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== '''The North (Continent of Autia)''' == === '''The Nantic States''' === ''Steampunk Europeans/Koreans, but with magic powered stuff instead of steam powered stuff. Were once one Empire, but now separate nations, still pretty powerful though thanks to magic-powered industry.'' ====Regional Religious Practices==== The Nantic cultures are polytheistic, with each Nantic successor state worshiping a wide range of Gods that feature in their myths. Most of these are minor gods, either imported from other cultures, or are ancient heroes that have become deified, but a certain set of primary gods appear in each Nantic culture which share similar traits and roles in the local mythologies. For the most part, Nantic peoples simply accept that no one knows for sure which interpretation is right, and amicable "god X is really god Y" conversations are common when people of different cultures meet. The Core Gods are as follows: Sky Magic God: Almost all Nantic peoples consider this figure to be the father creator of the Nantic race, though surprisingly only the Belkans consider him their Chief God. In the western nations he is known as Ace, but only the Belkans worship him heavily. In Westphallica, Falconhead, and Gabaet, he is seen as a fickle trickster god primarily associated with the weather. The Ercaenmedi barely acknowledge him at all, since they come from a separate racial stock than other Nantic peoples. Instead they consider Okamiokami to be their father figure. In the eastern Nantic cultures he is Alcar, God of Nantic racial primacy and magic. His worship has largely died off as these areas became more multicultural. Fertility Goddess: Seen as the mother goddess of (almost) all races. Generally depicted as terminally a unfaithful lustful goddess who created the various races by sleeping with various other gods and goddesses (though Belkans insist that Ace cheated on her first). Amongst other creations, she made the Nantic peoples with Ace/Alcar, the dwarves and gnomes with Gayin, the Amazon races by herself, and the elves, fey, and sentient animals with Neir/Weir/Wyrn. Originally associated with fertility and magic, since the invention of contraceptives she is increasingly associated with love and lust as well. Belkans call her Lune, the Ercaenmedi and Napanese call her Go-Hana, Alkor call her Gelune, and pretty much everyone else calls her Gaelhalla. Forest God: Associated with forestry, woodwork, hunting, agriculture, and fey creatures. Worshipped in the west as Neir, and the east as Weir, he is generally seen as a helpful father figure, though some worship his "True Form" of Wyrn, a callous nature god associated with Grumm. It is commonly believed he created the elves, fey, and sentient animals with Lune/Go-Hana/Gelune/Gaelhalla. Smith Goddess: Associated with mining and metalwork, she is called Gayin in all Nantic cultures and her role and appearance is surprisingly consistent. It is said she created the gnomes and dwarves along with Lune/Go-Hana/Gelune/Gaelhalla, and is considered to be the mother goddess by these peoples. Previously considered a bit of a niche goddess, she is becoming increasingly powerful in the industrial powerhouses of Alkor and Belkan. Also associated with knowledge in some areas where some minor god hasn't taken that role instead. Ocean God: Associated with all things ocean. The people of Belkan also associated him with managing "the Brine", where evil spirits are sent to suffer, though the people of Alkor just see this as a sign of how afraid of water the Belkans are. Belkans call him Shull, but everyone else calls him Shomdar. The Alkor see him as their principle god, but most other nations only consider him moderately important, unless you are a sailor or fisherman, obviously. It is said Shull/Shomdar helped Lune/Go-Hana/Gelune/Gaelhalla create all the aquatic races. The Psychopomp: Tasked with managing the souls of the recently deceased, she is always known as Liik, though her role and appearance vary greatly in each region. In Belkan she is the fresh water spirit, who guides souls to either the Brine or the Other Sky to await reincarnation. In parts of Bagaet and Unkor, she is the Raven Goddess, who watches over souls who linger in the Shadowlands. In most other places (including several non-human cultures) she is the chief valkyrie, who coordinates the efforts of the other valkyries in collecting souls. The Predator: A highly controversial god, said to be a demon who allied himself with the gods during an ancient war between the gods and demons. Associated with strength, self-reliance, and necessary evils. Fills the role of war god in some areas where Ace/Alcar, Vanille, or some ancient hero isn't given the role instead. In Alkor, Nantes, Yr, and the Wolf-Kin Bands, he is Grumm, a giant wolf made of iron and fire. In Ercaenmedi, he is Okamiokami, a seductive shadow wolf-man. Several other nations have banned his worship entirely, seeing him as an evil demon whose followers have re-written history to justify his worship. It is believed that those who serve Grumm/Okamiokami well will be reincarnated as powerful being to serve at his side for all eternity. The souls of those consumed by a follower of Grumm/Okamiokami are said to be bound to their consumer as a slave spirit in the afterlife, which is likely the reason for ritual cannibalism among some Ercaenmedi and Wolf-Kin. The Protector: Probably the least popular of the eight Core Gods, the Protector is associated with charity, protecting those who can't defend themselves, and other selfless behavior. Never particularly popular among the Nantic elite, who are firm believers in encouraging self-reliance and nationalistic military aggression among the common folk, sometimes she still comes in useful in weaker nations that fight primarily defense wars. In modern times she is most popular in Harlbourg and Westphallica, where knightly orders of bored nobles, usually women, raise money for charitable causes, and sometimes engage in vigilante behavior. Although often mocked as foppish idiots, the fact these nobles are armed to the teeth with the best possible magi-tech items means they rarely lose a fight no matter how unskilled they are. Usually known as Vanille, but sometimes just referred to as "The Protector". ====Regional Magical Traditions==== Like in other regions, magical ability appears somewhat randomly among the Nantic people, with few having it, and innate ability varying wildly. Nantic magic using tradition is focused on utility and codified academic principles rather than the mysticism found in some other regions. Usage is tightly controlled by the government in most states. The main schools of magic are as follows: Aether Manipulation: Technically all Nantic magic starts with aether perception and manipulation (sensing and altering the raw magic energy that binds all things) though in its purest form it is useful for sensing magic and disrupting the spells of others. More powerful users can move objects, or even create invisible permeant barriers of pure magic. Material Alteration: The most common school, it relies on academic knowledge and control rather than raw power. Users can alter and combine different materials in order to change their properties. Used to strengthen metals, sharpen blades, and create the raw energy crystals that power most magi-tech. Usually used on inert objects, but can work on living things as well, though it takes lots of unethical experimentation to get any good at shaping flesh. Generally too slow for combat use, though there are some exceptions. Energy Creation: The main combat school, uses a variant of aether manipulation to create raw energy by "tearing" the aether, then directing the energy at a target. Somewhat unpredictable and dangerous even with lots of practice, though the results can be impressive with training, fine control, and raw potential. Dimensional Magic: A rarer form, it involves tearing holes in reality to move between dimensions, jump between locations, or more commonly, to siphon the magical essence from other dimensions in order to infuse an object or living thing. Requires large amounts of raw power and control, not to mention a strong academic grasp on the nature of the various alternate dimensions. Very few mages achieve a high level of mastery of it, particularly as sooner or latter many users will teleport themselves into solid rock, open a portal to a dimension incompatible with life, or try to summon a succubus from one of the hells. Enchantment: A cute way of saying mind control. Used to alter moods and emotions, plant suggestions, create illusions, and in extreme cases reprogram minds entirely. It is not based on Nantic magical principles, but rather uses brute force combined with intuition to create the desired result by means not fully understood by academic study. Technically illegal in most Nantic nations, users are in high demand by government spy agencies, while others use it to aid them in non-magical crimes, or to attempt demon binding, necromancy, or other dangerous rituals. Necromancy: Rare and generally illegal form of magic that involves using dimension magic to recall spirits from other dimensions, then enchantment magic to bind them. Some religious groups use necromantic principles to fight necromancy or calm the restless dead, while others like followers of Okamiokami openly embrace it. ====Regional History==== The Nantic Empire: Basically had the northwestern third of the continent, covering from the kingdom of yr, through Halem, crossing through Harlbourg, Alkor, the very tip of Aesanaeria, then going up through Gabaet the top of Sparticia and Afrozil, and all the way up to Belkan, potentially also had the Goblin Island and the Desolate isle but had little interest in them. Basically 1800's French and Austrian nobility, was brought together by a king Arthur/Alexander the Great expy called Darius "the Land-Hungry" Iceus, who is often regarded as the ideal example of a warrior king, unfortunately died just as he was beginning a war with the Union which was taken over by his son Andarius who was able to push the Union to create the Iron Crown wall, and due to peace deals created through Andarius' marriage to the southern princess Hachisena there was really no-one big enough to conquer, causing the Empire to sit on it's laurels, which unfortunately for a warrior culture lead to a lot of in-fighting, which was quickly enough dealt with by the creation of the Alkorian games, a series of faux-millitary contests that kept the army strong but stopped the nation from killing each other outright. Fast-forward 15 generations, everyone's inbred to fuck, magics going wild and the Alkorians, Belkans, Aesanaeria and Afrozil have claimed independence, the Empire of Nantes then faces a mass peasant revolt (Imagine a gun-less French Revolution and you'd be there) and was rapidly reformed into a republic, unfortunately losing even more land, with the remaining nobles making the Kingdom of Yr and Alkor retaking some of the main-land only to start showing it's own signs of friction which would lead to them separating into the Empire of Alkor and the Free City-States of Harlbourg, meanwhile, Belkan has been helping out all sides in the war which stops them from realizing they're fracturing between the original Belkan and a new nation called Ercanmedi Belkan and Ercaenmedi: The Eras of Peace that came after 13th, 57th, 85th, 113th, 164th, 199th, 213th, 269th and 274th Belgan - Ercaenmedi wars almost had the two nations unite, or at the very least swore to never fight one another. Yet almost always, something went wrong; A Belgan Trade Ship was hijacked, or Ercaenmedi test fired Skycannons causing a nearby Belgan town to be destroyed by an avalanche. A tragedy would happen upon Belgan, they would investigate and find Ercaenmedi responsible, Ercaenmedi denies it, Belgan wouldn't believe them and declares war on Ercaenmedi. It has been like this for centuries, and neither side is wise enough to notice. In reality, these tragedies where caused deliberately by the Union. Why? Well no-one really notices, But Ercaenmedi and Belgan are incredibly advanced compared to the rest of world, let alone Autia. Even the Union, which has the best non-magical technology and is plentiful in resources would barley stand a chance against them individually, let alone together. And would likely be the hypothetical Belgaenmedi's first target. It's a miracle they're more interested in Idol Singers and Superweapons. The Totally-Not-Immortal Union Elite known as Konoranna the Clever was the first to notice this, and during the first Era of Peace decided to secretly intervene with the two nations. The idea was to exploit the aggressive culture of Belgan and use it to keep them and Ercaenmedi busy while destroying each others technology and killing their mages. It was a partial success, while it kept the Belgans shortsighted on war and the Ercaenmedians paranoid of an invasion. It also made them improve their guns and armies to be even stronger. Ercaenmedi wasn't even well armed before this. Nevertheless it kept them distracted, away from the Union. For now... The War in the North: The Ercaenmedian people have long suffered incursions by the Belgan Empire, the cause of their seemingly endless series of wars as they view any border skirmish as sign of something greater, but only once have they seen the true power of their foe and it remains a stark reminder that they must remain vigilant or their nation will be lost to the sands of time. A full two centuries before the 299th Belgan-Ercaenmedian War High King Felix Boesch of the Belgan Empire turned his eyes south. In the past Ercaenmedian lands were once part of the Empire but these lands slowly drifted away from its control as the Erc and Meddan tribes would move into the area, soon falling under their sway and declaring their independence. Later confederation the Kingdoms of Urrr, Augh and Leibwitz to form a kingdom rivaling the Empire in size if not population. In spring soldiers under the banner of the Golden Griffin stream through the mountain passes of the Crooked Smile mountain range into Ercaenmedian territory. Using a combination of superior maneuverability, numbers and firepower the Belgans are quickly able to overcome Ercaenmedian field armies, with State War Mages often times using their air magic to conjure gusts of wind strong enough to take entire Regiments over or above enemy lines. The battles of Shurwood, Erickstown and the Well Beaten pass showing the willingness of Ercaenmedian soldiers to fight to the last man to delay the invaders , with certain songs about the bawdy hero of Shurwood Captain Yut Ro Ihn still being regarded as classics in the Ercaenmedian nation, but still their fight is in vain as by winter Belgan soldiers occupy the capital and force the Supreme Patriarch and his government into exile. The Belgans do not just stop at the conquest of Ercaenmedia and soon after it is occupied they March further south into Westphallica as the