Yet, as the crew men went to work, Tomas himself was not there to oversee it, and instead spent much of his time with a merchant named Paulmer who was planning to go into Fenice to trade ivory. Instead, he was hexed by Tomas to instead deliver a message when he arrived to local authorities with a magical note wishing for Fenice mages and merchants to greet him in Ugolanbrav, for as a student of the arcane, the Council of Usoman Warlocks had great interest in their magic and technology, and Tomas was willing to sponsor a technology fair in the city with aid.

Ashes of the Old World (A Dieselpunk Nation Roleplay)

Marcher Empire of Usoma

Martial Authoritarian Dictatorship

Head of Government
=-=Kedican Whilstov=-=

Leader Info

-Neusian
-Grand Overseer of Usoma
-Kedican is the 4th Grand Overseer of Usoma, nicknamed The Ready for recent handlings of food shortages across the country. His wealth, prestige, and young age has made him considered a successful ruler so far, and he often keeps a small retinue of personal servants, advisers, and councillors in his care. His great modiviation is to grow Usoma into a truly modernized country, one in which will one day surpass its neighbors and become a power on the world stage, an ambition which is only stopped by the concerns of the Wrad, Tribals, and new social factions which have propped up.

Economy

Economic Info

Imports

Oil
Spices
Wood
Weapons
Winter Vehicles
Peat
Beer
Bronze
Insulation Materials
Education Materials

Exports

Ivory
Fur
Iron
Stone
Winter Cloths
Winter Supplies
Coal
Ship Supplies
Magic Foci

Northern Industries
Usoma is home to a number of native industries, most of them expanded and exploited from Kevian, Okan, and Tusab economies. While fishing and whaling is the more traditional industries, Neusian cities provide almost everything else, having large factories and workshop districts which help Usoman life continue. Normally, these facotries are built together, so a factory which may produce tools may also be close to a factory which processes sheet metal. Usomans hold high value to recycling and replaceable parts, and the trade goods they produce often reflect this. Usomans tend to produce an abundance of ship supplies. Interestingly, one of the more successful industries in Usoma is controlled primarily by Usoman Wrad, who fund their tireless research by creating and selling magical foci on markets.
Dependence Taxation
There really isn’t a obvious currency in Usoma, with most cities and towns having their own currency system. Instead, the universally accepted currency are ‘dependence tokens’. These tokens are spent on food and the ability to shelter within the cities, and if someone runs out or is unable to pay, they are likely to be thrown out. The government at the end of every year produces more tokens and distributes it amongst the people in the city, and bring a couple tokens back every half year as proof of work ethics and dedication. Ever since being introduced back into the world, dependence tokens are often used as barter, even though most Usoman merchants keep bags of other currency for trade since it's more likely most foreign merchants do not look favorably on the metal tokens.
Usoman Trade
Usomans did not have a real means of interacting with the outside world only until recently, and most of the cities of Usoma were built over the only civilizations who would trade with them. Trade is often only conducted within the ports, within trader enclaves which allows foreigners to stay but are often on the short end of supplies. Most Usoman traders are encouraged to stay and trade within Usoma, with overseers fearful that they will leave for foreign shores and never return. Usomans are normally gullible with trade, and tend to do poorly with most transactions due to their culture and history. Trade often is very simplistic between Usoman cities, trading one train of supply at face value for another for the needs of survival or for comfort. While most trade goods are legal, addictive drugs are brutally cracked down upon by the Militia.

Unique Technologies

Unique Tech

Wightpower/WP-33
The Wrad control the monopoly that is Wightpower, a form of enhanced coal with very strong, and extremely deadly, magical properties which glows with a pale blue light when burned. WP-33 is used in many more advanced materials and in some weapons. The magical coal is slow burning, and when touched or interacted with, it can swiftly and suddenly freeze, poison, and necrotize living flesh which is why only the Wrad handle it. When used as fuel in engines, they can create powerful freezing auras which bite through even winter cloths, or if handled correctly, can be used as strong fuel which can last for hundreds of years. The process of making WP-33 is mysterious but also dreadfully slow, and often requires loads of coal to make a single piece.

Primary Species
Kevian (Human)
-Kevians are a pale skinned people which dwell as a native human culture which is dominant in the north. Kevians, due to having lived in the harsh lands which is Usoma for so long, have adopted a very basic and tribalistic lifestyle dedicated to survival in the cold wastes. However, intergration policies have essentially made them a second class people despite being a very heavy majority, but are above the role of slave. Kevians hold no love or affinity for the Neusians, whom they view as cruel, weak, and decadent with their coal engine cities and walled settlements. Kevian is a divided culture, with hundreds if not thousands of sub cultures based around smaller tribal groupings.
Neusian (Human)
-Neusians are the face of Usoma despite having the smallest percentage of the population, which dwell primarily in cities. Being white, but not as pale as Kevians, they are a people dedicated to living and profiting from their northern burrows. Neusians are deeply connected to Usoma but do not consider themselves a happy or superior people. Most Neusians are very authoritarian minded due to their nation’s history of dedication through organization, and due to their mistreatment of most non-Neusians who dwell in their society. Neusians themselves value both survival and organization, and most are culturally are very experienced engineers.

Population
-35 Million
-Kevian (63%)
-Okan (9%)
-Wildar (9%)
-Tusab (8%)
-Wrad (6%)
-Neusian (5%)

Other Populations

Okan (Beastfolk)
-Okan are a small peoples, only about 3’5 feet tall at best, and have a strong resemblance to sea otters in both appearance and in phycology. Okan have thick fur and can swim with gliding motion in the open water, and are thus very much a coastal people. Okan are emotionally very playful, curious, and have very pacifist in their beliefs. Okan are culturally very familial and were the most advanced society in what is now Usoma, their destroyed cities were made the bedrock of current Usoma cities. Most Okan are now mostly slaves or servants, used mostly as fishers which feed the cities themselves.

Wildar (Beastfolk)
-Wildar are large creatures, around 7’5 feet tall on average, resembling a cross between wolverines and bears. Wildar are thick furred and are nearly immune from most arctic conditions, and are immensely strong, known to hunt large predators or food and furs regularly. Wildar are by their own nature immensely pious, deeply distrustful, and are arch enemies of most races in the Usoma. Culturally, Wildar are nomadic, their tribes mostly travel between groves and are more likely to fight amongst themselves unless a common threat destroys a tribe or threatens their balance. Usoma often raids the tribes for slave labor, mostly used for construction or heavy labor.

Tusab (Beastfolk)
-The Tusab are the most humanoid of the Usoma Beastfolk, but not by much comparison. They resemble Walruses with humanoid features, having legs and arms which are proportionate to their already very heavy bodies. Tusab have large tusks, and much of their body is made of flubber which keeps them well conditioned for their arctic home. Tusab are culturally a martial tribal society, with mostly coastal settlements which they hunt penguin, seal, and whales. Tusab are very closely related in culture to the Kevians, their people however are much less reliant on warm cloths and the Tusab are far more likely to raid and challenge their ancient enemy, the Wildar, in raids. Tusab however have a fatal condition in which when one of their peoples become overly stressed or is put into a heated room, they are likely to overheat and swiftly die. Due to this condition, Usoma is authorities are more likely to hire out Tusab tribes as whalers, unless technology or magic allows them to get around their fatal condition, then otherwise their fate is much more similar to that of the Wildar.

Wrad (Undead)
-The Wrad are a mysterious and disturbing race of wraiths which specifically dwell in the middle country of Usoma, amongst many stone ruins and within small enclaves. Little is known of them except that their physical forms have long since perished, and only visible by black cloaks and silver armor which ‘bind them’ to the world. As Wraiths, Wrads are immensely gifted mages and even more experienced necromancers who ‘procreate’ by corrupting others. Those of the highest skills in their magic grow stag-like horns and become rulers amongst them. Wrad thrive off arctic temperature and rarely leave their undead homes. Culturally, Wrad often tend to live solitary lives through intense study, and live in a strange stuck loop which dwells between a medieval peoples to modern urbanites. Usoma employ many Wrad as mages for their gifted magic, as the Wrad have only ever been diplomatic with the Usoma government.

Culture

Culture

Appearance
Usomans are in a constant winter wasteland, and are always at any time well clothed for such conditions. It isn’t abnormal for Usoman commoners to wear two sets of winter coats. Most Usoman dresses have lamp lights attached to them, making it easier for them to be spotted, which can be critical during a devastating snow storm. Usomans are not known to bathe well, nor shave, and tend to grow long and unkept beards and hair. Commonly, most Usomans are typically very fit, with very limited if eradicated signs of obesity. Due to how little most outsiders see in most Usoman dress and common wear, its considered both weird and a sign of wealth for a Usoman or outsider to go around their city in little more than common suits or comfortable clothing.
Craftsmanship
Usoman cities are very tight nit, well insulated, and are made with very limited resources. Due to the climate they survive in, Usomans are near religious in their demands for organization, and will accept nothing less in both their building and craftsmanship. If a resource can be saved, then the Usomans will take it. Buildings tend to be made from a splash of different materials, with Kevian settlements often made from seal skin and whale bone, and more advanced Neusian cities made from local stone, wood, and metal. Usomans value neither quality nor quantity, but they do favor cheap and replaceable goods over ornate or half broken equipment. Rifles, tools, and artifacts made in Usoma tend to be of average quality and is made specifically to be resistant to arctic temperatures.
Traditions
Usoman traditions is a blend of the Neusian and Kevian survival tactics which had helped both cultures survive. Usomans rarely if ever bury their dead, but still are uneasy with abandoning bodies. Usomans will instead use a old Okan burial system, often throwing the dead into the sea and letting thme sink to underwater graves, where their remains can be used as fish bait. Usomans do not marry as much as simply declare partnership, with any rituals revolving around love often being very limited. Usomans of Kevian descent tend to go on long hunting trips which can last years, which partially acts as spiritual journeys to explore their homeland. Most Beastfolk who live as slaves often lose their culture and are caught up in the general Usoman culture, but they hold more intricate, but yet still basic, traditions from their own people’s past.
Family
Usoma is a cruel place, which can quickly kill if one isn’t careful. Due to high mortality rates regardless of growth or healthcare, Usoman family life is not one to be desired. Most are contained to small families, but concepts such as bloodlines is quickly lost, and is more based on simply who lives within the same apartment. Slaves, neighbors, and vagabonds living in the same space can be considered ‘family’, with a high emphasis on adoption. Usoman family units favor bright and best, and are very quick to abandon cripples, weak, and dumb. It isn’t uncommon for children, especially cripples or mentally challenged, to be simply thrown out of their homes. Ideas of kinship usually only survive in richer residences and amongst very familial Beastfolk communities.
Rights
Usoma is a deeply authoritarian society, with rules and laws which directly influences most lives and commands them like pawns. The idea of ‘rights’ is a laughable notion, but it doesn’t mean Usomans do not look for it. With Usoma being a ordered society, there is a racial hierarchy with the Neusians solely at the top, and everyone else being little more than slaves. Usomans treat their women with equality, but there is limitations to certain fields for Woman, such as soldiering. Due to beliefs that complications with sex and pregnancy can greatly impact units abilities to fight, woman are normally barred from the army, but many serve in supportive roles. Homosexuals, atheists, and those of differing religions are tolerated but are discouraged from speaking publicly. Those who oppose the government are persecuted harshly.
Laws
Laws in Usoma are protected by a group of local Militia, and each city has different militias, with different rules attached to them. While some practice due process to the letter, others are cruel and corrupt in policy. Most city centers have makeshift public halls which act as courtrooms in which defendants often have to defend themselves from the fury of the Militias, and if proven guilty, crimes can range from permanent enslavement to slow and torturous execution. There are two favored methods of execution, one in which victims are given only their undergarments and are tied to frozen posts outside the city; and another in which they are dunked into a waist high water pit with frozen temperatures.
Phycology
Much like how Usoma is a cruel and brutal place to live, so are the Usomans a cruel and brutal peoples. Neusians and Kevians both consider themselves a superior peoples for having survived in the frozen hell, and are both proud (in very different ways) of the success of building civilization here. Usoma’s long history of defeating the non-human peoples has paved a way to a general belief of the inferiority of Beastfolk and Undead, a opinion shared by many Beastfolk slaves. Usomans are not however very proud that they feel very debased, feeling almost unbelonging to the world, and while there are lands clearly with warmer climates, they are far too attached to the nation they built. Many also are overly proud and stubborn, mostly brought on by propaganda.
Entertainment
Believing themselves pragmatic, the Usoman culture is very reliant on pub life which revolves around cheap liquor. Pubs become centers of many forms of culture, being large and expansive structures dedicated to all avenues of entertainment. Brothels, pubs, theater, music centers, all is seen within Usoman tavern. The only thing not found in Usoman taverns is bloodsport, but fighting pits are especially prevalent amongst military camps. Most Usomans, if asked, tend to enjoy ranging out in the cold, hunting and sledding in the free cold air.
Education
Education is a bit of a tricky issue which has its ups and downs, and is entirely dependent on the city. Most cities don’t have dedicated education centers, as most teaching is done between parent and child, or between master and apprentice. Since most children end up in their caretaker’s career, it's a issue which isn’t fully explored. However, the richer coastal cities do have universities and school systems, which specialize in engineering fields, military history, and political pragmatism. Educational elite however are very ill trusted by overseers, and normally it is teacher unions who end up forming powerful political factions which prop up issues.
Slavery
Slavery was adopted very early in Usoman history as a means of dealing with the native Beastfolk. Most if not all non-humans within Usoman society are slaves, being branded on the cheek with the city’s symbol, given a rope loop as a collar with a metal tag for identification attached to it, and are housed in special enclaves or are chained to their work benches in order to do gruelling work hours. Personal servitude amongst slaves is preferable, but is extremely rare. Most slaves, depending on their race, are divided amongst different labors. Okan are used for fishing, farming, cooking, and mundane tasks. Wildar will be used in heavy construction and heavy labor, and are sometimes joined by Tusab if they somehow are bought and do not die within 24 hours due to heat stress. The only race not ‘truly’ enslaved are the Wrad, who are often given their own specialized enclaves to aid in unique technological research, and are more or less treated as allies by some cities. Individual ownership of slaves is very rare, often only reserved for the richest, and for merchants. Slaves are never sold, but they can be bought if there is another nation selling.
Food
Arctic living doesn’t often do well to the most balanced diets, especially to those who do not have a great deal to go on. Most non-humans have very simple diets, often consisting of meat or fish, with some winter berries. Human cuisine is however at least cooked, often lacking in spices. As depressing as the food is, Usoman policy often demands quick and cheap meals, so most cuisine is often limited to soups. Only the very rich tend to buy outlandish food from other nations, and there is always a high demand for better food from the more richer cities. It is a stereotype that Usomans will cannibalize, a rumor which is very clearly false.
Transportation
Cities do not have a means of transportations outside of walking and hiking, and in the honest truth often is that any form of transportation in Usoma is underdeveloped. Snow vehicles are at best used for military purposes, usually with reinforced snow treads with plow attachments. The fastest and most effective way to travel is either by skiing or by sledding from place to place. Several cities are connected by a cable system which allows quick transportation of goods and people, but most outline outposts and settlements can only be reached via long hikes. Banditry amongst these routes are very high, especially with threats from Wildar raiders who steal supplies and eat Usoman scouts.
Language
Neusian language is a very odd mix of their old language with Kevian coastal languages, giving them a very gutteral speech. The main language is Neusian, but there is several ‘secret languages’ used by the rich, overseers, and military officers. The Wrad’s ancient and dead language is taught by local Neusian military officals and is used by their language corps for coded messages, since the Wrad language is by all means considered mostly dead and kept by the Wrad themselves. Beastfolk languages are often in the hundreds in terms of dialects, each Okan civilization having had their own language which is still practiced even to this day.
Pets and Companionship
Pets are considered rather wasteful if they aren’t being used for a specific purpose. Cats and dogs are preferable pets for Usomans, with cats hunting rodents, and dogs being used for hunting. Usomans will not think twice with eating their pets in times of emergency, an unfortunate reality. Beastfolk, oddly enough, keep very specific pets pending on their race. Tusab will nearly always keep domesticated penguins and tamed polar bears, Okan tame sea otters and seals, and Wildar tend to herd wolverines. While slaves in Usoman cities are not allowed to keep pets, this rule is overlooked by fishing guilds who keep Okan, and tend to even supply Okan with sea otters and seals to train to help herd fish into their nets.

