Autia

This page is in need of cleanup. Srsly. It's a fucking mess.

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Autia is a fantasy/steam punk/diesel punk setting made on /tg/ in early 2021. The initial premise was to create a setting based on whatever unusual or interesting images you had in your folder, but it became gradually more fleshed out. This page was mostly created to help keep track of lore for different regions.

General Info

Firearms in the world are similar to firearms from the mid 16th to mid 17th century. They are useful against armour, but like in real life, very heavy or strong armour can stop firearms. There are no Bayonets yet in this world, and many states have adopted firearms to different degrees, with even some states ignoring them internally. Firearms are very common in central states like Sneed, who used them great effect against Aesaneria in their war, while Alkor has made them the main range tool of their armies. Magic and Firearms can work together, usually in the form of special powder and enchanted rounds. There's more, but the point is that each nation uses different magic on their firearms, with some being very enthusiastic about them while others aren't.

This world is heavily based on sea-bound trade because of the hostility of the interior, and therefore ports are the most important places in the world. The most dominant power in the maritime sector is the Empire of Alkor, having colonial holding over a very large distance. Some states try to form trade blocks to benefit a region. For example, the Gravlind Sister system that almost completely collapsed after the Iron Crown - Rig'Nood war was a victim of such a trade block. The Union is one of the more successful federations that have also established regional trade power. Despite all of this naval power however, most combat during wars are still land based, with all states having a connection to the mainland.

Birds are not used as couriers in this world. This is due to a deadly contagious disease known as Smelter Disease that can easily infect birds and thus infect the soldiers. Instead, a species of dog-sized but docile spiders immune to the Smelter Disease are bred and trained specifically to bring messages across the lands. The species were gifted by the grasshopper people (Eritroans).

Cameras are a recent and incredibly rare invention. Only four have so far been built, and two of these are owned by the Alkor Global Press newspaper company. The AGP uses these to document images of lesser known incidents and cultures around the world.

Raw photographs are colourless and fuzzy, so the AGP usually hires artists and mages to edit the photographs unless it's very urgent.

Explanation on the Diversity of Races and Cultures

Portals everywhere: There are many alternate dimensions, and occasionally large groups are able to migrate from one dimension to another

Outsiders

Outsiders: Refers to groups that migrated in from other worlds and dimensions far away. Most came by portal, but a few came by spaceship (Alprobe, High Magitek). Basically a catch-all group for those that don't fit in elsewhere. Some have been partially absorbed into other cultures, but most are isolationist, leading to small isolated nations that don't resemble their neighbors in any way, or marauding bands of monsters lacking a homeland. Includes; orcs, eritroans, hiisi, dragons, kobolds, dwarves, mindflayers, kangoos, snake people of deep desert, dreeght, akasa-prabuharu, mousterians, xiklik, pengu, the amazon tribes, and humans (though humans are so dominate they generally don't have the same isolationist traits as the other outsiders). Outsiders rarely remember that they came from another dimension, and instead assume the gods simply created them the way they are.

Spirit Worlders

Spirit Worlders: Refers to groups from dimensions that are "close" to this one, allowing for fairly frequent trips between dimensions. Generally categorized as fey, dead souls, and demons, though some cultures don't make any distinctions at all, simply treating them all as spirits.

Fey: Generally known for their wild magic and strange ways of thinking. Some groups like several of the elven races, goblins, and ogres have spent so much time in this dimension that they have lost their ties with the fey dimensions and spend all their time in this dimension. The elves, goblins, and ogres once ruled large empires, but these eventually collapsed, creating an opening for the rise of human cultures. Races include elves (sartyrian elves, drow, fairie elves, valkyrie elves, drow, and lapus elves), goblins, ogres, several types of giant, harpies, hags, ents, gepids, oni, spirit animals, and most of the aquatic races.

Dead Souls: Restless souls either trapped, or who deliberately linger on the edges of this dimension. They have no nations of their own, though they are more active in some areas than others. Certain magic users can either bind them to their will, or banish them from the area, such magic is particularly common in ercaenmedi, yr, and unkor.

Demons: Wildly considered evil, and fortunately unable to exist long in this dimension without being bound to something. Certain cultures like yr, aesanaeria, hagarta, the unravellers, the bridge tribes, hags, and certain Emerald Isles tribes have learned how to bind demons into inanimate objects or living beings to anchor them to this dimension.

Humanity

Humanity: Humanity arrived in several waves from different places, at different times, but together have been the dominant culture of this world for many centuries now.

Nantic humans: Belkor, Belkan, Ercaenmedi (culturally), Westphallica, Gabaet, Hagarta, Falconhead, Republic of Free Men, Skyr-nada, the Puppet-Clans, Alkor, Harlbourg, Hoogivs, Unkor (partially), Tavern Woods, Nantes, and Yr. European-type humans that specialize in mundane technology and mixing technology and magic, leading to a steampunk-ish culture. Many similarities between nations, but also many differences in terms of accent, language, fashion, religion, etc. as a result of centuries of cultural drift. Have also partially absorbed certain other races like the Ercaenmedi, gnomes, and the northern dwarves. Some isolated Nantic colonies have regressed technologically like Skyr-nada, Desolate Isle, and the Puppet Clans.

Jinsanic humans: The Union, Freedom Coalition, Union Puppet, The Iron Crown, Rig'Nood, An, Napan, Shahdom, Four Sisters, Temple Isle, Bridge Tribes, Gib'Dunes, San'Barg, Ercaenmedi (racially). Asian-type humans with little in common besides shared ancestry and history. The southern nations are technologically backwards due to their small populations, isolationism, and skill at magic, while The Union is fairly advanced technologically, but militantly anti-magic. The Shahdom and Napan are somewhat between these two extremes. The appearance of Jinsanic humans varies by region due to intermixing with other races, exposure to magic, and environmental conditions. Some other races have been absorbed into Jinsanic cultures, like the goblins and Nantic humans found in the northern parts of The Union. Likewise, the Ercaenmedians are believed to be in some way related to the inhabitants of Napan, but their culture is heavily influenced by Nantic culture.

Eldrian Remnants: Shore Mages, Taur Tribes, Sneed, Brazilistan, Luver, Ander City, The Unravellers, Second Empire, Pumkin Kingdom, Kornheiseria, Persquaria, Unkor (partially), Alana, Duckers, Eldr, Northern Wastes, Rust Desert, Underwater Ruins. Extremely diverse set of nations with little in common aside from having to live in the fallout zone of what was once the Eldrian Empire. No one really remembers what the Eldrians looked like, or if they were even human, though many powerful magic users in the area are believed to have some Eldrian blood. Humans in the area seem to have been taken from all the other human races present on this world at the time of the Eldrian Empire, though racial mixing is surprisingly rare. Also present are the many strange races created by the Eldrians for their amusement, including the pumkin, duckers, taur tribes, and horsemen. The Eldrian cultures that haven't regressed into barbarism shun technology and magi-tech, and instead favor their own magic traditions.

