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== The Geopolitical World == The continent of '''Kulmorost''' is the main stage for the setting. It is a land of magic, beasts, civilizations at the height of their economy, and brutish war tribes seeking only bloodshed. The world is not unlike earth in the majority of climate, flora, and fauna (with exceptions) and is divided into many different factions. With a quick glance, the species of Kulmorost are rather fantasy-standard yet with refreshing differences. However if one begins to dig deeper, however, there will be interesting secrets found... ===Military power of the realms === Scale: 1 = not dangerous to 10 = you are already dead *Goblins pre-Cataclysm were definitely 13, summoning meteors to fucking rain on you. *Laffu are something between 5 and 12. *Dwarves and Elves would be about 9 combined, 6-8 alone and 4-5 as individual realms. *Humans alone (Tribes, Grave Lords, pirates, etc) are 2-4, as a mega-horde 7-10 depending on leader and zeal, and of course, equipment *Lesians are 4-7 about. Potential threats for Elves. *Gnomes are 7 if they defend their cities and 3-4 if for some reason they go on offense *Orcs are somewhere 3-5, depending on the tribe and if have you angered them. They are at the lesser end of the totem pole. *Centaurs are 0 to 3. They cause mayhem once in few generations. *Kobolds and Gualli are roughly 1. Regular annoyances. *Trolls and others are not militaristic so they are about 0 to 2. === Humans === The Humans (also called Haumics) are mostly non-magic using scum who were driven to the cold Northern Wastes in the War of Human Exodus long ago in the ancient times. In modern times, they hover on the brink of extinction, living in [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|barbaric xenophobic]] nomad/barbarian tribes with a messiah-figure in the form of a conqueror who will unite their tribes. They are barely eking out an existence in the frigid, unforgiving wastes. Most form various kinds of primitive tribes. One particular interest is those tribes who herd ''Wooly rhinos''. Wooly Rhinos reproduce slowly, and consume massive amounts of food, making them extremely valuable in Human society. Only a few Human nomad tribes and townships near the coasts and the Troll lands have access to these magnificent beasts, and due to the advantages they bring, they will not part with their monopoly anytime soon. The rest of the Humans make do with walking, and they are infamous among other races for their ability to march nonstop for days, even without magical assistance, if need be. There are a couple cities which occupy themselves in other "trades" like piracy and raiding. Examples of these cities listed below. They still resent the more magically gifted races for what their ancestors did, and many tribes raid southern civilizations to supplement their hunting and gathering during the cold season. Despite their magical inability, Humans are still extremely good at killing things, and many of the more civilized races fear that eventually an ambitious Human chieftain will arise and unite all tribes under one banner, forming an unstoppable horde. [[File:Human_Knight.jpg|thumb|left|Scare other races to the bone]] Some tribes of human have great affinity for working metal. They use it to create monstrous masked suits of armour, crafted to resemble the dead (usually shaped to the likeness of a relative's skull). The sight of these warriors strikes fear into the hearts of most civilized creatures. And very few live to tell of these abominable Iron Revenants. "Clad in all that ghastly metal. Why would the living strive to become like the dead? Surely that cold iron freezes their hearts as well." -''The Shades of the North'', a study by Yulyn, Elvish Scholar. It is impossible for Humans to reproduce with Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, or Goblins. Of course, this doesn't stop them from trying. The few who have laid with Humans know that the rumors of their almost supernatural endurance are not exaggerated. Curiously, some legends state that the Magical Races are offspring of humans. While other legends say the magical races were created by an entirely different being. ==== Important Human Cities ==== *'''Tempest Edge''': The Tempest Edge sits on the most west point of Northern coast overlooking the Storm ocean. Here sits the Silent King. So named as the wind speaks for him and brings news of when to go into open waters or when to wait. In exhange he gave up his human tongue....Or so the elvish survivors tell. His ships come during both the worst weather boats can survive and in an eery quiet seemingly brought on by the men themselves, his warriors plundering villages and cities wordlessly before returning back to open sea with the same unsettling silence as they arrived.<br /> This human city has very poor and frozen earth, which leads most men to seek nourishment from dangerous waters of the ocean. Only the best survive this test of nature, molding them into perfect sailors whom their king wields with brutal efficacy. Hidden by storm, fog or rain from the eyes of Sot Watch Tower, he remains unpunished for his deeds. But the journey is always dangerous and deadly so beside the skilled men of Tempest, only madmen and martyrs join his raids. For their bravery, the Silent King builds great tombs for all human remains returned from their raids. *'''Frostfrontier''': a human city on the coast of the Val sea. It has an underground section as well as an above ground one. It is one of the most important human ports, and you can find most kinds of humans within it. It began as an underground settlement nestled in a massive cave system and it has stood for at least 500 years. It houses the largest market of the Haumic lands, and has been ruled from the beginning by a family of centaurs. *'''Toren''': Deep in the frozen northern coast of Talahaca lies the Toren volcano. In its shadow lives a particularly stubborn tribe of humans who are generally territorial and extremely protective of their warm and fertile lands - many have tried to conquer them and as of yet none have succeeded. This tribe has taken its name after the volcano: the Defenders of Toren. Another frequent cause of battles is that the Defenders are followers of "The Mother Toren". They hold many negative stories about other humans close to heart, (usually calling them Oathbreakers) typically revolving around the Defenders being wronged somehow in the War of Human Exodus. The true reason is forgotten, as the Defenders are illiterate, their history passed down through the generations as spoken word. Tales of the Oathbreaking are too nimerous wide ranging to truly decipher whatever wrongdoing occurred to make them despise their fellow man.<br /> Many other tribes, in turn, see the Defenders as heretics and betrayers of their fellows, undeserving of their rich lands and worthy only of conquest. No wonder they are frequently attacked - the Defenders have a saying that "a summer without a siege is a great one indeed!". <br />The Defenders have adapted to their role particularly well - their villages are defensible forts linked by secret tunnels. Their lava-forges, although lacking steel or silver, produce large amounts of iron spears, shields, and arrows. The Defenders could become quite wealthy by selling these high quality weapons, yet they understandably fear that these weapons would be turned against them in the coming years. Combined with their general disdain of the the other tribes, they rarely if ever engage in trade.<br /> The Defenders are ruled by three forgemaster-commanders who decide what is produced, what is built, and who lead the defense of the tribe. *'''Grimbridge''': The Grimbridge tribe sits by both sides of the old stone bridge, built long before they arrived. The bridge lays across river Stern (the large northern river which flows to Val sea). Known for their great strength and wealth among all the other local tribes.<br /> mostly due to every trader who wants to cross the river having to pay a toll and every raiding party crossing said bridge has to share a small part of their spoils, with any number of steelclad grimbride warriors stationed to enforce their claim as well as their tithes. *'''Lemon Keep''': Situated on a small island west of The Neck is the Lemon Keep of the Latrosia family. They are a small but still somewhat rich family, one of the few noble houses that still exist after the Exodus. <br /> The castle is well made (built immediately after the Exodus) and easily defended from non-magical races. It is known for the trees that grow within the walls (merely a few lemon and orange trees) which is where it gains its many nicknames, The Lemon Keep, Yellow hill, Treehold and so on. <br /> If one is passing through the Neck you'll come close to the fort, making it a popular spot for Raiding parties looking to rest or the occasional traveler/trader. These factors all contribute to why the Latrosia family has kept its wealth and land for all this time (you wouldn't believe how much silver someone returning from an extended stay in troll territory will pay for a lemonade). The family is well connected with the pirate lords as well as the Valkery Cathedral and lords of Frostfontier.