The Shadowed Faith

Religion

Religion
The Shadowed Faith is a northern religion which descends either from the Wildar or Wrad, no one is truly sure, but nearly every pious man in the north knows and worships the pantheon of gods there. Usoma does not have a strong religious bias, and many overseers themselves and higher officials are cynical at best, and rabid atheists at worst, but many often see value of religion in their society and thus allow them credence. The faith is often considered incredibly occultish due to their often secretive and morbid rituals, and communion with outworldly forces. Very little is known about the faith, even to most of its practitioners, and there is certainly no sense of unity amongst its followers.
Gods
There are three primary gods in the shadowed faith; Azan’ag, Ishala, and Zuuldrick. Azan’ag, the father of the gods, is depicted as a wraith itself which covers itself over the whole of the world, a god of peace, afterlife, death, finality, and magic. Ishala is the goddess of winter, healing, and is considered the mother of civilization and a caring god. Zuuldrick is a war god, often depicted as a monstrous sea crustacean, worshipped as a god of blood, destruction, reckoning, war, and justice. All three gods are never depicted as evil or having malus towards mortals, but the gods are often demanding and just. In spite of Azan’ag being the chief of the gods, most Usoman clergy favor Ishala and her schools of magic.
Beliefs
The Shadowed faith is a form of religion which is very meditative on the philosophy and purpose of life, and many general beliefs resound in such ways. Shadow worshippers do not believe in persecution unless harm is directed towards them, but they are not outside of pacifist by any means. Shadow worshippers believe they are always being punished in a mortal way, and the only way to achieve peace is by following a path of honor, truth, and glory. Those who die are said to be taken by either of the gods and is often pending on their death. Azan’ag is said to visit those dying and brings them to the peaceful Beyond Lands, a place of sleeping souls who live beneath warm trees and the sun. Those taken by Ishala are said to see a bright light and had lived innocent lives, such as children and young soldiers, and are taken to her winter forest palace where they dwell with their families. However, those who had done wicked things or were direct worshippers of Zuuldrick are taken to his watery home beneath the abyss where they serve him in eternal fighting and dying.
Rituals
Ceremonies are mostly rare for those who practice the shadowed faith, but rituals do exist. Services are often very personal, where the local shadow shaman will help with a birth and cover houses of newborn pious families with pine cones and ashes for protection against evil spirits. Warriors who wish the gods blessings also visit shadow shaman's for guidance and drugs to aid them if they are killed. Sacrifices are not openly practiced except by free Tusab clans who primarily worship the god Zuuldrick, sacrificing prisoners and slaves for his favor. When children grow into adulthood, it is expected of them to make a journey to the lair of a shadow shaman and receive the gods guidance along with advice from their blood ancestors.
Shadow Shamans
Those who are gifted in magic become shadow shamans within the shadowed faith. Slave or free, peasant or noble, any who show signs of early magic give their children to shadow shaman's to train as new shadow shamans. Shadow shamans live in poverty and are reliant on the food and aid of others, but their services in both ceremony and magic is worth the effort. Despite being looked on as necromancers, most shadow shamans use differing forms of magic which ranges from hydromancery to the arcane, necromancery is more or less considered a known but ill used art. Shadow shamans who set off beyond communities to practice their arts become necromancers, and are considered more or less outcasts rather then heretics.
Liches
The most powerful and skilled shadow shamans are called by their gods in dreams to make their journey into icy wastes on spiritual hikes. Those who return become Liches, ascending beyond death and becoming masters in the the arcane arts. Liches are not considered enemies as much as they are powerful beings who roam the land of Usoma and occasionally aid them, but their aid is often rare and reserved for the truly pious. Liches are however incredible masters of necromancery, and often hold themselves up in isolated ruins to continue their studies. Liches are regularly known to be both stupidly unhelpful or vague on most things, even with basic questions, and those seeking their immortal advice often leave far more confused than when they first asked. Horned Wrad are Liches by some extent, at least those who had retained their physical frozen bodies before having become wraiths.
Temples
Most temples of shadow worshippers are homes to the shadow shamans, and act as burial grounds for them as well. Most temples are teepees in which lay the remains of shadow shamans who had served in the community, revolving around a fire. Those who enter are said to commune with the dead and receive their advice. More modern temples are more like shrines, dedicated to Ishala, are located in the Usoman cities which act as homes for their priesthood.

Territories
Color: Dark Green
imgur.com/Oy9nBM7
Capital City: Ugolanbrav
Cities: Tenmarnan, Sigrad, Ghustbov, Okadius
Tusab Major Tribes: Bloodtusk, Bloodaxe, Wrecktusk
Major Wildar Tribes (Nomadic): Greycloak, Whitecloak, Blackcloak, Whitemane
Major Wrad Settlements: Cirul’olfa, Taga’suga

Climate
Usoma is a arctic wasteland made up primarily of snow laden hills, several tall mountain ranges, and a vast expanse of snow, ice, and protective forest groves scattered throughout. Wind chill can easily go down to -40 degrees, making much of the land hardly hospitable, but certain mountain ranges and coastal areas block out this hellish weather, making life much more bearable. Much of Inner Usoma is utterly impossible to thrive in, even for hardened races immune to the brutal cold, some temperatures around the Wrad ruins can go far below negatives, and blizzards are a regular occurence.

Military

Military

Recruitment
Due to the extreme authoritarian mindset of Usoman government, finding recruits for her armies is a easy enough task. Most citizens who do not have jobs outright are drafted quickly, mostly coming from Kevian background. Officers gather armies in a almost medieval style, often going between outposts and city districts to collect conscripts and bring them to the barracks to organize into a effective unit. Only richer cities have more disciplined and permanent armies, and even then, most of those are made up of elite militias. It is expected on some level that all Usomans know how to use a gun and to survive in the cold arctic tundra, with yearly training sessions mandatory for all citizens since the age of 12. Only the elderly are truly exempt from military duties, and slaves, women, and even prisoners often used in support roles and camp duties.
Organization
Usoma has a small population, and as such, the Usoman army is very small, disorganized, and is more adopt at facing far more passive threats then real armies. Having had no real threat besides themselves, the Usoman military core is made primarily of small elite units, and to conserve on ammunition, most units are more likely to be trained for accuracy. Usomans pride themselves on their elite winter units, and are commanded equally by proud officers, which is more of a curse then a boon. Usoman officers are well known to be cruel, ambitious, and stubborn. Usoman armies are divided amongst how many units a single city can field, not including local militias. In desperation, Usoman cities will hire out Beastfolk mercenaries, medieval troops who rely on tribal tactics.
Infantry

Infantry

Usoman Marines
The most basic infantry supplied by Usoman armies are the Usoman Marines, which are armed with rifles and brown overcoats. Marines are trained alongside White Guard as support units, and are supplied more or less for holding defensive positions. Usoman Marines are armed typically with large knives, used officially for hunting and chopping up meat on the move, and unofficially used for close quarters combat.
Usoman White Guard
The White Guard is the elite forces of Usoma, keeping their barracks within the richer cities. White Guard are granted white coats to camouflage into the arctic tundra, and are granted long range rifles and are trained for sniping and ambushing. Most White Guard units are armed with skis, along with having a usually a number of explosives and tools on their person. White Guard are used primarily for assaults and quick skirmishes on the open arctic snowy hills.
Usoman Grey Cloaks
Grey Cloaks are a secondary elite force used primarily for defense, identified by their long grey cloaks and iron armor. Grey Cloaks carry machines guns and handle most heavy equipment, Grey Cloaks belong to a special caste of scouts and marines who primarily handle Wildar, both in terms of bounties and capture. Due to their dangerous profession, most Grey Cloaks are allowed higher access to more advanced equipment, and it isn’t uncommon for overseers to grant them anti-tank rifles to help in their hunts.
Wrad Black Guard
More like allied mercenaries, Wrad wraiths have no real love for modern equipment, but when called upon to help fight for Usoma, they are seen from time to time as a elite unit upon the battlefield. Wraith infantry often tend to keep equipment more similar to that of marines, but they use magic to enchant their cloaks and weapons. Being hit by Black Guard bullets can have the infliction of necrotic poisons or freezing wounds. Black Guard, being wraiths, are also very durable but are thankfully rare.

Armaments

Armaments

Scouting Sleds
Most units of Usoma get around both their arctic home and the battlefield on powered sleds, which allows them to not expend energy or time on reaching their destinations, but it also allows them to drag along supplies with better ease in the arctic wastes.
Trek Gunner
Treks are large covered infantry vehicles designed to go onto the snow and ice, being light enough to crash into it and heavy enough to act as armor. Trek Gunners have machine guns or bunkers attached to them, allowing them to fire on the move, more useful for fighting the hostile forces of Usoma.
Wendigo Tank
Only one kind of tank is produced in Usoma, the Wendigo Tank. Wendigo Tanks are light tanks with heavier than normal armor, heavy insulation, and a very light gun. Wendigo Tanks have a large plow on both their front and back, allowing them to shovel heavy amounts of snow. Wendigo tanks are not very fast for light tanks, but are often used in defensive strategies. Usoman general tend to hide tanks underneath snow and camouflage them with white sheets.
Mortar Teams
Artillery teams are a common sight amongst Usoman armies, both on the defensive and on the attack. Mortar teams are often commanded by groups of marines, and are guarded by trenches or pits. Trek Gunners will sometimes gut space for a more mobile mortar team, but it greatly sacrifices their mobility.

Navy
Usoma supports only a small, but very important, fleet. The richer Usoman cities have their own war ports where several more modern ships had been bought and outfitted with proper gear which allows them to dredge through the arctic coastline with ease. These ships are used primarily for defense of their ports, and is used to help protect fishing lanes from Tusab raiders and their vast fleet of ships.
War Mages

War Mages

Arctic Magi
Of the military mages, the Arctic Maji is the most useful. Arctic Maji are priests of Ishala and thus command primarily powerful hydromancery and healing magic. Arctic Maji conjure waves of freezing water, can bind frozen elementals to their whim, and animate snow golems from the frozen ice around them. Outside of battle, they can spend their time healing many minor wounds and sucking away frostbite from soldiers. Most armies employ at least one Arctic Maji for the medical capabilities and to even lessen winter snows in Usoma to help drive the army forward, or make hellish conditions for their enemies.
Osulan Occultist
Occultists are members of an elite inner circle of warlocks dedicated to the god Zuuldrick, selling their immortal souls for his powers. Occultists outside war are researchers and elites, but are conscripted for their dark magic prowess. Occultists can conjure beasts from the sea, summon madness upon enemies, curse lands with dark magic, and perform dark rituals to summon forth evil spirits to manipulate the reality around them for a short time. However, the use of these powers is usually very limited, and can very quickly backfire. While an occultist can turn the tide of a battle with his magic, it can also spell doom if misused, resulting in the utter annihilation of the Usoman army.
Wrad Herald
Wrad shadow shamans and Liches who join the ranks of Usoma come in their own special variety known as Heralds. Heralds ride upon undead steeds of fallen polar bears, and wield medieval weapons enchanted with only the most fouled magic. They conjure powerful freezing magic and necromancery, very much capable of decimating small units single handedly and raising them as their slaves. Heralds are thankfully as rare as Wrad infantry, and their presence only inspires fear. Heralds always bring forth entire armies

Magic
Magic is heavily used and is well accepted in Usoma society, and the darker forms of magic such as necromancery and blood magic has been tolerated, even though many are sickened by it or simply do not know how prevalent it exists within their country. The Shadowed Faith and its practitioners, despite being bound to necromancery and it’s dark arts, and their friendly relationship with the Wrad, Usomans do not interact with these elements often, and if they do, they don’t always really mind it. On some level, every race and peoples in what is now Usoma has interacted with the dark magic of the Shadowed Faith, and most do not flinch at the sight of their morbid arts. Magic is yet still deeply distrusted by high society, and is regulated on some level by local overseers.

Wrad live in specialized towers and centers which they perform their dark arts to produce WP-33 and craft magical foci, materials, and create defensive rituals for the Usomans. Usoman Wrads keep their undead servants and themselves locked within cryogenic haunted towers which allows them produce their heavy industries and aid in town management. These Wrad are separate and considered traitor by their fellow Wrad who live within the great ruins, and have a strong loyalty to the Usomans. However, the Usomans deeply distrust the Wrad, but dare not act out hostility towards the wraiths.

Limitations of Magic
While the power of dark magic and necromancery sounds on paper to be grandoise in it's design, there are large limitations to it. Magic to Usomans is exhausting, the more power one puts into spells and rituals exhausts them quickly and if unprepared, can ultimately kill the mage. The dead in Usoma are many, but finding the bodies and using them is a different issue all together. While for the Wrad this task is simple, not every shadow shaman summons undead minions, simply due to the fact that even in a culture where necromancery is accepted, it remains taboo and rarely used. Only the hostile Wrad kingdoms will use necromancery on a grand level to bolster their economies and armies. There is also yet another danger, which is the miscast of spells. Spells always have a chance, especially the blood magic of Zuuldrick, to backfire horribly upon the caster and their allies. Powerful summons can quickly turn on their masters, conjurations of sudden madness can instead inspire bloodlust and courage, and so on. Due to these limitations, magic is used only in hard or desperate circumstances and with a great deal of care. Younger apprentices are simply forbidden from being put into armies out of fear their wild conjurations can quickly turn a victory into a defeat.

Schools of Magic

Magic Schools

Necromancery
Necromancery is the school of animation of what was once living, such as raising the dead into wraiths, revenants, and skeletal beings. Necromancery is also the school of communing with spirits, or using them to aid in various tasks. Just as necromancery is used to summon a small hoard of undead workmen or soldiers, so it can be used to haunt and empower ghostly engines and devices.
Hydromancery
Hydromancery is the magic school directly associated with water, and thus those who practice hydromancery can manipulate about any source of liquid and water to a reasonable degree.
Dark Arcanic
Dark Arcanic is a powerful, but also poisonous, magic school. Dark Arcanic is a necrotic school of magic, allowing those to combine shadowy magic to burn enemies, teleport, or create bubbles of protection. The school is similar to other arcanic schools in spellwork, but their magic uses a shadowy form which occasionally poisons its user over time.
Plague
Plague is a very rare spell school found in Usoma, but it does exist amongst practicing shadow shamans. Plague spells manipulate viral infections and deadly plagues, either moving them, improving them, or removing them. The latter is far more used then the former, making those who use it excellent healers.
Frozen
Frozen schools is the magic school, as the name implies, the school of lowering temperatures, summoning blizzards, and conjuring ice.
Lunar
Lunar magic is a rare magic school, which while it does sound arcane, Lunar magic in Usoma correlates with rune making and the night. Lunar magic is used to empower objects to work better during the moon's cycles. Lunar magic is also used to conjure beams of burning light during the night at enemies, but the magic is only known to the Wrad Heralds who use runic magic in their weapons.
Blood Magic
Blood Magic is the primary school of magic for occultists and the priests of Zuuldrick. Blood magic uses a large variety of magic, which is empowered by blood or uses blood in some capacity. Blood magic can be devastating, but its use is risky and devastating to the long lived. No undead being uses blood magic and is blocked from using it.
Conjuration
Conjuration is a magic school of conjuring beings from other places beyond reality into the known reality. The more powerful the summon, the more taxing it is, and even then most summons require special rituals for them to remain under someone's control.
Far Sight
Shadow shamans practice a magic school of far sight, or the ability to see into the future and have true sight to some degree. Far Sight is a double edged sword, much like conjuration, because what is seen in the future may not be the same series of events.