Sorgos humans: Soukos, Voluntas Pact, Aesanaeria, Brazilistan. Mediterranian type humans. Once had colonies along the coast of southern Rinolsol, and southwestern Autia, but their Autian colonies were taken over by the Nantic and Eldrian Empires. Shun technology and prefer magic. Although the dwarves of Brazilistan are widely believed to descend from ancient Sorgos colonies, no one remembers the reason for the physical differences between them and other Sorgos peoples.

Shaobon humans: Miqdaad, Second Empire (Flickfowl component), Fantal Islands. Dark skinned humans who have inhabited Flickfowl and the Emerald Isles for ages. Some nations are fairly advanced in terms of technology and magic, others have become primitive and isolationist.

Malsolia humans: Group of dark skinned humans isekai'd to the cold continent of Lapus. Scholars believe their appearance is due to magical radiation

IBRU humans: Group of humans from Russia and Brazil recently teleported to the cold continent of Krraurah. Other cultures are only vaguely aware they even exist.

Other Miscellaneous Facts

The Ancient Orgrillon-Sartyrian War

The Orgrillons consider all of the north western land to be their home, and consider themselves the natural and rightful inhabitants of it. In far ancient days, a time nearly primordial to the race of men, they found themselves to be nearly the most powerful civilization in existence. From a fractured and tribal state, they had unified and militarized, becoming mighty, strict, and structured. The pride from their power led them to ambition, and over many generations they set forth subjugating vast swaths of lands to the south. Early humans were one of many races that served under their heavy fists and massive boots. Disciplined and powerful legions of the hulking Orgrillons crushed all opposition, and they ruled for an era without challenge.

That was until they met a foe that came north from a land they had little knowledge of. The Sartyrians of Ignis were the first enemy that the Orgrillon could not simply crush with sheer force. Ageless and endlessly skilled, the elves were powerful. More powerful than the any opponent the Orgrillon Empire had faced.

Many Krolgar were ecstatic at this new found threat. Glory, bloodshed, and conquest could be theirs. Others were less convinced. The first landings and fights with the elves had gone poorly, and they only won a decisive victory after a string of sudden and surprising defeats.

The Orgrillon had managed to secure the southern coast of Autia and were busy with fortifying it in their usual manner of massive and unbreakable fortresses in order to repel anymore attacks from the south, but it wasn't finished in time.

The true might if the Sartyrians was unleashed. Their forces struck the southern coast with a fury. A wave of destruction the Orgrillonnhad never been on the receiving end of.

The Sartyrians were a force of nature. They swept across the southern coast like a series of hurricanes, leveling entire strongholds and executing the sitting Gorkargin. The Sartyrians pushed north, taking nearly the southern third of Autia before the war ground to a standstill. For nearly 500 hundred years the battle lines moved little, both empires gaining and losing ground at sporadic intervals. But what was several generations of war for the Orgrillon was but a single short conflict for the Elves.

The chaos and turmoil of the war had a detrimental effect on the Orgrillon hierarchy. Numerous Gorkargins were found to be lacking, and nearly as many were killed in battle. The Krolgar were struggling to unify, always blaming each other for failures and claiming each others victories. The tides seemed to turn when a new Gorkargin, Grozt Or, had a serious of stunning victories and some felt they could finally retake lands that had been long lost to the Sartyrians. This would not be, as a bitter Krolgar challenged him for the position of Overlord, and killed him in single combat. A ritual that was meant to strengthen their people backfired, for while the upstart was a ferocious fighter, he was not anywhere near the strategist that Grozt Or was, and all of the now dead Gorkargin's victories and advancements were quickly undone.

This set in motion the true collapse of their empire. Defeat after defeat caused their domain to crumble. A war of attrition ground them down, pushing them farther and farther northward. In only another two hundred years they would be pushed all the way back to their frigid home. From here they dwindled. No longer do they elect Gorkargin, and they don't even have the numbers to hold the entirety of their native land.

"We were powerful. We were very powerful. A long time ago..."

Undead Outbreak

A recent curse has begun to struck the land. The dead began to rise all around the continent.

Weirdly though, they do not interact with the living. It appears they can see and hear only people of their own kind and the world around them, though somewhat influenced by memories of their time.

At first it was inconvenient as the rotten skeleton of a farmer who passed away three generations ago would plow your field in the middle of the day. or walk into your home and sit by the fire cooking something it cannot eat. Then those who have died during battle have begun to rise up. At firt they were fighting each other, then they soon began to think that the living were enemy soldiers.

While at first the curse happened on occasions during specific time of the year, its occurences have grown more and more to the dismay of the population.

A group of mages who have been atempting to make contact with them have had limited success (at least with those who arent soldiers)

Gods With Widespread Followings

Though not necessarily popular anywhere...

Zmugtazu the Black Hearted One:

An ancient pagan jungle god said to steal away young brides out of jealousy if no virgins are sacrificed to him upon every new moon of the year. In the ancient past many rituals were attributed to him, but this practice stopped when he got sick of it and manifested materially to clear the air. It turns out he's actually a pretty chill dude and now runs a non-profit charity for misrepresented gods.

Grumpypoo, the God that Hates Being Worshipped:

Is ironically quite popular in a number of nations. He is worshipped in Napan as the God of Hermits, in Harlbourg as the God of Spinsters, by harpies as the God of Cuteness, and strangely enough is considered the Consumer of Souls by certain goblin tribes. Several more secular cultures consider him a good luck charm, and bronze statues of him are common throughout the continent.

Gaelhalla, Goddess of Lust:

Obviously a quite popular figure, she is worshipped in many forms in many lands. In the west she is depicted wearing a round green hat which is considered extremely pornographic by locals. In Napan she is Go-Hana, the Five-Flower Goddess, Mother of Beasts. All five races of Amazon consider her to be their matron Goddess. Oddly, in Hoogivs, she is only a minor Goddess associated with tea flowers.

Itch-Monger, God of Minor Irritation:

A highly obscure god, Itch-Monger started out as a Plague God associated with unusually high concentrations of whale lice among whalefolk.

Eventually his worship travelled inland, where he is occasionally worshipped by social outcasts who hope he will give those they are envious of lice or genital crabs.

Ballsack and Sackball:

A pair of anthropomorphic raccoons who delight in tea bagging strangers with their massive testicles. They are numbers 69 and 96 on The List of 666 Minor Demons of Napan assembled by famous scholar Chibi the Pendant.