<br /> There are plenty of tribes and other people that would love to get rid of the family and have the land for themselves, but the Lemon Keep is so well fortified, supplied and easily defensible it's not really a good idea trying to lay siege to it as the family can just wait the invaders out. ==== Human Religion ==== Humans mostly practice ancestor worship and believe bones are sacred except for the ones who use bones for everything out of spite. Some believe in the winged goddess '''Valkery''', mother of all humans. Upon their death she pulls out soul from the bones and leads them to paradise. Though should their bones be disturbed she won't be able to pull soul out, that's why they are so protective of the bones. It is also believed if you reclaim (or die trying) bones of the disturbed your sins will be forgiven. This leads to many criminals and alike to atone for their sins and go south with raiding party in one or several men crusade. Also there is many kinds of myths about the One who will unite the tribes and lead them back to south. Fortunately for the rest of races, this has not happened yet. Somewhere between the River of Death and Stern lies most important religious site for all humans, the '''Valkery Cathedral'''. A monument built from steel and stone when humans only arrived to Northern wastes. Warrior-monks live here guarding whole place from any intruders as not only it is sacred ground for praying, many chieftains find this place to recieve blessing of the goddess before taking leadership of their clan, it became common practice for them to bring remains of the last leader with them to put those bones in sprawling catacombs. But unknown to most this place also holds library with tomes and books that humans brought with them after being driven north. The books that hold untainted by dwaves knowledge about times before exodus ==== Unorthodox Cults ==== *'''Of Pirate Lords''': There's a pretty simple reason that you rarely see the Pirate Lords in the northern segments of the wastes. They fear not simply for their lives but also for their souls. You see a common suspicion among the Pirate Lords is that Large bodies of water (including lakes rivers and the ocean) are the eyes of the Valkery into the mortal world. If one dies reasonably close to these places you are fine, but if you die too far from water then the Valkery will never know you died and won't come to collect your soul, leaving your soul trapped inside your rotting body until it is brought close enough to a body of water for the Valkery to see it and recover the soul. Not exactly an experience that most are in favour of. As such they rarely venture inland and if they do it is mostly via the water ways. **'''Heresy among pirates''': It's become a somewhat custom among Human Pirate Lords to keep captured Elven women as concubines, to symbolize Mankind's supposed superiority over the Magical races. The fact that most Elves are quite attractive by Human standards and remain youthful for many decades is also a reason for this practice. Elves of noble blood and/or arcane talent are considered more valuable, because "humbling" them is much more satisfying. Those who follow the custom are a sizable minority among the Human Pirate Kings and Warlords of the Val Sea but as time goes on, it's becoming more acceptable. <br />Being captured by a Human pirate is the worst nightmare of many Elven noblewomen. Most Humans of the South believe that breeding with other races is permissible, (if somewhat distasteful) so long as the Human doesn't become attached or form a lasting relationship with a member of an "Inferior" race or begin to lust after other races over Humans. A few Human deviants believe that interspecies breeding should be encouraged but they are an incredibly small minority. <br />Many Humans view this custom as degenerate and blasphemous in the eyes of the Valkery, but they tolerate it because most of the Men who adhere to the custom are important to Human society. Though not everyone accepts this behavior of those pirates. More orthodox followers of Valkery refuse such pirates entry into ports or villages, while zealot warriors or greedy for spoils can even launch "crusade" against "hedonistic scum who left light of the Goddess and were seduced by elven sorceress" *'''Northern Cult of City of Bones''': Deep on the north, surrounded by traps and hidden from plain view, lies most sacred place for all northern tribes - City of Bones, where all souls come to rest. It's not really cities, but a very several burial mounds and bone pits placed near each other, surrounding a temple made of Winged Goddes, made entirely from bones. Around that temple rised bone pits, burial mounds, tombs and shrines of many clans and tribes. It's a sacred ground, where spilling blood and killing a humans are strictly forbidden. <br />Once in year, this place is full of pyres and feasting humans - they all honoring their ancestors and the Winged Goddess. It's a tradition to add a bone of Hero or prominent chieftain into a Temple, expanding it power. Their Southern brothers view this cult a little heretical and rather impractical and so won't indulge such silliness, going to the Cathedral instead. *'''The Grave lords''': Graves Lords were several very close to each other clans on the East coast of Wastes who were followers of City of Bones until one day they refused to follow laws of Valkery. <br />This rebellion against goddess they followed with plundering of the graves for the bones and donning them on over their armor. For this act they got their name but they were quickly squashed by union of angered clans and driven out of Northern Wastes to live on frozen islands in Ocean of Tahalaca. <br />These outcasts proclaim they worship a '''God of Death,''' unknown god by anyone outside of their clans and to this day not one captured clansmen has told anything about their god beside the fact that ''he gave them power no human ever had''. What is known though that they practice eating in moderation Trolls or Dwarven flesh captured in their raids. Dark powers and insanity they gain from it are even scarier since everything about them after rebellion is just frightening rumors. *'''Cult of Mother Toren''': Completely heretical, Defenders of Toren volcano venerate her as the Mother of all Life instead of mother Valkery, who they completely ignore. *'''Cult of the River of Death''': Few primitive human tribes worship the north-flowing River of Death, saying that it carries the souls of the dead. Their relationship with the City of Bones is not known. ==== Baseless Rumors ==== Not everyone in the human lands have read the thousands of books about the world, so many humans of different parts of the Northern Wastes hold these stories as truth: Lemon Keep Lords actually are elves, so inbred with humans so they looks like humans! I swear, their ears are longer than other humans! Don't drink the lemonade - it's laced with mind control drugs. To protect yourself from it, add a licorice. They say deep in North lies a tribe who learned secret how to make a Star Steel, from real stars, stolen from the sky! It can cleave a stone in half with ease and sings when swinging. Bone Lords are coming. They rising our ancestors against us so they can rule whole world. Pirates are up to something. I swear, more and more ships sails into Storm Ocean. And why they buying a live rhinos? It's not like they gonna milk them... They say there was ancient race, who created every races. Doblings, I think. So these Doblins, in fact, was Humans! I don't lie, an ancestors told me these when I drinked a mushroom potion! There is ancient ruins on South, somewhere in the mountains. It's full of strange things Dwarves are making a self-driving wagon cart. With no magic at all! Elven wine can turn you into a elf if you drinks it too much. True story! A ghost roams on eastern coast, looking for a passage into a Forsaken Isle. He claims his name is Riley. Elks numbers are dwindling, so some tribes are really desperate for food. Look closely to jerky you trade with tribes - some are made from beast much more common than elk and woolly rhinos. Some people say you can navigate yourself looking at the stars. If you follow a Goddess Light in a darkest night, you can find a way everywhere you want to go. And I mean everywhere. Lesians sure friendly, but what they are up to? Are they using us against elves? Testing us? Or their intentions are far more sinister? When a babies cries for a first time in their life, they remember lives of our ancestors, long before dwarfs driven us out. They remember this and cries for our fate. They say some Dwarves are not dwarves at all! Someone called them Halfmins, and dwarves drives them out from their homes, just like us! We must band together with them against dwarves! They say there is an Elven tribe lives in our lands. Vicious and cunning bastards they are. === Elves === Peaceful farmers and winemakers with rapidly changing culture and fashions. The numerous Elvish Principalities have been allies with Dwarves since the War of Human Exodus. Elves often participate in magical rites at important points in their life that involves the manipulation of their own life causing them to live for centuries. Particular old elves deviate from the normal body shape [[Tzeentch|significantly]]; their flesh twisted to extend their lives beyond which nature ordained. Still usually quite pleasant chaps though. Elvish principalities all vary in military power of how rich they arm their soldiers, but still follow ''the rule of second son'', were they conscript second oldest son of the family when he's old enough. There they are trained with sword and bow for a year, after that they are given choice out of three: to remain in military, go back to home or join "lords freeman", a band of soldiers under one commander that are free to move around Kulmorost and do mercenary jobs, most of the pay return back to lord. As per usual soldiers are armed with bone swords and wooden bows & arrows, leather armor finished with dyed cloth of plant or animal threads principality grows or buys. Renowned archers are given runed bone bows, while the higher in hierarchy you go the more enchanted troll or human they wear yet elegantly made. Smoking is a favorite Elvish past time, initially only becoming popular within the last 200 years. For centuries prior, the different tribes of Men had consumed psychedelic substances and herbs through the pipe. It was only through the introduction of Tobacco, brought by Lesian invaders, that the Elven people developed an insatiable appetite for the plant. It is not uncommon for all socio-economic classes to consume Tobacco, from the lowest serve smoking a cigarette to a highborn nursing a jade pipe. Elven society also knows for several short-lived, but strange fads - from ''"everybody wears wigs and fake beards"'' to ''"bestiality (humans included) is A-ok!"''