Undead and Summons

Monsters of Usoma

Skeleton (Undead)
The long decayed dead are easily frozen in the arctic lands of Usoma and thus are often prime candidates for apprentice necromancers to dabble in. Skeletal warriors are fragile, frail, and easy to overcome for most peoples. Skeletal beings are less likely to retain intelligence unlike Revenants, and thus are not relied on for most purposes. Using skeletal warriors are however very good for most infantry positions if tolerated, due to the rare instance of them crumbling being shot from afar.
Dark Ranger (Undead)
The ritual work for dark rangers is a terrifying one, requiring a great deal of materials to make. Dark Rangers are skeletal beings who can 'glide' between shadows, capable of small forms of teleportation so long as a place is dark, and fire ranged weapons from a distance or stab their enemies in the back. The functionality of dark rangers makes them more like constructs then undead, being very methodical in their movements and targets.
Revenant (Undead)
Revenants are frozen zombified humanoids raised into undeath, retaining much of their own intelligence at some level. Revenants are incredibly durable and survive in frozen terrain, and become the common footsoldiers for most Liches and Necromancers. Due to their ability to retain intelligence, they are enslaved by magic to do military and civil tasks. Most Revenants decay very slowly due to Usoma's weather, and the spell work put into retain their internal temperatures at freezing.
Ice Golem (Construct)
Ice Golems are constructs, summoned into the world by hydromancers, from ice and tundra. Ice Golem spellwork has two known levels, sudden and long lasting. Sudden ice golems are short lived, often melting away eventually or decaying over time, and are typically haphazardly made from different chunks. Long lasting ice golems on the other hands are made over several months of dedicated spell work to keep their temperature magically secure to prevent decay. Regardless, these tanking constructs pound their enemies with icey fists.
Wendigo (Fae)
The strongest Liches are known to summon into the world horrors known as Wendigoes, horrifying stag-like creatures which walk on their hind legs, are constantly decaying, and have massive rending claws. They are summoned into the world by Liches in times of battle and death, and disappear when the fighting ceases due to their nature. Some Wendigoes may stay for long periods of time, but they view the physical world as 'barren' and 'lacking', and prefer to return to their own realm. The creatures in physical combat are durable and can rend armor with ease, but their secondary effects are most terrifying. Wendigoes constantly emit a aura of undeath which slowly but surely raises the dead around them into their service, and their aura also emits a powerful blizzard which engulfs those around them. Outside of battle, they eat the dead and others ceaselessly in everlasting hunger. It is known that Wendigoes tend to be immensely cruel, corrupting pregnant women with their blessings to turn their children into strong cannibalistic creatures, sharing long life and stag horns, along with a natural gift of necromancery. Most of these abominations do not last long out in the real world, and are called Yul'Wendigo.
Spawn (Fae)
Those who commune with the god Zuuldrick sometimes can conjure into the world unearthly semi-aquatic horrors known as Spawn, the children of Zuuldrick. Spawn are abominable creatures with the head of a hermit crab, the legs of a goat, the body of a fish, and wings like a bat. These very strong and fast swimming horrors are often in a constant state of bloodlust, attacking anything within sight with rending claws. Spawn are much however like a two edged sword, and can just as easily turn on it's summoner and their allies. Spawn do not truly stop fighting till they are either dead or 'appeased', which is usually a demand of blood sacrifices to appease their 'father' and the submission of the community, and the death of the summoner who summoned it. Those who peacefully negociate with it are rewarded with endowed strength and a cure for their diseases. Humanoids who can go toe to toe alone with Spawn are often spared by them, and are offered 'gifts' by them to bring them into Zuuldrick's bloody embrace.
Ghast (Undead)
Ghasts are ghostly beings which are bound souls, normally passively made by necromancers due to their power and rituals. Ghasts are whispering spirits who commune in places of strong death or intense anguish, granting advice and curses alike to those they deem fit. Ghasts are immortal but otherwise powerless except for those who directly harm their 'homes' from within their sight. Those who are cursed by them become haunted, with the ghasts attempting to kill them by turning them to madness or weakening them to the point where they can be possessed.
Wraith (Undead)
Wraiths are undead beings who's soul had become attached to the world, and must rely on a set of cloths or armor to give them a physical form. Without this form, the wraith will decay and die, and are otherwise completely invisible to the naked eye. Wraiths are powerful beings who cannot be harmed by normal weapons, and are inherently gifted in magic. Wraiths also retain nearly all of their intelligence, but their personalities are gone completely. Wraiths can range in power and in skill, but those who were able to retain their old physical bodies often become corrupted by their magic, taking on a almost warped appearance, and also are gifted with a more powerful form of magic.
Ursa (Fae)
Priests of Ishala and Zuuldrick are known to conjure spells of the Ursa, powerful ursine spirits which dwell as guardians in the arctic north. Ursas are powerful, durable, and fast ursine-like beasts which are conjured by shadow shamans in desperation to defend communities, but at a considerable price for the shadow shaman's own life. Ursas are nearly resistant to most forms of physical weapons, and can conjure arctic mists to hide their movement. Ursas will guard communities, families, and cities if need be until they are truly defeated, and will stay with these communities forever. Ursas often provide boons to these peoples as well, conjuring schools of fish during times of famine or chasing away other predators and summoned horrors when they prowl the community. Ursas are the hated enemy of the Wendigo and deeply despise them, and will often attack them on sight.
Ice Witch (Fae)
Ice Witches are fae horrors which are conjured by Liches for the rare purpose. Ice Witches resemble blue, beautiful, women of various humanoid races. These creatures can provide much, bending what they need to to provide a reasonable wish granting fulfillment, but they come at terrible prices. Ice Witches often require blood to perform their rituals, specific blood in fact. If a Ice Witch is displeased, they have full reign to take one's soul as their own, and their magic is on par with that of Liches. These cretans tend to live for long periods of time in caves and ruins when summoned, preferring to 'gather' from local communities. However, due to their nature as trouble makers and soul stealers, often providing haphazard wishes, they are hunted down by nearly every race when given the chance. Liches are the only ones known to summon them, and even then most do it out of desperation.

History

History

Okan City States
The first civilizations in what is now Usoma were normally nomadic tribes and tribal settlements along the coasts, but only the Okan seemed to build civilized walled cities and traded with the outside world. Wrad attacks on the cities were constant, and the Wildar, Tusab, and Okan joined forces to defeat the wraiths and drive them back into the inner arctic. In the later age, humans arrived in steady droves and began to live among the northern settlements as a tribal people, becoming the Kevians. The Kevians grew rapidly in number and settled much of the land and disrupted the land’s balance. Attempts to drive them out failed, and their culture settled close in relationships with the Tusab.
First March
From an unknown nation, a large force of colonists with impressive technology landed in what is now Ugolanbrav and set up camps, seeking to exploit the huge fur and ivory trade in the region. The colonial government started as only a few settlers and missionaries, but soon grew to be populated with merchants, hunters, and craftsmen. However, a federation of Okan cities began making demands of the colony, and some high nobles raised armies to claim the human settlement, and the assaults on Ugolanbrav failed due to bad weather. Believing their city threatened, their parent nation sent in a massive amount of reinforcements to the colony and began laying siege to several Okan city states and destroyed them, and took many of their people as captives. When Tusab and Kevian armies of tribals were raised, both forces met in the Battle of Ikar Pass, where a chokepoint prevented Usoman forces from being overrun and protected them from the weather, and wiped out the tribal army. The colony expanded further, and its successes in battle granted the colony further prestige and immigration.
Seperation
At the height of the colony’s power and the start of it’s industrialization, the colonies were hit by a sudden blizzard which blocked off all trade routes and overland passes, trapping the Neusians inside the winter city of Ugolanbrav. Wide spread disease, famine, and rioting led to the colony’s near collapse, and only the intervention of a very strong handed militia saved it from total annihilation. Unable to break through the ice caps which blocked trade, and likely abandoned and thought dead, the colony dedicated itself to their own survival and began building barriers and using available resources to survive the arctic land on their own, while keeping their own civilized society. Yet, drastic actions made generations of Neusians more authoritative, barbaric, and cruel as they became more aggressive towards their tribal neighbors who harassed them in their weakness. Only a strong fortress and guns kept the tribal armies at bay.
Survival
Over the course of several generations, scraps of new technology trickled into Usoma as the survivalist cities expanded under new overseers. With no real access for trade, a demand for total population control and organization transformed their society. In desperate need for new bodies, the Usomans began kidnapping and integrating Kevian tribals and using enslaved beastfolk to work their cities. Day by day was a need for survival, but their tactics did work and allowed them to survive brutal snow storms that would have otherwise wiped out their society. Having long since forgotten their old faith, the Usomans brought the faith of the natives to their own people to access their use of magic, and send out explorers back into the open world to bring back new technology and attempt to keep contact with the open world. After many failures to re-establish relations with the world around them, the Usomans had simply given up and spent their resources expanding their own cities and fighting off tribal raiders.
Okan-Marcher War
Ugolanbrav did not openly seek expansion, but under Overseer Tomas Brokov, the Usomans looked enviously at the Okan city states which had remained neutral during the first march. Facing a supply shortage of food, which the Okan could fix, the Usomans attempted to negotiate with the Okan. However, the envoys sent to the beastfolk were attacked by Kevian ambushers allied to the Okan city states, and survivors placed the blame on the Okan themselves. A army was gathered in Ugolanbrav and marched on the remaining Okan cities and decimated them. However, the walls of these cities were kept up and repaired, and the Okan people were not butchered, but rather enslaved. Many of these Okan city states were repurposed as new Osoman cities. The end of the Okan cities saw the Okan reduced to a slave race, a fact not forgotten by the Beastfolk tribes.
The White War
Several years after the Okan-Marcher war, a federation of Tusab, Wildar, and Kevian tribes united under the common purpose to drive out the Usomans and restore the Okan cities. The war was a utter disaster for the federation, as during this time, democratic movements and religious zealots had planned to rise up against the authoritarian overseers but were instead silenced by the invasion. The tribal armies, while brave, were slaughtered by superior guns and tactics of the Usoman troops, who employed their first White Guard units to assault the tribal sieges and successfully prevent the destruction of their cities. Pushing back the tribes was costly and the victories ended up being futile. The same new authoritarian pushes enslaved and butchered prisoners, only enhancing the binding of the tribal federation to keep fighting the Usomans. While ultimately victorious against the tribes, the Federation remained a large and real threat and a major rival of the country.
Defense of Sigrad
Sensing weakness, shortly after the White War, the Wrad summoned their own host and began raising dead to destroy the city of Sigrad and were nearly successful in purging it. The Wrad’s undead host met weakened and injured troops, and their fresh hoards of undead were very close to overrunning the city. Yet, stubborn and suicidal bravery won out and the line held against the vast undead push on Sigrad, which was able to call for reinforcements. Several elite and experienced armies surrounded and crushed the Wrad forces in a close battle below the city, and killed a Horned Wrad with the aid of the legendary Arctic Magi, Kulvin Byr. After success in the defense, the society became ever more paranoid and ever more enthralled beneath the hand of the overseers who declared the victories. Any sign of disobedience was swiftly removed, and the new influx of slaves from the captives of the White War gave a large economic boost to their country for years to come.
Second March
Many years later, after a large scale industrial revolution which transformed and greatly expanded Usoman cities and societies, the country became comfortable enough to challenge the Northern Federation for full control of the territory. Under the leadership of Overseer Kulban, several combined armies of Usomans destroyed the major outposts and groves of the Wildar and all but annihilated the last free holds of the Kevians, and brought both into slavery. Kulban used diplomacy and intrigue to crush the federation rather then his already impressive military might, using spies to sow distrust between the Tusab and Wildar who were natural enemies. The second march ended in victory and the federation was disbanded. Usoma was formally remade into a more unified country under Kulban, and quickly asserted himself as Grand Overseer in Ugolanbrav.
The Wrad Civil War
During the midst of the second march, the Wrad had begun a mysterious and little known civil war which broke their entire civilization in half. A faction of Wrad challenged their king over political and religious issues, and of the two major Horned Wrads who rebelled, only one and their followers escaped a purge of their cities. This group fled, in desperation, to the Usoman capital of Ugolanbrav and demanded sanctuary. Overseer Kulban banished the group and nearly chased them out, but the group found safety within the city of Okadius, who’s overseer became intrigued by their magic and profited from their crafts. The Wrad rebels became the Usoman Wrad and were accepted slowly over time after Kulban’s passing, and eventually became a regular sight amongst the richer cities.
Reintroduction
Only recently did the eternal blizzard which blocked the sea and land routes to Usoma become heated and explorers began to go beyond their cities to rediscover the world. Their first contacts were limited, but they quickly reinvigorated trade and relationships with the outside world, trading their huge supplies of coal, fur, and ivory for new technology and trade goods. Unwilling and unable to expand, the overseers have retained a neutral position with the world, but many looks to warmer climates with worry and envy.

Nation Relations
Universally, the Lands of Usoma is deeply uninterested with the affairs of other nations, normally being dedicated to their own survival, but the warmer world has been a fascination in spite of propaganda presented by the government. Usoma is not at all hostile, and instead, are very often interested in trade and technology of others. Usoman leadership is always looking for a way to increase comforts of home so their people do not leave for warmer lands and outright bar immigration to other countries.

Ashes of the Old World (A Dieselpunk Nation Roleplay)

Flag WIP

Marcher Empire of Usoma

Martial Authoritarian Dictatorship

Head of Government
=-=Kedican Whilstov=-=

Leader Info

-Neusian
-Grand Overseer of Usoma
-Kedican is the 4th Grand Overseer of Usoma, nicknamed The Ready for recent handlings of food shortages across the country. His wealth, prestige, and young age has made him considered a successful ruler so far, and he often keeps a small retinue of personal servants, advisers, and councillors in his care. His great modiviation is to grow Usoma into a truly modernized country, one in which will one day surpass its neighbors and become a power on the world stage, an ambition which is only stopped by the concerns of the Wrad, Tribals, and new social factions which have propped up.

Economy

Economic Info

Imports

Oil
Spices
Wood
Weapons
Winter Vehicles
Peat
Beer
Bronze
Insulation Materials
Education Materials

Exports

Ivory
Fur
Iron
Stone
Winter Cloths
Winter Supplies
Coal
Ship Supplies
Magic Foci

Northern Industries
Usoma is home to a number of native industries, most of them expanded and exploited from Kevian, Okan, and Tusab economies. While fishing and whaling is the more traditional industries, Neusian cities provide almost everything else, having large factories and workshop districts which help Usoman life continue. Normally, these facotries are built together, so a factory which may produce tools may also be close to a factory which processes sheet metal. Usomans hold high value to recycling and replaceable parts, and the trade goods they produce often reflect this. Usomans tend to produce an abundance of ship supplies. Interestingly, one of the more successful industries in Usoma is controlled primarily by Usoman Wrad, who fund their tireless research by creating and selling magical foci on markets.
Dependence Taxation
There really isn’t a obvious currency in Usoma, with most cities and towns having their own currency system. Instead, the universally accepted currency are ‘dependence tokens’. These tokens are spent on food and the ability to shelter within the cities, and if someone runs out or is unable to pay, they are likely to be thrown out. The government at the end of every year produces more tokens and distributes it amongst the people in the city, and bring a couple tokens back every half year as proof of work ethics and dedication. Ever since being introduced back into the world, dependence tokens are often used as barter, even though most Usoman merchants keep bags of other currency for trade since it's more likely most foreign merchants do not look favorably on the metal tokens.
Usoman Trade
Usomans did not have a real means of interacting with the outside world only until recently, and most of the cities of Usoma were built over the only civilizations who would trade with them. Trade is often only conducted within the ports, within trader enclaves which allows foreigners to stay but are often on the short end of supplies. Most Usoman traders are encouraged to stay and trade within Usoma, with overseers fearful that they will leave for foreign shores and never return. Usomans are normally gullible with trade, and tend to do poorly with most transactions due to their culture and history. Trade often is very simplistic between Usoman cities, trading one train of supply at face value for another for the needs of survival or for comfort. While most trade goods are legal, addictive drugs are brutally cracked down upon by the Militia.

Unique Technologies

Unique Tech

Wightpower/WP-33
The Wrad control the monopoly that is Wightpower, a form of enhanced coal with very strong, and extremely deadly, magical properties which glows with a pale blue light when burned. WP-33 is used in many more advanced materials and in some weapons. The magical coal is slow burning, and when touched or interacted with, it can swiftly and suddenly freeze, poison, and necrotize living flesh which is why only the Wrad handle it. When used as fuel in engines, they can create powerful freezing auras which bite through even winter cloths, or if handled correctly, can be used as strong fuel which can last for hundreds of years. The process of making WP-33 is mysterious but also dreadfully slow, and often requires loads of coal to make a single piece.

Primary Species
Kevian (Human)
-Kevians are a pale skinned people which dwell as a native human culture which is dominant in the north. Kevians, due to having lived in the harsh lands which is Usoma for so long, have adopted a very basic and tribalistic lifestyle dedicated to survival in the cold wastes. However, intergration policies have essentially made them a second class people despite being a very heavy majority, but are above the role of slave. Kevians hold no love or affinity for the Neusians, whom they view as cruel, weak, and decadent with their coal engine cities and walled settlements. Kevian is a divided culture, with hundreds if not thousands of sub cultures based around smaller tribal groupings.
Neusian (Human)
-Neusians are the face of Usoma despite having the smallest percentage of the population, which dwell primarily in cities. Being white, but not as pale as Kevians, they are a people dedicated to living and profiting from their northern burrows. Neusians are deeply connected to Usoma but do not consider themselves a happy or superior people. Most Neusians are very authoritarian minded due to their nation’s history of dedication through organization, and due to their mistreatment of most non-Neusians who dwell in their society. Neusians themselves value both survival and organization, and most are culturally are very experienced engineers.

Population
-35 Million
-Kevian (63%)
-Okan (9%)
-Wildar (9%)
-Tusab (8%)
-Wrad (6%)
-Neusian (5%)

Other Populations

Okan (Beastfolk)
-Okan are a small peoples, only about 3’5 feet tall at best, and have a strong resemblance to sea otters in both appearance and in phycology. Okan have thick fur and can swim with gliding motion in the open water, and are thus very much a coastal people. Okan are emotionally very playful, curious, and have very pacifist in their beliefs. Okan are culturally very familial and were the most advanced society in what is now Usoma, their destroyed cities were made the bedrock of current Usoma cities. Most Okan are now mostly slaves or servants, used mostly as fishers which feed the cities themselves.

Wildar (Beastfolk)
-Wildar are large creatures, around 7’5 feet tall on average, resembling a cross between wolverines and bears. Wildar are thick furred and are nearly immune from most arctic conditions, and are immensely strong, known to hunt large predators or food and furs regularly. Wildar are by their own nature immensely pious, deeply distrustful, and are arch enemies of most races in the Usoma. Culturally, Wildar are nomadic, their tribes mostly travel between groves and are more likely to fight amongst themselves unless a common threat destroys a tribe or threatens their balance. Usoma often raids the tribes for slave labor, mostly used for construction or heavy labor.