Deadicorn, Harbinger of the Rainbow Zombie Apocalypse:

One of the most hated of all Gods, Deadicorn was said to have been created from the merged essence of several Evil Gods who sought to destroy all creation (plus Bob the Unicorn God who was convinced it was a good idea while he was high on god dust). Deadicorn is worshipped by anarchists, rapists, murders, insane magic users, necromancers, evil fairies, hags, as well as misguided youth who think he is "cool" and "edgy".

He grants his followers power over undeath as well as the ability to shoot rainbow death rays.

The Incoming War

The world is on the brink of a world war, with several nation strenghtening their armies and tensions running high, one of the many wars being fought is about to escalate into a larger conflict.

Maritime Law

The Autian Port Federation is, technically, not a real country. It has no language, no religion, no ethnicity, no culture. Covering nearly all of Autia's massive coastline, the A.P.F. is a judicial and legal organization run by and dedicated to mariners. Any region seemingly blocked off by it still has full access to and control of their coastal territory. The Autian Port Federation operates and maintains inns, taverns, marketplaces, docks and courthouses all across the coasts of this mighty continent, relying on locals to run it all. Their main focus is standardizing laws involving the high seas- which is legally under the total jurisdicition of the A.P.F. No matter where one is on the high seas, a dispute between any number of parties can be settled anywhere along the coast of Autia at a courthouse. If a sailor from Belka and The Union get in a fight off the coast of Halem, or an Eritroan and an Ercaenmedian argue over prices down in Pumkin Kingdom; the Autian Port Federation is there to provide a safe place for everything to get worked out without dragging entire nations into diplomatic and military disputes. They are, unfortunately, not very well off finanically and are infamously corrupt, taking bribes and handing over mariners to local law enforcement with little hesitation. This is due to the fact they are a nonprofit, dumping literally all of their funds into maintaining their buildings and fleet of rescue vessels, as well as paying their workers. The nation they border ultimately has full control over what happens on their coastline, and the level of influence they exert over the A.P.F differs wildly from nation to nation. Some run everything themselves, only using the A.P.F.'s name; while others take a very laid back approach, letting the coastline act as its own autonomous region. Despite the local issues of control and legality , a sailor in Autia can generally expect food, shelter and safety no matter where they go.

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 that mostly exists to give the Amazons someone to bully. Along with Westphallica and Gabaet, they are attracted to hats, but have lower standards than their neighbors.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kingdom of Eritroans is Birthplace of Grashopper folk. While its separated from most of the continent by mountains, country itself is mostly made out of fertile plains and forests. Its people are known to be great woodcrafters, especialy when it comes to musical instruments and ships.

Thanks to additonal strength from chitin armors, grashoppers 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).

Voluntas people are known for their individualistic mindset, to a point they hide their identities behind masks out of metal to separate themselves from outside world.

Their country acts as direct democracy in ancient athens style, with ancient sparta style slavery. All of northern part of country is under generational slavery.

Additonaly they have friendlu relations with Grashopperfolk to the south and wast, and are in constant war with northern tribes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Viké 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'.

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.

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.

The East (Continent of Autia)

Regional History

The Jinsan Empire

The Jinsan Empire was once the entire Eastern coast of the continet, even reaching down through Napan, the Shahdom and into the Bridge isles, once the seat of the Heavenly dynasty of Haise, they were known for their mastery of air magic which allowed for the creation of incredible fighting styles.

Originally conquered by the first Empress Jinsan Haise, a native Dragon woman from Napan who's army size was only matched by her Harem's size, she had many children and unfortunately forgot to decide a successor leading to the unification wars, a series of wars that would take nearly five generations to complete, ending only when the three remaining factions (The Seijin, Miejin, and Ohjin) joined forces to create the Iron Crown wall to keep the invading Nantic's out, leading to the creation of the Haise Triumverate, with each leader: Sosun Haise (Seijin), Gin Haise (Meijin) and Haruhi Haise (Ohjin) joining forces to keep the land safe and unified. This however did not sit well with the deposed leader, then retainer of the Ohjin Kagayun Haise, who decided to leave to the Shahdom and begin plans for the Shadow war, the shadow war itself was a series of assassination attempts, subterfuge and discreditation that lead to the deaths of Sosun and Gin alongside their families, leading to Haruhi assuming the throne, only to be called out for killing her fellow rulers, leading to the people of those nations to raid the Ohjin palace while Kagayun safely seceded from the Jinsan Empire to form the Shahdom, the ensuing Revolution lead to the loss of Napan and the Bridge Isles as well until finally ending with the death of the last of the Haise's dynasty line, leading to another unification war that was only stopped by the creation of the 'The Unified Pact'.

'The Unified Pact' was a coalition of powerful warlords who simply wished to stop the loss of life, and to do this, they took a Seven step plan: .The first step was to destroy the opposition through military or subterfuge .The second step would be to then create a unified government, involving members from all conquered lands in a minority while the conquering lands would be in a majority .The third step would be the disavowing of magic and warfare (At least openly) as a whole so as to avoid further conflict .The fourth step would be to enact a eugenics plan among the surviving warlords to create the perfect mage . The Sixth would be the inevitable destruction of the Iron Crown and the creation of puppet states on the Western Continent .The Seventh step would be simply conquering the continent through various means The plan was agreed upon by all remaning warlords and was codified as 'The way forward' a secret tome that is only to be read by Union state leaders after showing their loyalty to the union, and with that, the Haise empire fell, and in it's place, the Union had emerged

Miscellaneous Races

In the east of Autia, there exists a relative of the Ogre clans, though some may not realize that is what they are. Known by the people of Napan as Oni, they are vile and solitary creatures. The product of isolated and desperate remnants of the ogre-kind, they prey on livestock and humans alike. They are of a foul cunning, but what kind of intelligence they truly posses is not certain. Any being that has managed to communicate with one has never lived to tell the tale.

They are believed to be rare, or perhaps they avoid larger human habitations. They are said to have been nearly exterminated within the Union, with any survivors having fled into the Iron Crown mountains, though it is hard to say for certain that none still exist there. Some tribes of the Rig'nood claim to have killed some of monsters when they have wandered down into their lands, but this has yet to be thoroughly verified.

The Union and Its Breakaway States

Weird fusion of grimderp Medieval Europe and North Korea. Strangely, people keep trying to leave it.

The Union

Has a rigid racial caste system with Nantic peoples as mage hunters and priests, Cored peoples (Chinese/Korean) as scholars and bureaucrats, and goblins as slaves. Nobles and peasants can be either Nantic or Cored, but are restricted to their respective provinces. Officially rejects use of magic, and aggressively hunts unsanctioned magic users, but secretly the elites are very adept at it. For the most part looks like an impoverished medieval dump, but the ruling class lives in sinister, but well decorated palaces.