. This gets noble elves sometimes not really deserved reputations of being depraved fucks with short attention span. Current fad is troll skin clothes, including underwear. Especially underwear with troll faces on it. Some noble family spender a fortune on full set of Night Troll skin suit, dress and frilly undergarments. The Elves ''might'' have been the members of the goblin race of old times, yet current era elves will not tolerate such insults. ==== Important Elvish Cities ==== *'''UR''': The de-facto unofficial capital of the Principalities. It also know to elves as '''"Place of Negotiations"''' '''"City of Deals"''' and a '''"Good place to buy a fine cheese"'''. It is a relatively new, but already one of the biggest city in all Principalities. It began his history as a main camp in a Human Exodus War, where Dwarves and Elves met first, then it became a fort, and lastly a city. It's not sporting a rich and ancient histories as other big Elven cities, but it's trading center of all Principalities, holding a claim being an unofficial capital of all Elves cities. <br />UR is famous for its magic markets, where you can buy all kinda of items, from mundane to rare.In less reputable parts of UR you can stumble to a slaves and a "cattle" markets, where mages can buy a material for an enchantments and a cheap labour. Those markets sells all kinds of "cattle" - from disgraced Dwarf to a rare Humans or even a Lesian (they are poor workforce, but their nerve and blood system are good magic conductors) *'''Treyach''': is located on banks of two rivers that combine into the Largest River on Elvish lands, three river banks form this city and three Princess control those banks. Each prince despises other two for way they govern and will never want to have anything in common with them, unless it's common enemy from outside that threatens all three in equal, then they forge a very short peace before threat is gone and they can return to wrestling over the city. <br /> Long time ago ancestors of each prince build own city on their own side and each of them didn't want for another to out do him or leave this place. Each time one of the cities gained more power two other united to cut it down, so it was for all time. As of today it has turned into one big metropolis. <br /> Treyach is booming with abundance of work, you can peacefully live your whole life here, not knowing what happens behind curtains or be unlucky enough to walk into stand off between soldiers of two principalities that ends bloody for all. **Northen bank is controlled by '''Yomen''' clan, with banner of flower on green field, they are the most elf-centric and take biggest pride in what elves can do. They mastered art of wine making, having biggest brewery in all land, rumors say that they lerned how to mix life essence of "lesser races" into wine, which not only enhances taste but also makes you feel more alive, beside that woodcrafting, wax making, honey and biggest market of plants in city. **On the East bank rules '''Kento''' clan, with banner of a gauntlet striking down on red font, they seek to utilise lesser races for own gain. Being most welcoming orcs flock to this clan for glory and pay, this gives Kento muscles to throw around. So they profit from managing docks and shipwright along with slave trade, disregarding how many orcs will die on work, anyway their body will be sold to Yomens. Thougher orcs are taught how to fight properly and serve as mercenaries and ship crew, they are constantly sent into open sea to search for new wonder and trade. Beside that Kento prosper on kettle, and trade of exotic beasts. **On west bank we have '''Arak''' clan, with their banner of two crossed hands before a rising sun, being most fond of dwarves they have many dwarvish masters from UAC work on bone trinkets and book writers, with elvish tongue and dwarvish carvings they created most advanced bone and leather musical instruments, as their orchestras perform on every important event in all Elf or Dwarf cities,while those in training perform on every corner of this city. Weaving, leather working and paper are also important for this clan, while their paper light are illuminating whole city during the night. They also train deadly assassins that are masters of subtlety, stealth and precise strikes. With abundance of targets in this city and Goblinoid-dwarves just just for change they hone their skills, engraved bone-stars are their favourite weapon though very costly to make, which makes them only users of such weapon. ==== Elvish Religion ==== Elvish religion is based around the concept that their own '''Society''' is in fact their creator spirit, and by making their cities and towns and roads are in fact "recreating" the body of their god. This is one of the reasons they treat their criminals so harshly as not only is the offender a criminal, but a heretic against their god. Worship of this god comes in the from of civic duty, doing your job and doing it well, and doing things "for the good of everyone". They believe that the dwarves have their own society/god, and due to their close alliance, that their society gods are close friends/lovers or siblings (or both). They do not believe the humans have a society god however, which is one of the reasons they think they have such a barbaric way of life. ==== Elven Cults==== *'''Candle Cult''': Elves who gain power by burning the bones of the dead. Live in the of City of Candles and are known to be accepting of other races as long as they are nonviolent. *'''Drow, the Lost Elves''': The black or gray skinned Elven outcasts that have abandoned the Elvish religion to become nomads in the southern desert. Drow means "Lost" in the Elvish language. Drow aren't any more evil than normal Elves, but they prefer to keep to themselves, are quite mysterious and are known to have mastered fire magic *'''Cult of Good Neighborhood''': Believe that the Elven Society God is easily polluted with impure thoughts, drugs and alcohol abuse and other improper things. They believe if everything is proper and good, then whole world is gonna be a better place. <br />While it's not unusual, The Cult a list of polluting things are long and VERY strict list. This list includes are colors and clothes you have to wear on everyday, forbidding drinking wine, what kind of meal you must eat on special occasions, specific length of hair for females and even replacement words you have to ask ("Darn" to "Damn" "Gosh" to "Shit" "Beasts" to "Humans"). If you break a rule from this list, punishments are severe and unforgiving. <br /> It is not a very popular Cult, but cities where it's dominated usually blessed with very good harvests, good weather and generally, much prospering lands. ==== Baseless Rumors ==== Elves are on the crossroads for all races to come, trolls, lesians, humans, orcs and dwarves all come here and it's only natural for common folk to create stories about them: Lesians actually are giant birds and capable of flying. They hide their magnificent wings pretty well. A Good Neighborhood cult are expanding more and more aggressively. Sooner or later they will go on a bloody crusade against us. All Gnomes are males and all Halflings are females. Once in a year they coming together into a MASSIVE orgy. I hear some human tribes want to parley with us. We will not let these barbarians into our lands, doesn't we? Slaves are sooo dull and common. A animated servant, on other hand... If you make a staff from Elder Tree, it will hold his personality and magic, making him practically immortal. Drows are up to something. More and more of their tribes coming to the North, carrying bags of seeds. It's a frozen wasteland, why they bring there seeds?!? Lesians and Humans are uniting against us. But their true target? Laffu. Cave Troll stomach can cure almost everything. It must be fresh, though. For best harvests, let your fields be soiled by virgin maiden. For a cup of fresh blood, a dwarf in Ur can make you a protective amulet against sunlight. No more tan ever! Halflings alchemists seeks a secret of our wines. Don't let them drink it! Gnomes are from the future. They saw something there and traveled back in time, preparing. Wanna know why drows are lost? Because their Society God was killed. You see, you can kill it and so Drows seeks a way to reanimate it. Did you heard about a pregnant statue? It gave a birth of healthy elf girl! All inks are made from blood. Especially powdered ones. Babies found in cabbages? A kid's tale. But a pumpkin, on other hand... All Orcs looks are same. It's because they ARE one man. Dwarves wanna invade us, that's for sure. You know what stops them? Ur. Layout of this city is a gigantic ritual which keeps dwarves in check. Trolls are closing in. And they want trade with us. Kobolds eggs are best for a frying. Just add lemon juice. === Dwarves === Dwarves are the most intellectually advanced race and are quite good at magic, especially enchantments. They highly value skilled jobs and education and the social status of a dwarf is mainly dependent on how much educated he is. Low skilled workers and farmers are the lower classes, semi-skilled are middle class and upper classes are highly skilled and scholars The dwarf government is a Republic supervised by a religious council. There is one elected Consul, 55 Senators, a representative of the lower and middle classes with a limited veto right, and a five representatives of the official cult of the Maker with a greater veto right. The religious council also has a lot of influence and is independent of the Senate for all religious matters. Dwarves still call themselves Kingdoms although their kings (and the ceremonial '''Overking''') have been mostly just figureheads after the UAC Heresy, when King Ronnac of House Morfir actually ''sided'' with the heretics. Afterwards no King has been given total power. Been allies with Elves since the War of Human Exodus. The Dwarvish calendar is solar based and composed of 19 months, each with 19 days and 4 or 5 intercalary days (depending on the year) inserted between the 18th and 19th months. Intercalation was once a practice forbidden by the Cult, but the old calendar had to be recalibrated and changed to include it after centuries of use. The Dwarves are also kind of history-altering, hypocritical, self important dicks. They just see themselves as the greatest civilization of all time, created from the essence of the true creator while other races are like animals and MAYBE get reincarnated forever in the lowest world, and even this is a very liberal belief. The orthodox cult thinks the poor are sinful because they are really not up to the standards of what it means to be a dwarf as they are individually almost useless to the dwarvish civilization and the Cult often refuses to inhume them, and many cities use their corpses for enchantments instead, something seen in a positive light by the general opinion as at least they are really helping to complete the Task in death, if not in life. ==== Important Dwarven Kingdom-Republics ==== Dwarves always write their cities with CAPITAL LETTERS. *'''GRON''': Former seat of the ceremonial Overking (now the Kinghood changes between republics) Gron is known for its massively prestigous universities of Gon and Ron.<br />It is otherwise rather poorly defended and mostly famous because of being in the crossroads of the Gold Vein and few major other roads that exist among the Republics. *'''The KAM peninsula''': (associated enough with the Dol Kam Kingdom to simply be named after it) is known for it's vast meadows with a very unique flora. <br />Most of the farming of the Dwarven Unions is done here, with a heavy focus on livestock production. It is also the main source of woods, plants and other organic materials. Fishers on the coast are also a great source of food and aquatic products. <br />The culture of the region is insular with an unusual rural and agricultural nature for most Dwarves. The nobility is strong with more than 40% of the population being serfs but free farmers are generaly seen as an skilled and respectable class here.