Ercaenmedian government in exile desperately pleads for a Coalition to be formed to deal with Belga. The unprompted assault on Westphallica soon leads to the Kingdom of Eritroans and Alkorian Empire to declare war on the Empire of the Griffin, with the Alkorians mostly only caring about taking Belga's overseas colonies. For the next ten years the three empires battle in the lands of the Southern nations, with a line Ercaenmedian Strike Wyvern pilot earning fame in a number of battles involving the destruction of multiple Belgan superweapons. Finally ten years after it had begun Belgan Soldiers are forced to relinquish their overseas colonies and possessions in Ercaenmedia at the Peace of Altor. The Northern War would be extremely devastating for all of the Western nations but would lead to the Alkorian Empire becoming the ascendant regional power in the West, with the Belgan Navy completely destroyed at the battle of Trabalar. The Belgan victories at Crosswind and Afrograd would remain in military textbooks for the next two centuries as prime examples of the use of the combined arms of magic, polearm and sword and the value of having a profess battle mage force. But for the Ercaenmedians it would be a prime example of a new lesson, never trust a Belgan... The History of The West, Archibald Razgriz, Volume 10: The Belkan War ====Miscellaneous Info==== In the western lands, where the concept of underwear is frowned upon, hats are considered extremely provocative and sexual. Each style, color and material involved in their creation means volumes in both visual shorthand and intent. ====Belkan==== ''Nantic nation, home mostly to Nantic humans (north Europeans). Prone to aggression. Has strong magi-tech air force and doomsday weapons. Ostentatious steampunk Germans led by a meritocratic military aristocracy.'' [[Belkan]] ====Ercaenmedi==== ''Considered a Nantic nation, but actually most are Ercaenmedians (Koreans with blue hair). Steampunk Korea with a heavy dose of k-pop, also some of them are religious cannibals, so think twice before accepting that tea invitation at the starlet's manor.'' Home to blue-haired humans. They're more or less friendly people to be around, except for, of course, the one in every ten who happens to be a cannibal. Those are still friendly, to be sure...they're just also cannibals. People: Although considered a Nantic State, the Ercaenmedi are from a different ethnic group than those found in other Nantic nations. They have many similarities with the Napanese, and are believed to be distantly related. Their most distinct visual trait is their hair, which tends to be light blue, blue-ish grey, or blue-ish green, said to be a sign of favor from their father god Okamiokami. Religion: The Ercaenmedi mostly worship their "parent" gods, Go-Hana and Okamiokami. Go-Hana is associated with love, beauty, fertility, and lust. She is honored at elaborate soirees and rowdy parties where worshippers dress in their most elaborate, provocative clothing, and dance and cheer to songs sung by prominent vocalists known as "Idol Singers". Mass enchantment magic is sometimes used to whip up the crowd's excitement, as are the narcotics often taken at these events. Okamiokami is associated with strength, self-reliance, seduction, and Ercaenmedian national pride. His followers believe they will be reincarnated as powerful demons in his service, and that those they have killed and/or consumed a part of will be reincarnated as their slaves for all eternity in the afterlife. Magic: Ercaenmedi has an unusually high percentage of magic users, many of whom are quite strong. Although they follow roughly the same magic traditions as other Nantic states, they place less emphasis on academics, and more emphasis on honing raw power. They have a far higher percentage of enchanters and necromancers than other Nantic states, though their necromancers prefer incorporeal spirits to rotting zombies. Military: The Ercaenmedian Army is a strange mix of old and new. Although they have access to the latest technologies, they also have a soft spot for the old ways and are always on the lookout for an excuse to fight with katanas, glaives, and short bows rather than flintlock rifles and cannons. Uniforms vary greatly by formation, and even by individual (noble officers love to stand out, as do prominent champions), but tend to have a base of grey or black, with contrasts of white, teal, light blue or red. When armor is used, it is usually decorative rather than practical. Defense against Belga is top priority for the EA, so much of the military budget is spent on skycannons, static defenses, as well as maintaining aerial mounts like griffons and wyvern. However, Ercaenmedians value individual valor over technical supremacy, and countless times it was the reckless bravery and noble sacrifice of common soldiers that have won battles rather than brilliant tactics or fancy toys. Ercaenmedians mages are an often overlooked element to the Ercaenmedian Army. Numerous combat mages help even the odds in terms of firepower, healers summon life energy from other dimensions to heal wounds and banish fatigue, and enchanters and necromancers demoralize and confuse the enemy with illusions and summoned ghosts, or create new spies with by mind controlling or possessing enemy soldiers. The border between Belkan and Ercaenmedi is littered with gigantic watchtowers. These are built and used by the Ercaenmedi military to spot any Belkan fighter bird/griffon/jet/flying carpet attempting to invade Ercaenmedi airspace. These 1000 feet tall spires were built by Ercaenmedi during the 213th Belkan - Ercaenmedi war. It was built after the government had discovered that out of all nations, Ercaenmedi was almost always the first to get punched due to being the closest and weakest nation. If an hostile aircraft is discovered, the guard will point spotlights & shoot fireworks at the target, this helps the ground crew below with were they have to aim their Skycannon. Shooting down one of Belkan's eagles is considered both as a great achievement and a great feast for Ercaenmedian soldiers. The Skycannons are little more than big artillery guns that shoot Belkans straight out of the sky. While primary used for defense, some models are modified to be used offensively. During the 267th Belkan - Ercaenmedi war, the EA decided to put Belkan in it's place by creating the first Ercaenmedian superweapon. Nicknamed "David the Dangerous", this Moving Skycannon was sent in to obliterate the Harlan Tower. Surviving Belkan troops would often mistake David as one of the Mechanical Monsters that roam the Kingdom of Yr, and feared that the Kingdom had allied itself with Ercaenmedi. The Ercaenmedi ended up partially damaging the Harlan before getting immobilized by a Flying Carpet Bomber. The EA tried to repair David the Dangerous but was forced to retreat after they got ambushed by the Belgan Cockatrice Cavalry. Most of the Belgans understanding of the Ercaenmedian Sky-canon model comes from researching David. History: The history of the Ercaenmedian people is hopelessly buried in nationalist propaganda and myth. The only constant is their constant warfare with those who dwell to the north of them. On several occasions, Belkans have conquered the Ercaenmedi, whether as an alliance of petty kingdoms, as part of the Nantic Empire, or as a single unified nation. Sooner or later, the Ercaenmedian will drive them out and the process begins anew. Economy: Most of Ercaenmedi is fairly rural, with countless cozy farming hamlets nestled in valley, under large groves, or along the many winding rivers, though market towns and small cities are rarely more than a day away. Ercaenmedi focus most of their magi-tech and conventional industry on their military, leaving country life rather low-tech. Ercaenmedi is far from poor however, food is plentiful, famines are almost unheard of, and gold and jewels are mined in abundance. Even a small village will have many merchants and craftsmen, and even the poorest farm girl will have at least one racy costume in which to attend local concerts. Magic is fairly commonplace, and it is not unusual to see large owls and broom mounted witches delivering mail, or a mage specializing in healing magic fixing a sprained ankle. Ercaenmedi spends much of its surplus food, gold, and jewels on magi-tech, gunpowder, and rifles from Alkor and Gabaet. ====Westphallica==== ''Nantic nation, mostly Nantic humans, but also dwarves, gnomes, drow, half-drow, Ercaenmedians, and other assorted minorities. Wealthy nation obsessed with the new and exotic. Very powerful, but prefer to buy stuff rather than conquer it. The drow resort town of Myr'klyt is located beneath its surface.'' People: Westphallica is a multicultural nation where wealth counts more than appearance. Although Nantic humans are the most common, there are large minorities of dwarves, gnomes, drow, Ercaenmedians, duergar, goblins, ogres, mind flayers, and many people of mixed origin. Lightly populated, but almost impossibly wealthy, the sprawling palaces of the wealthiest families often dwarf the nearby resort towns and bohemian cities. Religion: The main gods in Westphallica are Gaelhalla (beauty, lust, artists, and magic), Gayin (dwarves, gnomes, miners, smiths, craftsmen, and engineers), Liik (ravens, shadows, the afterlife), Vanille (adventurers, knights, vigilantes (essentially the same thing in Westphallica)), and Okamiokami (greed, ambition, schemes, vengeance, necromancy). Magic: For the most part Westphallica follows the standard Nantic magical traditions, but their great wealth allows them to recruit magic users from around the world, and magic is more common in day-to-day life than in other nations, particularly in the entourages of the wealthy. Westphallicans are an open minded sort, and have no problem recruiting necromancers, demon binders, hags, fleshmolders, voodoo witches, dark aether channelers, mind flayers, and other sinister magic users as long as they stay within the limits set by their employers. Many Westphallican nobles are themselves magic users, given them more confidence when dealing with foreign mages. History: A former part of the Nantic Empire, the gold mines of Westphallica funded the Empire for generations, but as the Empire crumbled, many of its most cunning and dangerous nobles and mages flocked to the area rather than fight to maintain power elsewhere. They bought the loyalty of the locals, bribed their rivals in other nations to kill each other, and hired the best mages and soldiers to guard their borders. Since then they have ruled their nation peacefully, with all the main families tacitly agreeing that vigilance and solidarity is key to their continued decadent lifestyle. Economy: Westphallica has produced much of the continent's gold and gems for countless centuries, with more veins are always being discovered, and its miners and smiths are well paid for their loyalty. Others work on hobby farms, at hunting lodges, as craftsmen, smiths, architects or engineers in the many craft shops and foundries, or as artists, servants, cooks, or scholars in the mansions and resorts. Miscellaneous: The nobles of Westphallica see the relatively modest bowl hats popular in several other nations as dull and modest. Extravagant hats, the more eyecatching the better, are seen as a sign of sexual prowess. The Drow City of Myr'klyt is located deep beneath the surface. Often rumored to be a nexus of the illegal slave trade, it is actually just an exclusive BDSM themed resort. ====Falconhead==== ''Nantic nation, mostly Nantic humans. Small, backwater nation. Along with Westphallica and Gabaet, they are attracted to hats, but have lower standards than their neighbors.'' [[Falconhead]] General: Similar to the nearby nations of Westphallica and Gabeat, the people of Falconhead are known for their strange obsession with hats, and convoluted social customs. Aside from this, they are seen as hopelessly backward by other Nantic Empire successor states, and only ancient treaties prevent them from being conquered by either Westphallica or Ercaenmedi. The Amazons of Afrozil and Sparticia constantly raid them, as do other monster races of the mountains and the underworld. People: A small nation consisting of a single city state, its surrounding territory, and large stretches of sparsely inhabited mountains, most of its population is Nantic human, but there is a decent number of dwarves as well. Although by no means poor, Falconhead can't afford the glamorous fashions and parties of Westphallica, or even Gabaet, so the middle-upper class of landowners, merchants, lawyers, and skilled tradespeople settle for understated clothing and complex social customs that range from boldly quirky to incredibly subtle. Religion: The main gods in Falconhead are Gaelhalla (arts, fashion, social status, hats, courtship), Neir (farming, forests, nature), Gayin (dwarfs, craftsmen, books), Liik (ravens, crows, vigilance, protection, death), Shomdor (manages the punishment of evil souls in the underworld), Ace (minor god of storms), Ayalla (Amazon version of Gaelhalla, worshipped by collaborators with Amazon occupiers) Magic: Falconhead follows standard Nantic magical practices, but has few practitioners since anyone with talent goes to Westphallica instead. Military: Falconhead has no real military other than the City Watch of Falconburg, and the assorted rural militias. The militias use blunderbusses and crossbows as their main weaponry, though many will carry a pitchfork, wood axe, or hunting bow instead to defend their fellows while they reload. The City Watch uses truncheons for day to day work, but have flintlocks, swords, and pikes for serious work. Anyone with a shred of fighting talent goes to Westphallica unless they are unusually patriotic, so the ruler of Falconhead is often forced to pay tribute to foreign rulers in Westphallica, Sparticia, or Afrozil in return for soldiers when even minor raids by Amazons, undead, or wild fey cause a panic among the population. Adventurous young people sometimes join mercenary groups known as Ti'Eftu to wander the continent in search of fame, fortune, and hats. History: When the Nantic Empire fell apart, Falconhead was essentially created from the areas that Westphallica didn't want to bribe or protect. A series of weak royal families have ruled from the city of Falconburg, but are often nothing but puppets for neighboring states. During one particularly long period in which Falconburg was under occupation by a coalition of Sparticia tribes, the mostly rural northern half of the country separated. It went on to become the Republic of Free Men, a haven for anyone with a grudge against Sparticia and/or Afrozil. Economy: Much of the country is mountainous, the small population is mostly clustered in the fertile valleys of the northeast, near the city of Falconburg. The city and the nearby countryside is relatively prosperous, but the foothills are poor quality farmland and home to a strange mix of hermits, free spirits, exiled Sparticians, dwarven prospectors, solitary