General:

Out in the East is a Nation known as The Union. A state made up of 7 previously independent nations merged as a result of their collective hatred of magic. They are militaristic and well renown as mercenaries to hunt rogue wizards and any other magical being.

This is of-course a propaganda piece as, they are manipulated from the top down, by their hypocritical leaders, who push their extreme rhetoric to deceive people into giving up their magic veins so the leaders could sew the veins into themselves.

People:

The Union is home to Nantic humans in the northern states, and Cored humans in the southern states. Assorted monster races can be found dwelling in the more remote areas, particularly goblins, who are also sometimes used as slaves by The Union.

Religion:

In ancient times The Union worshipped a mix of Nantic faiths, Carastion, Southern gods, and a wide range of animal spirits. In modern times, faith in the gods is highly discouraged, and instead people are expected to idolize living and historic heroes of The Union.

Magic:

The elimination of magic-users is one of the founding principles of The Union, therefore they are quite rare here. However, in secret, many members of the ruling class are powerful magic users. Several competing organizations of witch hunters hunt mages (as well as political dissidents) ruthlessly.

The most infamous group of mercenary witch hunters from union is called "Burning crosses". This name is derived from their tradition of crucifying captured mages, and then placing cross with their body still on on burning stake. Because of crucifixion victims can't scream, and so whole process is called silent cleansing. Their fanaticism caused even union leadership to consider them too rabid to keep at home, so they are permanently hired off to highest bidders abroad.

Military:

The Union is rather notorious for its wasteful methods of warfare. Due to its relative stability and the protection afforded to it by the Iron Crown, The Union does not maintain a large standing army, but when needed, it will conscript large sections of its population to create an expendable hordes. The best equipped soldiers are members of the elite Dragon Guard, who use cutting edge equipment like zepplins, primitive gatling guns, and large caliber rifles. They are generally seen as too valuable for front line duty, and instead do important tasks like escorting nobles or gunning down conscript hordes that try to flee the battlefield. Below them are the standing army, whose appearance varies by province, but whose equipment consistently includes flintlocks, swords, clubs, and cannons. Below them are the conscripts and peasant levies, who fight with spears, bows, fire lances, hwacha, and sometimes crude, unreliable muskets. Unlike many nations, the Union still makes frequent use of heavy armor.

Being a military nation at heart, not to mention one that shuns the use of the arcane, the generals and nobility of the Union have invested much time into developing tactics and equipment to counter magically-inclined enemies. The soldiers of the Union are famous for their use of heavy armor and firearms, with perhaps their most famous technological endeavor being the firelance, a particularly potent combination of a polearm and a rifle that allows for effective combat at close to medium ranges. Even more feared are the experimental firearms given to the Union's elite anti-mage units. While extraordinarily powerful, even the smallest mishap in the firing mechanism can cause such a weapon to violently detonate, incinerating its user. It is common practice for the obliteration of these unfortunate souls to be reported as magical in nature, adding yet more fuel to the Union's technology-focused dogma.

To make up for their lack of ranged magic, the Union has also invested heavily into artillery. The most heavily employed of these is the Hwacha, touted by Union officials as a "two-man archer regiment." The Hwacha uses gunpowder charges to propel arrows a great distance, after which a pyrrhic point it bursts in the air, raining fire down on those caught below. Due to the spectacular visuals of such a weapon, many Union footmen believe it to be near-divine proof of the superiority of technology over magic, and it is a common affair to hear calls for "scorching rain" on a Union battlefield.

History:

Formerly the core of the Jinsan Empire, The Union was formed following the collapse of the Jinsan, by a coalition of warlords who wanted to end the pointless fighting (and secretly to one day rule the world). Since its formation, it likes to present itself as a peaceful nation, but it has gotten in frequent minor wars with neighboring states, local rebellions, and separatist colonies. It is usually considered one of the strongest nations on the planet, but has yet to prove it can fight frequent major wars the same way that Belkan, Ercaenmedi, or Alkor can.

Economy:

The Union has a large population thanks to its vast swathes of fertile land, however, the nation is generally considered to be a poor one due to overcrowding and an underdeveloped industrial base hobbled by nepotism and conservative thinking.

Freedom Coalition

Unstable alliance of rebel groups that have embraced the use of magic. The livelihoods of common folk are still pretty shit here, but at least the magic users are having fun, when they aren't accidently blowing themselves up.

The Freedom Coalition is a rogue territory of the Union controled by rebels who have discovered a way to pool their magic veins together to form magical gestalts pkxerful enough to protect themselves from the Union.

True "Free Men" are considerably more free and happy than the inhabitants of the Union but they often force the locals to become magical conscripts not faring much better than before.

Union Puppet

Basically the same as the Freedom Coalition, but secretly still ruled by The Union to justify continued oppression.

The Union Puppet, is an enemy state that is used to give the people of the Union a false enemy to beat, but never make any real ground.

The Iron Crown

Iron clad mountains with a massive iron wall on either side. Some Buddhist-style monks live here, who are naturally very good at martial arts. Basically uber-Tibet.

The Iron Crown is two walls of Magic Iron with Mountains covered in iron between them. Made by the leaders of the Union, to prevent real countries who can use magic properly from breaking their strange hold over their people. Of course the story from the Union, is that the people built it without magic and iron can stop magic.

The Iron Crown isn't entirely barren, there are small enclaves of monks who eek out an existence there, finding cracks in the iron and setting up temples. They have pledged themselves to an ascetic life of discipline and hard work, which they say leads to ultimate life satisfaction. They spend most of their time training and tending to the grounds of their temples.

Due to repeated efforts by The Union, these temples are frequently burned down and re-built or re-located. The history is found in the lineage of the monks, some of whom are families that have been in the order for generations upon generations. They are largely populated by people who have fled The Union, but some come to learn the martial arts and tactics that have been forged in the crucible of constant battles done with the Union military.

The history is wrought with political turmoil. Sometimes, as it is currently the case, the Union will throw whatever spare forces they have at the monks in an attempt to wipe them out and prevent a future rebellion. At other points the monks have been invited into the Union as culturally significant and important parts of the country to be celebrated. At one point they became an anti-magic enforcement arm and developed non-magical techniques that could effectively combat magic users. While they are no longer a part of the anti-magic arm, the methods they developed are still taught and trained in many temples.

These monks are effective warriors, fearsome hand to hand combatants, and meticulous housekeepers. If you could convince one to leave the temple and work for you he would be the ideal butler/bodyguard. But first you have to figure out what someone who has sworn off material pleasures could possibly want that you could give?

