I'm unfortunately going to pull out of this. Haven't made progress on my sheet for a week now and I struggle to find the motivation to do anything about it, which doesn't bode well for my participation in the RP itself.
Godspeed to the rest of you.
@Flagg Do you want me to delete my (rather incomplete) post in the Characters section?
Eh, a tribe got crushed by the crusaders. So we did the only sensible thing and two tribes went to war. Got crushed, so we decided for 4 tribes. Eventually we aren't really sure how many tribes it took or how many guys died but it's all in the name of Arkanath and now there is a fresh breeding ground for filthy Justinian's ready to be raided by land and sea. So yeah, all's good. Oh and some mad missionary thinks he can come and preach here every now and then. But yk, human skin makes good leather.
That sounds pretty good to me. I figure most communication between the Justinian states of the east and west would be by sea since traversing Arkanath seems like an unhealthy endeavor.
@Flagg Is my CS accepted? I'm waiting with the history to incorporate others in it (like some crusade that just happened to cleave through my land. yk, no biggie).
Eh, it was a couple hundred years ago probably, it wasn't exactly a recent thing.
@Legion02 Your faction sounds pretty neat. I notice you're bordering me to my west, so we should probably work out a few things.
The four named regions are Justinian realms, conquered recently (like in the past ~30 years) and ruled over by my guys, the Khamag Yaksha: a confederation of nomadic tribes of horsemen who share common ancestry. Since your guys seem to have a beef with Justinians, this seems relevant.
My story has it that a few hundred years ago (some time after Daigon's fall), the Justinian march states launched an eastward crusade, spearheaded by fanatical knight orders, with the goal to bring the light of Justinian to the human tribes of the region. In the aftermath, the Kingdom of Artova and the three duchies were established, and with missionaries, settlers, and funding from the west the region was slowly developed and Justinianized. However, the further east you go, the more the people's faith seems watered down, mixed with the old beliefs of the tribes that once lived there.
Perhaps the creation of a Justinian state failed in your area, but succeeded further east? An enclave of Justinianism in a savage land. My original thought was that the lands to my west were Justinians, who quite frankly seem more profitable for us to raid than you guys. On the other hand, us having a buffer zone of barbarians would make it easier for us to hold on to our conquests.
Whatever you do, I think the crusades should probably be an event that left a mark in your history, since the crusaders would have to march through your place.
As long as I'm around would anyone like to have some sort of dealings or history with my Faction if they havent otherwise?
Maybe not so much history, but we've probably got a desire to secure our sea routes and the Flotilla are a pain in the ass. So even if you're pirates we've got a common enemy.
The four named regions are human kingdoms which were established in an ongoing effort through the centuries to pacify the tribes and bring the light of civilization to the area. I imagine they are all relatively young, with Artova being the oldest. Population of the kingdoms (not counting my nomads) would be the descendants of a combination of colonists from the west and pacified tribes integrated into civilization. Beyond the kingdoms themselves, I figure there are a few city-states scattered here and there, mainly along the Cursed Coast.
Religion of the kingdoms is a weird mix of Justinianism with old tribal faiths and customs, with the latter being more common the further east you go. By all means the kings themselves and most of the upper classes claim Justinianism as their faith, but on ground level things often look different.
The kingdoms closer to the Justinian Empire tend to view these fringe kingdoms as somewhat backwards and barbarous, despite them being a lot more civilized than anything else in the area.
The area also has a strong tradition of horsemanship as a result of their interactions (and integration) with the Yaksha people who inhabited the region since before the time of Daigon's fall.
- Tribes are subjects of Daigon, but they break free during the war against the Demon King under the leadership of the hero Amur-Yaksha. From him, the people get their current name.
- Amur-Yaksha managed to break his people free from Daigon, but it cost him his life. Amur's many sons fought among themselves over who should lead, but the fighting was inconclusive and the tribes scattered. Many were driven north, to a harsh land beyond Nagath. The rest thrived in the plains of the north-east, but fought often among themselves.
- Driven by Justinian ideology, client kingdoms in the bay area of the Cursed Sea pushed east in an effort to civilize the land and bring the human tribes under their wings. (Maybe call this something cool like "the [Insert Area Name] Crusades" or something. Is "crusade" as a term applicable to Justinianism?) Settlers settled and wars were waged, the tribes ever thinning as their disunity was exploited. Kingdoms rose, and tribes fell. Those that remained were confined to the cold north of the peninsula.