goblins, and strange covens of witches, hags and harpies. The country is fairly self sufficient, and any surplus goods are usually sold to Westphallica for gold and luxury goods. Miscellaneous: The hat-centric culture is so strong in those nations that that many choose to join mercenary companies, called the Ti'Eftu, and fight in the service of kingdoms across the continent for the promise of rare and exotic hats. ====Principality of Gabaet==== ''Nantic nation, Nantic humans plus dwarves. Basically steampunk Switzerland, but with tea, and lots of ravens and crows.'' General: Culturally similar to the nearby nations of Westphallica and Falconhead, the people of Gabaet like their hats, preferably warm hats since much of their territory is high altitude mountains. Famous for hot teas, abnormally large numbers of ravens and crows, and several strategically important rail lines. Most of the population is human, but dwarves, goblins, and other races are fairly common. People: Gabaet is home to a mix of Nantic humans, dwarves, plus a scattering of other races living in the wilds like goblins, orcs, and kobolds. Religion: Gabaet follows a similar interpretation of the Nantic pantheon to its neighbor Falconhead. Gaelhalla (arts, fashion, social status, hats, courtship), Neir (farming, forests, nature), Gayin (dwarfs, craftsmen, books), Liik (ravens, crows, vigilance, protection, death), Shomdor (manages the punishment of evil souls in the underworld), and Ace (minor god of storms). Gayin is generally the dominant god due to the large percentage of dwarves, miners, and industrial workers. In the southern region of Hagarta, some people worship Deadicorn, Grumm, and other dark gods. Magic: Gabaet follows standard Nantic magical traditions for the most part, but in the lawless southern parts of the nation informally known as Hagerta, some people practice darker forms of magic. Military: A frequently overlooked neutral state, Gabaet consists primarily of several dwarven holds mixed in with towns supporting the rail lines, and isolated farmsteads in the lower valleys. Although a small but well equipped royal army exists, most of the actual fighting against marauders is done by the rail guard and the dwarven armies. All fighting forces in Gabaet wear heavy clothes, use gunpowder or magi-tech fire arms, and often wear heavy armor. Many of them of veterans of several skirmishes with orcs, hiisi, trolls, ogres, giants, and dark magic users. History: A former Nantic state, much like Falconhead, Gabaet was formed from parts of the southwestern Nantic Empire that Westphallica wasn't interested in. Since then, it has largely abandoned its claim to the monster filled regions south of it, and focused its efforts on the more profitable gold mines and rail lines in the north. Although technically neutral, Belkan sometimes tries to sabotage the rail lines since they are one of the main routes in-between Alkor and Ercaenmedi. Economy: Gabaet's economy revolves mostly around mining, particularly gold, and maintaining the rail routes as they pass through some of the roughest mountains on the continent. Small scale agriculture does exist in the few mountain valleys that fall within Gabaet's borders, but it is not a significant part of Gabaet's economy, aside from some popular teas like White Dragon and Gobbler. ====Empire of Alkor==== ''Nantic nation, uber-strong naval power with colonies throughout the continent. Ultra-Imperialistic steampunk British.'' General: The Empire of Alkor were the first to conqure the seas over which magic doesn't function, leading them to expand, hosting islands and shore territories far from home. People: The inhabitants of Alkor are mostly Nantic human, but immigration from its colonies is not uncommon, as a result, many of the cities are fairly multicultural. Religion: Like most Nantic nations, the Alkorians worship a variant of the Nantic pantheon. Shomdar is the god of the seas, wisdom, and knowledge, and is seen as key to Alkor's military power. It is said he is represented by an immortal prophet who wields much power behind the scenes. Gayin is the goddess of industry and commerce, and is nearly important as Shomdar. Alcar is the god of magic and Nantic racial supremacy. Once one of the senior gods, he is being increasingly sidelined as Alkor becomes more multicultural. Of lesser importance; Gelune is the goddess of fertility and courtship, Weir is the god of agriculture, Grumm represents the darker, but sometimes necessary side of war, Liik collects the dead, and Vanille is a minor goddess associated with Noblesse Oblige and bringing civilization to barbaric lands. Aside from the main gods, the Alkor have a number of national heroes who have been raised to demi-god status. The foremost among these individuals is the Queen Mum, a centuries old individual whose descendants form the current royal family. It is a mystery how she remains alive, but is seen as a living symbol of the strength and perseverance of the Empire of Alkor. Magic: The Alkorians follow typical Nantic magic using practices, but place heavy emphasis on material alteration magic. These "aetheric-engineers" work tirelessly to churn out an endless supply of magical equipment for use by the Empire of Alkor. Unofficially, the Alkor sometimes use enchanting, necromancy, and other forms of magic seen by the general population as unethical, but have generally avoided demon binding ever since what happened in Yr. Military: The Alkor possess a massive professional army and navy that allows them to maintain a colonial empire that spans the continent and beyond, while still fighting frequent wars with powerful neighboring states like Belkan, Harlbourg, and Nantes. Although some argue they rely upon quantity over quality, their forces are very well equipped considering the sheer number of troops they field, and they possess a wide range of specialized units. Their main strengths however are their massive navy, incredible industrial base, and strong grasp of realpolitik. The Alkorians rarely overstretch themselves when they can manipulate rivals into fighting one another, and even when they do suffer losses, they can replace equipment far quicker than most nations. Armed Forces of Alkor: - Large professional army and navy - Soldiers wear well-tailored trousers and jackets with elaborate frogging. Trousers are white, jackets are red (infantry and marines), blue (navy), or black (intelligence, political enforcement) - Some shock troops still wear half plate, but only certain elite formations wear full plate, most regular soldiers don't wear armor - Regular infantry use flintlock guns backed by thin swords, though navy crewmen make do with boarding hooks, axes, and cutlasses, and some shock troops use blunderbusses, maces, and war hammers. Magically enhanced gear is mostly reserved for officers - Navy is main source of power and includes a large merchant navy, fast patrol ships and privateers, and increasing numbers of "dreadnaughts" large iron clad ships powered by magic paddlewheels and with large magically enhanced cannons mounted on rotating turrets - Small air force of griffon riders is mostly used to fend of Belkans, has also been experimenting with dirigibles - Elite ground forces are large knights mounted on large lions wielding large glaives (occasionally men in Alkor grow 7-9 feet tall, with unusually well developed musculature, the reason for this is unknown, though appears to be genetic) - Use oxen, giant goats, and donkeys for logistics, sometimes use (shudder) horses and even unicorns for scouts, lancers, and cuirassiers - Experimentation with "Iron Beasts" (proto-tanks) is ongoing, but slowly, as granting them sentience with infused essences has been banned after what happened in Yr. For now they are usually sticking to self-propelled iron clad magic wagons with flame launchers or multiple small cannons and firing slots for flintlocks - Mages are too valuable to waste on the front lines, though many are quite adept at battle magic History: Like the rest of the Nantic states, Alkor was once part of the wider Nantic Empire, but they separated once it had become clear that the Nantic Empire was in decline. Much like Yr and Belkan, they harbor dreams of rebuilding the Nantic Empire (with themselves in charge), and from there conquering the entire world. Their greatest success was during the Northern War, where they allied with a number of other nations to crush the newly formed Belkan Empire and seize control of most of its overseas colonies. Unfortunately, the strain of the War inspired rebellions in the eastern part of their country, leading to the formation of the Harlbourg Free Cities. On other fronts they have conquered territory once held by Nantes and the Shahdom. Recent alliances with their frequent rivals Aesanaeria, Ercaenmedi, and Belkan has allowed them to refocus their efforts on reintegrating Harlbourg into their Empire, though Belkan is in fact supporting both sides. Economy: A fertile and prosperous land, Alkor is unusual in that it uses magi-tech for relatively mundane purposes like farming, mining, and forestry, thus allowing more of the population to work in the forges and navy. Although even the common folk enjoy fairly prosperous lives, some feel their lives would be even better without the high taxes needed to pay for the constant wars, and the high rents charged by the deeply entrenched noble classes. Some of these nobles still possess the heavily inbred traits associated with the Nantic Empire, but others have managed to sort out their gene pool by marrying industrialists, bankers, decorated officers, and other individuals possessing wealth, power, and desirable genetic traits. Alkorian Nobles: The average Alkorian noble is capable of great and incredibly powerful magic, but is in poor health due to literal centuries of inbreeding. This results in an external body that is incredibly strong due to magic, but an internal body that is only kept alive due to said magic. (Seriously one man's heart is the size of a peppercorn and stopped beating two days ago, we might have a lich problem again.) ====Free City States of Harlbourg==== ''Nantic coalition of city states, mostly Nantic humans, but lots of minorities including goblins, harpies, snake people, and giants. Basically your typical D&D clusterfuck, but upgraded to Victorian/steampunk era.'' [[Free City States of Harlbourg]] General: Neighbour to the empire of Alkor, The Free City-States of Harlbourg put up a fierce resistance. Along with their technology and numbers in soldiers, they have teamed up with the tribes that live in the plains, deserts and forests for their magical potential and powerful beasts. They're not unlike revolutionary America if it were still fighting the war against Britain. The Reconquista/Resistance war has involved many countries and is effectively the Land's first World War due to the amount of combatants. It is a known fact that while Belkan officially supports the Alkorian's reconquest, due to their highly militaristic and often battlelust-y nature, they have sent a chunk of their army to serve as mercenaries for the Harlbourgs to gain great honour. People: Harlbourg is primarily home to Nantic humans, but also includes many "monster races" such as goblins, harpies, snake people, and giants. The monster races mostly live in the southern barrens and in a number of large, untamed forests scattered throughout the nation. Religion: Harlbourg follows a fairly standard interpretation of the Nantic pantheon. Gaelhalla (magic, femininity, fertility, the moon, love), Weir (forests, agriculture - sometimes worshipped instead as Wyrn for hunters and some fey creatures), Gayin (industry, commerce, labor), Shomdar (oceans, fishing), Liik (collector of the dead), and Vanille (justice for common folk). Alcar and Grumm are occasionally worshipped, but have fallen out of favor as war gods with focus instead on Vanille and a group of demi-god revolutionary figures known as the Founding Fathers. Magic: Harlbourg follows standard Nantic magical traditions for the most part, but also sometimes relies on the strange magic of the forest fey and the southern monster tribes to give themselves the edge. Military: The primary enemy of Harlbourg and more recently Alkor's allies among the Aesanaerian tribes. Due to the massive land borders they must defend, plus the decentralized nature of the state, they rely heavily on volunteer militia bolstered by mercenaries from less civilized nations, and magi-tech equipped private armies from the wealthier towns, cities, and noble families. No standard uniform exists, but blue is seen as the national color, while purple is popular with those worshipping Vanille. Knightly orders dedicated to Vanille are particularly common in Harlbourg, but they prefer to keep out of politics and focus on vigilante actions against those that harm the common folk instead. The militias are surprisingly well equipped, almost every family has at least one privately owned firearm, usually several. Crossbows and magi-tech guns are sometimes used by militia members who are particularly rich and poor respectively. Swords are seen as archaic by militia members, but hatchets, clubs, and long knives are brought along in case fighting becomes up close and personal. History: Once a part of the Nantic Empire, and later the Alkor Empire, "East Alkor", as it was known at the time, was a prosperous, but politically overlooked region. Angry at constantly paying taxes for wars they didn't benefit from, and egged on by intellectuals making impossible promises, a widespread revolt swept through "East Alkor". Unable to decide on a new form of government, the leaders of the various rebel factions met in the small town of Harlbourg and signed a series of defense and trade treaties, leading to the formation of the Free City-States of Harlbourg. Despite its massive economy, Harlbourg has yet to emerge as a leading power in the region. It has alternated between fighting and allying itself with several nations in the region, particularly Belkan, Alkor, and Aesanaeria, though alliances with Alkor are rare. Harlbourg also frequently has to deal with internal fighting between different city states, as well as political factions like Utopia and Swabonze. Although internal power struggles are frequent, they rarely lead to open warfare, though assassinations and riots are common. Economy: Harlbourg is a wealthy nation, with rich farmlands, a large industrial base, and many merchant fleets. The lack of one central authority to direct the economy is sometimes a positive, sometimes a negative. Miscellaneous: The City-States are known for their secret military police mounted on mechanical horses assassinating those who want to rally the states into one power. Each city-state have one or more order of knights, which are mostly if not entirely made of females. One of the Burgomasters of Harlbourg was known to be a bit of an asshole. A travelling witch turned him into a giant cat to help correct his behavior. Unfortunately the witch forgot that cats are