The Unravelers

An extreme version of the Freedom Coalition that left the region entirely and moved to the south of the continent. Practice any and all forms of magic with no sense of ethics. Basically all your mad scientist tropes wrapped into one nation.

Contrary to the Union there is a small community on the southernmost peninsula calling themselves "the Unravellers".

These people dedicate themselves to solving the mysteries of the world they live in. Mostly through magic, but every type of scholar is welcome.

Some say it's more of a magic cult. Because everything is legal, as long as it expands the Library, where all of the gained knowledge is stored. There are no Taboos, not even life itself is sacred.

It is said the alchemists managed to create Aether, which allows them to infuse their abominatins with life.

Noone, except the highest of their members actually know it's a disgusting imitation. Natural life seeks to sustain itself, Aether on the other hand tries to end itself at every opportunity.

It is a very powerful combination together with mind control magic, that supresses the urge to suicide.

An

Vassal state set up by The Union to handle trade with outside nations. Ruled by elites from The Union, but most of the locals are still natives to the island.

The City of An is a client state of the Union and a sort of economic free zone used as a middleman between the mainland and the outside world.

Things are more relaxed here although the government is occasionally very brutal to ensure that the city stays in the control of the Union.

Is it the biggest trade hub east of the Iron Crown.

The Southeast Islands

Home to the Gravlind Peoples (mix of Central Asian, East Asian, and Native American), a collection of wildly different cultures bond by blood ties. Basically Edo Japan (with sentient animals) + Plains American Natives + Central Asians (specifically Sogdians)

Napan

Described as "populated by powerful beasts and their weak men" (though they do have human ninjas). Basically all your Japanese fantasy tropes wrapped into one nation with particular focus on anything that would appeal to furries and other such folk. Allied to the Shahdom and once supplied most of the navy for the alliance.

The mountainous island between the biggest island and the mainland. Is populated by Powerful Beasts and their weak men. The land is called Napan.

Legends tell of the beasts of Napan awakening their true selves, and gaining untold powers, by falling in love.

Many men have ventured to this land. Some to gain might, and others to find what they were missing.

The beasts vary wildly, generally large animals with mild departures from their normal counterparts. Napites are not a unified state, the cultures differ depending majorly on which beast tribe they serve. They spend most of their time working against clans that serve other beast tribes, and even clans with-in the same tribe might betray each-other to gain additional favour from their mistress and masters.

The ninja clans of Napan are a brutal society of assassins, but in the snowy winter months they volunteer their time as ski patrol and plowmen to clear the the roads of their beloved country for the benefit of civilian travel. Jobu, the Profane Beheader became a national hero when, on a particularly harsh year of blizzards, he took it upon himself to plow the imperial road free from one end of the country to the other in a scant three weeks of continuous marching until finally collapsing dead at the gate of the bustling port city Shimuzukuzimuze. A festival in that city is held every year in his name but there are also assassin themed gift shops year 'round run by the clans.

Shahdom of Gravlind

Based on the Sogdians, a Persian influenced Central Asian culture. Once ruled over much of the Southeast, but now limited to the main island, though has many alliances with the other nations and cultures.

Shahdom of Gravlind

Rig'Nood

Native Americans with horse motif, though actually terrified of hooved animals (and magic). Originally a vassal state of The Union, but got retconned to an ally of the Shahdom.

The fork at the southern edge of the Iron Crown is inhabited by the tribal Rig'noods. A people that used to live near the Taur Tribes and suffered greatly at hands of the hooved beasties. They eventually abandoned their home and moved east, choosing to live in the open land between the arms of Iron Crown out of their own innate fear of magic, believing it gave rise to the man-beasts of their ancient home.

They style themselves as hoof having creatures in an attempt to scare their opponents and children. Through Union has begun to take tribute from these people, which Rig'noods give graciously ad they believe the Unions Iron Crown is all that protects them from the magic and monsters of the wider world.

Gib'Dunes

Native Americans with a seabird motif. Broke away from Rig'Nood to ally with Alkor.

The northern most island is inhabited by a splinter group of the Rig'Noods. They found it absurd to dress as hoof demons to terrify their own children and the occasional enemy.

They are known as the Gib'Dunes, and instead they dress like seabirds. They did not trust the Union to protect them and did not want to pay them tribute like the rest of the Rig'Nood tribes chose to do. They also decided the best place to live where hooved horrors couldn't hurt them was on an island. They now pay tribute to the enclave of the Alkor Empire to their south, which seemed like a superior arrangement to them for some reason.

They are less frightful than their mainland cousins and survive a bit more indepently, they are not an uncommon site in the cities and lands of the southern oceans, being more willing to travel about in places with plenty of water between them and the mainland.

San'Barg

Native Americans who live in a swamp. All that remains of an attempt of some southeast islanders to migrate to the mainland. Ancestor of Rig'Nood, and thus Gib'Dunes as well.

San'Barg is all that remains of an attempt by the southeast islands peoples to colonize the southern jungles of the main landmass. Once much larger than what it is now, San'Barg was constantly raided by neighboring states, particularly the Taur Tribes. Eventually most of the population left and settled Rig'Nood and Gib'Dunes instead. All that remains of San'Barg are scattered fishing villages along the coastal swamps and sandbars. A cautious, and primitive people, the inhabitants of San'Barg fight bravely enough when needed, but usually hide or flee by boat from superior opponents, particularly those with hooves.

Bridge Tribes / Alprobes

Pacific Islanders who hang out with Grey-type aliens and do piracy and voodoo and stuff occasionally.

Distant relatives to both those who live in the Shahdom and Napan, the Bridge Tribes claim to be the purest descendants of those who made the many bridges connecting the islands of this region. Living in small tribal fishing villages, the Bridge Tribes are deceptively primitive, but in fact are capable of powerful magic, particularly curses, divinations, and potentially overwhelming visual illusions.

For the most part, the Bridge Tribes mind their own business, but they sometimes engage in piracy via sleek catamarans and captured foreign vessels. Most raids target ships of Alkor, their hated enemies, but they have been known to raid as far east as Napan and as far west as Temple Isle. No body really likes them except for the strange, long fingered beings known as the Alprobes.

Four Sisters Confederacy

More Pacific Islanders. Were once part of the Shahdom but broke away.

On the small islands on the southeast side of the continent lays the Four Sister Conderancy was the original sister state to the shahdom, but they rebelled against the Shahdoms control removing the sisterly connections of the states to it during the war. they diced to make new sisterly connections and form new ones with each other creating a confederacy base on mutual protection.

The state is made up of four aline states Huma, Toga, Sola, and Grim. even do they broke away from the sister system but are still under the influence of the Shahdom. they are well known for their seamanship and boats which have navigating a whole continent. they do have special crafts of the islands but they more prefer to work as shipment believers.