<br />The Kam peninsula has always been peaceful as involving the region during the conflicts between the Dwarven Unions is a great political taboo, as it would cause a severe famine in all the Unions. *'''ZLUMBEN''': A small city of average wealth but highly praised by the dwarven academicians for its university and philosophers. <br />Religious authorities virtually don't hold any authority here and so philosophical developements are unhindered by the Cult of the Maker and is barely impacted by politics because of its relative isolation from the political centers. This is the reason why many intellectuals and philosophers migrate here, giving to the city and physicalist school a surprisingly strong intellectual influence on the Dwarven Unions. *'''QUEN''': A small port city on the North of Dwarven Unions controlled by generations of QUEN family with not very profitable mines several miles from it that yield high amount of iron that they have no use for. This ore they dug is later throw out into the Tahalacas Ocean. Beside stone mined the city also started their own Troll hunting after hearing of MUN success. *'''VALK''': Also called Valkenburg, this dwarven town on the The Gold Vein between COL and UR, VALK is known for its universities specializing in elven studies and their large printing presses trough which majority of translated elvish material is printed. <br />A place of ancient history: VALK is built on old Human ruins (Valkenburg was its Haumic name which even today still sometimes pops up) and was one of the first cities razed by the Dwarf-Elf Alliance: the stones of Castle Valkenburg were later used in building the Citadel of NOS. <br /> Nowadays, VALK is in the gripes of a particularly strict part of the orthodox Cult of the Maker. They are often using the printing presses to publish material opposing the goblinoid and UAC dwarves who neighbor the western elven principalities. Rumors about the Cult influencing the the lectures at the University are nonsense. ''Totally'' not the dwarven Ministry of Truth *'''HOR ''': The official capital of the UAC Dwarf Cities, although the heresy did not start there. Hor is situated southwest of the Mountains, at the small bay just before the short VIK river.<br />Friendly port for almost everyone, even Lesian traders visit it. The city is surprisingly young for a dwarf one, having been built merely 300 years ago to give Dwarves a port city to the Lesian Channel.<br />The small HOR bay is known for delicious oysters and their pearls, who contain faint magical traces. *'''BUM''':BUM is a dwarven city among the Gold Vein, between GRON and Drunderburg. <br />Once a full kingdom its significance has been greatly diminished after their King chose the wrong side in UAC heresy. It is noways just a frequent stopping place for wagons of merchants and travelers and few venture inside the walled city. This barony is known among dwarves as a ''"good place to get some warm cheese on your bread before continuing among your travel."'' ==== Dwarven Religion ==== Orthodox dwarves believe in a kind of platonism or benevolent gnosticisme where a creator god, '''the Architect''', created a Demiurge called '''the Maker''' and charged him to subcreate the world under his direction. Dwarves considered themselves to have been chosen by the Maker and charged by him to multiply and create civilization as the Demiurges within this world. They believe they will be reincarnated in this world until they accomplish their task, and then will ascend to the Realm of the Architect with the Maker as a reward, while the other races will live forever in this world, but transformed into a terrestial paradise. There is no dogma about whether or not non-dwarves have an afterlife, the most traditionnalists thinks they cease to exist after while moderates thinks they reincarnate as non-dwarves for all eternity. Altough this is mostly folklore, most dwarves thinks bad dwarves will have to expiate their sins before being allowed in the Realm of the Architect. "Before The Architect there was only void." It has been said that before The Architect the Dwarves worshipped The Void, the destroyer, whose emissaries they believed to be the proto-goblins. When proto-goblin society began to fall into anarchy the emergent cult of The Architect overtook the worship of The Void, allowing its leaders to take control of dwarvish society and eventually drove its few remaining worshippers underground, along with what little remained of goblin-kind. ====Dwarven [[Heresy|heresies]]==== *'''Universal Adoration of the Creators''': Major heresy born from the most liberal movements within the Cult of the Maker and the ressentiment of the lower classes towards the classism of the Dwarvish Republic. Differences to orthodox branch: **All beings are equal in the eyes of the Architect and of the Maker. **Members can include non-dwarves (all those working as "Demiurges within this world" will ascend to the Realm of the Architect and not only dwarves) **Dwarves and non-dwarves alike need a time of purification after a bad life before being reincarnated. **The works of all "Demiurges within this world" are important and not only the greatest, the important is to do as much as you can and those with less opportunities and capacities shouldn't be seen as lesser. **The Maker already ascended to the Realm of the Architect and both the Maker and the Architect should be directly worshiped. (Unlike the main branch where the work of the Maker is not finished until the one of the dwarves, and the Maker is the only one to directly supervise them) *'''The Goblinoids''':Small but powerful sect of wizards with both dwarvish, elvish and even halfling members.<br />Vaguely based on the metaphysics of the Cult of the Maker, the Goblinoids upholds magic as the supreme principe in the universe and matter as entirely caused and enslaved by it.<br />Both magic and matter are without consciouness or personhood and there is no gods, life and the intelligents races emerged from natural magical and matter processes.<br />Non-magicals beings are purely material beings and their consciouness ceases after physical death.<br />The consciouness of magical beings persists in magic after death but quickly dissolves within it unless they are powerful enough and initiated to the magical exercices allowing the wizards of the sect to indefinitely retain their consciouness in the magical principle.<br />Just as magic enslaves the matter, the natural order is for the most magically gifted to enslave the less gifted and to treat the unmagicals as the animals they are.<br />And the natural duty of the gifted is to explore the possibilities of magic in their fullest.<br />The Goblins were the noblest race to have walked on this earth, supremaly talented with an unegaled knowledge of magic and only small minds ressent them for the collateral damage infliged on lesser races, for why should giants care about ants they are on the greatest quest ?<br />Yet they failed, but failure is not unavoidable and that's why we should take example on them, both to emulate their greatness, and for not repeating their errors.<br />The sect of the Goblinoids don't care about race but only magical, the hierarchy is divided by layers of initiation but the more talented you are, the more you can go up.<br />They are very interrested by magical knowledge, ancient goblin artifacts and wisdom, and ways to make them more magically powerful. *'''Physicalist School''': The physicalist school of thought believes everything is physical phenomena. They don't believe everything is material as magic and maybe minds are immaterial but they think both material and immaterial things are physics and part of this world. They reject any notion of spiritual reality, don't believe in worlds outside this world and highly value empiricism and non-theological philosophy. <br />They ''do not believe'' in the Maker, the Architect and other gods and are generaly skeptical of religion even if they don't reject reincarnation within this world and some spiritual concepts non involving supposed realities outside of this world and think they could be misinterpreted actual magical phenomena.<br /> The only "stronghold" of the Physicalist School is Zlunben near the eastern shore, a small city of average wealth but highly praised by the dwarven academicians for its university and philosophers. *'''Astrology''':Despite not being endorsed by the Cult of the Maker (but far to be considered an heresy), many dwarves believe in a form of astrology : Dwarves are under the influence of the constellatation associated with the month they are born in. *'''Quen family''': they hold small port city on the North of Dwarven Unions with not very profitable mines several miles from it that yield high amount of iron that they have no use for. This ore they dug is later throw out into the Tahalacas Ocean. Beside stone mined the city also started their own Troll hunting after hearing of MUN success. Parties of hardened sailors leave the port with abundance of food as said in guidline for "Troll hunting for dwarves" on ships and after week return with more dead trolls than same number of elves could hunt in twice the time, another victory for dwarves! This hunting also is much, much safer than those MUN teams, as almost all the time dwarves with no loses.What is not known for anyone but ruling family and sailors that go hunting is that they haven't killed single troll in years. Under cover of night they fill ships with food and iron ore and sail to place known as "Smugglers cove" an island close to shores of Trolls, there they trade their food and ore with human mercenaries for troll remains they hunted. This is such a huge secret as most of the time weapon smithed from ore turns back on other dwarves, and most of the hunting casualties are men who are deemed to be untrustworthy and sent to sleep with the wishes lest they tell someone else about this deal *'''The Alchemical Botanists''': These mages from the Dol Kam Kingdom are known for their flora-based magic.<br />Strangely enough, most of the flowers and plants they use are not magical in nature, something that puzzles most outsider mages.<br />The truth is that they use plants-based potons as an extremely subtle medium for spellcasting instead of movements or incantations.<br />Mastering this art takes decades but allow the Alchemical Botanists to cast extremely precise spells.