also jerks. The Burgomaster in question retains both his position and his cat form to this day, and is notorious for knocking valuable objects off tables, shredding important documents with his teeth, and leaving dead fish, rats, and birds in random places around the council chamber. Attempts to remove him from power have failed since he sparkles threateningly whenever someone reminds him his term ended years ago. Also his main rival was defenestrated by a pack of rabid cat lovers. ====Republic of Nantes==== ''Nantic nation, once core of the Empire, now faded and corrupt. Mostly Nantic humans, but with some fey in the south, and some fleshmolded creations in the north. Basically steampunk France, but insanely corrupt and decadent, also under invasion from all four fronts.'' General: All that remains of a vast Empire that once spanned the northern half of the continent, the Republic of Nantes is on the verge of finally crumbling under the weight of expansion by the Kingdom of Yr and the Empire of Alkor to the east and west, raids from Fluffwood from the south, and atrocities committed by Fleshmolders in the north. Although they remain famous for their magic and magi-tech, the elite of this nation have lost interest in the affairs of the lesser folk and are mostly on the payroll of Yr or Alkor. Few will mourn the loss of Nantes though, since the nation is notorious for snobbishness and arrogance. People: The inhabitants of Nantes are almost all Nantic humans except for border areas where more diverse factions are slowly taking over. Religion: Like most Nantic states, the Nantians are worshippers of a variant of the Nantic pantheon. For the Nantians, the main gods and their portfolios are as follows; Alcar (magic, Nantic racial supremacy, nostalgia), Gaelhalla (art, courtship, lust), Weir (farmers, homesteads), Wyrn (forests, fey creatures, hunters, seen by his followers as the true form of Weir), Gayin (forges, mines, industry), Shomdar (oceans, fishermen, not very popular these days due to association with Alkor and the fact that Nantes has almost no coast line left), Liik (guide to the afterlife, chief of valkyries), Grumm (beserkers, fighting fire with fire), and Vanille (protection of the weak). Magic: The Republic of Nantes follows the standard Nantic magic practices (which is not surprising since it helped develop most of them). One unusual outlier is the Mymen, who use a powerful, intuitive, variant of aether manipulation to conjure up all sorts of invisible objects. Most of them use their powers for entertainment, but some have become vigilantes. Military: The Nantian military is archaic and crumbling. The officer class is bloated with arrogant urban middle class academics who often ignore or alter orders as they come down the chain of command, while the common infantry is poorly paid, demoralized, and heavily reliant on conscription. The air force is almost non-existent, and the navy has essentially been abandoned, leaving just the army, which although surprisingly well supplied with flintlocks, cannons, and mortars, is often outclassed by the Iron Beasts and other monsters of Yr, the elite skirmishers of Fluffwood, the freaks of the north, and the better led and more numerous troops of Alkor. Aside from certain ceremonial units, the Nantians rarely wear armor, but their uniforms are generally quite fashionable, though nothing compared to what is worn by the nobility. Although Nantes has many magic users, they prefer to work for organizations that are higher paying and less dangerous than the military and its foundries. History: Once the core of the Nantic Empire, a peasant rebellion that killed off many of the oldest noble families allowed the various provinces of the Empire to separate into new nations, and caused most of the remaining nobles to flee to Belkan, Westphallica, Alkor, and Yr. A new nobility (though they don't officially call themselves nobles) was formed from those that profited from the peasant rebellion the most, and a republic was formed in order to share power between these new nobles. Unfortunately, both Alkor and Yr remain obsessed with the idea that retaking the core cities of Nantes is the first step in reestablishing the Nantic Empire (even if the capital of said Empire would remain in Alkor/Yr). As a result, Nantes has faced countless invasions from both Alkor and Yr, which has steadily eroded this once wealthy region. Due to this weakness, Nantes also faces raids from Fluffwood to the south, and the north is now ruled by pirates and deranged flesh molders. Economy: Despite all its problems, Nantes is still a fairly wealthy country, though unfortunately a large chunk of its magi-tech and conventional industrial base is geared towards supplying luxury goods to its remaining nobles. Most of the rest either makes goods for the middle class or supports the military, with the rural class and urban poor fighting over the scraps. Mines, farms, and lumber camps are still abundant in the center of the country, though many along the borders are abandoned due to constant raids. Although the lower classes know they are being taken advantage of, they know a revolt would provide an opening for conquest by either Alkor or Yr, both of whom are hated enemies. The upper class feels Nantes has been a lost cause for decades, and although many have already left, many of those still in the country would rather abuse their position for as long as they can before the inevitable flight into exile. ====Kingdom of Yr==== ''Nantic nation, mostly Nantic humans and some demons. Basically steam/dieselpunk Germany ruled by demons and demonic tanks.'' General: Long ago, the Kingdom of Yr mastered the art of granting iron constructs sentience and mobility by binding demonic spirits into their hulls. Unfortunately, these "Iron Beasts" rebelled, enslaved most of the Kingdom's population (except for a few traitors) and are now embarking on a campaign of terror and destruction against neighboring nations. People: The inhabitants of Yr were originally made up almost entirely of Nantic humans, but in recent times, its rulers have started recruiting or enslaving anyone or anything able to aid it in its never ending campaign against Nantes. Demons and demon forged machines are becoming increasingly common, as are goblin, orc, ogre, wolf-kin, and mutant mercenaries from the Northern Wastes. Necromancy, flesh molding, and magi-tech lobotomization are also used to create cannon fodder and slave labor from corpses and disloyal subjects. Religion: Religion in Yr was once more in line with other Nantic countries, but these days, most people worship a cabal of demon lords who are said to be the true forms of the various Nantic gods. According to this new mythology, the Nantic pantheon was watered down during the decadent, complacent peak of the Nantic Empire, and the Nantic people lost sight of the traits that allowed them to conquer such a vast empire to begin with. The demon lords of Yr are Althazar (magic, fire, storms, raw demonic essence, strength, trickery), Gogotha of the Whips (beauty, seduction, betrayal, ambition, succubi), Wyrna (dark fey creatures, monsters, stealth, hunters), Iron Gyyn (mother of constructs, demonbinding, bondage, heavy industry), Shaleheart (water, ice, salt, darkness, caves, torture, punishment), Lykian (eternal servitude, necromancy, the undead, death), Grumm (bezerkers, madness, cannibalism, redemption through violence), and Wanilla (oppression of the weak, nobility, manipulation, leadership). Magic: The Kingdom of Yr once followed typical Nantic magic practices, but came to rely increasingly on demon binding and necromancy as the war with Nantes dragged on. Unfortunately, this meant that demon worshippers and their summoned allies were able to corrupt the Yrian nobility from within. These days, almost all magic users use demonic magic, though thanks to the wide range of demons they worship, they have a wide range of magic available to them, including energy creation, enchantment, dark fey spells, flesh molding, demon binding, dark aether channeling, and necromancy. Military: Never heavily populated to begin with, the population of Yr has dwindled thanks to constant warfare, and now relies heavily on dark magic. Although normal infantry retain their trademark dark uniforms, they are often augmented by demonic essence infused magi-tech components, or mutations induced by flesh molding. Large numbers of "Iron Beasts" (demons bound to a mechanical structure) follow them where ever they go, as do summoned demons, shambling waves of undead, powerful magic users, and brutal mercenaries from the Northern Wastes. History: Once part of the Nantic Empire, Yr split away following the overthrow of the royal family by a peasant revolt in central Nantes. The nobles who fled to Yr swore to one day re-establish the Nantic Empire, starting with the destruction of Republic of Nantes. Unfortunately, Yr is a hilly region not suitable for heavy agriculture and never had a large population. Instead it relied heavily on mining and industry to give it the edge, but when that wasn't enough, it increasingly relied upon demon binding to animate its mechanical contraptions, which in turn led to most of the noble families being subverted by demons. Economy: A hellish realm, unskilled labor, particularly in mining and manufacturing, use undead, lobotomized workers, demons, and flesh molder creations in order to free up the remaining population for semi-skilled and skilled jobs, as well as military service. Farms and lumber mills still exist, but it is the mines and foundries that are seen as critical to the war effort, and is where the magic users and their creations and dark allies focus their efforts. ==='''Other Northwestern Nations'''=== ''A strange collection of minor states living in the shadow of the western Nantic nations.'' ====Desolate Island==== ''Mountains, pine forests, wandering bands of orcs, trolls, other monsters, and humans descended from Nantic humans. Known for strange pyramids.'' ====Aetherites==== ''A strange small island only inhabited by beings nicknamed the "Aetherites", strange shapeshifting beings of pure light and Aether roaming the isle without any apparent goal.'' The level of magical energy there is extremely high and any living thing staying too long there explodes, meaning that forms of life exist here besides some aether-resistant moss, plants and fungus. ====Goblin Island==== ''Magi-tech experts who sell unreliable weaponry to the Belkans and freelancers. Mostly goblins.'' The Goblin Island is inhabited by an unusually intelligent subspecies of goblins talented in engineering, their technology is potent but often very unsafe so only Belkan and some scaredevil mercenary groups buy their weapons. ====Republic of Free Men ==== ''Highly diverse nation made up of exiles, malcontents, and fugitives from other nations, particularly Afrozil and Sparticia. Was once a backwater province of Falconhead (itself a backwater) but eventually rebelled. Most of the leadership of this nation trace their roots back to the Amazon clans in some manner or another and seek to prove they are equal to Afrozil and Sparticia.'' The Republic of Free Men was founded by men from Afrozil and Sparticia Mountain Clans, they actually are good with their women quite well (much better than the amazons with their men) but have a strong rivalry with the two female-dominated nations and want to prove to them that men are the equals of women. People: A slight majority of inhabitants of the Republic are Nantic humans with deep roots in the area, but others are more recent arrivals, mostly escaped slaves and political malcontents from Afrozil, but also some from Sparticia, Westphallica, and Falconhead. Most escaped slaves who stay in the Republic are Shaobon humans from the Emerald Isles, since most other escaped slaves are from Autia and would rather migrate back to their homelands, but some stay for personal or political reasons. The political malcontents are more diverse, and include idealist Amazons and Westphallicans, disgruntled citizens from Falconhead, and ideological fringe players from around the globe. One of the few true democracies, its government is infamously boisterous and argumentative. The current leading political faction is led by middle class Nantic humans (generally male) from Falconhead who left or rebelled due to Falconhead's long history of being overly friendly with Afrozil and Sparticia, though most of its voter base are former slaves looking for payback against Afrozil. There is also a large nativist faction of Nantic humans tired of competing for land and jobs with the endless stream of escaped slaves, and a progressive faction made up of political idealists from the Amazon tribes, Westphallica, and elsewhere, some of whom have ties to the Utopia movement, and/or the Church of Vanille, leading locals and former slaves who have been swayed by their politics. The leading faction is relying increasingly on the progressive faction to counterbalance the nativist faction. Religion: Nantic humans typically follow similar faiths to Falconhead and Westphallica depending on where they are from. Some former slaves keep their old faiths, while others convert to Neir, Vanille, or Grumm. Those who were born into slavery in Afrozil or Afrolia typically retain the agnostic worldview they grew up with. Magic: Very few mages are enslaved by Amazons, they are typically either killed off or bribed into a fairly loyal state of mind. However, local Nantic humans follow the magic traditions of Falconhead, or sometimes Westphallica. Military: Unable to fund a permanent military, the Republic relies heavily on the Free Men's Militia, who do a respectable job defending against slaver attacks, and who sometimes even launch anti-slavery raids against Afrozil, but whose small size and heavy reliance on infantry and small boats mean they will not last long against anyone other than Falconhead in a full scale invasion. Sometimes mercenaries and foreign volunteers are used to beef up raiding parties. History: Once known as Upper Falconhead, this hilly region was long ignored by the Nantic Empire, and later even by the small, insignificant Kingdom of Falconhead. It became a popular refuge for escaped slaves with nowhere else to go, as back then the lands were so sparsely inhabited, pretty much anyone could claim an unoccupied creek valley, and scrape by growing vegetables and sheep. It also became popular with the more assertive citizens of southern Falconhead who got tired of being constantly bullied by Afrozil and Sparticia. During a particularly long period of occupation of Falconburg by the Sparticians, a coalition of disgruntled citizens, former slaves, and foreign activists set aside their differences and cobbled together a rebellion, and later a full fledged government. As a mountain dwelling tribal people, the Sparticians didn't really have the numbers to hold all of Falconhead anyways, and instead simply shrugged and focused their efforts on the more profitable region in the south surrounding