Tusab (Beastfolk)
-The Tusab are the most humanoid of the Usoma Beastfolk, but not by much comparison. They resemble Walruses with humanoid features, having legs and arms which are proportionate to their already very heavy bodies. Tusab have large tusks, and much of their body is made of flubber which keeps them well conditioned for their arctic home. Tusab are culturally a martial tribal society, with mostly coastal settlements which they hunt penguin, seal, and whales. Tusab are very closely related in culture to the Kevians, their people however are much less reliant on warm cloths and the Tusab are far more likely to raid and challenge their ancient enemy, the Wildar, in raids. Tusab however have a fatal condition in which when one of their peoples become overly stressed or is put into a heated room, they are likely to overheat and swiftly die. Due to this condition, Usoma is authorities are more likely to hire out Tusab tribes as whalers, unless technology or magic allows them to get around their fatal condition, then otherwise their fate is much more similar to that of the Wildar.

Wrad (Undead)
-The Wrad are a mysterious and disturbing race of wraiths which specifically dwell in the middle country of Usoma, amongst many stone ruins and within small enclaves. Little is known of them except that their physical forms have long since perished, and only visible by black cloaks and silver armor which ‘bind them’ to the world. As Wraiths, Wrads are immensely gifted mages and even more experienced necromancers who ‘procreate’ by corrupting others. Those of the highest skills in their magic grow stag-like horns and become rulers amongst them. Wrad thrive off arctic temperature and rarely leave their undead homes. Culturally, Wrad often tend to live solitary lives through intense study, and live in a strange stuck loop which dwells between a medieval peoples to modern urbanites. Usoma employ many Wrad as mages for their gifted magic, as the Wrad have only ever been diplomatic with the Usoma government.

Culture

Culture

Appearance
Usomans are in a constant winter wasteland, and are always at any time well clothed for such conditions. It isn’t abnormal for Usoman commoners to wear two sets of winter coats. Most Usoman dresses have lamp lights attached to them, making it easier for them to be spotted, which can be critical during a devastating snow storm. Usomans are not known to bathe well, nor shave, and tend to grow long and unkept beards and hair. Commonly, most Usomans are typically very fit, with very limited if eradicated signs of obesity. Due to how little most outsiders see in most Usoman dress and common wear, its considered both weird and a sign of wealth for a Usoman or outsider to go around their city in little more than common suits or comfortable clothing.
Craftsmanship
Usoman cities are very tight nit, well insulated, and are made with very limited resources. Due to the climate they survive in, Usomans are near religious in their demands for organization, and will accept nothing less in both their building and craftsmanship. If a resource can be saved, then the Usomans will take it. Buildings tend to be made from a splash of different materials, with Kevian settlements often made from seal skin and whale bone, and more advanced Neusian cities made from local stone, wood, and metal. Usomans value neither quality nor quantity, but they do favor cheap and replaceable goods over ornate or half broken equipment. Rifles, tools, and artifacts made in Usoma tend to be of average quality and is made specifically to be resistant to arctic temperatures.
Traditions
Usoman traditions is a blend of the Neusian and Kevian survival tactics which had helped both cultures survive. Usomans rarely if ever bury their dead, but still are uneasy with abandoning bodies. Usomans will instead use a old Okan burial system, often throwing the dead into the sea and letting thme sink to underwater graves, where their remains can be used as fish bait. Usomans do not marry as much as simply declare partnership, with any rituals revolving around love often being very limited. Usomans of Kevian descent tend to go on long hunting trips which can last years, which partially acts as spiritual journeys to explore their homeland. Most Beastfolk who live as slaves often lose their culture and are caught up in the general Usoman culture, but they hold more intricate, but yet still basic, traditions from their own people’s past.
Family
Usoma is a cruel place, which can quickly kill if one isn’t careful. Due to high mortality rates regardless of growth or healthcare, Usoman family life is not one to be desired. Most are contained to small families, but concepts such as bloodlines is quickly lost, and is more based on simply who lives within the same apartment. Slaves, neighbors, and vagabonds living in the same space can be considered ‘family’, with a high emphasis on adoption. Usoman family units favor bright and best, and are very quick to abandon cripples, weak, and dumb. It isn’t uncommon for children, especially cripples or mentally challenged, to be simply thrown out of their homes. Ideas of kinship usually only survive in richer residences and amongst very familial Beastfolk communities.
Rights
Usoma is a deeply authoritarian society, with rules and laws which directly influences most lives and commands them like pawns. The idea of ‘rights’ is a laughable notion, but it doesn’t mean Usomans do not look for it. With Usoma being a ordered society, there is a racial hierarchy with the Neusians solely at the top, and everyone else being little more than slaves. Usomans treat their women with equality, but there is limitations to certain fields for Woman, such as soldiering. Due to beliefs that complications with sex and pregnancy can greatly impact units abilities to fight, woman are normally barred from the army, but many serve in supportive roles. Homosexuals, atheists, and those of differing religions are tolerated but are discouraged from speaking publicly. Those who oppose the government are persecuted harshly.
Laws
Laws in Usoma are protected by a group of local Militia, and each city has different militias, with different rules attached to them. While some practice due process to the letter, others are cruel and corrupt in policy. Most city centers have makeshift public halls which act as courtrooms in which defendants often have to defend themselves from the fury of the Militias, and if proven guilty, crimes can range from permanent enslavement to slow and torturous execution. There are two favored methods of execution, one in which victims are given only their undergarments and are tied to frozen posts outside the city; and another in which they are dunked into a waist high water pit with frozen temperatures.
Phycology
Much like how Usoma is a cruel and brutal place to live, so are the Usomans a cruel and brutal peoples. Neusians and Kevians both consider themselves a superior peoples for having survived in the frozen hell, and are both proud (in very different ways) of the success of building civilization here. Usoma’s long history of defeating the non-human peoples has paved a way to a general belief of the inferiority of Beastfolk and Undead, a opinion shared by many Beastfolk slaves. Usomans are not however very proud that they feel very debased, feeling almost unbelonging to the world, and while there are lands clearly with warmer climates, they are far too attached to the nation they built. Many also are overly proud and stubborn, mostly brought on by propaganda.
Entertainment
Believing themselves pragmatic, the Usoman culture is very reliant on pub life which revolves around cheap liquor. Pubs become centers of many forms of culture, being large and expansive structures dedicated to all avenues of entertainment. Brothels, pubs, theater, music centers, all is seen within Usoman tavern. The only thing not found in Usoman taverns is bloodsport, but fighting pits are especially prevalent amongst military camps. Most Usomans, if asked, tend to enjoy ranging out in the cold, hunting and sledding in the free cold air.
Education
Education is a bit of a tricky issue which has its ups and downs, and is entirely dependent on the city. Most cities don’t have dedicated education centers, as most teaching is done between parent and child, or between master and apprentice. Since most children end up in their caretaker’s career, it's a issue which isn’t fully explored. However, the richer coastal cities do have universities and school systems, which specialize in engineering fields, military history, and political pragmatism. Educational elite however are very ill trusted by overseers, and normally it is teacher unions who end up forming powerful political factions which prop up issues.
Slavery
Slavery was adopted very early in Usoman history as a means of dealing with the native Beastfolk. Most if not all non-humans within Usoman society are slaves, being branded on the cheek with the city’s symbol, given a rope loop as a collar with a metal tag for identification attached to it, and are housed in special enclaves or are chained to their work benches in order to do gruelling work hours. Personal servitude amongst slaves is preferable, but is extremely rare. Most slaves, depending on their race, are divided amongst different labors. Okan are used for fishing, farming, cooking, and mundane tasks. Wildar will be used in heavy construction and heavy labor, and are sometimes joined by Tusab if they somehow are bought and do not die within 24 hours due to heat stress. The only race not ‘truly’ enslaved are the Wrad, who are often given their own specialized enclaves to aid in unique technological research, and are more or less treated as allies by some cities. Individual ownership of slaves is very rare, often only reserved for the richest, and for merchants. Slaves are never sold, but they can be bought if there is another nation selling.
Food
Arctic living doesn’t often do well to the most balanced diets, especially to those who do not have a great deal to go on. Most non-humans have very simple diets, often consisting of meat or fish, with some winter berries. Human cuisine is however at least cooked, often lacking in spices. As depressing as the food is, Usoman policy often demands quick and cheap meals, so most cuisine is often limited to soups. Only the very rich tend to buy outlandish food from other nations, and there is always a high demand for better food from the more richer cities. It is a stereotype that Usomans will cannibalize, a rumor which is very clearly false.
Transportation
Cities do not have a means of transportations outside of walking and hiking, and in the honest truth often is that any form of transportation in Usoma is underdeveloped. Snow vehicles are at best used for military purposes, usually with reinforced snow treads with plow attachments. The fastest and most effective way to travel is either by skiing or by sledding from place to place. Several cities are connected by a cable system which allows quick transportation of goods and people, but most outline outposts and settlements can only be reached via long hikes. Banditry amongst these routes are very high, especially with threats from Wildar raiders who steal supplies and eat Usoman scouts.
Language
Neusian language is a very odd mix of their old language with Kevian coastal languages, giving them a very gutteral speech. The main language is Neusian, but there is several ‘secret languages’ used by the rich, overseers, and military officers. The Wrad’s ancient and dead language is taught by local Neusian military officals and is used by their language corps for coded messages, since the Wrad language is by all means considered mostly dead and kept by the Wrad themselves. Beastfolk languages are often in the hundreds in terms of dialects, each Okan civilization having had their own language which is still practiced even to this day.
Pets and Companionship
Pets are considered rather wasteful if they aren’t being used for a specific purpose. Cats and dogs are preferable pets for Usomans, with cats hunting rodents, and dogs being used for hunting. Usomans will not think twice with eating their pets in times of emergency, an unfortunate reality. Beastfolk, oddly enough, keep very specific pets pending on their race. Tusab will nearly always keep domesticated penguins and tamed polar bears, Okan tame sea otters and seals, and Wildar tend to herd wolverines. While slaves in Usoman cities are not allowed to keep pets, this rule is overlooked by fishing guilds who keep Okan, and tend to even supply Okan with sea otters and seals to train to help herd fish into their nets.

The Shadowed Faith

Religion

Religion
The Shadowed Faith is a northern religion which descends either from the Wildar or Wrad, no one is truly sure, but nearly every pious man in the north knows and worships the pantheon of gods there. Usoma does not have a strong religious bias, and many overseers themselves and higher officials are cynical at best, and rabid atheists at worst, but many often see value of religion in their society and thus allow them credence. The faith is often considered incredibly occultish due to their often secretive and morbid rituals, and communion with outworldly forces. Very little is known about the faith, even to most of its practitioners, and there is certainly no sense of unity amongst its followers.
Gods
There are three primary gods in the shadowed faith; Azan’ag, Ishala, and Zuuldrick. Azan’ag, the father of the gods, is depicted as a wraith itself which covers itself over the whole of the world, a god of peace, afterlife, death, finality, and magic. Ishala is the goddess of winter, healing, and is considered the mother of civilization and a caring god. Zuuldrick is a war god, often depicted as a monstrous sea crustacean, worshipped as a god of blood, destruction, reckoning, war, and justice. All three gods are never depicted as evil or having malus towards mortals, but the gods are often demanding and just. In spite of Azan’ag being the chief of the gods, most Usoman clergy favor Ishala and her schools of magic.
Beliefs
The Shadowed faith is a form of religion which is very meditative on the philosophy and purpose of life, and many general beliefs resound in such ways. Shadow worshippers do not believe in persecution unless harm is directed towards them, but they are not outside of pacifist by any means. Shadow worshippers believe they are always being punished in a mortal way, and the only way to achieve peace is by following a path of honor, truth, and glory. Those who die are said to be taken by either of the gods and is often pending on their death. Azan’ag is said to visit those dying and brings them to the peaceful Beyond Lands, a place of sleeping souls who live beneath warm trees and the sun. Those taken by Ishala are said to see a bright light and had lived innocent lives, such as children and young soldiers, and are taken to her winter forest palace where they dwell with their families. However, those who had done wicked things or were direct worshippers of Zuuldrick are taken to his watery home beneath the abyss where they serve him in eternal fighting and dying.
Rituals
Ceremonies are mostly rare for those who practice the shadowed faith, but rituals do exist. Services are often very personal, where the local shadow shaman will help with a birth and cover houses of newborn pious families with pine cones and ashes for protection against evil spirits. Warriors who wish the gods blessings also visit shadow shaman's for guidance and drugs to aid them if they are killed. Sacrifices are not openly practiced except by free Tusab clans who primarily worship the god Zuuldrick, sacrificing prisoners and slaves for his favor. When children grow into adulthood, it is expected of them to make a journey to the lair of a shadow shaman and receive the gods guidance along with advice from their blood ancestors.
Shadow Shamans
Those who are gifted in magic become shadow shamans within the shadowed faith. Slave or free, peasant or noble, any who show signs of early magic give their children to shadow shaman's to train as new shadow shamans. Shadow shamans live in poverty and are reliant on the food and aid of others, but their services in both ceremony and magic is worth the effort. Despite being looked on as necromancers, most shadow shamans use differing forms of magic which ranges from hydromancery to the arcane, necromancery is more or less considered a known but ill used art. Shadow shamans who set off beyond communities to practice their arts become necromancers, and are considered more or less outcasts rather then heretics.
Liches
The most powerful and skilled shadow shamans are called by their gods in dreams to make their journey into icy wastes on spiritual hikes. Those who return become Liches, ascending beyond death and becoming masters in the the arcane arts. Liches are not considered enemies as much as they are powerful beings who roam the land of Usoma and occasionally aid them, but their aid is often rare and reserved for the truly pious. Liches are however incredible masters of necromancery, and often hold themselves up in isolated ruins to continue their studies. Liches are regularly known to be both stupidly unhelpful or vague on most things, even with basic questions, and those seeking their immortal advice often leave far more confused than when they first asked. Horned Wrad are Liches by some extent, at least those who had retained their physical frozen bodies before having become wraiths.
Temples
Most temples of shadow worshippers are homes to the shadow shamans, and act as burial grounds for them as well. Most temples are teepees in which lay the remains of shadow shamans who had served in the community, revolving around a fire. Those who enter are said to commune with the dead and receive their advice. More modern temples are more like shrines, dedicated to Ishala, are located in the Usoman cities which act as homes for their priesthood.

Territories
Color: Dark Green
imgur.com/Oy9nBM7
Capital City: Ugolanbrav
Cities: Tenmarnan, Sigrad, Ghustbov, Okadius
Tusab Major Tribes: Bloodtusk, Bloodaxe, Wrecktusk
Major Wildar Tribes (Nomadic): Greycloak, Whitecloak, Blackcloak, Whitemane
Major Wrad Settlements: Cirul’olfa, Taga’suga

Climate
Usoma is a arctic wasteland made up primarily of snow laden hills, several tall mountain ranges, and a vast expanse of snow, ice, and protective forest groves scattered throughout. Wind chill can easily go down to -40 degrees, making much of the land hardly hospitable, but certain mountain ranges and coastal areas block out this hellish weather, making life much more bearable. Much of Inner Usoma is utterly impossible to thrive in, even for hardened races immune to the brutal cold, some temperatures around the Wrad ruins can go far below negatives, and blizzards are a regular occurence.

Military

Military

Recruitment
Due to the extreme authoritarian mindset of Usoman government, finding recruits for her armies is a easy enough task. Most citizens who do not have jobs outright are drafted quickly, mostly coming from Kevian background. Officers gather armies in a almost medieval style, often going between outposts and city districts to collect conscripts and bring them to the barracks to organize into a effective unit. Only richer cities have more disciplined and permanent armies, and even then, most of those are made up of elite militias. It is expected on some level that all Usomans know how to use a gun and to survive in the cold arctic tundra, with yearly training sessions mandatory for all citizens since the age of 12. Only the elderly are truly exempt from military duties, and slaves, women, and even prisoners often used in support roles and camp duties.
Organization
Usoma has a small population, and as such, the Usoman army is very small, disorganized, and is more adopt at facing far more passive threats then real armies. Having had no real threat besides themselves, the Usoman military core is made primarily of small elite units, and to conserve on ammunition, most units are more likely to be trained for accuracy. Usomans pride themselves on their elite winter units, and are commanded equally by proud officers, which is more of a curse then a boon. Usoman officers are well known to be cruel, ambitious, and stubborn. Usoman armies are divided amongst how many units a single city can field, not including local militias. In desperation, Usoman cities will hire out Beastfolk mercenaries, medieval troops who rely on tribal tactics.
Infantry

Infantry

Usoman Marines
The most basic infantry supplied by Usoman armies are the Usoman Marines, which are armed with rifles and brown overcoats. Marines are trained alongside White Guard as support units, and are supplied more or less for holding defensive positions. Usoman Marines are armed typically with large knives, used officially for hunting and chopping up meat on the move, and unofficially used for close quarters combat.
Usoman White Guard
The White Guard is the elite forces of Usoma, keeping their barracks within the richer cities. White Guard are granted white coats to camouflage into the arctic tundra, and are granted long range rifles and are trained for sniping and ambushing. Most White Guard units are armed with skis, along with having a usually a number of explosives and tools on their person. White Guard are used primarily for assaults and quick skirmishes on the open arctic snowy hills.
Usoman Grey Cloaks
Grey Cloaks are a secondary elite force used primarily for defense, identified by their long grey cloaks and iron armor. Grey Cloaks carry machines guns and handle most heavy equipment, Grey Cloaks belong to a special caste of scouts and marines who primarily handle Wildar, both in terms of bounties and capture. Due to their dangerous profession, most Grey Cloaks are allowed higher access to more advanced equipment, and it isn’t uncommon for overseers to grant them anti-tank rifles to help in their hunts.
Wrad Black Guard
More like allied mercenaries, Wrad wraiths have no real love for modern equipment, but when called upon to help fight for Usoma, they are seen from time to time as a elite unit upon the battlefield. Wraith infantry often tend to keep equipment more similar to that of marines, but they use magic to enchant their cloaks and weapons. Being hit by Black Guard bullets can have the infliction of necrotic poisons or freezing wounds. Black Guard, being wraiths, are also very durable but are thankfully rare.