- The squabbling tribes, realizing their predicament, finally put their blood-feuds aside and united against the common foe. In a final effort, they launched a war on the kingdoms, but they were already too diminished to succeed. Their leader fell in battle.
- Their old leader's son was chosen to lead them, despite his young age. In the cold of winter, he led them north, crossing the frozen straits of the Cursed Sea. They were lost to the eyes of civilization, and the kings along the Cursed Sea thought themselves finally rid of the tribal pest. But on the thirtieth winter he returned, leading a great host that quickly overwhelmed the unprepared kingdoms.
- The March Kingdoms of the west were quick to raise their armies in response and marched east to meet this new threat, but found themselves ill prepared for the Yaksha's way of war, which the kings often denounced as cowardly. The tribes had ill luck in pitched battle against a prepared and technologically superior foe, but found great success in surprise raids and scorched earth tactics, sapping the enemy morale and killing through attrition. It was as if they were chasing ghosts, the entirely mounted Yaksha army impossible to catch. Denied supplies and with winter approaching, the armies were forced to retreat, and the Yaksha horsemen harassed them the entire march home. The expedition was a complete failure, despite the kings winning the only real battle.
- An uneasy peace settled in, where the Yaksha found themselves unsuccessful in conquering more and the Justinian kingdoms unable to take back what had been lost. Raids across the borders were common from both sides, but for now the kingdoms were content to lick their wounds while the Yaksha worked on consolidating their power and claiming the vast plains along the Cursed Coast for their people from the beastkin that had come to inhabit it. The conquered kingdoms were allowed some autonomy in return for regular tribute, and provided they behaved well (that is, they accepted Yaksha garrisons in their fortified cities to keep an eye on things) they were mostly left to their own devices.
- Things settled in for a few years, and the Khan died. Another took his place, who followed the policies of his father and ruled the obedient with an open hand and the disobedient with a closed fist. The privileges of the kings eroded away until they were kings only in name. The peasants grew accustomed to this new way of life, and a new generation grew up under Yaksha rule.
- The Khan dies. Another takes his place, this one intent on ruling his settled subjects rather than merely allowing them to exist. The time for reform has come.
And this is roughly where my people are at the start of the RP, I figure. I'm not entirely sure how far into his reforms my new ruler is, but we're at a time when the Yaksha and the settled people are getting somewhat used to each other. There has in the past been violent rebellions and to them even more violent responses, but such things are more rare these days - even if tensions still exist. His goal is to rule more directly over the conquests and turn it into more of a state and less of a big tribe with a bunch of tributaries.
As for religion I'm still not sure what the tribal faiths are actually like, beyond that we worship Shar, the creator of humans (mentioned in the Red Empire's sheet) in some shape or form. We're big fans of our ancestors as well. Oh, and we don't like Daigon, and we probably don't like these Worm Cult guys either, but tbh I don't know a lot about them yet.
I whipped up this, which I think is more or less everyone:
I'm not sure about the size of Flagg's or The Zax's territories since they haven't posted maps, but I'm pretty sure I've got the right area at least.
So yeah, south of the Claws, the Broken Coast, and that mountainous peninsula to the east are all open. There's also the Bay of Teeth I guess, if you don't mind being a bit removed. I think the area near the marches is meant to be full of human Justinian states more or less in league with the Empire, so if you want to be there I'd clear that up with Flagg first if I were you.
So I've revamped my concept slightly, and I expanded my territorial claim a little and I want to run it by you Flagg and see if it's okay. I read that your Worm Disciples hang out near Azoth Zul, though I'm not sure exactly where your territory ends.
The four named regions are human kingdoms which were established in an ongoing effort through the centuries to pacify the tribes and bring the light of civilization to the area. I imagine they are all relatively young, with Artova being the oldest. Population of the kingdoms (not counting my nomads) would be the descendants of a combination of colonists from the west and pacified tribes integrated into civilization. Beyond the kingdoms themselves, I figure there are a few city-states scattered here and there, mainly along the Cursed Coast.
Religion of the kingdoms is a weird mix of Justinianism with old tribal faiths and customs, with the latter being more common the further east you go. By all means the kings themselves and most of the upper classes claim Justinianism as their faith, but on ground level things often look different.