Falconburg. However, a decade later, the assassination of a beloved Spartician clan leader by a rabid abolitionist led to generations of retaliatory raids by Sparticia. This rivalry is nothing compared to the deep hatred between Afrozil and the Republic however, as the majority of escaped slaves living in the Republic come from Afrozil rather than Sparticia. However, in recent times, the Republic has been somewhat more reconciliatory with its neighbors. The determined efforts of the increasingly powerful progressive political faction has managed to improve relations with Falconhead and the Sparticia clans, though even the progressives dislike Afrozil and no attempts have been made to reconcile with them. Officially both Westphallica and Ercaenmedi ignore the Republic, but funding from followers of Vanille and/or Utopia have been increasing as they gain strength in Westphallica. Ercaenmedi also has some abolitionists, but the Ercaenmedian Government watches them closely due to fears that they will upset the fragile Alkor-brokered ban on Afrozilian pirates targeting Ercaenmedian ships. Economy: The Republic contains fairly marginal land, with much of it suited for little other than sustenance farming, though enough medium sized farms and mines exist to support the economy. However, despite the Republic being relatively sparsely populated, it is still has a large population in relation to available farmland and jobs, and constant immigration is a source of tension for lower class natives. Some people earn extra money doing seasonal work in the much more prosperous neighboring country of Westphallica, but former slaves generally refuse to do this as the poor work conditions for foreign laborers reminds them of slavery. The coastal region is almost empty, as the coastal mountain range is the Republic's main defense against piracy and slave raids. Most settlements on or near the coast are militia outposts used for defense and launching raids. ====Afrozil==== ''Black Amazon slavers. Female only race that rely on bribery, slavery, and other means to find mates. Major hub for slavery, banditry, and piracy, but also has several popular port towns for ships going up and down the west coast.'' The Banana Commune is a small tribe of Monkeymen present between the borders of Afrozil and the SMC. They love to continuously loot and annoy their Amazonian neighbors, with much success. An Amazonian caught sleeping with a Monkeymen and vice versa is seen as desperate. See the section on Afrolia and Afrozil below for more information. ====Sparticia Mountain Clans==== ''Greek Amazon mountain dwelling raiders. Female only race that raid neighboring nations for mates. Rivals with Afrozil.'' General: One of the so called "Amazon Races", the Sparticia are notorious slavers and raiders who have been a thorn in the side of their neighbors for countless ages. Although not particularly adept at magic, or skilled with technology, their strong sense of racial unity and heavily forested mountainous homeland have allowed them to endure many attempts at conquest by neighboring nations. Their most hated enemy are their fellow Amazons in Afrozil, and squabbles over slaves are common among border tribes. People: The Sparticians are one of the all-female Amazon races, and as a result, they sometimes raid other nations for mates when they can't bribe or lure men in. The children of Amazons (always female) are inevitably Amazons of their mother's ethnic group, but their mates are recruited from several sources, usually from Falconhead or Voluntas, but they also have a strong dislike of the Republic of Free Men, and will raid them frequently anytime they are able to move through Falconhead freely. Raiding Afrozil to steal their mates is also popular. Orcs, goblins, and hiisi are also technically options, but only the most desperate Spartician would mate with them. Aside from mates, orcs, goblins, hiisi, ogres, minotaur, harpies, and giants all freely roam the more remote and inhospitable regions of Spartician territory. Although they appear human, Sparticians, like most other Amazon races, are stronger, tougher, and faster than a human in their weight class. They also age slower than a human once they hit puberty, and it is not uncommon for them to reach 200 years old assuming they are not killed in combat first. Religion: Sparticians, like most Amazons, worship Ayalla as their sole goddess and creator. Magic: Sparticians rarely use magic, preferring martial skill and stealth to accomplish their goals. Military: Sparticians have no standing military, but all clan members of fighting age are trained in combat. Their favorite weapons are short swords, javelins, spears, bows, and chakrams. Much of their gear is purchased, stolen, or looted from Voluntas. They tend to avoid using firearms even when they have the opportunity to loot them during raids. Their favorite targets are Voluntas, Afrozil, and the Republic of Free Men, but they sometimes bully Falconhead into submission to move more freely through their territory. Luckily the men of Falconhead are seen as weak and rarely targeted. They sometimes have to defend themselves from raids by orcs, hiisi, and other monster races. History: The Sparticians have been around for as long as anyone can remember. Only during its strongest periods was the Nantic Empire able to force the majority of the tribes to swear fealty, otherwise they roam their mountainous territory and attack their neighbors freely, except Falconhead, who often bribes them to leave them alone. Economy: The Sparticians are hunter-gatherers who roam the heavily forested Sparticia Mountain Range. Their crafting skills are minimal, and almost all their clothes, weapons, armor, and other gear comes from raiding Voluntas. They will only use things looted from other nations (except mates) as a last resort, as they see both the Nantic humans, and orcs and other monsters as barbarians, while Voluntas still uses technology from what Sparticians see as the Golden Age. ====Kingdom of Eritroans==== ''Humanoid grasshoppers, raise various large insects for trade.'' General: The Kingdom of Eritroans is Birthplace of Grashopper folk. While its separated from most of the continent by mountains, the country itself is mostly made out of fertile plains and forests. Its people are known to be great woodcrafters, especially when it comes to musical instruments and ships. Military: Thanks to additional strength from chitin armors, grasshoppers are formidable archers. ====Voluntas Pact==== ''Ancient Greeks, except they all wear metal masks. Fight with Amazons and Hiisikunta. Isolated branch of the Sorgos People (Mediterranean).'' General: Voluntas people are known for their individualistic mindset, to a point were they hide their identities behind masks made out of metal to separate themselves from outside world. Their country acts as a direct democracy in ancient Athens style, with ancient Sparta style slavery. All of the northern part of the country is under generational slavery. Additionaly they have friendly relations with Grashopperfolk to the south and west, and are in constant war with northern tribes. People: Most inhabitants of the Voluntas Pact are humans of Sorgos descent, but slaves and free men from other regions are not uncommon. Citizens are the top of Pact society. After having completed their mandatory military training, many go on to become soldiers, while others become landowners, businessmen, artisans, and bureaucrats. All citizens in a given region have the right to attend the regional assembly and court and vote on a range of matters including trials, laws, military actions, and the election of officials, though many won't attend sessions unless a topic of personal interest is being voted upon. Citizens can only be the children of other citizens, and due to low birth rates and occasional high military casualties, the percentage of the population made of citizens is slowly dropping. Below them are foreign free men known as metics. Relatively rare, metics still often fill a valuable niche by bringing foreign ideas and skills to an otherwise socially conservative region, or doing jobs not really seen as suitable for a citizen, helot, or slave. Next are helots. Making up a large portion of the population, they are similar to the serfs found in certain other backwards nations in that they have more rights than slaves, but are still highly constricted in terms of mobility, profession, and military training. All are Sorgos since the position is hereditary, and there is no mechanism for anyone to be promoted or demoted to helot. At the bottom are slaves. Some slaves fill relatively high status roles like teachers, scholars, concubines, foremen, and artisans, but most are laborers or domestics. Most slaves are Sorgos (descendants of those on the wrong side of civil wars and revolts) but slaves from exotic locations are highly fashionable with wealthy citizens (typically from the Second Empire via Afzen middlewomen). Slaves are rarely freed, but many are kept motivated by the thought of securing a more comfortable posting. Religion: Religion in the Pact is a strange fusion of the Sorgos and Nantic Pantheons with the primary gods being Zeupiter (a mix of Zeupiter and Ace/Alcar), Shull (mix of Nepseidon, Hadiese, and Shomdar/Shull), and Aphrodinus (mix of Aphodinus and Gaelhalla, Ayalla). Magic: Members of the Pact see direct use of magic in combat as cowardly, and overall aren't super keen on magic, though they do make use of healing magic, enchantments of weapons and armor, and occasionally divination. Although a highly controversial topic, it is believed many of the greatest warriors "cheat" by either using subtle magic to improve their combat prowess, or getting others to enhance their speed, strength, and reflexes with magic. Military: The Pact military heavily emphasizes individual martial skill and valor. Spears, javelins, swords, and round shields are the preferred gear, though many prefer more exotic melee weapons to better stand out. Bows are sometimes grudgingly used, though most would rather reach melee combat as soon as possible. Armor is often showy and impractical, though of course masks and visors are worn whenever possible. Siege warfare is almost unheard of since there are few functional fortresses in the area, though Pact soldiers sometimes hire themselves out as mercenaries, in which case, they typically rely on other to break the defenses before plunging into glorious melee combat. They also don't do great against modern artillery or massed gunfire, and as a result are usually employed as skirmishers, flankers, and raiders. Pact citizens are taught to treat martial combatants with respect, and usually try to ransom, trade, or sometimes simply release skilled combatants that were too injured in combat to continue. In contrast, captured conscripts and citizens are humiliated, neglected, abused, and sometimes tortured. Most Pact soldiers are citizens, but occasionally during major wars helots will be conscripted, though their training and equipment is abysmal, and their commanders seem to delight in needlessly getting them killed. Some wars are believed to have been deliberately started just to thin out the helot population a bit. The Pact's relations with its neighbors is complex: The Hiisi and other monster races living to the east sometimes raid the Pact, and other times are targetted during glory seeking raids and hunts. No serious attempt has ever been made to conquer the Hiisi though, since to do so would deprive the Pact of one of their favorite foes. The Spartician Amazons also raid the Pact for weapons, armor, and mates. Likewise, counter raids are not uncommon. Captured Pact soldiers who fought particularly well are sometimes taken as mates by the Sparticians, while a defeated Sparticians will sometimes fall in love with particularly skilled captors while waiting to be ransomed. Needlessly to say, the relations between Sparticia and the Pact are complex and strange to outsiders. Relations with the Afzen Amazons of Afrozil are poorer. The border between these two nations is poorly defined and a frequent source of conflict, as is illegal slave snatching from both sides by greedy landowners. However, wars rarely last long since economic ties between the two nations are strong, particularly the Pact's reliance on Afzen Amazons to acquire new slaves for them to purchase. Relations with Eritroans are generally good, mostly since the Eritroans never give the Pact a reason to fight them. Some Pact generals have tried to start wars with the Eritroans simply to have something new to fight, though cooler heads have always prevailed, since deep down the elites of Pact society know they may need a reliable ally if they are ever threatened by a major power. The city states that make up the Pact frequently fight among themselves, and relish any chance they get to put down a revolt by helots or slaves, or even the rumor of a revolt by helots or slaves. History: In the time of expansion for the Soukans, the world was a friendlier place. While some younger nations may have been rapidly expanding, the Soukans were content merely to take key pieces of land and greatly expand the infrastructure of them to make new city-states and then carry on with their spread. In those times progress was quick and the Sorgos colonies as they were known soon were vastly spreading in size with vast swathes of land being built upon and regions like what is now Aesanaeria mined for the abundance of jewels and natural resources they had. Each city-state back home had their own colonization initiative active at the time and the region which is now the Voluntas Pact was a former colony of Sparathus. This is evident from the similar appreciation for martial excellence shared between both sides however the Pact has taken things a step further from Sparathus, which while still preferring melee combat freely uses magic in their fighting styles to greater enhance their lethality. Even their greatest warriors, the Black Blades (soldiers in black plate armor wielding huge enchanted obsidian greatswords that consume combat drugs in battle hashashin style to pull off bullshit usually reserved for elder elves like deflecting bullets with your sword) use magic in their techniques and use enchanted weapons. This shift in ideology was primarily caused by the isolation of the former colony, leading to the settlers left behind and the locals to change their doctrine from one of slow outwards expansion to one of aggressive defense from Amazon neighbors. Essentially it ended up devolving from constant raids and losing the magical abilities from their homeland through procreation with the locals leading to the current situation. Recently however the Soukans have showed back up again but aren't very well loved by the people who see them as posers who don't respect the art of melee as much as they do magic. Their leaders however understanding the use of magic to augment your martial prowess have gotten along well enough and trade has restarted between the nations with