<br />Many of their imitators instead believe the potions themselves are magical, and the Alchemical Botanists are glad to pretend is it indeed the case as a form of red herring.<br />They are somewhat considered as druids in the Kingdom and they are deeply involved with the royal family.<br />Religiously, altough they recognize the authority of the Cult of the Maker, they believe their tradition is a secret knowledge and perspective about the natural allowing them to have some glimpses of the plan of the Architect, justifying how they can use nature as a medium for changing the world. ==== Baseless Rumors ==== Not every dwarf is highly educated, so many of them hold stories heard at the pub as truth: They say some dwarves are trading with humans, on regular basis. Trolls are moving closer to our land each year. Is something drives them out from their lands? Or it's invasion? You know why we didn't killed all humans in Human Exodus war? Because we maked a deal with them. They say necromancers found a way to make a spitits from rocks. Crazy, huh? Gnomes are preparing for a war - but against who? Can we trust them so they don't invade our lands? For every "for the good of the realm!" spoken from leaders, a ten dwarves dies. These words are sacrifice to something sinister, I say! There is secret ingredient Elves keep us from making a cheese with infinite lifespan. We must kill them all steal these secret for us! Orcs are actually evolved Goblins. Trust me. Humans? Bah, they all dead. Nothing can live on a North, really. It's a trolls wearing a human skin Elves are sure crazy. One day I traveled to one of their city and I saw how their buildings are MOVING, with legs and all. Why? Because they wanna find a spot "just right". You wanna marry Elf? Didn't you know they all are male only race? Their females are animated dolls. All Roads lead to Ur. One way on another, everyone in civilized world was in Ur. UAC dwarves and their ideas! What next - Maker was not a God?! Architect are fake?!? Government actually not destroy Goblins artifacts - they a selling them to someone else for gifts. What gifts? Who knows. When you see a sober Halfling, kick him - it's a shapeshifter! Orcs wanna steal our jobs and secrets! We must build a wall against them! And orcs must build it for us! Don't eat cheese with elves - your beard will fall out. Dip your fingers into a special ink, and you will see a many,many secrets. Books are holding such power because they ARE magical. All of them, even most worthless ones. Dogs was bred from humans. Or it's humans was made from dogs? Most delicious soup is made from hardened cheese, a soft cheese, herbs, breadcrumbs and a single Lesian tear. === Lesians === Alpha predator reptiles from the Western isles. Their language is almost incomprehensible to other races, as it depends on hissing, beak clacking, and cawing in a rapid pace syllabyllic dialect. Lesia is a rough translation of L'hs'iy'ah. Very few Lesians have the mental capacity to learn other languages, and those that do see little reason to communicate with the other strange and fragile races. Their society is gathered into several dozen anarchic tribes, each composed of several dozen clans, each composed of several dozen mating pairs and their offspring. Due to their predatory, competitive nature, Lesian tribes and clans often fight over resources and familial disputes. To a Lesian, his clan and tribe are sacred, mates are less revered because they change seasonally. When the Lesians evolved sapience, they drove the Blood Orcs from their homeland in a long, and bloody war. *'''The Everliving Queen''':Rumour has it that on the westernmost island, a Lesian who forsook the sun has delved into necromancy. They say that she has many undead followers now, each put to work to build a mighty fortress for her. The other Lesians despise her, if the rumours are true. It has been said that she found an old artefact, a font that when touched, returns her to her youth. What does this mean for the other nations? Is this necromancer a threat? Who knows.... ==== Lesian Clans ==== *'''The Illakara clan''': They are somewhat split from the rest of the Lesians as they do not follow the same church. They worship the god Erreko instead of the demigod Kallasaak. For this they are shunned. They are believed to be the origin of the black lesians, as they have the most specialist forces that act the way they were described as doing. Besides this, they are not trusted by the other Lesians. *'''The Krannick clan''': providers of food to the Lesian war machine, they are known best for their hunters and foragers, and their location just next to a particularly bountiful section of the Lesian jungle. There is growing tensions between the Krannick and Illakara clans. *'''The Kallanashi clan''': This clan is known as the divine clan, as old stories tell that this is the resting place of the prophet Rionus. They say he built this city with the magic of Kallasaak, as proof to the unbelievers gathered of her majesty. At the center of the city's maw lies a flower that has branches of bone, leaves like shedskin, and meaty fruit that seem to almost drip from the bone-branches. They are believed by many, to truly be meat, and if eaten, grow back in a day. These fruits alone could nourish the city itself, if they were not guarded so jealously by the church. The Equa visits this city in pilgrimage every year on the longest day of summer (when Rionus supposedly died), to pay respects. Most Lesians will visit this holy city at least once in their lifetimes. *'''The Lakash clan''': This clan is known for being sneaky and almost desperate in their will to survive. They call a land full of goblin ruins in an island off the coast of the mainland home. There is risk of outright conflict between the Lakash and the Kallanashi clans, due to the Lakash clans alliance with a human tribe living on a nearby island. Only the intervetion of the Equa has prevented war between the clans. Besides this, the Lakash clan is known for espionage and naval warfare due to having ships on par with some human designs, due to the human tribe they are allied with being particularly naval-based, a splinter group of the human pirate faction (I forget the name). That being said, the Lakash jealously guard the designs for their ships, and so they do not exist in great numbers, and the majority of Lesian ships are simple, druidically grown vessels. (Somebody else can develop ideas for that human tribe if they like, I'm more about dem Lesians). *'''The Nilass clan''': They are the most militant and one of the most populous of the clans, and provide most of the fighting force for Lesia. They have the most harbours and ships, and have great support from other clans, being indispensable as an ally, and dangerous as an enemy. They have great gladiatorial arenas, and it is outright encouraged to settle disputes with violence, in order to make their people stronger. It is due to this clans efforts that elven scouts are hastily reporting home with stories of terrifying, vicious, warlike raptors preparing for an invasion. *'''The Zejji clan''': This clan has governance over much of the Lesian savanna, considered a holy place by many due to the natural heat in the area (good for reptiles). The clan breeds more lesians every year than all of the other clans combined. They have a strong alliance with the Nilass clan, and many families send off their children every season to Nilass city to help build an army. The families running both clans have been fast friends since time immemorial, since the families originally worked together to drive out the orcs (tell me if I got any lore wrong there, I'm sure the orcs were on Lesia at some point). *'''The Iqunn clan''': The Iqunn clan are only involved in the church reluctantly, and had to be forced into it. They were originally worshippers of the seas and moons, and believed that when you died your spirit sailed across the sea until it met the horizon, and then swam through the stars to the moons, where they would spend eternity in whichever moon they reached (one equivalent hell and heaven). There was a war against them, waged by the Zejji and Nilass clans, and they lost and renounced their faith, and joined the church of Kallasaak. *'''The Yixxa clan''':The Yixxa are fierce warriors and recently allied themselves with the Iquun clan. They are strong believers in the church, but also are the most accepting of outsiders and those who believe differently. They wear animal skins, and are seen as unusual by other lesians, for crafting obsidian weapons (instead of rip and tearing with claws and maws) for hunting and fighting. They are surprisingly good with their obsidian axes and are good at guerilla warfare. *'''The Lexxa clan''': Old allies of the Yixxa clan, these two clans have been allies since time immemorial, for a reason they don't share with others. Strangely, the Lexxa clan is oddly secretive and private to any other clans besides Yixxa, and after dusk, outsiders must leave, and are not allowed in until dawn. They are powerful mages, strong with light and nature magic. Their secret? Every month, they have to fight off an assault from the water itself. Intelligent foes called the '''Gualli''' come to the surface from deep sea trenches every night and attempt to lure weak-willed lesians to the waters edge and drag them to the depths for some unknown purpose. The Lexxa fight off this assault whenever possible, often with help from the Yixxa. ==== Lesian Religion ==== Lesians believe that a god with the head of a frilled lizard, the limbs of a monkey and the body of a snake regurgitated the world as an egg. They say he holds a staff that contains the sun at its tip. They believe that he then regurgitated the moons, and then, a much smaller egg that became the first dragon, serpentine and wingless. They say this dragon was the daughter of the god '''Erreko''', and that she was the demi-god of rebirth and reincarnation. It is believed that she spawned the rest of the dragons, who then shaped the world with their fire and claws. They believe that the Lesians themselves were the result of Erreko's first breath upon the world, that the divinity of his breath turned mere rocks into the first Lesian egg clutches. The Lesians worship Erreko devoutly, but a lot of their practices originate from beliefs regarding '''Kallasaak''', the demigod dragon. They eat the hearts of the dead, believing that if they are not eaten, they cannot come back in the next life, as their heart and therefore their soul and spirit, has not been given back to the world. Minor funerals are held for the dead, so long as