Armaments

Armaments

Scouting Sleds
Most units of Usoma get around both their arctic home and the battlefield on powered sleds, which allows them to not expend energy or time on reaching their destinations, but it also allows them to drag along supplies with better ease in the arctic wastes.
Trek Gunner
Treks are large covered infantry vehicles designed to go onto the snow and ice, being light enough to crash into it and heavy enough to act as armor. Trek Gunners have machine guns or bunkers attached to them, allowing them to fire on the move, more useful for fighting the hostile forces of Usoma.
Wendigo Tank
Only one kind of tank is produced in Usoma, the Wendigo Tank. Wendigo Tanks are light tanks with heavier than normal armor, heavy insulation, and a very light gun. Wendigo Tanks have a large plow on both their front and back, allowing them to shovel heavy amounts of snow. Wendigo tanks are not very fast for light tanks, but are often used in defensive strategies. Usoman general tend to hide tanks underneath snow and camouflage them with white sheets.
Mortar Teams
Artillery teams are a common sight amongst Usoman armies, both on the defensive and on the attack. Mortar teams are often commanded by groups of marines, and are guarded by trenches or pits. Trek Gunners will sometimes gut space for a more mobile mortar team, but it greatly sacrifices their mobility.

Navy
Usoma supports only a small, but very important, fleet. The richer Usoman cities have their own war ports where several more modern ships had been bought and outfitted with proper gear which allows them to dredge through the arctic coastline with ease. These ships are used primarily for defense of their ports, and is used to help protect fishing lanes from Tusab raiders and their vast fleet of ships.
War Mages

War Mages

Arctic Magi
Of the military mages, the Arctic Maji is the most useful. Arctic Maji are priests of Ishala and thus command primarily powerful hydromancery and healing magic. Arctic Maji conjure waves of freezing water, can bind frozen elementals to their whim, and animate snow golems from the frozen ice around them. Outside of battle, they can spend their time healing many minor wounds and sucking away frostbite from soldiers. Most armies employ at least one Arctic Maji for the medical capabilities and to even lessen winter snows in Usoma to help drive the army forward, or make hellish conditions for their enemies.
Osulan Occultist
Occultists are members of an elite inner circle of warlocks dedicated to the god Zuuldrick, selling their immortal souls for his powers. Occultists outside war are researchers and elites, but are conscripted for their dark magic prowess. Occultists can conjure beasts from the sea, summon madness upon enemies, curse lands with dark magic, and perform dark rituals to summon forth evil spirits to manipulate the reality around them for a short time. However, the use of these powers is usually very limited, and can very quickly backfire. While an occultist can turn the tide of a battle with his magic, it can also spell doom if misused, resulting in the utter annihilation of the Usoman army.
Wrad Herald
Wrad shadow shamans and Liches who join the ranks of Usoma come in their own special variety known as Heralds. Heralds ride upon undead steeds of fallen polar bears, and wield medieval weapons enchanted with only the most fouled magic. They conjure powerful freezing magic and necromancery, very much capable of decimating small units single handedly and raising them as their slaves. Heralds are thankfully as rare as Wrad infantry, and their presence only inspires fear. Heralds always bring forth entire armies

Magic
Magic is heavily used and is well accepted in Usoma society, and the darker forms of magic such as necromancery and blood magic has been tolerated, even though many are sickened by it or simply do not know how prevalent it exists within their country. The Shadowed Faith and its practitioners, despite being bound to necromancery and it’s dark arts, and their friendly relationship with the Wrad, Usomans do not interact with these elements often, and if they do, they don’t always really mind it. On some level, every race and peoples in what is now Usoma has interacted with the dark magic of the Shadowed Faith, and most do not flinch at the sight of their morbid arts. Magic is yet still deeply distrusted by high society, and is regulated on some level by local overseers.

Wrad live in specialized towers and centers which they perform their dark arts to produce WP-33 and craft magical foci, materials, and create defensive rituals for the Usomans. Usoman Wrads keep their undead servants and themselves locked within cryogenic haunted towers which allows them produce their heavy industries and aid in town management. These Wrad are separate and considered traitor by their fellow Wrad who live within the great ruins, and have a strong loyalty to the Usomans. However, the Usomans deeply distrust the Wrad, but dare not act out hostility towards the wraiths.

Limitations of Magic
While the power of dark magic and necromancery sounds on paper to be grandoise in it's design, there are large limitations to it. Magic to Usomans is exhausting, the more power one puts into spells and rituals exhausts them quickly and if unprepared, can ultimately kill the mage. The dead in Usoma are many, but finding the bodies and using them is a different issue all together. While for the Wrad this task is simple, not every shadow shaman summons undead minions, simply due to the fact that even in a culture where necromancery is accepted, it remains taboo and rarely used. Only the hostile Wrad kingdoms will use necromancery on a grand level to bolster their economies and armies. There is also yet another danger, which is the miscast of spells. Spells always have a chance, especially the blood magic of Zuuldrick, to backfire horribly upon the caster and their allies. Powerful summons can quickly turn on their masters, conjurations of sudden madness can instead inspire bloodlust and courage, and so on. Due to these limitations, magic is used only in hard or desperate circumstances and with a great deal of care. Younger apprentices are simply forbidden from being put into armies out of fear their wild conjurations can quickly turn a victory into a defeat.

Schools of Magic

Magic Schools

Necromancery
Necromancery is the school of animation of what was once living, such as raising the dead into wraiths, revenants, and skeletal beings. Necromancery is also the school of communing with spirits, or using them to aid in various tasks. Just as necromancery is used to summon a small hoard of undead workmen or soldiers, so it can be used to haunt and empower ghostly engines and devices.
Hydromancery
Hydromancery is the magic school directly associated with water, and thus those who practice hydromancery can manipulate about any source of liquid and water to a reasonable degree.
Dark Arcanic
Dark Arcanic is a powerful, but also poisonous, magic school. Dark Arcanic is a necrotic school of magic, allowing those to combine shadowy magic to burn enemies, teleport, or create bubbles of protection. The school is similar to other arcanic schools in spellwork, but their magic uses a shadowy form which occasionally poisons its user over time.
Plague
Plague is a very rare spell school found in Usoma, but it does exist amongst practicing shadow shamans. Plague spells manipulate viral infections and deadly plagues, either moving them, improving them, or removing them. The latter is far more used then the former, making those who use it excellent healers.
Frozen
Frozen schools is the magic school, as the name implies, the school of lowering temperatures, summoning blizzards, and conjuring ice.
Lunar
Lunar magic is a rare magic school, which while it does sound arcane, Lunar magic in Usoma correlates with rune making and the night. Lunar magic is used to empower objects to work better during the moon's cycles. Lunar magic is also used to conjure beams of burning light during the night at enemies, but the magic is only known to the Wrad Heralds who use runic magic in their weapons.
Blood Magic
Blood Magic is the primary school of magic for occultists and the priests of Zuuldrick. Blood magic uses a large variety of magic, which is empowered by blood or uses blood in some capacity. Blood magic can be devastating, but its use is risky and devastating to the long lived. No undead being uses blood magic and is blocked from using it.
Conjuration
Conjuration is a magic school of conjuring beings from other places beyond reality into the known reality. The more powerful the summon, the more taxing it is, and even then most summons require special rituals for them to remain under someone's control.
Far Sight
Shadow shamans practice a magic school of far sight, or the ability to see into the future and have true sight to some degree. Far Sight is a double edged sword, much like conjuration, because what is seen in the future may not be the same series of events.

Undead and Summons

Monsters of Usoma

Skeleton (Undead)
The long decayed dead are easily frozen in the arctic lands of Usoma and thus are often prime candidates for apprentice necromancers to dabble in. Skeletal warriors are fragile, frail, and easy to overcome for most peoples. Skeletal beings are less likely to retain intelligence unlike Revenants, and thus are not relied on for most purposes. Using skeletal warriors are however very good for most infantry positions if tolerated, due to the rare instance of them crumbling being shot from afar.
Dark Ranger (Undead)
The ritual work for dark rangers is a terrifying one, requiring a great deal of materials to make. Dark Rangers are skeletal beings who can 'glide' between shadows, capable of small forms of teleportation so long as a place is dark, and fire ranged weapons from a distance or stab their enemies in the back. The functionality of dark rangers makes them more like constructs then undead, being very methodical in their movements and targets.
Revenant (Undead)
Revenants are frozen zombified humanoids raised into undeath, retaining much of their own intelligence at some level. Revenants are incredibly durable and survive in frozen terrain, and become the common footsoldiers for most Liches and Necromancers. Due to their ability to retain intelligence, they are enslaved by magic to do military and civil tasks. Most Revenants decay very slowly due to Usoma's weather, and the spell work put into retain their internal temperatures at freezing.
Ice Golem (Construct)
Ice Golems are constructs, summoned into the world by hydromancers, from ice and tundra. Ice Golem spellwork has two known levels, sudden and long lasting. Sudden ice golems are short lived, often melting away eventually or decaying over time, and are typically haphazardly made from different chunks. Long lasting ice golems on the other hands are made over several months of dedicated spell work to keep their temperature magically secure to prevent decay. Regardless, these tanking constructs pound their enemies with icey fists.
Wendigo (Fae)
The strongest Liches are known to summon into the world horrors known as Wendigoes, horrifying stag-like creatures which walk on their hind legs, are constantly decaying, and have massive rending claws. They are summoned into the world by Liches in times of battle and death, and disappear when the fighting ceases due to their nature. Some Wendigoes may stay for long periods of time, but they view the physical world as 'barren' and 'lacking', and prefer to return to their own realm. The creatures in physical combat are durable and can rend armor with ease, but their secondary effects are most terrifying. Wendigoes constantly emit a aura of undeath which slowly but surely raises the dead around them into their service, and their aura also emits a powerful blizzard which engulfs those around them. Outside of battle, they eat the dead and others ceaselessly in everlasting hunger. It is known that Wendigoes tend to be immensely cruel, corrupting pregnant women with their blessings to turn their children into strong cannibalistic creatures, sharing long life and stag horns, along with a natural gift of necromancery. Most of these abominations do not last long out in the real world, and are called Yul'Wendigo.
Spawn (Fae)
Those who commune with the god Zuuldrick sometimes can conjure into the world unearthly semi-aquatic horrors known as Spawn, the children of Wrad. Spawn are abominable creatures with the head of a hermit crab, the legs of a goat, the body of a fish, and wings like a bat. These very strong and fast swimming horrors are often in a constant state of bloodlust, attacking anything within sight with rending claws. Spawn are much however like a two edged sword, and can just as easily turn on it's summoner and their allies. Spawn do not truly stop fighting till they are either dead or 'appeased', which is usually a demand of blood sacrifices to appease their 'father' and the submission of the community, and the death of the summoner who summoned it. Those who peacefully negociate with it are rewarded with endowed strength and a cure for their diseases. Humanoids who can go toe to toe alone with Spawn are often spared by them, and are offered 'gifts' by them to bring them into Zuuldrick's bloody embrace.
Ghast (Undead)
Ghasts are ghostly beings which are bound souls, normally passively made by necromancers due to their power and rituals. Ghasts are whispering spirits who commune in places of strong death or intense anguish, granting advice and curses alike to those they deem fit. Ghasts are immortal but otherwise powerless except for those who directly harm their 'homes' from within their sight. Those who are cursed by them become haunted, with the ghasts attempting to kill them by turning them to madness or weakening them to the point where they can be possessed.
Wraith (Undead)
Wraiths are undead beings who's soul had become attached to the world, and must rely on a set of cloths or armor to give them a physical form. Without this form, the wraith will decay and die, and are otherwise completely invisible to the naked eye. Wraiths are powerful beings who cannot be harmed by normal weapons, and are inherently gifted in magic. Wraiths also retain nearly all of their intelligence, but their personalities are gone completely. Wraiths can range in power and in skill, but those who were able to retain their old physical bodies often become corrupted by their magic, taking on a almost warped appearance, and also are gifted with a more powerful form of magic.
Ursa (Fae)
Priests of Ishala and Zuuldrick are known to conjure spells of the Ursa, powerful ursine spirits which dwell as guardians in the arctic north. Ursas are powerful, durable, and fast ursine-like beasts which are conjured by shadow shamans in desperation to defend communities, but at a considerable price for the shadow shaman's own life. Ursas are nearly resistant to most forms of physical weapons, and can conjure arctic mists to hide their movement. Ursas will guard communities, families, and cities if need be until they are truly defeated, and will stay with these communities forever. Ursas often provide boons to these peoples as well, conjuring schools of fish during times of famine or chasing away other predators and summoned horrors when they prowl the community. Ursas are the hated enemy of the Wendigo and deeply despise them, and will often attack them on sight.
Ice Witch (Fae)
Ice Witches are fae horrors which are conjured by Liches for the rare purpose. Ice Witches resemble blue, beautiful, women of various humanoid races. These creatures can provide much, bending what they need to to provide a reasonable wish granting fulfillment, but they come at terrible prices. Ice Witches often require blood to perform their rituals, specific blood in fact. If a Ice Witch is displeased, they have full reign to take one's soul as their own, and their magic is on par with that of Liches. These cretans tend to live for long periods of time in caves and ruins when summoned, preferring to 'gather' from local communities. However, due to their nature as trouble makers and soul stealers, often providing haphazard wishes, they are hunted down by nearly every race when given the chance. Liches are the only ones known to summon them, and even then most do it out of desperation.