captured slaves and Spartican/Afzen warriors being sent back to the republic to work or fight in the colosseums in return for jewelry and higher quality weapons being sent by the Soukans. Economy: A somewhat backward nation economically, the Pact relies heavily on dirt cheap slave labor to make up for its low technology levels. Attempts to modernize have been strongly resisted by wealthy landowners invested in the status quo. The Pact exports good quality grains, meats, and vines to a range of nations via ocean trade routes. They also sell arms and armor to the Eritroans, Sparticians, Afrozil, and Aesanaeria, though many other nations arrogantly feel such equipment is too primitive to be of interest to them. The ruling class dislikes technology, but imports a wide range of exotic foods, jewelry, clothes, and other status symbols, particularly slaves. Mercenary work and adventuring are looked upon favorably, and Pact mercenaries are common in Eldrian States, and sometimes Sorgos and Nantic States. Miscellaneous: Voluntas Klephts are known to mostly make their masks out of plaster. ====Hiisikunta==== ''Look halfway between orcs and trolls, basically behave like orcs.'' Hiisikunta is high chiefdom of hiisi people ruled by High Chief Vainamo. Hiisis are greyish creatures having similarities with trolls and orcs. They aren't that developed civilization but instead most of their lands are rural wilderness. They also enjoy raiding neighbouring realms. In Hiisikunta Hiisis are worshiping different spirits of nature. They also have sauna ritual in which they go to smoke sauna to clean their spiritual selves and to gain divine guidance. This ritual will be performed always before going to raiding and war. Even though Hiisis are technology wise behind their neighbours they have individuals who can perform powerful magic, mostly related to nature and woods. And there are stories that Hiisis hold powerful weapon called Sampo that they would use if needed. ====Orkistan==== Orkistan is a relatively recent nation founded by a huge orc warband that decided to settle down to the west of the central continent where they were active. Nowadays they are mostly building their country in more sustainable and peaceful ways, they still enjoy mercenary work but never against their neighbors, Aesanaeria is currently their biggest client. Those on the coast are also often pirates avoiding their own peninsula but instead targeting the Southerners like the Wizard Coast, Luver, Ander and the Unravelers. Culturally, they are known for sophisticating orc traditions and arts, mostly notably creating parades and a new style of music based on their ancestral war chants. ====Hagarta==== Hagarta is a small informal country of witches and warlocks living in the wastes between Gabaet and Sparticia. They live in isolated covens (varying in size from a master and one apprentice to an hamlet) and avoid interacting much with each other to better stay hidden from the neighboring nations. Almost all of them are able of magic because they kidnap children with magical talent and abandon, kill or sell to slavery their magicless biological children. They know almost all forms of Nantic magic and practice many dark ones. Their only export is talented magic users leaving to work for Westphallica, they tend to eventually come back to found their own coven. Their religion is mostly similar to the ones in Gabaet and Falconhead, with the addition of the god Deadicorn and a more magical variant of Grumm. People: Most of the inhabitants of this region are Nantic humans, but harpies are fairly common, as well as the occasional hag, horseman, dwarf, amazon, goblin, orc, hiisi, troll, ogre, giant, dire bear or kobold. Technically it is part of Gabaet, and most of its inhabitants consider themselves to be citizens of Gabaet, but many call the region Hagarta, which also the name of the loose organization of witches and warlocks hiding in the region along with the slightly more benevolent Briar Ravens and Blood Wolves. Religion: Most inhabitants have religious practices similar to that found in Gabaet and Falconhead but darker and more rural. Their gods are Gaelhalla/Ayalla (sex, fertility, also important god for harpies and amazon), Neir/Wyrn (farming, forests, nature), Gayin (for the few dwarfs in the area), Liik (ravens, crows, vigilance, protection, death, she far more prominent here than most parts of Gabaet), Shomdor (manages the punishment of evil souls in the underworld), and Ace (storms). Grumm and Deadicorn are also worshipped by users of dark magic. Magic: Although technically a part of Gabaet, Hagarta is sparsely inhabited, ignored, and effectively lawless, which makes it the perfect place for the practitioners of questionable magic to gather. There are three main rival magic traditions here: The Hagarta are the most prominent. Made up of humans, harpies, and hags, they study any and all forms of magic, and pay tribute to many dark gods, though Deadicorn is by far the most important. They believe only magic users have a place in their society, and kidnap children (usually female) with magical talent, while killing, transforming, or selling into slavery any of their own children without magic talent. They live in small groups, and are often served by enchanted slaves, the more exotic the better. The Briar Ravens serve Liik, and specialize in anti-undead operations, though they also hunt demons and other monsters. Like the Hagarta, they include humans, harpies, and a few hags in their numbers, and they use many types of magic, but shy away from flesh shaping and necromancy. They are highly skilled at divination, and their agents sometimes carry out morally dubious assassinations to alter future events. The Blood Wolves serve Grumm, and consist of magic using cannibals (again humans, harpies, and hags) and lycanthropes. They don't seem to have any long term goals other than covering up each others attacks. They can use a wide range of magic, but prefer enchantments, curses, necromancy, and demon binding. Military: Hagarta doesn't really have a military. The non-magical locals tend to rely on militias and posses for law enforcement and killing wandering monsters. The magic users generally keep their identities hidden to prevent retaliation. Their immediate neighbors can usually guess which are magic users, but rarely know what affiliation they have. In return for not snitching to authorities in the more populated parts of Gabaet, even the Hagarta and Blood Wolves rarely carry out attacks on their immediate neighbors, instead sneaking into neighboring regions, particularly Sparticia and Gabaet proper. Anonymity isn't their only defense however, many of the larger enclaves are located near portals to the fey world, allowing them to disappear entirely should major trouble approach. History: Long a small and overlooked region of foothills and valleys of little worth, Hagarta was part of the Nantic Empire, and later Gabaet, though it always had a dark reputation. Economy: Only the hardiest and most desperate folk try to scrap by a living in this monster infested region. Most are either outlaws, or poor, illiterate folk who are too clannish or ignorant to move elsewhere. Prospectors occasionally make major finds in this area, abandoned mines are everywhere (some of which make nice lairs) and most non-magic users can trace their origins back to a past mining boom. Despite their magical ability, none of the three magic using organizations in this area seem to consider material wealth important. Some will get bored and work in Westphallica for a bit, but will eventually get bored of luxury, and spend their remaining money on rare magical components before moving back to primitive lairs and shacks in the Hagarta region. ====Srechund==== In the central regions of Autia, where there now lies the nation known as Srechund there once was a thriving population of dragons long ago. The beating of their wings filled the skies as they battled and found nearby villages to raze. This lifestyle abruptly came to an end following a long and chilling series of winters leading to these dragons needing to hide in their great caverns as they slowly starved to death. And when dragons gather, a host of fervent Kobolds stalk and worship them, as is in their nature. The loss of their masters devastated the creatures and the shambling masses of grieving kobolds proved a perfect target for the nearby population of direbears, cruel creatures that would've been the apex predator in this environment should there not have been dragons. Rather than pouncing and consuming all the pitiful creatures, the direbears chose to put some to work and enslaved the entire race. Years after years of neverending labor lead to constant deaths, either of starvation or the conditions they worked in however one fateful night some kobolds stalked into the caves of their dragon forefathers for advice. They found pools of almost dried up blood which they used as face paint and to their shock found the blood empowering them. Specifically it enhanced the power of metal magic, where they could control all kinds of metal. Knowing this they snuck droves of curious followers into the caves and they used these powers to drag out great veins of ore and revolt against the direbears. It was a hard fought fight but with enough hit and run tactics they brought their captors low as they fled. They created a great iron wall along the mountain border next to prevent the return of these beasts and have set to try and build a new civilization with this knowledge of metal magic founding Srechund. ====Drow City of Myr'klyt==== People: The main residents of Myr'klyt are drow, but half-drow are becoming increasingly common. Some other underground dwelling races are allowed to live in the city like duergar, mind flayers, and goblins, but only after they have been carefully vetted. Some enchanted monsters and demons can also be found in the more high end niche brothels. Some humans also live here permanently, often actors and actresses posing as slaves. Guests are mostly from Westphallica. Myr'klyt's true nature is a well kept secret to increase its exclusivity, though the existence of Myr'klyt is well known in the region. Many falsely believe that Westphallican nobles sell unwanted refugees and wannabe immigrants into slavery to Myr'klyt, a rumor Westphallica does nothing to dissuade since it already spends lot of money deporting undesirables. Religion: The drow who founded Myr'klyt where refugees from drow cities run by various evil gods and goddesses back in their home plane of existence. Some of them still worship their old goddesses like the Masked Lady, while others have converted to local gods like Gaelhalla, Vanille, or Gayin. Magic: The drow of Myr'klyt don't have a particularly high number of magic users by the standards of their race. Those that do learn magic focus on combat magic or illusions or enchantments that can boast their profits in the tourism business. Military: Myr'klyt frequently has to defend itself against other underground races, particularly other drow. Like most of their race, their preferred tactics are stealth, hand crossbows, and offensive magic. Westphallican nobles will sometimes send their mercenaries and operatives to help protect their investments in Myr'klyt from attack. History: Drow cities first began to appear beneath the surface many centuries ago. Found beneath Aesanaria, Nantes, Ercaenmedi, Afrozil, and many other nations, they quickly gained a reputation as hubs of slavery and evil, thriving despite having to compete with many other evil creatures beneath the surface. However, Myr'klyt was not like most other drow cities. Smaller and less evil than other cities, it suffered from frequent raids from other drow cities before the ruling council came up with a rather unusual way to firm up its alliance with Westphallica. Noting the existence of entire palaces and towns based around a single erotic theme, the Matron Mothers of Myr'klyt allowed their closest allies in Westphallica to set-up private retreats and brothels in exchange for high taxes which they used to buy magical components and weaponry to defend their city. Over time, the tourism industry came to dominate the city, with almost everyone working at least a side-gig in tourism. Economy: A small isolated city, Myr'klyt relies almost entirely on tourism from Westphallica to run its economy. Activities that can be found here run from the relatively benign like swimming, watching play, dance halls, shopping, going to restaurants, gambling, and watching races, to hardcore like themed brothels and orgy dens, elaborate roleplaying, and erotic fight clubs. Everything is based around what Westphallicans think an evil drow city should look like, but drow that work in the tourism industry find the whole thing very unauthentic, and particularly when combined with the sexual aspect, rather degrading. Many drow and half-drow have left the city as a result, usually staying in Westphallica, but some going to places like Falconhead, Hoogivs, or Utopia, where people are both relatively open-minded and peaceful. ==='''Other North-Central Nations'''=== ''Assorted minor nations living along the crumbling edges of the eastern Nantic nations.'' ====Silvermoon Prim-Commune==== ''Technology rejecting religious cult goblins who fled The Union to have somewhere to focus their mental energies and turn into angelic creatures known as Ceraphim.'' Messaiah of Silvermoon valley has reformed goblin tribes that previously lived in Union lands into united entity, and then traveled acoss the continent with them to find new land for his kind. Recently he was seen south of Alkor. Silvermoon's followers reject all technology, after freeing themselves from the Union, taking land from the waring free-states and Alkor. The Ceraphim are messengers of Silver Moon. To become ceraphim you have to strip yourself from all the greennes of goblin kind, and embrace silver skies with procelan skin and multiple wings. Only after the transformation is completed they are giver permision to become conduit of god's power. They posses powerfull magick, but can not survive during the day away from moon god temples. ====Canton of Hoogivs==== ''Minor nation of Nantic and Ercaenmedian humans as well as dwarves. Protected by various ancient treaties. Basically the Shire with tea and a large LGBTQ community.'' General: In the small canton of Hoogivs, literally nothing interesting ever happens. Everyone lives in comfy villages and the day is traditionally started by spending an hour drinking herbal tea and talking about the interesting things that happen in other countries. Also the canton is unusually progressive in regards to gender roles. Belkan hasn't gotten into a war with Hoogivs is that the Hoogivs, being in a warmer yet wet enough environment can actually grow and harvest Cocoa beans, necessary for Chocolate, which is seen as a delicacy almost everywhere on the main continent People: The inhabitants of Hoogivs are mostly Nantic humans, but there is also some dwarves and