The South (Continent of Autia)

Regional Religion

The southern cultures don't have a very unified religious tradition but still generally share three gods : Primolt, personification of the Aether and father of everything. Great Mother, personification of the ocean, daughter and wife of Primolt, mother of the first ancestors and the Green Titan. Green Titan, personification of the land and life.

They are rarely directly worshipped but exist in the creation myths of all southerners in some form.

Regional History

The Eldrian Empire

Basically the entire southern part of the continent that hasn't been claimed by Nantes or the Union, their main capital was in Eldr but the original Eldrians may have come from the ocean if the ruins out there are any indication.

They're your lost empire archetype, think Atlantis or Lemuria, beautiful and long-lived people with access to the original forms of magic, had very little ethics when it came to magic, leading to a series of poorly thought out creations including most magical creatures witnessed on the Continent, had a lot of political schisms that would lead to an eventual civil war after an attempted ban on 'World Magic' after the sinking of Berumas, an island to the South of the continent, this lead to the deployment of a World-Magic classed WMD being deployed on the main cities of Eldr, Rais (Now the Rust Desert), and Goswood (The Northern Wastes) the weapon lead to the destruction of the land through mystical radiation that warped all the land and those caught in it into new and often horrific forms, Eldr itself was eventually forced to be trapped inside the 'Widow's Veil' a magical shield that unfortunately killed off most who cast it and leaving the few survivors too mad to be classified even as sentient anymore, in order to stop the ambient magical radiation from leaking out and rendering it's evil upon the rest of the continent.

The destruction of Eldr lead to the release of many magical experiments who went on to create their own lands, the Pumkin Kingdom just below Eldr, the Taur Tribes to the South-west and even the Peace-emitting people's of Hoogivs are the main examples, it is theorised that the Theocracy of Alana, Persquaria, the Wizard Coast and the Unravellers were all descended from Eldrian mages, but little evidence has come forward to support this.

Regional Magic Practises

Magic in the South is a bit different from Nantic magic, generally being considered "arcanic thaumaturgy" in the academic classifiation of the Nantic mages (mostly because from their viewpoint this form of magic sort of use the Aether as if it was a god).

The key difference is that southern mages coax out the Aether into creating magical effects directly instead of forcibly manipulating its energy, a major advantage is more inherent power and needing a lot less of intellectual effort making spells unrealistically complex for Nandic magic possible but there are many cons like a much stepper learning curbe for fine control, a high level of unpredictability and a complete lack of metamagic like nandic aether manipulation because the Aerther can't manipulate itself.

Practice of southern magic is conceptual and ritual, generally involving a symbolic sacrifice to make the Aether itself "figure out" something appropriate, getting the Aether to really do what you want is the hard part and even the most talented southern mages often need to improvise with what they get.

Main southern schools of magic :

Alchemy : The main school in the Wizard Coast, the elaborate alchemical processes are actually just a complex way to ritually define what kinds of effects should a potion be granted by the Aether, the potions can be used for many things like healing, reinforcing materials or even doing some menial work without a workforce. Possibly the most reliable school but slow and time-intensive. Also surprisingly useless for magitech, to the disappointment of many Nantic mages.

Life Magic : Used everywhere but accidentally perfected in Sneed and main school of the Taur Tribes, is it the organic equivalent of Material Alteration (there is some overlap but most of biology is too complex to be used in Nandic magic) Includes shapeshifting, self-enhancement and body modification (can become hereditary changes if done by great masters), modified plants able to grow biological substitutes of most materials,etc... More or less potentially able to do anything wholly physical and not overtly supernatural but Life Magic like life itself is fuzzy, unpredictable and hard to constrain. Most of its greatest and worst feats are accidental, side-effects are a constant and the greatest life masters are merely talented with getting what they want with side-effects that they can live with or find uses for. Things created or altered by Life Magic tend to mutate over time (often developing a resistance against hostile life magic), even after a long period of apparent stability and are likely to find a way to self-replicate. Creating living servants is very useful but they have a nasty habit of growing smarter, both resistant to and talented at Life Magic over time, although the effect seems both weaker and more benign if they are not kept in captivity and to a lesser extent just treated well.

Oath Magic : The main school in the Kingdom of Luver and the basis of their social order. Can create "magical contracts" manifesting as very strong mental compulsions to fulfill and not break them, very powerful contracts can bind the descendants of the signatories. There isn't really an upper bound to what this magic can do but is it limited to pure psychological effects, doesn't enhance the willpower of those affected in anyway (someone bound to be a soldier will fight but may still be paralyzed by fear), fall short of true mind control, can't be used on the unwilling (although pressuring someone is possible) and all parties involved must be bound to fair duties and obligations towards each others (you can't bind someone to become your slave, but you can enter a somewhat idealized lord-vassal relationship with them). Also VERY vulnerable to creative interpretation of the contract and those with the dominant role in the relationship are still as bound as their subjects. Outside of Luver, this school of magic is generally used for roughly egalitarian short to mid-terms literal oaths and contracts, very rarely life-long superior and subordinate relationships. Has an unexplained side-effect of weakening the immune system of those actively using it and eventually cause a magic-resistant form of lymphoma with overuse.

Spirit Magic: A simple form of magic allowing the users to make the Aether create subservient short-lived pseudo-spirits. They are weak but can do a bit of everything, more experienced users can create more powerful specialized spirits and above all the school is easy to learn and incredibly cheap to practice, making it very popular with savage southern people such as the Taur Tribes and the Theocracy of Alana but also as a "lesser magic" for the poorer folks among the developed southern nations. Is it not uncommon for both groups to forget that these "spirits" are artificial and to confuse this school with a form of actual spirit summoning. Spirit Magic being associated with both lack of civilization and poverty means that it has quite a bit of unexplored potential.

Divination & Dream Magic : All southern people (even the Taur Tribes) have some individuals either able to have some insight in the most likely future a the time (very limited outside of a few true oracles and never true prediction of "fate") or to manipulate in some ways the dreams of others. Both have a lot of variation (some divinators just have a very good intuition, others can enter a trance state where they can see glimpses of the future,ect...some dream magicians can manipulate dreams while awake but a lot need to sleep too) and they never really improve once their talent manifests itself. Most Nandic scholars think that these two forms of magic interact with the Aether but otherwise are mostly biological quirks.