History

History

Okan City States
The first civilizations in what is now Usoma were normally nomadic tribes and tribal settlements along the coasts, but only the Okan seemed to build civilized walled cities and traded with the outside world. Wrad attacks on the cities were constant, and the Wildar, Tusab, and Okan joined forces to defeat the wraiths and drive them back into the inner arctic. In the later age, humans arrived in steady droves and began to live among the northern settlements as a tribal people, becoming the Kevians. The Kevians grew rapidly in number and settled much of the land and disrupted the land’s balance. Attempts to drive them out failed, and their culture settled close in relationships with the Tusab.
First March
From an unknown nation, a large force of colonists with impressive technology landed in what is now Ugolanbrav and set up camps, seeking to exploit the huge fur and ivory trade in the region. The colonial government started as only a few settlers and missionaries, but soon grew to be populated with merchants, hunters, and craftsmen. However, a federation of Okan cities began making demands of the colony, and some high nobles raised armies to claim the human settlement, and the assaults on Ugolanbrav failed due to bad weather. Believing their city threatened, their parent nation sent in a massive amount of reinforcements to the colony and began laying siege to several Okan city states and destroyed them, and took many of their people as captives. When Tusab and Kevian armies of tribals were raised, both forces met in the Battle of Ikar Pass, where a chokepoint prevented Usoman forces from being overrun and protected them from the weather, and wiped out the tribal army. The colony expanded further, and its successes in battle granted the colony further prestige and immigration.
Seperation
At the height of the colony’s power and the start of it’s industrialization, the colonies were hit by a sudden blizzard which blocked off all trade routes and overland passes, trapping the Neusians inside the winter city of Ugolanbrav. Wide spread disease, famine, and rioting led to the colony’s near collapse, and only the intervention of a very strong handed militia saved it from total annihilation. Unable to break through the ice caps which blocked trade, and likely abandoned and thought dead, the colony dedicated itself to their own survival and began building barriers and using available resources to survive the arctic land on their own, while keeping their own civilized society. Yet, drastic actions made generations of Neusians more authoritative, barbaric, and cruel as they became more aggressive towards their tribal neighbors who harassed them in their weakness. Only a strong fortress and guns kept the tribal armies at bay.
Survival
Over the course of several generations, scraps of new technology trickled into Usoma as the survivalist cities expanded under new overseers. With no real access for trade, a demand for total population control and organization transformed their society. In desperate need for new bodies, the Usomans began kidnapping and integrating Kevian tribals and using enslaved beastfolk to work their cities. Day by day was a need for survival, but their tactics did work and allowed them to survive brutal snow storms that would have otherwise wiped out their society. Having long since forgotten their old faith, the Usomans brought the faith of the natives to their own people to access their use of magic, and send out explorers back into the open world to bring back new technology and attempt to keep contact with the open world. After many failures to re-establish relations with the world around them, the Usomans had simply given up and spent their resources expanding their own cities and fighting off tribal raiders.
Okan-Marcher War
Ugolanbrav did not openly seek expansion, but under Overseer Tomas Brokov, the Usomans looked enviously at the Okan city states which had remained neutral during the first march. Facing a supply shortage of food, which the Okan could fix, the Usomans attempted to negotiate with the Okan. However, the envoys sent to the beastfolk were attacked by Kevian ambushers allied to the Okan city states, and survivors placed the blame on the Okan themselves. A army was gathered in Ugolanbrav and marched on the remaining Okan cities and decimated them. However, the walls of these cities were kept up and repaired, and the Okan people were not butchered, but rather enslaved. Many of these Okan city states were repurposed as new Osoman cities. The end of the Okan cities saw the Okan reduced to a slave race, a fact not forgotten by the Beastfolk tribes.
The White War
Several years after the Okan-Marcher war, a federation of Tusab, Wildar, and Kevian tribes united under the common purpose to drive out the Usomans and restore the Okan cities. The war was a utter disaster for the federation, as during this time, democratic movements and religious zealots had planned to rise up against the authoritarian overseers but were instead silenced by the invasion. The tribal armies, while brave, were slaughtered by superior guns and tactics of the Usoman troops, who employed their first White Guard units to assault the tribal sieges and successfully prevent the destruction of their cities. Pushing back the tribes was costly and the victories ended up being futile. The same new authoritarian pushes enslaved and butchered prisoners, only enhancing the binding of the tribal federation to keep fighting the Usomans. While ultimately victorious against the tribes, the Federation remained a large and real threat and a major rival of the country.
Defense of Sigrad
Sensing weakness, shortly after the White War, the Wrad summoned their own host and began raising dead to destroy the city of Sigrad and were nearly successful in purging it. The Wrad’s undead host met weakened and injured troops, and their fresh hoards of undead were very close to overrunning the city. Yet, stubborn and suicidal bravery won out and the line held against the vast undead push on Sigrad, which was able to call for reinforcements. Several elite and experienced armies surrounded and crushed the Wrad forces in a close battle below the city, and killed a Horned Wrad with the aid of the legendary Arctic Magi, Kulvin Byr. After success in the defense, the society became ever more paranoid and ever more enthralled beneath the hand of the overseers who declared the victories. Any sign of disobedience was swiftly removed, and the new influx of slaves from the captives of the White War gave a large economic boost to their country for years to come.
Second March
Many years later, after a large scale industrial revolution which transformed and greatly expanded Usoman cities and societies, the country became comfortable enough to challenge the Northern Federation for full control of the territory. Under the leadership of Overseer Kulban, several combined armies of Usomans destroyed the major outposts and groves of the Wildar and all but annihilated the last free holds of the Kevians, and brought both into slavery. Kulban used diplomacy and intrigue to crush the federation rather then his already impressive military might, using spies to sow distrust between the Tusab and Wildar who were natural enemies. The second march ended in victory and the federation was disbanded. Usoma was formally remade into a more unified country under Kulban, and quickly asserted himself as Grand Overseer in Ugolanbrav.
The Wrad Civil War
During the midst of the second march, the Wrad had begun a mysterious and little known civil war which broke their entire civilization in half. A faction of Wrad challenged their king over political and religious issues, and of the two major Horned Wrads who rebelled, only one and their followers escaped a purge of their cities. This group fled, in desperation, to the Usoman capital of Ugolanbrav and demanded sanctuary. Overseer Kulban banished the group and nearly chased them out, but the group found safety within the city of Okadius, who’s overseer became intrigued by their magic and profited from their crafts. The Wrad rebels became the Usoman Wrad and were accepted slowly over time after Kulban’s passing, and eventually became a regular sight amongst the richer cities.
Reintroduction
Only recently did the eternal blizzard which blocked the sea and land routes to Usoma become heated and explorers began to go beyond their cities to rediscover the world. Their first contacts were limited, but they quickly reinvigorated trade and relationships with the outside world, trading their huge supplies of coal, fur, and ivory for new technology and trade goods. Unwilling and unable to expand, the overseers have retained a neutral position with the world, but many looks to warmer climates with worry and envy.

Nation Relations
Universally, the Lands of Usoma is deeply uninterested with the affairs of other nations, normally being dedicated to their own survival, but the warmer world has been a fascination in spite of propaganda presented by the government. Usoma is not at all hostile, and instead, are very often interested in trade and technology of others. Usoman leadership is always looking for a way to increase comforts of home so their people do not leave for warmer lands and outright bar immigration to other countries.

Battle for Titania

=-=Year 833, Fall=-=
The Deep Forests

While business in the south was concluding, more fresh events were brewing in Upper Jolfa. The Dujal of Upper Jolfa, Jarosław Barna, was hosting a tourney for his vassals outside the city of Banzrech. The Banzrech Tournament was a large gathering of knights, lords, and their peasantry to watch mounted champions face off in skillful practice much to the amusement of crowds, and for the knights to face each other in grounded combat and smaller contests to prove their skill across all of Upper Jolfa and before it's Dujal. Yet, much to their disappointment, the Dujal was nowhere to be seen during the festivities, his Admis however was mostly holding sway over the entire tournament. The Knights were being festive as ever, but the Dujal was close by, dealing with another matter entirely.

The Dujal was hosting the games for several reasons, firstly being trying to forcefully marry off his ever increasingly rebellious daughter, Wera Barna. In the weeks before the tournament was even announced, Wera had tried to confront her father over his missing son, demanding a place at the court of Upper Jolfa, which he had refused. When he instead insisted on forcing her to marry via the grand tourney as a prize to a winning knight, Wera had argued for over a day trying to get him to relent, making a scene as much as she could. She had only stopped when her ever fearful mother was abused by Jarosław in front of Wera did she relent. Wera was present at the games, and again showed her rebellious intentions, being of poor manners and worse language. Yet for the rowdy knights of Upper Jolfa, this wasn't exactly seen as in poor taste, but some even outright encouraged it, much to Wera's disdain.

Secondly, the tournament had masked a more secretive meeting between Jarosław and one his more hated rivals, the Valk of Bulgodia. Bulgodia was a minor, but important, southern province which was ruled originally by the Wicinski family. Mysteriously, almost overnight, the family's vineyards and storage were set ablaze, ruining their already shaken finances and were then hit with a number of family tragedies after many botched offers to sell their land. In the end, a weak willed younster had sold both land and title to a little known group without the Dujal's permission known as the Purplefeet Band, under the control of Witold Jonak. Witold was name which Jarosław had personally known, being a failed Spion who used unsavory tactics to gather information and launch espionage campaigns from Loskadia, serving many lords. Jarosław had known him from his days trying to gather information in Upper Jolfa, but was captured and tortured by his father for spying, only let go when he revealed who he was spying for. He had no doubt in his mind that Witold had personally tried to weasel land out of the Wicinskis.

Jarosław however was a little worried, the Wicinskis were a powerful family, and of the 3 'great southern families', they were perhaps the most well known and most loyal. These rich families ran their territories like guilds, with the Wicinskis have had a successful winery, the other two had equally successful trades. These Valks provided 'gifts' to the state of Upper Jolfa, which effectively were bribes, which kept the Barna family afloat, rich, and happy. In return, Jarosław would grant them both political and economic immunity. If one of the families wanted to extort a spiteful neighbor for example, the Dujal would always side with the rich families. Thankfully, the southern Valks were the only ones ever effected by this corruption, as their interests were never laid beyond the northern forests and hills. Yet, with the Wicinskis gone, so were the 'gifts' provided by the families, and it was very likely Witold's doing.

Jarosław and Witold met in Jarosław's countryside tent, a huge yurt which held much of the luxeries of a small castle room. With him was his favored slave, the Bolam 'Big Iron', otherwise known as Irons. Irons was a large Wildar covered head to toe in a expensive gladiator armor which protected him, and he wielded a fairly large claymore which he sometimes used to lean on. Despite having been born broken by slavery and his loyalty to the Dujal was without question, Irons still wore unchained shackles and it added a certain level of intimidation whenever someone was in his presence. Irons was always present in meeting such as this, perhaps acting as deterant against anything stupid. When Witold and his own entourage entered the room, it was perhaps Jarosław who was a bit more concerned.

Jarosław himself was a older man, with a very flat face and had a permanently ill look about him, but the person who stepped into his tent even made the Bolam beside him cringe. Witold was a fat man, who walked on a cane and smelled reeking of all sorts of foul things, clearly having not bathed in the time he came to the tent. What was worse yet, his dress was flamboyant and ugly, resembling a blackish and purple dress with silver lining, which was considered unpleasing to see. Witold came with a entourage who even common bandits would mock, city thugs who had clubs rather then swords, since Witold thought swords were far to expensive. The Thugs were not very much informed on the Bolam who knelt in the tent, kneeling on a large sword, and it clearly terrified them deeply to see the armored creature so close. Witold did not look terrified, which did concern the Dujal deeply, especially as the fat man made a mocking bow and greeted him with humor.

Witold made it clear to Jarosław he had no intention of 'continuing a failed system' of granting gifts for paltry returns, when Jarosław made it equally clear that as Witold would be admitting to usurping the land from a Valk family and disobeying Upper Jolfan laws, Witold proclaimed he would be going shortly to offer himself as vassal directly of the king. Jarosław and Witold insulted each other back and forth a few hours, which was ended with Jarosław threatening the upstart to revoke his claim anyway and have his soldier arrest him. Witold made a counter offer instead to Jarosław, saying that in return of restoring the natural order, he would need 'further guarantees' from the Dujal. Jarosław did not really like his money situation one bit, nor did he want to disrupt the balance in Upper Jolfa over a personal rivalry, and with certain reluctance, accepted Witold as his vassal. Witold demanded that he be given some permission to fund a forestry encampment in Upper Jolfa as his first major request, and in return, the king could be given 40% of the profits. Jarosław was suspicious, but agreed non the less. Witold left with a smile, much to both Jarosław and Irons's cringe.

The tournament went smoothly, but there was a clear noticable cultural difference between the northern and southern Jolfan peoples. While those in the poorer northern settlements were rowdy, cheering with open arms and smelling like piss, the southern Jolfans were less excited, cheering more for the brave stunts and acting done by the knights to court Wera Barna. Wera grew bored of these knights quickly, but one figure attracted her attention greatly. A knight in rustic armor had rode into the camp later in the day at exactly the time the sun touched the land in the distance. He had a green shield depicting a tree, his helm had 'horns' of sticks, and he didn't use neither saddle or bridle. The knights called him the Green Knight, and when he rode, he rode very hard and spooked the other horses. No one really paid attention until he dismounted a popular young southern knight. However, when Jarosław made his seat and had his Admis inform him on the completing knights, he was surprised to find a knight who was from Bulgodia. Jarosław soon knew what was up, and tried to find means to dishonor the would be knight, a older but oddly not very skilled man who won his bouts through mysterious means.

His vassals called him out on it, and succumbing to public pressure sat down in his booth above the crowds. The Green Knight was late for his bout, but when he showed up, the Bulgodian knight looked very shocked to see him. The Green Knight, his helm still covering his face, made a silent but humble bow to the Dujal and his rival, and the two took their places. The two did their rounds, with a clear winner being the Green Knight. The Bulgodian knight lost, much to Jarosław's delight. Jarosław demanded the knight reveal himself and his lord, but much to his shock and horror, as the knight dropped his helm, he revealed himself to be a young looking Leshari, twigs and leaves appearing on his face. He gave a wide smile, talking like a old man, he seemed genuinly happy that he had 'joined' the 'festivities' near by. Jarosław and Wera were silent, but as the 'Green Knight' turned to face the crowd, the Bulgodian knight took his chance and tried to stab the Leshari, making a rather stupid mistake. The crowd went silent, wind blew, and wolves howled in the distance. In but a moment, the Leshari was back on his horse and riding away, but not before a small swarm of rats and moles bursted from the ground, overran the knight, and ate him alive infront of the Dujal. The Dujaless screamed in a panic, and Irons held both Wera and her mother close. Jarosław said nothing, looking down at the rapidly being destroyed body of the knight. Wera looked at her father, terrified that he was smiling delightfully.
________________________________

Jarosław decided not to pursue Witold or his attempts to steal away his daughter, discovering that many knights had been threatened, bribed, or were sabotaged before meeting the Bulgodian knight. The Leshari disguised as a knight had killed attackers who tried to beat his legs and the legs of his horse in a very similar manner, a horde of bound rats and moles had devoured the corpses of two thugs and dragged their bodies into the dirt. The Green Knight was gone, but when Witold sent ambassaddors to sooth things over with Jarosław, he didn't even mention the incident. Wera for her part was entirely forgotten, but some 'possible winners' tried to claim her regardless. Wera again was locked out of court life much to her dismay, and was left doing 'womanly things' till her father would try to marry her off again, but such attempts would be considerably less when paired with the final moments of the tournament.

Witold, as promised, sent a small legion of lumberjacks north along with many guards, into a land called Cosmodia, a northern most province. It's very poor Valk was forced to allow the lumberjacks to given camps, and provide additional laborers, with Witold being granted a 'order of emergency' to refill the country's lumber warehouses. Witold's men started chopping down trees and hunting wildlife, but were warned by the local Valk not to venture too deep into the deep woods, or they would face the wrath of the druids and gods who lived there. Naturally, the thugish guards cared little for this and mocked any attempts to moderate them. When some Cosmodian villagers returned from their camps injured or dead from beatings, the Valk demanded answers, and only got back injured or dead courtiers. When one of the courtiers who ended up dead was one of his own brothers, he relented and sent complaints to the Dujal, but was mostly ignored.

The lumberyards got more and more workers, more and more supplies, but those supplies and those workers were not acting in good faith and began unloading a sum of cages, shackles, and branding irons into the lumber camps. Witold had been harvesting lumber, but he had a secondary business, planning to hunt slaves amongst the distant northern Bolam clans which prowled the north forests. Hunters went into the forests, but few returned and often empty handed. The foreman of this operation became more and more convinced that he was digging deep into Fae territory, and sent warnings to Witold demanding Huntsmen assistance. He instead got a order back with a more thuggish foreman who fired him and took over his job, ordering his laborers to dig even deeper into the forests and to begin hunting Bolam more actively.

The slave hunters eventually caught up with two rivaling Bolam tribes, capturing their young and dragging them back to the forest camps. Noticing that they were being hunted, the two clans moved westward to find safety amongst other clans, and eventually brought their attention to the good Valk of Mutherma, Aleksy Sobiech. Much of Mutherma's territory was the deep forests which housed the nomadic Bolam clans, and Aleksy was deeply troubled by them being hunted. He laid traps for the slave hunters, but his own ambush party was ambushed on their way from capturing some hunters by a angered Leshari which attacked them. The group dissipated and the Hunters got away and back to their camps. The Slave Hunters this time went out with a fully band of over 200 into the deep woods as a army, and devestated a smaller Bolam tribe living in the woodlands, but also greatly angering many of the Fae spirits in those lands.

The Bolam gathered warriors, and drove off the slave traders from their deep forest camps, and angrily protested the local Valk for assistance. Aleksy responded by gathering a small host of 500 men and marching them alongside 50 Bolam warriors into the deep forests with the assistance of a local druid. The Druid made offerings to the Fae, even communicating to a Lady which lived at the borders of the woods, blessing the troops with grander speed in return for stopping the loggers on her eastern bounds. Aleksy became more disturbed as they passed through many fae 'kingdoms', especially as they came upon a entire secret Bolam grove and settlement called Bollok, where Bolam druids communed with a council of Leshari, Umbras, and guarded by armored Faen. The Fae informed Aleksy and his generalings of what disturbed their forests, and the Bolam warriors who had been with the Valk, were making offerings to their 'forest gods'. Aleksy was offered the services of a Leshari, but he was so disturbed by the Fae's appearance, he preferred to just drive off these interlopers rather then accept the Fae's help any further.