Ercaenmedian humans. Peaceful harpies, goblins, and fey live in small numbers in the border regions. Rumors state that this area is under the protection of ancient Eldrian creations. Religion: More or less a Nantic state, Hoogivs follows the Nantic pantheon with minor cross overs from other cultures. Weir is god of agriculture and community, Gayin is goddess of craftsmen and artists, Liik is the guardian of dead spirits. Ace, Shomdor, Grumm, and Vanille are acknowledged, but usually seen as gods favored by foreign trouble makers. Gaelhalla is rarely talked about in public, but is said to be frequently invoked during private activities. If asked, the inhabitants of Hoogivs will say she is the goddess of tea. Magic: Hoogivs has very few magic users, anyone with potential usually moves elsewhere. Those that stay rarely develop their abilities. Military: Hoogivs doesn't have much of a military. Each community has a small militia that handles basic law enforcement. Weaponry usually consists of a few crossbows and clubs for more serious militia members, and repurposed tools like hunting bows, slings, pitchforks and wood axes for everyone else. No one has ever tried to invade Hoogivs in recorded history, a strange anomaly which has vexed historians for ages, though aggressive animals, drunken travelers, and the occasional bandit aren't completely unheard of. History: Historically the Hoogivs region was part of a no-mans land between the Nantic and Eldrian Empires. Following the collapse of these empires, it remained empty for a while as people migrated closer to main population centres. It was eventually absorbed into the Alkor Empire, but due to a weird diplomatic compromise it became a de facto independent nation during the Harlbourg revolution. These days it exists as a small island of civilization in an otherwise empty region. Merchants and adventurers from Harlbourg and Unkor sometimes visit, but not often. Although Hoogivs borders on Aesanaeria, Aesanaerians rarely go near it due to their dislike of forests in general, and the forests of Hoogivs specifically. Belkan once proclaimed they will never invade it due to the quality of their cocoa beans, though it is unclear if this was a serious proclamation. Economy: Despite being close to the dry grasslands of central Autia, Hoogivs is a temperate and fertile land with high agricultural potential. The central territory is covered in farmland and hamlets with the town of Hoogivs in the middle. The border regions are covered in large expanses of empty forests and meadows. High value crops like cocoa beans, peace leaves, and tea leaves are traded with Harlbourg in return for luxury goods like manufactured cloth, clocks, fireworks, and exotic spices, but for the most part the people of Hoogivs seem to prefer living in the past, and have made no moves to embrace plantation style farming, factories, or magi-tech. Instead they grow and make what they need to live comfortably, while using their abundant free time to live lives of idle leisure. The population is surprisingly stagnant, and many villages remain almost unchanged over centuries. ====Unkor==== ''Former backwater Nantic province now home to the refugees and outlaws from all over the continent. Widely regarded as cursed. Basically a very multicultural Transylvannia / mishmash of horror film tropes from around the world.'' Unkor, pushed up against the eldr, alone, severed due to the breaking off of the free states. They needed reasorces and men and attempted to reuse there corpses, something something eldr, something something Iron Crown the whole main land is cursed. Unkor Shamenmes are well known for their talents and their storytelling abilities and magic. They are usually elders from major villages and perform great acts of storytelling call Mulans which explains their gods and past. they also perform rituals base on age as a sign of a person's growth. there are more rituals, but most important is the giving of dowries, weddings, and feast anouncmets. they do not take part in violence but after a battle, they walk around the battlefield giving pray to the fall so they can find the Minbim (Final enlightment) and save those that are dying with magic. People: Most inhabitants of this region are Nantic humans, but its abundance of free land and limited law enforcement means it attracts refugees and outlaws from a wide range of neighboring lands, including wolf-kin, actual lycanthropes, fey, orcs, harpies, hags, and goblins. It also has an unusually high percentage of individuals of Eldrian descent, some of whom have been living in the area since the collapse of the Eldrian Empire, while others have arrived more recently. Of the southerners, southern dwarves, Shaobon humans, and pumkin are the largest groups. It most famous inhabitants of course are the undead. Due to the unnatural energies of Eldr, the spirits of the dead, as well as sometimes reanimated corpses, periodically appear in the region, sometimes in large numbers. Many of these beings are obvious to the fact they are dead, and are often unable to perceive the living, or even other undead. Others can and will interact with the region, sometimes hostilely. Sometimes more powerful undead creatures like vampires and liches are drawn to the region from elsewhere. Religion: Variants of the Nantic faith are most common here. Gods include; Gaelhalla (courtship, beauty, seduction), Wyrn (hunters, foresters), Gayin (commerce, mining), and Liik (primary god in region, ravens, death, afterlife, protection against the undead and other evils). Bands of fanatics of Grumm known as the Wolf-Kin have long troubled the region. Evil necromancers tend to worship demons like Lykian and Deadicorn. Some of those of Eldrian descent follow southern gods like the Green Titan, though those of Shaobon descent usually follow animal spirit worship they brought with them from Shaobon. Magic: Despite being a former Eldrian province, Eldrian/Southern Magic is fairly rare here as most Eldrians trace their roots to former slaves, refugees and outlaws. But most Shaobon communities have Shamenmes (shamans) who can do minor healing magic and dispel curses. Nantic spellcasters are also pretty rare, since the area is too poor to offer meaningful opportunities to skilled magic users. The main exception to this rule is necromancy. The dead are often restless in Unkor, and necromantic spells are more potent here, so it attracts those interested in necromantic experimentation or who simply want to get the most out of their magic. Such individuals are often versed in other forms of magic as well. Due to the presence of so many necromancers, anti-necromancy organizations like the Briar Ravens and other Liik worshippers are common in the region. Such individuals are typically skilled at dispelling magic, among other abilities. Military: Unkor doesn't really have a military. Lacking a central government, each village has its own militia that defends itself the best it can. Despite the region's cursed reputation, not much actually happens here most of the time other than the occasional restless dead, dark fey, or Eldrian monster causing problems. However, when problems do occur, it is often on a larger scale than the militias can handle, and people hide rather than fight. During bad periods, necromancers and other evil spellcasters often attract followers and become warlords due to their ability to handle undead, fey, and Eldrian monsters more effectively than others. History: The name Unkor comes from the name of a pre-Nantic nation inhabited by proto-Nantic humans. It was part of the Nantic Empire at its peak, but later became part of the Eldrian Empire at its own peak. When the Eldrian Empire destroyed itself close to 400 years ago, reality was damaged in the surrounding areas, and in the case of the Unkor region, lead to a thinning in the walls between our world and the realms of the dead. Although no one really wanted it anymore, the Nantic Empire reclaimed the region following the collapse of the Eldrian Empire, and it was later inherited by Alkor. When Harlbourg rebelled, Unkor, like Hoogivs, stayed neutral, mostly since no one cared about it enough to try to occupy it. Economy: Most of the inhabitants are simple farming folk, but the lands are much less fertile than they should be, and most struggle to feed themselves in bad years. Most of the inhabitants are just to stubborn to leave though, while others have no where else to go. However, for the truly fearless and/or unethical, reasonable money can be made serving necromancers, looting old Eldrian ruins, or even trying to enter Eldr itself. ====Persquaria==== ''Bunch of nutjobs obsessed with squares, to the point of fighting wars to try to make their borders perfectly square, and molding their skulls to be square-ish. Mostly Nantic humans, but others of their kind have essentially disowned them. Historically and culturally they have more in common with the South'' Persquaria is realm of perfect order, even its borders have perfect square shape. Well almost, because if there is order, there must be chaos. And chaos of ELDR prohibits Persquarians from ever achieving their ideal shape for extended preiod of time. The opening of eldr is a big festival in persquaria where folks gather on the eldr border to celebrate the perfection. Even though it is of short time, it is the biggest holiday in that country and even King Kubius the squarest attends this fest. It is a dangerous tradition as the monsters from the Eldr slay thousands of civilians everytime. Those are considered martyrs for the greater cause. The Eternal war for the bottom right corner of Persquaria has been ragin for almost 15 generations. ====The Fairy Lands (Soulwood, Tavern Woods, Halem, Fluffwood, Wolf-Kin Band)==== '''Wolf-Kin Band:''' ''Hardcore worshippers of the wolf god Grumm. They wander the Northern Wastes and Tavern Woods stirring up trouble. Nantic humans, but consider themselves to be part wolf (incorrectly).'' '''The Tavern Woods:''' ''No-man's land home to isolated taverns and communities catering to travelers. Home to a small nation of magic snakes who sell their venom at a certain tavern. Mostly Nantic humans.'' '''Halem:''' On the north coast (between Fluffwood and Harlbourg) lie a people who everyone calls gepids who State is called Halem. They aren't humans but have the same back structure, they are very reclusive and don't usually interact with visitors, some wear bodysuits that cover up all their fitters to seem less hostile to humans, but there true from is one of squid-like, with hair and legs replaced by tentacles with sometimes the occurrences of eyes on their head. they don't really fight wars but when someone invades there usually completely destroyed but not by killing them but by causing such fear with scar tactics and illusion magic that only after a few casualties whole armies run. usually, no one is killed and the injured are return. they are peaceful people and they want it to stay that way. '''Fluffwood:''' ''Home to evil fey creatures, though some of them are kind of cute. Basically weird fairy tale stuff plus giant corgis.'' Within the endless forests of Fluffwood and other such places, one can find the Fairy Elves and their giant corgi mounts. Although they appear harmless, they are actually famous for brutally torturing trespassers and leaving their writhing bodies bound to trees at the edges of their territory. They also sometimes mount raids on neighboring communities in order to capture slaves to sell to the hags for magical experimentation. Attempts to launch reprisals against them have almost always failed due to their high mobility within the dense forests, and ability to flee back to Fairy Land (aka the Third Layer of Hell) via hidden magic portals. Fluffwood gets its name from the various fuzzy fungi that grow within the deeper parts of the forest. Most of these fungi are harmless, but the hags, elves, and other dark spirits of forests can sometimes use magic to cause fungi spores to take root and grow rapidly on living beings (who are typically bound). This process is even more painful then it looks since the fungi have poisonous roots that bore deep into the flesh and bone. '''Soulwood:''' South of the Tavern Woods, spread a vast and convoluted series of great trees and a gentle sunlight shining through the canopy. Would be travelers typically find themselves right where they started to their immense confusion and irritation, however this is more than just bad tracking skills as the forest has a primitive intelligence to it and seeks to repel intruders. When a particularly skilled tracker or force of warriors enter they may be able to bypass this primary boundary, however this is merely the first of many defenses as the forest twists and weaves itself to impede these beings and should they still have the resolve to pass through the path they started on they will encounter the forest's children, the ents. Being a slow-witted and tranquil race the ents merely seek to wander about as they discover new trees to grant sentience in the manner they have been uplifted. A delicate ritual is undertaken to coax out the spirit in the tree and imbue the spirit with a magical core allowing it to move around like a mortal being would. These rituals are undertaken by the ents mages, elderly trees with great wooden harps that they play. These harps form the primary source of ent spells alongside a crude form of healing magic and this auditory magic serves as a means to entrance and command the many creatures of the forest alongside controlling the very earth itself. These spiritsingers, as they are called by the other ents can perform tasks like making a seed become a tree in a day with their talents leading to them becoming respected elders among the treekin. Occasionally an ent seeks to explore and find another forest to give life to in the manner that the soulwood is, embarking on a generation long voyage to find a suitable home and another generation to begin the process of granting sentience. This immense slowness means the ents are a reclusive people, knowing that direct confrontation will end in doom. This had led to a general separation from the outside world. Military: The ents lack any kind of military, rather relying on diplomacy and gifts such as the many wooden crafts they can create to convince outsiders to stay away. However each ent possess great strength, being a living tree and when put in a situation between life and death they will crash around bringing devastation to the troops around them. The primary of these instances is where their high prophet organized a group of warriors who assaulted some wolf-kin attempting to use the trees in their land for fuel. Alongside this they commonly dispute with the people of the tavern woods over their usage of trees, however these instances are sporadic and they are typically placid beings. '''People:''' The Fairy Lands are home to a wide range of fey creatures, though the ents, gepids, hags, and fairy elves dominate their respective sections of the forest. Other