The kingdoms closer to the Justinian Empire tend to view these fringe kingdoms as somewhat backwards and barbarous, despite them being a lot more civilized than anything else in the area.
The area also has a strong tradition of horsemanship as a result of their interactions (and integration) with the Yaksha people who inhabited the region since before the time of Daigon's fall.
I'm working on writing some history right now, which goes something like this:
- Tribes are subjects of Daigon, but they break free during the war against the Demon King under the leadership of the hero Amur-Yaksha. From him, the people get their current name.
- Amur-Yaksha managed to break his people free from Daigon, but it cost him his life. Amur's many sons fought among themselves over who should lead, but the fighting was inconclusive and the tribes scattered. Many were driven north, to a harsh land beyond Nagath. The rest thrived in the plains of the north-east, but fought often among themselves.
- Driven by Justinian ideology, client kingdoms in the bay area of the Cursed Sea pushed east in an effort to civilize the land and bring the human tribes under their wings. (Maybe call this something cool like "the [Insert Area Name] Crusades" or something. Is "crusade" as a term applicable to Justinianism?) Settlers settled and wars were waged, the tribes ever thinning as their disunity was exploited. Kingdoms rose, and tribes fell. Those that remained were confined to the cold north of the peninsula.
- The squabbling tribes, realizing their predicament, finally put their blood-feuds aside and united against the common foe. In a final effort, they launched a war on the kingdoms, but they were already too diminished to succeed. Their leader fell in battle.
- Their old leader's son was chosen to lead them, despite his young age. In the cold of winter, he led them north, crossing the frozen straits of the Cursed Sea. They were lost to the eyes of civilization, and the kings along the Cursed Sea thought themselves finally rid of the tribal pest. But on the thirtieth winter he returned, leading a great host that quickly overwhelmed the unprepared kingdoms.
- The March Kingdoms of the west were quick to raise their armies in response and marched east to meet this new threat, but found themselves ill prepared for the Yaksha's way of war, which the kings often denounced as cowardly. The tribes had ill luck in pitched battle against a prepared and technologically superior foe, but found great success in surprise raids and scorched earth tactics, sapping the enemy morale and killing through attrition. It was as if they were chasing ghosts, the entirely mounted Yaksha army impossible to catch. Denied supplies and with winter approaching, the armies were forced to retreat, and the Yaksha horsemen harassed them the entire march home. The expedition was a complete failure, despite the kings winning the only real battle.
- An uneasy peace settled in, where the Yaksha found themselves unsuccessful in conquering more and the Justinian kingdoms unable to take back what had been lost. Raids across the borders were common from both sides, but for now the kingdoms were content to lick their wounds while the Yaksha worked on consolidating their power and claiming the vast plains along the Cursed Coast for their people from the beastkin that had come to inhabit it. The conquered kingdoms were allowed some autonomy in return for regular tribute, and provided they behaved well (that is, they accepted Yaksha garrisons in their fortified cities to keep an eye on things) they were mostly left to their own devices.
- Things settled in for a few years, and the Khan died. Another took his place, who followed the policies of his father and ruled the obedient with an open hand and the disobedient with a closed fist. The privileges of the kings eroded away until they were kings only in name. The peasants grew accustomed to this new way of life, and a new generation grew up under Yaksha rule.
- The Khan dies. Another takes his place, this one intent on ruling his settled subjects rather than merely allowing them to exist. The time for reform has come.
And this is roughly where my people are at the start of the RP, I figure. I'm not entirely sure how far into his reforms my new ruler is, but we're at a time when the Yaksha and the settled people are getting somewhat used to each other. There has in the past been violent rebellions and to them even more violent responses, but such things are more rare these days - even if tensions still exist. His goal is to rule more directly over the conquests and turn it into more of a state and less of a big tribe with a bunch of tributaries.
As for religion I'm still not sure what the tribal faiths are actually like, beyond that we worship Shar, the creator of humans (mentioned in the Red Empire's sheet) in some shape or form. We're big fans of our ancestors as well. Oh, and we don't like Daigon, and we probably don't like these Worm Cult guys either, but tbh I don't know a lot about them yet.
*Edit* Also, it'd be neat to have some sort of reference for the scale of Nagath. I'm not sure whether my empire is closer to Russia or Luxembourg in size. :P