As Aleksy was journeying into the deeper woods, and encamped at a clearing. In the middle of the night, the Valk's scouts heard commotion and found a small army of slave hunters were camped near by as well, perhaps by the Fae's own magic moved nearby. The Valk's men were informed and began slowly and silently putting out their camp fires and arming themselves. Aleksy and his men began to surround the encampment in groups of 25 covering the north, south, east, and west sides of the camp while the rest were put into the reinforcement positions. The slave hunters were tormenting and prodding at a young Bolam with a hot poker, tied and panicked, and were far to busy with themselves to notice that their camp surroundings were far different from their original camp. Aleksy and several Bolam warriors led a charge into the camp, surrounding the slave hunters and butchered them, but his east flank which he was leading fell and many escaped back into the forests. Many fell further to Fae horrors which lurked in the deep woods, especially when Aleksy pursued a larger group of slavers who fled into a Wendigo's lair, and were utterly slaughtered.

Of those 200 men, only 75 ever made it back to the lumberyards, and Witold Jonak was now there personally to oversee the operation. Witold listened with great annoyance that a northwest Valk had defied him, and more angry that his very illegal operation had failed so miserably. Witold decided to round up some men from the local villages, much to the protest of the Valk of Cosmodia. He forced them to work harder on the forests in order to make up for his 'loss of profits' and then marched a small band of mercenaries to the court of Mutherma. Witold and Alesky argued for hours, with Witold complaining about the loss of his men, and Alesky complaining about the bullying of the Bolam. Alesky agreed not to press the liege lord in return for Witold never to bother them again. Yet, as Witold went to leave, several thugs under his command had secretly hidden in barrels of mead which were brought in by a well bribed merchant, and beat the Alesky to death while he slept, and left disguised as guards. Witold was far off by the time anyone could send out riders for him, and had left the county is a more undesirable situation.

Witold set a more permanent outpost near the lumber camps and returned back home to deal in further business, ordering another group of unsavory mercenaries to round up Bolam tribes. Another group of 150 slavers entered the land and began kidnapping Bolam, sending them back to slave markets in Kolum much to the dismay of the Beastfolk there. Yet, their Fae overlords grew ever more aggressive and ever more spiteful, and began lashing out more violently. Yet, the cutting down of trees began to send many Fae from Jollas into northern borders and beyond, causing a cascading effect of Fae entering the Mother Woods, aggressively expanding their dominion over southern end of the forests there. The cruelty of Witold's men grew tiresome for many, especially when a number of Bolam game forward to the Dujal. When the Dujal became informed about the actions of the loggers, Jarosław allowed the complaining warriors to go home with some of Irons's old armors as a 'gift', and promised to take care of the issue. The Dujal sent a strict warning to Witold, by interrupting slave merchants and 'freeing' the Bolam, bringing them to Banzrech instead, where they could be sold to more local folk in the city for a more direct profit.
______________________________

The ships landing on the shores of Jollas had very little impact outside of some general amazement, with some going into the hauls of the ships to loot and pillage them. Those that landed on more distant shores became infested with monstrous creatures, especially becoming lairs to dragons, causing some to fear the wrecks. Merchants from Jollas who were more brave enough looted the ships and bodies landing on their shores for trinkets to sell. The only real foremost interest in the wrecks were the Otum who could recognize the ruined vessels as actual ships. Some Otum merchants made more pernament outposts in the Loskadian wreck to study the wreck, with often unuseful claims about its origins. The northern wreck was less fortunate, becoming the lair of several monsters, including a decent amount of Haunts, a large number of territorial dragons, and in the deeper bowls of the wreck was a Host swimming menacingly about, collecting bodies.

Battle for Titania

@Wildman13 is their anyone near me

@Jangel13

The closest fantasy nation is my nation of Jollas, based on a map you will find in discord.

The closest sci-fi nation is Heyitsjiwon on the larger island in the eastern sea.

Battle for Titania

=-=Year 833, Summer - Fall=-=
Language of War

As summer in Jollas slowly turns to fall, new issues began to arise within the nation as the difficulties between the two feuding Dujals of Loskadia and the Beast Isles soon came to a head. Along the western borders, each side had occupied old abandoned forts and castles with fresh garrisons, but it was clear that both the Souden and Beastfolk had no interest in raiding or skirmishing, as neither lord openly declared for one side. As it would seem, Dujal Arminas Kucys had second thoughts about pushing a claim on New Strekkad. What had appeared to be a merchant scheme to unite the peninsula under a Loskadian banner seemed hampered by the 'young and naive' Beast Isles Dujal, and even commented to his courtiers that perhaps he would make peace with the angered Otum.

Yet this was not meant to be, as during this time, the western border between the Beast Isles and Loskadia erupted into conflict. A small team of 23 Kobtum mercenaries had gone beyond their border to a common Souden village they would normally visit, but ran into garrison of guardsmen who chased them off. Rather then return to the village, the garrison guard chased down the Kobtum on horseback, riding hard into the forest and over the border, cutting down 7 of the mercenaries in their pursuit until they cornered them at a ravine. Trapped, the two sides skirmished unsuccessfully with one another, injuring but not killing one another. Yet, human reinforcements grew as the pursuers sent a courier to other camps demanding assistance, gathering a pretty sizable force, but had not known that the Kobtum sellswords had done the same.

The small skirmish at the ravine grew and grew until small armies began to grow and challenge one another in the open fields near by. Barely over 17 Kobtum mercenaries became a force of 100, which soon became a 1000, and suddenly a huge host of 12,000 troops had gathered into a pitched battle at the riverside. The battle spilled over into a glade and became intense during night time raids by both factions, with the human forces numbering 14,000. Neither side was well led, leading to pointless melees in the forest, and ambushes became commonplace. Mercenaries on both sides regularly changed sides, to a point where they almost became a third faction within themselves simply out of confusion. However, during the coming weeks, the battle turned more formal and became to be led by more organized commanders.

A Kobtum tribal elder and a Otum Valk gathered what remained of their army, 10,000 and slowly marched on the 11,000 humans commanded by a Kucys relative. The human commander had organized a cavalry division and led the charge personally from two flanks, allowing his infantry time to form up from their camp and march out into the glade. Much to the humans own surprise, as soon as the cavalry neared, the Beastfolk led a rather sudden and hasty retreat back into the deep forests. Not wishing to waste a good route, the human cavalry blindly followed the Beastfolk back towards the sight of the original battle at the ravine, cutting down slower creatures. Yet, as the cavalry continued their route, the human infantry moved at a snail's pace, unsure whether to follow. Their officers decided they would send out some scouts and ask their commander if they were needed, and slowly advanced towards the ravine.

Yet, as the Cavalry was forced to dismount near the more thicker woods, battling lone groups, the human commander looked about his surroundings, as if. . .it was constantly changing. The cavalry split up and could not find neither their counterparts or many Beastfolk. It was when a sickening scream followed by a loud snap did the humans know what was happening. The commander yelled for a retreat from the forest, but noticed as twisting wooden vines and plants began to crawl across his body at a demon's pace. The commander tried to cut the vines, and his men tried to help, but they too were overwhelmed. As the vines began to pull apart at the commander's limbs, arrows began to rain down on the Beastfolk from the forest above, spears came out of the waters of the ravine, and Bolam charged blindingly into the confused groups.

The spellwork of the Kobtum elder, a druid, was one of legendary work. Beforehand, the Kobtum and the Otum had planned this ambush as the battle in the glade had intensified, and caught the entire hostile cavalry by surprise. Over 2,000 men and their horses were slain, including the enemy commander, with a very well timed ambush. As the Beastfolk re-entered the field of battle, the commander's broken and dismantled body dumped from a cart onto the glade's field, the men lost heart and fled back over into Loskadia. Despite the chance to decimate the forces, the Otum commander refused to give chase, believing it to be dishonorable and cruel. Regardless, the Beastfolk having won the Battle of the Black Glade, the army cheered and reported their progress back to Dujal Mislav Poljak.
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No longer able to ignore the victory, Mislav Poljak sent a ultimatum to the hostile Dujal of Loskadia, demanding that he step down from his throne and begged for the forgiveness of the gods, but most importantly he made a quick and swift peace with him. However, a couple weeks later, a messenger came with a morbid gift for Mislav, the tails of 7 Otum who were living in Fiskvach and a message declaring Mislav a traitor, a heretic, and so forth. It clear that this was a threat more then a declaration of war, with Arminas wanting a white peace rather then a embarrassing peace. Mislav talked solemly with his advisers at New Strekkad, worried deeply for the Otum lives that still remained in Fiskvach. Yet, his advisers sorrowfully told Mislav that regardless of what he did, it was now likely their lives were very much forfeit. Mislav weighed his options, and declared in Strekkad before his court that he intended to march on Fiskvach, and burn Arminas out of his 'nest of rats'.

Following his declaration, his generalings wasted no time sending for officers to carry out the task of rounding up levies. Across New Strekkad's counties and districts, sons and fathers were gathered by officers and gathered near the armories and barracks of New Strekkad. On the islands themselves, the Otum Valks sent reinforcements via boat, being their more elite infantry. Beastfolk mercenaries, once a more neutral force, eagerly gathered in new Strekkad to declare their allegiance to the Otum Dujal. Yet neither of these things were as importent as when a united group of Bolam clans of New Strekkad personally made their trip to meet Mislav, bowing to him humbly, and offering their services as warriors to fight Souden. Mislav decided to skip many of the processes and wished to march swiftly to Fiskvach, as he did not want to give any opportunity to the Souden to raise their army more then it most likely had.

A large procession of soldiers marched from the city of New Strekkad, as the gates widened for Mislav, his generalings, and New Strekkad's human Valk and his own generalings, carrying the Beast Isles banner A host of Beast Isles knights had gathered to Mislav's banner, but more had gone north to support Arminas. 25,000 soldiers were gathered, with the high intention of using the western roads to swiftly make their way to Fiskvach and challenge the Loskadian army to a pitched battle. Mislav confided in his officers of his worries. Loskadia had nearly three times the people despite being poorly managed and lacking a great deal of proper roads and farmstead, many of it's people still lived as tribal pagans. Loskadia's army would be twice or maybe even three times as large, with Mislav commenting that even with his own army, the Loskadians could still easily turn a Otum and Kobtum army to route and slaughter his most elite soldiers with ease. However, what Mislav had on his side was tactics beyond the age and skill of Arminas, who he was convinced relied on cheap tricks and popular charisma to win his battles.
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What Mislav could have not known or even predicted was just how much trouble his rival was in. Arminas, before even chopping off the tails of his Otum 'guests' he invited to his court, had been sending out for his generalings to gather Loskadia's army in Fiskvach. Yet, as he did so, days swiftly turned into weeks, as his Generalings slowly and with great regret brought back into Fiskvach only handfuls of soldiers. Arminas at first cared very little for this, up until the soldiers were coming back with only a couple farmers boys or with no one at all. Arminas soon found himself at the gates of his city, with a worried expression as he barely only gathered and measly 3,000 troops to his cause, most being poor farm hands and undisciplined rabble. If Arminas had not known better, most of these soldiers were common thugs and bandits, who only came because the Generalings had arrested them.

Arminas called a emergency meeting with his generals, trying to figure out what was going on. His generalings explained that the Valks they visited were not only upset, they were furious or simply absent. For years, the Valks had little control over their own lands, often warring with the local elders and tribal villages which refused to bend to their will. Arminas, who was often busy in his court with his arts and schemes, had not even noticed that his own vassals were struggling, but this mattered little to him and he quickly declared them traitors. He personally went to local Valk, demanding that he, his people, and his family support his war, but the Valk hid in their villa estate and refused to come out. Arminas then laid siege to the small keep outside Fiskvach, but to no avail, his army was already suffering from poor morale and his Generalings didn't have the time to drill them properly for war.

Many of the vassals it had seemed were unresponsive, and Arminas's advisers were suspicious of this. It was entirely possible that the local Valks were being blackmailed or held captive by Bolam clans, or worse, the Souden backwater villages which wished to see Arminas overthrown. Regardless, Arminas figured he could not waste time besieging his own vassals, and told his Generalings he wanted a army by any cost. However, they also informed Arminas of other problems, much to his increasing ire. Another issue was that apparently, the local cults had been denouncing Arminas rather publically, especially in the rural areas. When Arminas demanded to know why this was, having personally donated a great deal of coin to the temples, it was apparently due to personal tastes that Arminas had which offended the cults deeply. Coin apparently did not make the cults more favorable towards his reign, but perhaps had even soured it, with his 'gifts' seen more as bribes. Arminas could at least understand this and changed the subject with his generals, for his also could not swiftly restore his standing with the Tresist cults.

One Generaling however did speak up, saying in a rather concerning and even perhaps treasonous voice that Arminas, and his father before him, had laxed the will of the Generalings and officers alike. Apparently, which was partially true, Arminas and his father had a deeper interest in arts and court politics, lavishly spending money on finery and making expensive trips to Kolum. Where they got this money from was 'borrowing' it from the treasury, and occasionally defunding the Generalings. This had the result in which most Generalings unable to perform basic tasks, resorting to training the otherwise pious and slightly pacifist Souden with sticks. There were plenty of young men to train for the army, but most didn't have the proper training for service. The generalings could barely bring the levies into line without them suddenly breaking ranks and trying to sneak their way back home. Arminas listened to the generaling, and only gave a nod. Later, he recalled his officers back to his court with a new emergency plan to build a army.

He divided his generalings into three groups, sending two to forcefully bind local men both old and young and bring them back to the capital even if the Generaling knows that they have no proper training, another group was sent to advertise in the northern villages and bring further volunteers to fight 'the Beastial menace', and another group had the odd mission of kidnapping village elders from the deep forests. Naturally, while two groups in swift time brought in a great group then before, the kidnapped elders were brought personally to Arminas who offered them freedom for their support. When one elder threatened that his village would rather support the Beastfolk, Arminas had the man's throat cut, and then made the same calm offer to the other elders who eagerly begged for their lives and agreed to send them young warriors to his aid. Within a week, the 3,000 men became 10,000 without the aid of Loskadia's vassals, but were poorly trained and ill disciplined.

Arminas got short word that the Beastfolk army had crossed into his southern lands, conquering territories and looting villages for supplies, with their march intended to take his seat at Fiskvach. 10,000 levies and no knights were not going to stop 25,000 beastfolk, and Arminas knew this. Arminas called for allies, but he had no word as of yet, even being desperate enough to send for a magical message to the Dujal of Karlemgrad, who laughed so much over a spectral vision with a court mage. The Karoe Warlord had been eating in his hall when a ghostly vision appeared of Arminas calling for his help, but while the Karoe Legedari panicked, the warlord demanded his court mage to remove the vision so he could continue on eating, more annoyed then scared like his fellows. Without much options left, Arminas called for the Black Knights to appear in his court.

Who appeared in his court was the Black Knight leader, the young, dashing, and arrogant Gausbertus the Black and his squire, the equally young and dashing maiden Vincenta Kanapkiene. Arminas and Vincenta's eyes met briefly, remembering olden times. Arminas had saved Vincenta from bandits once during his adventures in his youth, and the two had a very active (but often open) relationship. Yet, Vincenta was far more free spirited and a lover of more violent tastes, tastes which did not interest Arminas as he grew up. He, and she, remembered when Arminas did one last ride, bringing her to the hall of the Black Knights to help her escape and disastrous arranged marriage to a farm oaf, and the two had since parted ways. Now, she was a proud member in the Black Kights, and the second apprentice to it's infamous leader.

Gausbertus was a different sort entirely, and neither he nor Arminas liked one another. Gausbertus was a Karoe, a Legedari in his youth and a fervent monster slayer. He claimed he slew a hundred wendigos with a swing of an axe, but often described them so wrong it was laughable. Gausbertus was a very skilled swashbuckler, but a poor soldier, the perfect leader for the Black Knights who lived freely in their den of debauchery. Gausbertus didn't bother to bow to Arminas, and grew annoyed when Vincenta did make a slow and humble bow to him. Arminas smiled, and drew straight to the point, standing and greeting the two personally.

Gausbertus demanded that Arminas got the point of why he was summoned to court, but he already knew the answer. Arminas needed mercenaries, in which Gausbertus was only willing to offer 500 of his 3,000 troop for a extra 'annoyance' sum. Gausbertus however taken aback when Arminas wished to buy all of his services, with a 'desperation' payment to be made upon competition. Arminas offered the lands around the Black Knight's land, meaning they would gain the formal ownership of it's farmsteads and peasantry, which amused Gausbertus to no end as he shocked Arminas's courtiers and advisers with his lecherous remarks on what he would do the locals. He however did not accept fully, for the lands he would only give 1,500. Arminas and Gausbertus insulted each other back in forth until Gausbertus came to a more final offer. Gold, land, slaves, and 'a woman of noble birth'. Gausbertus wanted 1 in ever 10 Beastfolk captured in this war as a slave, remarking that he always wanted to 'train a Bolam to dance', but his demand for a young maiden as a concubine nearly had him thrown from the court. Yet, what was even more shocking that Arminas agreed to the offer, putting up an potential heir as part of the agreement. Gausbertus tried to bargain, claiming that Arminas was probably sterile anyway, and his once half hearted cruel jest soon turned to a serious discussion. Ultimately, Gausbertus agreed to the full offer and shook on it.