inhabitants include harpies, red caps, goblins, ogres, satyrs, dryads, lepre-khans, as well as a wide range of other fey that defy easy classification. Nantic humans can also be found in the area. Scattered hamlets, taverns, and trade outposts can be found in the so-called Tavern Woods, while fanatical worshippers of Grumm known as the wolf-kin roam the deeper parts of forests. '''Religion:''' Each race of fey seems to have its own set of gods they worship, who are generally more powerful versions of themselves. Many dark fey also worship demons, particularly Deadicorn, Grumm, and Wyrna. Humans usually follow certain gods within the Nantic pantheon, particularly; Gaelhalla (courtship, beauty), Wyrn (hunters, foresters), Gayin (commerce), and Liik (protection against the undead and other evils). Bands of fanatics of Grumm known as the Wolf-Kin have long troubled the region. '''Magic:''' Fey races all have their own forms of innate magic, though the specific abilities and strength of said abilities vary greatly by individual. Some fey like hags and harpies also learn the magic traditions of human races like demon binding and alchemy. The humans in the area with magical potential have few opportunities to develop it unless they are luckily enough to live near some magically skilled hermit. However, the hags of Fluffwood sometimes take on human students, for a price... '''History:''' The fey are believed to be among the first intelligent beings to arrive on this world, entering via portals from one of several "fairy worlds", alternate dimensions where magic is common and everything is a bit brighter and stranger. Communities formed anywhere where the barriers between worlds is thin, but over the centuries, most of the communities were swept away by more organized races like the Ogrillons, Sartyrians, and various human empires. The Fairy Lands are one of those few areas where the barriers between worlds is so thin that portals are everywhere, and eradicating the fey is impossible. Instead, the Nantic Empire, Alkorians, etc., grudgingly left the area alone. During the time of the Nantic Empire, a heavily guarded road was cut through the Fairy Lands with brute force to connect the central and eastern sections of the Nantic Empire, however, with the collapse of the Nantic Empire, the road was largely abandoned, and its many forts, inns, and other rest stops left to rot. Only the western portions of the road were partially maintained, and are now the so-called "Tavern Woods", where hunters and frontiersmen live in isolated homesteads, and sometimes earn a bit of income trading rare alchemic materials. '''Economy:''' The inhabitants of the Fairy Lands are very self sufficient. The only trading that occurs is generally done in the Tavern Woods. '''Military:''' There are no standing armies in the Fairy Lands, but the inhabitants are more than capable of looking out for themselves. Skirmishes are not uncommon. The inhabitants of Fluffwood raid their neighbors relentlessly, looking for fresh meat for their twisted games and experiments. The Wolf-Kin are also very belligerent to anyone who crosses their path. Skirmishes sometimes break out between the ents and the inhabitants of the Tavern Woods over logging, and the gepids sometimes drive out pirates trying to establish lairs on their coasts. '''Miscellaneous:''' It is known that the fey of Fluffwood enchant the normally harmless fungi of the forests to horribly disfigure their captured victims, but on rare occasions this ends up backfiring. You see, the fungus is transfigured to pierce the skin of people in horrifically painful manners, and puncture its victims vital organs such as the heart, kidneys and brain. But the fungus can sometimes assimilate these organs instead. This would still kill the person, but leaves the body intact and slowly connects its nerve system with the fungus. As this transformation reaches its completion, much of the altered body regains motor functions under the fungus control. To the fey these bodies look like nothing but zombies, shambling corpses barley capable of standing up right. But this couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, this is a facade. Since the brain tends to be intact most fungi end up becoming sapient and gain the memories of their former victims: Their hopes, their dreams, the friends and enemies they made during their magnificent adventures and so much more. But they especially gain the memories of their victim's horrifying death, and the fey carelessly laughing as if the innocent life they just ended was just some children's toy. Nowadays the fungal men work in secrecy to sabotage the fey's attempts at kidnapping and raiding innocent people. ====Fleshmolders and Gullet Pirates==== ''Sadistic fucks terrorizing the lawless northern provinces of Nantes. Specialize in molding living beings into horrible creations.'' >To the north there lives a cruel lord >He can shape flesh like putty >Has turned most of the local villages into optimized, perfect abominations >This small hamlet's approach is expanding south. Lesser nobility are taking up his craft. Soon the village of VikΓ© tried to imitate this craft. They started chopping up their animals into unrecognizable parts and let the local artisans remodel them as they wish. Since they only do this for the shits and giggles, the abominations get released and now roam the countryside as peaceful animals. Travellers mistake them for unholy monsters and try to kill the chimeras. To the east of the fleshmolders is the Pirates Haven of Gullet. they are defacto vessels of the fleshmolders and work for them in the collection of the bodies for their experiments. they have raided as fair as the San'brag and are universally hated but are too dangerous to attack because of the Fleshmolders armies that will work with the pirates in defense of the region. they commonly get mutation and body ungrades from the Fleshmolder in exchange for bodies with living ones being worth a lot more, but they also take money. they do not raid their close neighbors simply to not draw their ire but they hate Alkor for multiple attempts invasions that all failed and so they raid them with glee. ====High Magitek==== ''Weird ruin. Former alien colony, though no one realizes this.'' On the isle that sits in the great bay north of the Republic of Nantes and the Kingdom of Yr...there is no nation, but the remnants of a great work of the empire that Nantes is the last active remnant of. The Ruins of High Magitek is a dangerous island where ancient wonders still roam amid deep running corridors and maligned intelligences from experiments from the old empire that sleep and wake at the peril of those who would venture to this island to claim its bounty of material or technology. Some say the isle fell to ruin because of experiments binding fey or fiends into their machines of iron and mage metals... Others say it was because of a spire antenna of orihalcum with a pure selenium core meant to open a gateway to a distant star that let...something through. All I know is, I can get ten Republic Crown coins a head for ferrying people over there for the risk. Don't often have to bring'em back neither. ''The inhabitants ironically never didn't die, they packed up and left to their homeworld as the island was meant as a colony project that unfortunately had its funding cut. If one were to go deep into the island itself, you might be able to 'phone them home'.'' High Magitek is a strange place, filled with gigantic structures, moving ruins and types of magic that no mage has ever encountered before. Yet, there is no sign of any residents despite there being clear signs of habitation. This has led many to explore the island only to never return. The people of Autia fear those men had met whatever killed the natives. However, the people of High Magitek (or "Colony FB7" as they call it) never actually died. They simply left back to their homeworld in the Andromeda galaxy after the Tesseract Corporation cut their funding. Their research on the several magical crystals present on the planet was already as good as completed anyway, so there wasn't really any reason to stay. After activating the Rocket Factory they took to the stars and flew back home to sip synthetic martinis on a hoverchair. However, they forgot to send back a drone to deactivate the four maintenance AIs and pack up the rest of the structure. Thus for the next few millennium the colony remains to this day relatively unchanged. As for the adventurers that entered this place and disappeared, many went to explore the Rocket Factory as it is the biggest structure on the island. Here many would inevitably climb into one of the metal towers inside, curiously press the big red button labeled "launch" and involuntary take to the skies. ====Aesanaeria==== People: A large though largely empty nation, Aesanaeria is mostly home to humans of the Sorgos ethnic group (Mediterranean), but orcs and half-orcs are not uncommon. Religion: The Aesanaerians traditionally worshipped a mix of Nantic and Southern gods, though worship of the Brass Lord has become increasingly common instead. A powerful demon who the Aesanaerians allied themselves with to break free from the Nantic Empire centuries ago, the Brass Lord taught them the secrets of demon binding, dark aether channeling, and enchantment magic, knowing the such magic would gradually corrupt the Aesanaerian people. Magic: The Aesanaerians once used a mix of Nantic and Southern magic, but these days most magic users are followers of the Brass Lord. Such mages spend most of their time creating so called Brass Knights, a strange caste of warriors that wear armor and carry weapons composed of fluted brass tubes. The equipment of a Brass Knight gives it exceptional durability, and the ability to launch "sound attacks" by manipulating the aether to smash their opponents with raw aethetic energy. Unfortunately, such armor also removes most of the free will of the user, and the demonic energy infused into the armor gradually corrupts the form of the user. Military: Aside from the famous Brass Knights, the Aesanaerians prefer light, mobile skirmishers that travel around on large warthogs, and fight with javelins and bows. Clothing is minimal to show of scars and body paint, as well as avoid over exerting themselves in the dry deserts and grasslands, though many warriors wear masks. Followers of the Brass Lord almost always wear brass masks, but others wear more traditional masks of wood or leather. They also frequently make use of orc mercenaries, particularly those of Orkistan. History: Like other Sorgos peoples found in the western portion of the continent, the Aesanaerians were dominated by the Nantic Empire, but later broke free. Since then they have become increasingly under the influence of the Brass God, who has convinced them to ally with the Alkor in order to focus their resources on wars with Sneed and the Taur Tribes. Economy: Aesanaeria doesn't have much of an economy. A barren region of mountains, desert, and grasslands, most of the inhabitants live in wandering tribes that survive by ranching and foraging. However, there are a few towns and cities dedicated to supporting the larger of the mines, supplying trade routes, or worshipping the Brass Lord. ====The Hordes of Swabonze==== The hords of swabonze are a religious group of plunderes and mercenaries who follow the code of swabonze. Swabonze ones was a prophet who promised his followers liberation from the problemes of sedentary society like class struggle or a wealth gap by returning to lifestyle of a hunter and gatherer. To be able to survive that life he advocaded for strengthening ones body and getting rid of thing that weakend one, like alcohol or overreliance on tools. After his death his ideals quickly became warped in a dark way. Because most land was already claimed by sedentary societies, which was always expanding which meant claming more land, the original message of getting rid of weaknesses became about getting rid of the weak and not the weaknesses you as a person have. Sedentary society was seen as inherently weak which made them their main target. To liberated the people who live in a Sedentary society they began raiding villiages. As they only wanted the strong to survive they forced everyone in the villiage which they were raiding to bring them 2 heads. The people of the villiage thus became stained in blood if they wanted to survive which broke main of them. As the murderes they where forced to become they didn't have a role in normal society which forced them to join swabonze. The group leaders also added drugs to everybodys food which made them even more aggressive and less . This continued for a long time, but as they began to run out of villiages to plunder they faced food shortages. They tried to raid cities but because of their lack of siege tools they failed. Instead they began to work for the cities for food. Nowdays the are split into 2 factions. Those who wish to became mercenaries and those who want to continue their crusaed against Sedentary society. They don't have a Territory, as they are constantly on the move, always looking for villiages to plunder or work. Currently they are operating near the free city states of harlborg. They have a rang of influence around them in which they can strike. If it's only to plunder a small villiage a small group will split form the main group and do just that. Those who don't return after 4 days are to be killed on sight. There group is organized into 4 subgroups. The freshborn are those which only have recently joined. They are only armed with rocks and sticks. There food is poised with the most drugs to quickly turn them into people without morales besides survivale of the fittest. If they have gathered 10 heads they become reborn. The reborn are allowed to possess swords as they have proven that they are capable of survivale even without tools to relay on. There food has less druges as they have already mostly lost their sense of right and wrong completly. They are allowed to command freshborn which are forced to follow their orders or risk getting killed. To become a member of the blooedborn a reborn has to either present 50 heads or kill a bloodborn in a fiar fight. The bloodbron are allowed to carry any weapon and armor. They aren't allowed to command reborn or freshborn as the they serve the scourge of swabonze directly. They are more of an elite group of guards than actual soldiers. The ensure their loyalty their food is posied with a lot of drugs making them nearly breainded and which leads to a quick death most of the times if they stop taking the drugs.To become part of the scourge of swabonze they have to stop taking drugs and overcome their addiction which most often ends in death. The scourge of swabonze are the rulers of the horde. They know how to produce the drugs, command everyone else and decided where to move next. Around 50% are Freshborn, 40% are reborn, 7% are bloodborn and 3% are part of the scourge.
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