this takes place, and it is not as much as a sad occasion as it is for other races, as they thoroughly believe it is not the end. However, when a Lesian dies in such a way that their heart cannot be consumed, there is a great funeral, and all who ever met the individual usually show to pay respects, and it is a tremendously tragic, and sorrowful time. Even those who had not known them well tend to express a sorrow that is greater than that displayed at the funerals for other races, for they truly believe that the Lesian has gone forever, their soul permanently destroyed. The Lesians have a female 'pope' equivelant, the proper title Equa, from the lesian ihk'oo'ah, where the 'ihk' is more of a bird-like click that often resembles an 'E' sound. The Equa is considered the reincarnation of Kallasaak (who is always female), the reincarnation dragon demi-god worshipped by the lesians. Every new Equa is chosen from a female hatched during the moment when the previous one dies. Due to this, when the Equa is dying they are often brought to the egg chambers to die. During the time where the new Equa is growing still, their world is ruled by the priesthood of Tel-lakki, the 'church' of Erreko, who will raise the young female until she is ready to rule. The current Equa is a 6 year old lesian (just one year away from being considered an adult, as Lesians only typically live to 30, and grow to maturity fast, and have an obscenely long prime, where they tend to just die afterwards). She is currently still being raised by the Tel-lakki, but has a lot of involvement in any decisions being made at this point, and holds a lot of sway and favour with the church of the sun. She is devout to a fault, she is fierce and she is warlike. However, she refuses to ignore the strength of any individual, lesian or no, and is currently in the midst of a scandal, as she has invited the daughter of a human warlord (from a tribe that settled on the north coast of Lesia and 'have an understanding' with the lesians) to join the Tel-lakki to serve as her as her war advisor. This has understandably split the opinions of the Sharrila priests (the high court of the Tel-lakki), and this division is the reason that the planned invasion into elven lands has been temporarily put on hiatus. === Goblins (Nickname, Real name unknown) === [[File:Kulmorost_Map_v8_Ancient.png|thumb|frame|Map of the world before the Goblins fucked it. Note: based on earlier world map, coasts really simple!]] They were once once mighty race that, from over use of magic, have deformed into loathsome, hunchbacked [[Chaos_Spawn|monsters]]. They were once on par with the elves and dwarves in their cities and agricultural projects. (They in fact resembled elves in almost every way and are speculated to have been elves once). But they in their might they became greedy for power and were constantly casting rituals to increase their might; whether in physical strength or in willpower or in durability, and whenever they increased in strength they captured more land for none were quite as strong or clever. But this over use of ritualistic and primal magic became almost like an addiction. And the more they used it the more they hated themselves and the more power they wanted. Eventually it got to such a point that they seemed to have overloaded and could not cast even the simplest of spells that should only take a child to comprehend. Seeing their chance the mighty Dwarves beat back their oppressors who were now reaped of all their powers and were now weak in comparison to all others. The Dwarves with the aid of a few Elvish princes destroyed their cities and forced them underground. There they hid, hating all who use magic for it reminds them of their former glory. Ancient records are sketchy so no-one really knows their real name. Perhaps the records were destroyed as a mockery or even a curse towards them. But today they are known by the Dwarves as Ztunzka by the Elves Yrglin and by the rest of the world as Goblins. At the pinnacle of their reign the Goblins created many monsters, particularly the Crude Dragons. Most creatures that appear to be mixtures of several different animals can usually be attributed to the Goblins (e.g. Chimaera, Manticore, Gruphon, Sharks with legs). They also created The Halflings. ==== Goblin Religion ==== There is little evidence of any kind of organised religion among the Goblins, to them it seemed magic and power in the material world is all one should strive for. Instead of believing they were shaped in the image of a great god, they instead attempted to shape a great god in theirs and bend it to their will. === Orcs === Orcs are an oddity among the magical races as they are utterly unable to canalize magic on their own but are devoted priests and have a strong affinity for the spirits of their ancestors. Most of them live in the less populated regions of the south and have migrated in these regions well after the War of Human Exodus. They tend to be physically stronger than humans but are generaly less resilient and very risk averse. They are already adult at 12 but are already old near 40, and die quickly after 60. Orcs would generally be glad to be accepted into any society, usually as a hired hand or merc. Although some orcs would prefer to remain solitary and act as bandits (much like the humans do). Many of them try to integrate (and very willingly, almost disturbingly, assimilate within) elven or dwarve communauties, with varying degree of success but always with enthusiasm. ==== Orc Customs ==== Common Orcish society is divied into three broad groups, nomadic Orcs, settled Orcs, and Orcs that have integrated into Non-Orc society. Blood Orc society is made up of scattered nomadic bands of pirates, raiders, and bandits. Nomadic Orcs typically live in close-knit familial groups of 20-30, led by a council of elders, or the most powerful tribal priest, or the strongest chieftain. Due to their ancestor worship, the older an Orc is, the more respected they are by the younger Orcs, and in tribes that are ruled by a chieftain, or tribal priest, they almost always take, or at least listen to the advice of the oldest Orcs in the tribe. Orc Tribes would rather avoid a threat than waste lives and time trying to eliminate it, unless they have no choice, in which case they will do everything in their power to destroy that threat. In the event that a Tribe faces a threat to dangerous for it to defeat on its own, the Tribe will gather several other Tribes to assist them, and unless the Tribe is hated by other Tribes for whatever reason, they usually have no trouble finding aid, as Orcs believe all Orcs are kin, however distant. Tribal Orc mating customs vary from Tribe to Tribe, but these are the most common practices. *Some Orc Tribes practice a sort of polyamorous marriage, there is no limit to the amount of husbands or wives one may have, but they must come from another Tribe, to prevent incest, which is seen as blasphemous. If an Orc decides that they don't want to be married with their spouse any longer, they tell the Tribal Priest, who tells the ancestors, discontinuing the marriage. *Some Orc Tribes don't practice any kind of marriage and sleep with whoever they feel like, whenever it strikes their fancy. These Tribes are extremely welcoming to outsiders, and often meet with other Tribes, to keep their gene pool from getting too shallow. A few Orc Tribes practice a kind of eugenics, where only the strongest and most cunning Orcs are allowed to breed, with the idea that the ancestors want their descendants to improve themselves, and that eugenics is the most effective way to please the ancestors. These Tribes are usually smaller than other Tribes, but are made up of hardier Orcs. In Orc Tribes led by a male chieftain, it isn't uncommon for them to claim themselves a harem of the Tribes finest Orc females, claiming it is their right, as they lead the Tribe, are first into battle, and are the strongest in the eyes of the ancestors. Most Orcs don't resent this, as any Orc who believes himself to be the strongest can challenge the chieftain to a duel. In a duel, the challenger chooses the weapons, and the location of the duel. The two fight in front of the entire Tribe, until one Orc is victorious. The winner of the duel becomes chieftain, and depending on the Tribe, the loser is either killed or banished from the Tribe forever. There is no limit to amount of duels a chieftain can fight, but an Orc can only challenge the same chieftain once. Because of these duels, the chieftain is always either the strongest or the most skilled warrior, usually both. ==== Orc Religion ==== Their religion is based on the worship of a few deities revolving around basic elements of their live (Godess of Fertility for both females and agriculture, god of war, god of tribal authority,ect..) but very predominantly the cult of their ancestors. The inclusion of a poorly understood and bastartized Maker is common among the dwarves wannabes. Most of them are organized in groups of agricultural and exogamic clans, ruled by a tribal king elected for life by the chiefs of the clans. Some of the most advanced tribes are revolving around a small town whose need are provided by the agricultural clans. They are matrilienal and patriarchal even if not in a very dominant or rigid way. ====Orc Clans==== *'''Blood Orcs''':The Western Orcs were a subspecies of Orcs, known as Blood Orcs for their dark red skin, [[Khorne|bloody]] religious customs, and their extreme hatred of the other races. After Lesians drove them from their homelands they are mostly extinct due to their ritualistic thirst for blood. Now, they're an extremely rare minority, and are scattered across the world. They make an effort to avoid other races when possible, but constantly raid them for Blood, metal, supplies, and to avenge their ancestors. They live in nomadic tribes to avoid being wiped out by other races. Many tribes and individuals work as bandits, pirates, and mercenaries. *'''The Ghash clan''':The Ghash orcish clan of the southern waste are known for their heavy militaristic like doctrine keeping peace between the clans. Their main home is a mining town build into the sides of a large ravine. They hold power by trading the Dwarven clans a highly explosive power for their superior Dwarven weapons and tools. They are also infamous for their Thunder Staffs, which are seen by non-Orcs as overly complicated, insane, and suicidal to use and horrifying due to the extreme damage it causes. Almost all non-Orcs want nothing to do with it, and while Humans would probably love to get their hands on it, the Ghash Clan isn't willing to give away the secret of