Dark Aether Channeling : The rarest main southern school of magic, only practiced by secretive and hated mages. The only way for southern mages to get something similar to Nantic Aether Manipulation is to channel a strange form of Aether in your own body, the most basic use of Dark Aether is in the form of destructive miasmas but the true power of the school is to corrupt magic, others and even the user himself. A dark mage can destroy or even subvert other forms of magic, weaken or mutilate enemies and exploit corruption for his own gain. The school is always corrupting but a good practionner can mostly sacifice others to get power or even corrupt himself in benefitial ways such as ravaging their own body with Dark Aether but increase how much they can store in themselves and slow their aging as a sort of lich. The major incovenients are that it's very hard for those using it to not corrupt themselves to the point that even the other schools they know are corrupted (that make them more destructive but much less capable overall) and most destroy or mutilate themselves sooner than later. Generally more potent the closer you are to the Eldr but also harder to control. The Theocracy of Alana may or may not have dark mages.

Sub-Regions of the South

Temple Isle

Babylonian/Sumerian theocracy ruled by mage-priests and a priest-king. Build fancy ziggurats and the whole society is geared towards their faith. Occasionally send raiders over seas for artifacts and captives. Large festivals periodically draw outsiders to the island with the intent that some will be converted or be forced to stay if they don't leave in time. Some warriors are periodically selected to pilgrim about the world for information, relics, and proselytizing. Likely distant relatives of the shahdom and other islanders.

Temple Isle

Pumkin

The Pumkin are an escaped magical experiment from the ancient Eldrian Empire that has built a kingdom of their own and spread moderately across the lands. They're a race of pumpkin-like flora beings that come in many sizes and shapes, but are commonly short and stout. Particularly tall and lean Pumkin are often but not necessarily put in important positions. Their reproductive methods is still a mystery to many races of Autia. Don't be fooled into thinking they're harmless, they're carnivorous and might happily attempt to eat anyone who wander into their territory. For some reason though, they find Elves strangely attractive and are significantly less likely to consider them food. There are a few places where Elves and Pumkin live in the same community in harmony.

They have a patron deity, Via, a minor goddess of plants, vegetables and seeds. When the Pumkin population grew to the extent that it threatened to overpopulate the world, Via made a deal with other deities; she'd control the Pumkin population, but in return they will be welcomed to the afterlife. Because they're guaranteed access to it, Pumkin will gleefully charge into combat, as they have no innate reason to fear the consequences of death.

The Pumkin Kingdom is ruled by the Pumking, a seemingly immortal and mighty Pumkin mage that regrows itself whenever its current body expires. It laments its immortality and consider it a curse, for it wishes to join the afterlife and join its brethren. Many of the Pumking's plots and schemes are made with the intention to find a way to achieve its final expiration and go to the afterlife it covets so much.

Anders City

Ander City is a southern city-state where the usual rule of spirit magic being despised by the developed southerners doesn't hold true. A spirit mage once created a much more powerful spirit than is usual, one able to eat other spirits to grow stronger and extend its short lifespan. Already more respected than normal, the Guild of Spirit Mages got much power thanks to the budding entity and evolved into the semi-hereditary noble-priests of the God of the City. The unusual spirit was quickky worshipped as a God by the inhabitants of the city and most of the local economy and magical scene now revolve around producing enough spirits to feed the city god in exchange of its "miracles". The city is powerful for its size but begin to have trouble feeding their evermore ravenous "God".

Desert of Rust

Morgov, The Defiler:

The Desert of Rust was once home of the city of Rais, which was in charge of a council of mages. Under these mages was Morgov, a very egocentric man yet respected by his intelligence and knowledge of the art of magic, seeking the best for Rais and it's people while at the same time trying to gain full control of the city for himself. It was this wizard, who caused a civil wear between him and his followers against those who still were loyal to Rais. Secretly study the art of necromancy for years, the fight against Morgov turned out to be difficult as he grew stronger and so the remaining wizards who fought him where only able to trap Morgov inside a tower, where he should stay for eternity, known as the Throne of Rust. The end of this brutal civil war however led to the cities downfall until only the tower was left. But with the wizards gone the spell around the tower start to weakened and soon, Morgov, kown in history as the Defiler, the Curse of Rais, will rise as a lichlord to finish his quest for power.

The Cult of Morgov (members often referred as Morgoviths), is a cult of mad driven necromancers or dark priests, dedicated to the lich Morgov who's they also refer as the dark god or the father of necromancy, even tough it is unknown if Morgov was the first ever lich or necromancer at all, yet he was known of being one of the most powerful, so that he was unable to destroy and had to be imprisoned to keep him at bay. The cult was found by a man called Marcus Revalt, a young wizard student who failed to absolved his goal in becoming a powerful wizard because of many other student being way more better then him. Devastatedand full of grief, he was an easy target to manipulate and he was even the first one who heard the call of the lich. The voice led him to the Desert of Rust, to the tower where he was ordered to built a cult in Morgov's name and spread his name and influence. Marcus started in small towns where he soon gained followers. Bigger nations however got notice of the cults activities in the regions and started to hunt down several hideouts and location they controled, leading Marcus to be captured and sentenced to death. The death of Marcus however wasn't the end of the cult, survivors and new members are hiding in the Desert of Rust, prepearing the day that there dark master will emerge from the Throne of Rust and lead the army of dead against the nations of Autia.

Brazilistan

Brazilistan is a nation of brown skinned dwarves directly bordering Sneed. Brazilistan is a poor nation, while most dwarves would establish strongholds and fortresses in the mountains and sell their services as miners to the human kingdoms, the dwarves of Brazilistan make their livings in the magic tainted wastelands and forests of the South. Dwarves for the most part resemble shorter versions of humans except hardier and more resistant to the elements, the Brazilistanians live in conditions that would make a regular Man turn blue which is the secret of their success. The Dwarves of Brazilistan make their livings slaying magical beasts and harvesting alchemical components from some of the deadliest sources on the planet, and subsequently selling them to the Human nations for astronomically high prices. Due to this trade the Brazilistanians have remained fairly neutral with their army mainly used to fill rebels full of spears and police the population with the Dwarf nobles or "Senators " as they call themselves collecting and redistributing the nation's wealth leading to great inequality in the nation and constant riots. The King or "President " as he likes the title to be known is supposed to be elected by the populace but more often than not these elections are controlled by the nobility though their have been a few good Presidents. The Brazilistanians knowing the magical wealth of the nation safeguard themselves from invasion by having numerous plans to completely destroy the natural environment and leave it barren of any value, as a simple deterrent of course.

Second Empire

The self-proclaimed "Second Empire" is a nation extremely proud of its Eldrian heritage and seeking to recreate the fallen empire. The Empire was once a confederation of several (mostly) human southern kingdoms that fully merged together because a pan-nationalistic eldrian movement became dominant in the region (after the purge of the most stubborn "nationalist reactionnaries").