Gausbertus stayed that night in the castle, given finery and entertainment, including the presence of Pranas Milius who got drunk with the Black Knight leader and went on a painting spree with him. Meanwhile however, Arminas and Vincenta happily enjoyed each other's company and discussed current events. Arminas had been without a wife and his father never bothered for a betrothal since Arminas had no trouble finding young noble women to date or have a relationship with. Vincenta and Arminas drank together, and even remarked to have a little song, with Arminas eventually changing his tune, demanding that Vincenta not go into battle with him. Vincenta argued with Arminas, who eventually relented, remarking that their relationship had long since passed. The next morning, Vincenta and Gausbertus left to gather the Black Knights for battle, with Arminas watching half naked from the balcony of his room as they left, his face sour and for once in a long time, regretful and serious.

The next few days, guards outside the city were shocked when 3,000 black clad knights entered the city gates with black banners and yelping wildly as they entered. Men and women, young and old, the Black Knights arrived and pledged themselves to Arminas's service, and each was granted stay in the city. They partied for days until the local city council had enough, demanding Arminas either left with his new army, or they would personally throw them out. Arminas chose the former, gathering 13,000 men to him and marched out of Fiskvach and towards the approaching Beastfolk army from the Beast Isles. As they left, the army sang a rather morbid song.

'In place ye high and dale
there be pikes from yonder pale
heads of Otum
traitor all
their faces seared
and skulls be bald
invaders be, soon to fall
Bolch be burned
Borrow buried
Beasts and all
deserve the noose!'
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Mislav's army had been raiding the southern parts of Loskadia, cornering and besieging castles and smaller villas, and forcing their surrender. By the time Mislav was approaching Fiskvach, he nearly had just an equal army of prisoners. He bargained with their families, but instead of getting their gold, he demanded food and supplies, as well as to denounce Dujal Arminas before him. After having done this, the Beastfolk army was well supplied and healthy, but it's movement was slow and difficult to maintain. Bolam regularly ventured out, usually never to return, to raid the human settlements for beer and supplies and then make off with their ill gotten goods back to their clans. A southern Generaling had also taken on the nasty habit of slaughtering and beheading Otum prisoners, putting them on pikes on the main road, knowing that Mislav would stop the army to give proper funeral rights to his slain people. Eventually Mislav got the better of this murderer, and his head stuck on the spear of his banner.

Mislav was swiftly informed on his way to Fiskvach that a huge army was approaching his own. It was Arminas's army, and much to Mislav's surprise, as his army was camping on the road, he stared out to only behold a army which was far smaller then his own. His scouts believed the army to be 10,000 or 16,000 in size. Mislav was cautious, for he saw black banners from the distance to his own camp, and sent out skirmishers and scouts to prod the enemy army for weaknesses. Arminas and his army was building a pallisade on the road, building reasonable defenses to prevent the Beastfolk army from a open field battle, but in doing so, his army was also stretched thin. During the night of the 2nd day, Mislav ordered a attack on one of the pallisades and had no success, and it annoyed the Beastfolk to no end. However, the supply lines had been secured at least, which gave both armies plenty of time to plan their attacks.

On the 4th day, the Beastfolk awoke to horns blows, with the main human army advancing out of their main camp. In the front were the Black Knight mercenaries on horseback, and Mislav ordered a counter quickly. He had a vanguard of Bolam clansmen in the front to midicate the main attack, and Otum and Kobtum archers and spearmen in his flanks. Beastfolk armies lacked efficient cavalry divisions, and the one division he did have was in his reserve, being made up of human knights from the Beast Isles. Battle begun with a charge of the heavily clad Black Knights, followed by two divisons of infantry charging behind them. Mislav and his commanders were at first confused, but soon were dropping their jaws when the Black Knights drove past the main line of Bolam clansmen with incredible ease. The Bolam Vanguard was felled quickly, and their strikes mattered little, and soon the line fells apart as the other Beastfolk lines advanced.

The Bolam stood, but not for long, as the cavalry broke through and into the Beastfolk reserves behind them, which was another group of younger Bolam who stood no chance. Luckily, several armored clansmen and older veterans of the clans were there to drive away the cavalry, but the huge host of human infantry broke into the main lines of the and began a slaughter of the Beastfolk Otum and Kobtum who could not keep up with the human infantry. Despite being far worse in discipline and training, the human infantry could easily crush the Otum, who could only keep up by resorting to ranged weapons or by hiding behind a group of human Beast Isles infantry. As lines were mowed down by cavalry and infantry, the army began to route. Mislav, trying to rally his people, had only one last trick up his sleeve before the battle could end.

Hiding in the forests was a reserve group of Bolam mercenaries of his own, mostly Loskadian Bolam clans who had swore themselves to Mislav. They were hidden in the forests, and were now suddenly enforcing the left flank of the army. While the right flank collapsed entirely, the left flank of the army held and forced the battle ti quite literally turn. Again the Black Knights charged, but their charges were now far less successful and claimed fewer lives, as the Bolam often retreated into back rows while Otum pikemen came to the front. The Beastfolk changed tactics quickly under the direction of Mislav and the New Stekkad Valk who rallied his knights and chased down the back rows of the Loskadian archers, his fresh cavalry crushing the flank of the Loskadians. Arminas was in the thick of battle, nearly losing his own life until a Black Knight had saw him fighting a desperate battle with a Bolam and saved his life just barely, rushing to his aid and forcing him onto his own horse and slapping it to drive it away. Arminas's last sight of the brave soul was the enraged Bolam ripping his arm from his socket.

The Battle of Fiskvach was over, and 9,000 souls laid dead on the field of battle, most of them Beastfolk. Most of the Loskadian army fled back to Viskvach, gathered their things, and forcefully marched to the sister city of Neulbach on the otherside of the mountains. They were half way to the city when Arminas got word that the Beastfolk had laid siege to his home. He rode in silence the entire way, utterly humiliated and all his desperate attempts to build his army had been for nothing. Mislav's army was now outside the gates of his capital, and would soon be defiling it with their greedy paws. Yet, the Beastfolk camp was not exactly happy either. Mislav's general were furious with him, despite their numerical advantage, they had lost a great deal to a open pitched battle, and blamed Mislav for the disaster. Mislav marched to Fiskvach, watching over very injured Beastfolk who lost far too much for this campaign of his. His army was outside the city, and was building siege towers in short order. Mislav retreated to his tent, sending a letter back home to his wife and children, complaining of the weather, a sign his wife knew was a sign of his depression.
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In less then a couple weeks, Mislav was being approached by the city's council and agreed to open the city gates for the Beastfolk in return for their safety. Mislav however had no intention of deals, putting the councillors in chains and demanding the gates be opened to his army under threat that the councillors would be killed. The gates opened shortly there after and the Beastfolk army entered the city. Mislav's more elite forces led a siege to the inner keep, but their time getting into it was just as easy, bribing the local guard and some Black Knights trapped there with mercy with the Otum provided freely for entry. These guardsmen and Black Knights were escorted outside the city, as Mislav moved in, his generals and vassals beside him as he entered Arminas's court with triumph. Mislav ordered parts of Arminas's extended family in the castle be taken prisoner, but disaster came when Arminas's mother died while being collected. The elderly woman had a heart attack when a Bolam tried to force its way into the room and she died shortly there after. Mislav was presented with the corpse, cursed to himself, and had the family released instead to honor funerary customs. Arminas's family escaped to the court in Neulbach to bury Arminas's mother there, but also spread rumors that Mislav had poisoned her as well.

Mislav ordered his army to lock down Fiskvach and put it's noble families under arrest, but led to a group of Bolam to the city's treasury which was stored in a small arts academy. Amongst the treasures there, several famed paintings and statues could be seen amongst chests of gold and precious things. Mislav ordered this treasury pilfered, along with much of the academy's students and teachers, to be taken back to Otek instead. Mislav then ordered the building burned, and demanded the head of the painter Pranas Milius. The only member of the court who had been taken captive was an annoying philosopher named Giedrius Jurkynas who spewed atheistic ideas which offended Mislav deeply. Mislav had the man placed under house arrest, even though he grew to be popular amongst some his generals who found his idealism 'quirky'.

As Mislav was staying in Fiskvach, he had been planning to chase Arminas until her surrendered, but took a great deal of personal pleasure to humiliate him. Yet, what happened next was never his intention. During the end of the week of the occupation, Mislav's Bolam allies raided tavern after tavern, and eventually began to raid the noble distilleries in the city itself. Souden workers and peasants were fighting over beer at first, but soon racial tensions spurned into a race riot. Bolam guards seized the oppurtunity to avenge years of oppression, and led a purge of some of Fiskvach's districts, dragging peoples from their homes and killing them on the spot. Mislav was informed, but he had been personally terrified to confront his allies and sought out a different way to handle it and sent word to the Order of the Hunt who had a barracks near by.

A messenger was sent out, and 80 cavalrymen rode in, led by the brown clad Renatas Liachtas who entered the city and challenged the Bolam pillagers. Renatas quickly restored order when his men uses crossbows to kill several of the looters and rallied some Bolam chieftains to remove these genocidal vandals. Renatas had been informed that monsters were killing peoples inside Fiskvach, and soon found he was duped into cleaning up Mislav's mess. The Huntsmen angrily confronted the Otum, who were already beyond furious that Beastfolk were pillaging the city. Renatas and Mislav met into a more private conversation, with the Otum wishing to just return to his capital in peace and not wishing further harm, and Renatas eventually agreeing to help the Otum achieve peace so he could continue his work in peace. Mislav allowed the Huntsmen to claim control of the city in his absence during the war, knowing he was subjecting the populace to perhaps a far worse fate, considering the ever dwindling reputation of the Huntsmen. Already, many of the philosphers and educated men that Arminas invited to live in Fiskvach were fleeing, perhaps in part due to Mislav's warnings.

The personal feud had a huge diplomatic impact in Jollas who were shocked that the Beast Isles would not only have the audacity, but also the strength, to challenge any of the Dujals. It had been assumed that out of all the vassals, the Beast Isles was perhaps the weakest, but two victories and taking Fiskvach had caused rumors to spread in the court of the King. Annoyed more then concerned, King Tymon II sent two messengers demanding Mislav and Armenias to show up in Kolum to answer for the personal feuding, and by order, that both armies were to hold a truce under pain of treason. Both Dujals answered the call, especially when both got word that Tymon II's generalings were already forging a army near Kolum to deal with both Dujals, with possible support coming from Karlemgrad. Mislav was especially concerned that this may be a trap, sending word to his generalings to return to the southern tip of the border and to leave a garrison in the mountains to prevent Arminas from simply restoring himself swiftly into his capital.

Battle for Titania

=-=Year 833, Summer=-=
=-Jollas-=

A pillar of light streaks across the sky, inviting the Jollian peoples to watch the show from their homes and from the shoreline. Human and Beastfolk, Animal and Monster all pause to watch the strange light appear and disappear, wondering to themselves if it was magic or the end of the world. Zealous prophets in the cities proclaim that their visions had been fulfilled, as mages look on and whisper to one another, unsure what they were witnessing. Nobles and their families gathered on the wall with their guards and servants, and shortly there after riding out to the hermits and temples looking for answers but none could be given. The Cults of Kasta proclaim that their god had killed a mighty beast with his spear, slaying it with a single blow. Other cultists proclaimed that Kasta himself had been killed, his blood gushing out in the streak of light over the waters. Regardless of what, the show of light became the talk of both the educated and illiterate for weeks at a time.

One prophet named Zdzisław Mika, a distant relative of a influential Valk family in Loskadia had traveled abroad looking for answers, and within a month found it. Tales of strange human-like men on ships made of steel, the size of castles, floated on the waters and traveled between land to land, spreading plague and misery in their wake. Zdzisław had traveled across the western lands, traversing with diplomats and proclaiming himself an ambassador of Jollas, calling for a destruction of what the travelers were being called; 'World Eaters'. He spread rumors and tales wildly, declaring that they were dark spirits of the waters who kidnapped children, ate sentient beings, and practiced necromancery. After a time, he returned to Jollas demanding to speak to the high authority, the king himself.

Jollas had little to no interaction at first, if any, with only vague reports of Otum merchants seeing strange iron ships the size of 10 whales upon the waters, followed by smaller ships, and were avoided like any sea monster. One Otum who was invited to court even claimed to have traded with the ships, but it had turned out to be just a rumor. Tymon II Banaszynski, King of Jollas, allowed the wandering 'diplomat' into his court to explain himself. When he was told by Zdzisław of the supposed atrocities of these 'world eaters', the king didn't particularly look convinced. When pressed, Tymon II was rather annoyed that the appearence of these 'world eaters' shifted from being human in form to being spirits, being demons to being evil gods. Tymon II heard enough, and stood before his court.

"I am a man of many deeds, but I will no longer listen to speculation and peasant religion, I here proclaim this. Someone bring me a 'world ender' so that I may see them for myself, see if they are deserving of mercy or death at the hands of Jollas and her people! Bring me proof I can see and touch, for I will no longer bare rumor!" Tymon II proclaimed before his court. His courtiers murmured amongst themselves, and the older prophet Zdzisław was invited to stay in court as the only 'capable' witness. In court, the faithful man intermingled with the king's courtiers, and became popular with his stories about extreme things these travelers did.
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Meanwhile in southern parts of Jollas, pressing political matters had been becoming and issue between the Dujals of Loskadia and the Beast Isles over the ownership of New Strekkad. In the past year, The Beastfolk had been building up New Strekkad, opening a new temple of Gula to sponsor his cult, and a oppossing temple to Nulla had been also built outside the city as well. The city had become very rich, and attracted a larger number of human merchants looking to exploit the city's cheap Beastfolk labor and struggling craftsmen industries. These new merchant elite formed a local society known as the Neus Volga which bribed the city's Valk to ignore their political machinations into allowing them to become city council members. While not very unified, most were members of the Cult of Kasta and regularly were involved in many of the city's affairs.

The Dujal of the Beast Isles eventually caught wind of this and while he had first tolerated the merchant take over of the city, his Spion soon learned that the merchants were spreading rumors that the Otum were plotting to banish the city's other Beastfolk and Humans in order to take it over. The Spion also informed the Beast Isle Dujal that the Loskadian nobles had been preparing at the border as well. Mislav Poljak was frightened by the prospect of such a take over, and invited the Dujal of Loskadia to a private gathering hall in New Strekkad in an attempt to diplomatically deal with him. Mislav had nearly made it to New Strekkad when his entourage was attacked by Souden mercenaries, only being saved by his contingent of his own Bolam mercenaries who travelled with him. Unable to prove the mercenaries were hired by the Loskadian Dujal, he entered the city and took control of it's court from the Valk.

A week later, Arminas Kucys, the Dujal of Loskadia, arrived with an artist and the two talked in length. Mislav accused Arminas of hiring a rich group of merchants to take his city, but Arminas pressed for proof which the Otum could not give. Arminas then offered a insulting sum of gold for the city, in which Mislav refused. The two insulted, with Arminas being witty and Mislav being easily fustrated, all while a artist painted in along the court. Arminas then insulted Mislav further, declaring he in good faith came to New Strekkad to defend the good name of his family while the Otum had come to accuse, and left in rather dramatic fashion, taking out his ornate sword and sticking it to the ground of the court's hall. The artist left with his patron, and shortly there after did Mislav figure out why the dramatic Dujal had even bothered to bring a artist to the meeting.

The week, Mislav began recieving angry couriers from various Loskadian nobility, mocking him and proclaiming their support for their own Dujal. Apparently, the artist, a well known and upcoming artist in Jollas named Pranas Milius who had showed his work in a local villa to a gathering of nobles from across Jollas, depicting the meeting between the nobleman and the Otum. Mislav was presented as a insane and deranged creature with a hunchback, surrounded by demonic figures and fae abominations, while Arminas was depicted as noble young man, sword in hand, challenging him. This publicity stunt wasn't really to challenge Mislav's authority, but to raise money it seemed, as Mislav's embarressed Spion who had not predicted this admitted that he heard rumors that Arminas had made a huge amount of money from this venture, making dramatic rumors of Mislav in order to garner attention. It was obvious that Arminas wanted new Strekkad, but for what purpose Mislav nor his courtiers knew.

In the meantime, Mislav shored up the city's defenses and began gathering levies from the countryside. His Bolam mercenaries were then commanded to being ransacking the homes and estates of the Neus Volga group, having them formally banished from the Beast Isles as foreign agents. These merchants complained to Arminas who informed them he could not do anything, due to laws set in place which gave the Beast Isles Dujal the authority to trump even the king's own laws. Mislav ordered a group of soldiers and knights to then patrol the border, but had no will to bring a iron grip to the city. Loskadia still had troop camps on his borders, and were soon met with troop camps of Bolam and Otum, and Kobtum war camps found in the deeper forests. As a consquence of this, the Neus Volga merchants lost most of their investments and put many businesses in New Strekkad out of business and in the hands of less competent merchants, who were soon devoured by the Otek Merchant Guild who simply sold the properties for a quick amount of coin.