their explosive powder to anyone. *'''The Drunder Tribe''':The Drunder Tribe is one of the orcish tribe geographically closest to the Dwarves, more specifically near the region where are the few UAC citied, and are know' for being "Dwarfizer" , orcs that try to mimic as much as possible the Dwarves since they were converted by UAC missionnaries. Their religion is a odd syncretism of the UAC heresy and the orcish religion : Both the Architect and the Maker were given the functions of their old gods as attributes with a tendency for the Maker to have the practical ones and the Architect the more abstract and "civilized" ones (Maker the Midwife, Architect the Scribe, Maker the Warrior, Architect the Ruler,ect...and even a Architect the Architect). They are infamous among other orcs to put their fellow dwarvish UAC believers above pagan orcs. *'''The Laffu Clan''': A particularly untrustful nobadic orc clan of jokers and thieves known for their demonic masks. In the past they were actual threat and were defeated by common orcs led by warlord Stukc the Boring. Now ''extinct'', see The Laffu below. ===Laffu=== [[File:LaffuHead.jpeg|thumb|frame|The Black Earth rises again]] Originally believed to be a weird clan of trickster orcs known for demonic masks nowdays it has been speculated by dwarven scholars that the Laffu are in fact something far sinister. The Laffu have few holds on the Western shores of the Southern Peninsula, just south of the Hive of Dragons. It was here where they were driven by the warlord Stukc the Boring after he ''"did not get their joke with their wedding-present"''. It was long believed that the Laffu were almost extinct nomads, but roughly thirty years ago these masked orcs started to build holds on the shores. The more common clans still hated them and a Ghash-led army with a large Blood Orc contingent attacked them - intending to wipe them from the maps. Surprisingly the Laffu repulsed the assault and drove the attackers from their lands. Their fire-capabilities overpowered the orcs, while survivors often joked that ''"the Laffu were unorcly easy to kill once you got close to them, but darn they were cunning and vicious!"'' The rumors about dying Laffu burning themselves was another amazing fact but believed to be true. During the war another insult of the Blood Orcs incurred: The Laffu began (or some say that restarted an old tradition) of making suits of their dead enemies, particularly the Blood Orcs. After this '''second Laffu - Orc war''', the Laffu were left alone, nor they much cared about the outside lands. The Laffu Holds are known to be particularly bad trade locations and the Drow tend stay far away from their lands. Yet slavers often find easy market there, as the Laffu buy almost everything. Curiously, in recent years Laffu immigrants have been spotted in many other cities of Kulmorost. They speak of being outcasts, having been forced from their homelands due unknown reasons (different individuals state different reasons). There has been some worrying observations: The Laffu have far thinner body structure compared to orcs (or even elves to that matter) almost skeletal body. Their voices, gruttular as any orc has unnatural echoes and an underlying vile tone that frightens anyone who is alone with a Laffu. There is also the terrifying rumor about a Laffu that had died in a bar brawl in Treyarch: the local elves made frightening discovery: Under the red-leather devil mask of the dead Laffu was no orc face, but a hideous black face with real horns. In fact, the Laffu are not orcs any more. They are are ''the Children of the Black Dunes''. They killed the old Laffu Orcs and have been masquerading as them ever since. The Children come from the Black Dunes of the Southern Wastes. Literally: they crawl from the dark sands, fully formed ebony thin half-horned humanoids. ''The Black Earth rises again.'' In combat, Laffu are fierce and fast. Highly resistant to magic They are especially deadly when equipped with long spears using their incredible speed and power to quickly overcome their foes. However, they are not very resistant physically, and so are easily dispatched with quality steel weaponry. When they die they burst into flames, returning to ash they originate from. As they come from the leftover magic from the catalyst the Laffu are an abomination of earth and flesh and magic. In some way a living rock-being, but more than that, the Black Earth is turned into flesh, their skin feels like the other races skin, their blood is still blood but hot like molten rock, their bodies can be destroyed like the other races but they're different. They burst into flames when they die and their bodies turn back to black earth, they're strong and fast but yet still quite fragile. They have strange magic, confined to earth and rock, they can compact sand and earth pulling spears out of seemingly nowhere, but lack magic ability in any other substances including runes and language The Laffu are a smart race: masquerading as another race to not draw suspicion, perhaps knowing they'll be hunted, they've had their men traveling all over the continent gaining knowledge and power, they work together, they fight together, they're ancient, pragmatic, they have the blood of the things that the goblins poured into their failed god, humans, Orcs, Dwarves, every beast from the land and The blood and magic power of the Goblins themselves. They are an entirely new kind of life, they sort of ARE the Goblin God or the Goblins in new form. Yet they are still few and are new to the world. What they want is unknown but they all belong to one ideology and ''the goals of the entire race are aligned.'' The Laffu have many vocal cords and speak a guttural deep language made up of many vile and strange sounds. Some of their physiology comes into effect when they speak other languages, giving them an unnatural echo and an almost bull-like tone. The Laffu do not really give a shit about what the goals of the other races goals are. The Laffu are just gaining information and forming their own plans and ideas for the world, getting ready for the future, like they know something the others do not. There one exception to their uncaring stance: whether knowingly or unknowingly, the Laffu absolutely fucking ''HATE'' the remaining goblins on a subconscious level. Even if they do not know the reason why - they just want to torture the life out slowly out of every singly goblin they meet. Apart from a great hatred of the Goblins, they're just indifferent towards the other races, the other races aren't really important in the big picture of things. they're expendable. As such, they are hold the Goblinoids in the same uncaring ignorance like the rest, although they (being perhaps the only ones to do so) realize that the Goblinoid cultists are mere cheap knockoffs of the Real Goblins. ====Laffu Religion==== It has been said that the Laffu worship gods of life, and have the belief that death is not the end, and are instead obsessed with the idea of the continuation of life, just on the other side. They worshiped a '''great pantheon of gods''', and as a civilization they were innovative and inventive when it came to technology, and focused on that a little more than magic. However, like all the Laffu speak, could be just complete lies. It is not known well what the Children of the Black Earth want from this world or why. === Minor Species === ====The Traders of the Mist==== Mysterious heavily clothed merchants that from across the southern ocean to sell strange magical items. No-one ever sees their faces and the stink of fish hangs about their clothes, they speak no known languages and only communicate with hand gestures and body language. Some think they''might'' have given the first humans the gift of Magic a long, long, long time a go. Very few are trust them and most tend to steer away when they come near. But those that do trust them enough to trade are very grateful indeed, for the items they sell are extremely valuable (in usefulness and wealth) to travelers and common folk alike. ====Trolls==== Trolls inhabit the mountainous stretch of land connecting the Northern Waste to the rest of Kulmorost and have very large noses. Trolls have more magical ability than humans, but it varies between subspecies. There are four varieties of troll: *'''Hill Trolls''': Are the largest, loudest, most brutally unforgiving bastards... If you get on their bad side, they are generally quite peaceful, but are extremely territorial. They are the strongest and largest of all intelligent races, and love to show off their strength by building huge stone houses on the highest point they can find that still has relative easy access. A Hill Troll's territory size is determined by how far they can see from their tower, which results in stronger Hill Trolls attempting to shorten the towers of weaker ones. Hill Trolls imbue magic into the ground around their homes (into the plants actually) to make brambles grow and climb up their towers to ward off intruders. *'''Cave Trolls''': The Cave Troll is the creature that most sympathizes with fa/tg/uys; They never go outside (they hate the sunlight) they're overweight and malnourished at the same time (from overabundance of carb-loaded mushrooms). They are considered the least intelligent and are the most likely to attack someone on sight, even when they aren't hungry. They do this out of fear more than anything. They have around the same level of magical ability as Humans but are too stupid to figure out how to use any form of magic. *'''River Trolls''': The most intelligent sub-race of trolls, they live (where else) in and around rivers, lakes and creeks. Th gain their superior intelligence from consumption of seafood. River Trolls love to play tricks on other creatures, although the creatures on the receiving end of these pranks ''never'' enjoy this as it usually ends up with a Troll chewing on their leg. River trolls live in dam-like houses (muck like a beaver) built upon a river. This gives them a constant supply of fresh water and fish through their homes. Some River Troll huts strikingly resemble bridges across the water, travelers often attempt to cross this way and fall victim to the River Troll within. River Trolls have small magical ability but are clever enough to use it effectively. They love to toy with travelers, creating floating, glowing wisps made of bone, and invisible pit-traps. *'''Night Trolls''': Most races consider Night Trolls to be undoubtedly evil across the board. They eat flesh ([[Rip And Tear|all kinds of flesh.]]) and live most of their lives in solitude away from other species, in caves and abandoned forts and in some cases old wells. And of course, they only hunt at night, making travel through the mountains after night fall a near death sentence. Their dark skin and affinity for black bear hides makes them nearly invisible at night, and since they are thinner and leaner than other trolls, they can pass over stones unheard until they are too close for it to matter. Night Trolls don't hate light, and they are not nocturnal, but they are weaker than other, more territorial Trolls (Hill Trolls in particular) so they hide. They hunt at night, but only around once every three days, other days they sleep in the night. The magical ability of Night Trolls is surprisingly high compared to the other sub-species (probably because of their flesh fetish). Some believe that there are some Night Trolls who wear the fresh carcasses of slain beasts as camouflage, its effectiveness may be due to some enchantments of the flesh. ====Halflings==== The Halflings were originally humans, kidnapped by the goblins as children and bred to be pets (and occasionally snacks) for their goblins overlords, made to be short and dumpy as this was cute to the Goblins. However when the war against the Goblins started they made a horrible discovery :their halfing's inherent magical abilities had grown. some believe this was due to constant exposure to the Goblin's twisted magics, others believe that all souls have a certain amount of magic in them and that in making the Halflings small they concentrated their magical abilities. Inevitably the truth matters not. The Halflings, led by Grobal the Butcher (so named as he murdered his Goblin master and constructed staves from its remains) rebelled against their masters and aided the dwarfs in defeating them. In return the dwarfs offered them some few lands to call their own. Some rejected this offer, traveling the world in small caravans or becoming citizens of other nations as opposed to their own sovereign land whilst other accepted the offer graciously. Those Halflings who accepted the offer are known as '''Gnomes''' whilst those who rejected it are known as '''Kotarfs''', kot being the dwarvish word for wanderer or traveler, and arf meaning person (Dwarves use simplistic terms and are not very imaginative). To other races the dwarvish word "arf" means "little person" and so is still used appropriately, but they pronounce the plural "Kotarves". The reasons behind the Halfling spilt are unknown to most non-halfings. Most assume it had something to do with the quality of the land they were offered (for while it was costal and bordered dwarf lands it also bordered the southern wastes and Halflings relationships with Orcs have always been a little strained), but the reality has less to do with other races and more to do with Halflings themselves. You see, Halflings believe that, at some point or another, a war will be fought - a war that if lost will doom all life but if won will bring freedom to all creatures of the world. Kotarves believe this "End-war" was fought and won against the Goblins, so they might as well spend their lives seeking, finding and living in contentment, rather than waste it worrying. Gnomes on the other hand believe either that the war against the Goblins is not over till their are no Goblins left, or that the End-war was not the war that was fought against the Goblins. Either way they spend their time preparing their lands and people for this inevitable war, stockpiling weapons and fortifying their cities, so that they may have a chance of winning ====Centaurs==== Centaurs are a subrace of humans. Legends say that during the War of Human Exodus Elven and dwarven great scholars cast an experimental curse based on goblin magic on some fleeing that was supposed to erase their legs, instead what ended up happening was that the fleeing humans combined with their beasts. Most centaurs are half horse, while a very rare subset of them are half-donkey. Centaurs are very sought after by other humans due to their great strength. Centaurs do not reproduce with other kinds of humans as the offspring born of those unions results in monstrosities with random human and horse characteristics. Centaurs have no lands of their own, and are an extremely rare minority, both feared and reviled by other races for their unnatural physiology and Human ancestry. They are nomadic sheep and goat herders and they herd along a series of routes seasonally. They are known for their skill with the bow and lance, and their reckless, volatile, and rambunctious personalities. Some Centaur Tribes have abandoned herding entirely, instead, looting caravans and raiding settlements for supplies. Centaurs have magical talent comparable to that of Humans, and they are known for their disdain towards mates. Perhaps it is a quirk of their unnatural biology, or an inherent racial ability, but Centaurs are known and feared for their resistance towards magic. Mages who've battled Centaurs claim that their magical attacks had barely half their usual effect, as if the Centaurs wore a layer of pure silver. Every few centuries, a powerful figure will unite the disparate Centaur tribes into an unstoppable horde and attempt to conquer the Kulmorost. As the Centaurs are few in number, extremely primitive, anarchic in nature and hard to organize, and unable to use magic in any meaningful capacity, the Centaurs haven't yet succeeded. They have, however, killed many Elves and Dwarves over the ages. Centaurs usually aren't allowed in towns, and many more conservative Elf and Dwarf businesses won't serve them, viewing them as savage abominations, barely above the likes of Humans and Goblins. [[File:Eelkuns.png|thumb|left|Gualli of the depth]] ====Gualli==== It has sleek black skin, a body like an eels, with spindelled legs and arms, wearing robes crafted from flesh. Its mouth had sharp, thin teeth jutting out at angles, and was discovered to be capable of stretching wider than its entire body. It's body too, was discovered to be able to expand many times its own size. The creatures tail emitted bioluminescence prior to its death. come to the surface from deep sea trenches every night and attempt to lure weak-willed lesians to the waters edge and drag them to the depths for some unknown purpose. ====Beastmen==== Inhabitants of the Forsaken Isle are varied and deadly tribal folks. Not much is known about them, but it is theorized that they were created long ago by the Ancient Goblins. But this cannot be proven as all traces of the Goblins' personal history and rites was erased. ====Kobolds==== Prolific Beastmen race that have managed to spread across the Eastern Coasts, (especially the swamps) in large numbers. Despite their primitiveness and low intelligence, kobolds have a huge innate magical potential they can instinctively use in very crude yet relatively powerful way. They mainly hunt and fight among themselves using primitive spells. Social hierarchy is established with ritual magical combats. They tend to stand at one-third the height of the average human and breed explosively. as such, they use swarming tactics to overwhelm their enemies. Kobolds are carnivorous, and are able and more than willing to consume and subsist off of anything even vaguely meat-like. They can consume bones as well, and many Kobolds find enchanted bones to be extremely delectable. It is for this reason, their extremely low intelligence, prodigious birthrate, and their vandalizing, kleptomaniacal tendencies, that Kobolds are regarded as pests by most civilized peoples. ====Eld'wani==== Elitists and quite xenophobic bird people with floating islands. Even they admit that they are a dying race and have fled to avoid being killed. The Eld'wani don't have wings and their bodies are not aerodynamic enough to do so even if they did, but they are capable of flight. Their species has very little magical aptitude, but they are able to control the winds as if it were second nature. With enough focus, Eld'wani are able to channel their life force into the air around them, and use the resulting push to fling themselves through the air, allowing them to "Fly", at the speed of a sprinting Human with a similar level of exhaustion. Their floating islands only able to fly because the monastic Eld'wani Shamans devote their lives to mastering the art of air manipulation, and are able to levitate the island short distances every few weeks, (short meaning the length of a week long voyage with a top of the line enchanted ship with a Sky Whale bone keel,) but render themselves comatose in the process, and need to spend much time meditating to regather their power. The Eld'wani live in the Forsaken Isles, and are extremely few in number, having only a few tens of thousands scattered throughout their floating islands. Each of the islands functions as its own Theocratic city-state, with a council of the Shamans leading the city-state. The Eld'wani worship '''the Sky''' and view the Sky Whales as holy and sacred, they believe that the Shamans have a spiritual connection to the Sky, and should be revered. The Eld'wani sustain themselves through piracy, raiding other Beastmen, and fishing. They're widely regarded as mythical in Kulmorost as a whole, but rarely individual or small groups are seen as part of a Human/Beastman Pirate crew, where they are a great boon to their mundane comrades, possessing the ability to generate sorely-needed gusts of wind when none are present. ====Giants==== Ancient species driven to extinction by Goblins. Some say that their survivors (de)evolved into Orcs in Lesia. The giants of old were an odd bunch. Rather than use the bones of their dead for magic they used to remove the flesh and dump the bones in certain holy places, along with the bones of many other giants. These "Giant Graveyards" are fiercely sought after by the magical races, as they are more magical than human bones and far stronger. Due to the rarity of Giant bone magic objects utilizing it are rare and expensive. Elves have historically the largest supply of giant bones and found the most graveyards in their lands. Some theorize that the reason for this is that their lands are the original homelands of the giants - of course you are going to find a lot of giant bone there. This is merely hearsay and unsubstantiated rumor. Over the years the discovery rate of new Graveyards has slowed to a crawl, with the last new grave on the mainland being uncovered 60 years ago and not a single new one has been found since. However, survivors from a small scouting expedition to Lesia have reported finding multiple Graveyards over their very brief stay there. That could be good for business
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