They are very friendly with all and any nation of eldrian heritage and strangely enough consider the sapient descendants of Eldrian experiments like the Taurs and the inhabitants of the Pumkin Kingdom as being fully Eldrian (causing some diplomatic awkwardness because of the skirmishes between Sneed and the Taur Tribes but both appreciate the zealous help that the Empire give to them against Aesanaeria). Their closest allies are the Theocracy of Alana and the Unravelers, the Empire enjoys their drive for ancient eldrian knowledge and is always to help them. All non-Eldrians living in the land belonging to the Eldrian Empire (unless they are limited in numbers and accept the authority of Eldrians) are their enemies but they especially hate Aesanaeria and Brazilistan, the former for expanding in the South and the latter for holding so much southern land. Caricatures of foreigners as "Sorgos mongrel half-dwarf mulattoes" are very common and by law having sex with a Taur is legal but sex between an Eldrian and even human non-Eldrians is considered bestiality.

All schools of southern magic, including dark aether channeling (regulated by the state and mostly limited to the military and government research) are common, well-developed and supported by the state to stay competitive with Nantic magic although the more "experimental" wizards are often sent to the Unravelers. They loathe magitech and trade heavily with An for the non-magical weaponry of the Union to supplement their purely magical warfare with more acceptable pure technology.

They are ruled by an Emperor elected for life from the hereditary provincial governors who themselves descend from the royal families of the Kingdoms that made up the Empire.

Ironically, their semi-official religion is an henotheist cult of a syncretic form of the primordial southern goddess Mother Ocean and the Nantic Fertility Goddess : Eldrians are the only legitimate children of Eldria while non-Eldrians are merely lesser bastards only deserving to be tolerated as second-class minorities or in the barbarian lands outside of the Empire.

Unravellers

General:

Contrary to the Union there is a small community on the southernmost peninsula calling themselves "the Unravellers". These people dedicate themselves to solving the mysteries of the world they live in. Mostly through magic, but every type of scholar is welcome. Some say it's more of a magic cult. Because everything is legal, as long as it expands the Library, where all of the gained knowledge is stored. There are no Taboos, not even life itself is sacred. It is said the alchemists managed to create Aether, which allows them to infuse their abominations with life. No one, except the highest of their members actually know it's a disgusting imitation. Natural life seeks to sustain itself, Aether on the other hand tries to end itself at every opportunity. It is a very powerful combination together with mind control magic, that suppresses the urge to suicide.

People:

The Unravellers are a mix of native Eldrians and exiles from other realms, but the Union in particular. The Eldrians have also maintained their ancient traditions of "creating" new races, and all sorts of strange entities are bred, forged, raised, and conjured. In particular, followers of Deadicorn have been infusing slaves with demonic energy to create abominations known as "horsemen".

Religion:

The Unravellers aren't particularly religious, but some old school Eldrians still worship Primolt. Others worship any entity that helps expand their knowledge of magic, including demons. Deadicorn is particularly popular.

Magic:

The Unravellers have dedicated themselves to pushing the boundaries of what is possible with magic, and therefore will explore any and all magical traditions, regardless of ethics or morality. They sometimes visit users of dark magic in other nations like the demon binders of Yr and Aesaneria, the occultists of Hagarta, the Fleshmolders of northern Nantes, and the hags of Fluffwood to compare notes.

Military:

The Unravellers don't bother with a standing army, but history has shown on many occasions that the Unravellers are more than capable of defending themselves against any dumb enough to interfere with their studies. Those captured or killed during these attacks will often be used as raw material to create even more horrific creations to defend against future attacks.

History:

The swamps of Zandra Peninsula have long been used as a refuge by the most reckless and unethical of the Eldrian Empire's magic users, and when the Eldrian Empire collapsed, these mages simply continued their hobbies. The area didn't get its current name until recently, when a large influx of mages fled The Union and sought sanctuary in Zandra. Recognizing the value of the incorporating foreign magical traditions into their own on such a large scale, the mages of Zandra began promoting themselves as the Unravellers, a society where anyone skilled with magic could come to safely carry out experiments, free from the fear and jealously of non-magic users and the petty restrictions of religion, law, and morality.

Economy:

Although some of the senior Unravellers have set up farms, plantations, mines, and factories to aid their experiments, most live in isolation or in small groups, accompanied by their servants, slaves, and creations. Their wealth comes from selling information, creations, and their services to wealthy buyers, with Westphallica, Yr, and (secretly) Alkor being their main customers.

The Majorate of Kornheiseria

People:

Kornheiseria is home to mix of races that were once vassals to the Eldrian Empire. The ruling elite are simply known as Kornheiserians, believed to be cousins of the Nantic human ethnic group. Other inhabitants include the descendants of human slaves from southeast Autia and the southern continents, as well as duckers, pumkin, goblins, alprobes, orcs, taurs, orges, trolls, giants, bullywug, swamp elves, crocodile men, horsemen, and minotaur.

Religion:

For the most part, inhabitants of Kornheiseria worship a variant of the standard Southern Pantheon of Primolt (magic, creation), the Great Mother (water, womanhood), and the Green Titan (land, agriculture).

Magic:

Kornheiserians tend not to be as adept at magic as many other former Eldrian states, but users of alchemy, life magic, and oath magic are fairly common and fill important niches in Kornheiserian society.

Military:

Kornheiserians have never been able to maintain a national army, but most cities and rural townships have at least a semi-professional militia, or in some cases a small standing army. Muskets are the most popular weapon, but many keep a hatchet, pitchfolk, or frog spear as a backup.

History:

Formerly a backwater region of the Eldrian Empire, Kornheiseria was relatively unscathed by the destruction that ended the Eldrians. Although it has fought several wars against its neighbors, it mostly prefers to keep to itself.

Economy:

The forests of the northern part of the country have largely been cleared away in favor of grain fields and pasture lands. The southern swamps are home to hunter-gatherers. Lacking the technology of the Nantic States, and the magical ability of some of their neighbors, Kornheiseria is usually seen as a poor and backwater state, but the strong mercantile instincts of its inhabitants, combined with the popularity of the many sporting events it holds gives it more influence and wealth than one might first think.

The importance of its sporting events goes beyond just economics, since Kornheiseria lacks a central government, its patchwork of city states and rural counties are constantly jockeying for influence, and the success of local teams in the more popular leagues is a huge status boast.

Persquaria

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.

Rinolsol

Belkor

The Belkor republic, as it's name may hint at, is the former Belkan colony that was taken by Alkor during the fifteenth Belkan-Alkor war, a host colony for most of it's life, it has only become it's own entity over the past one-hundred-and-twenty-nine years ago on the fifth of Aceed (January-and the start of Febuary of the Nantic Calendar) 171 ANC (After the Nantic Collapse). Has heavy influences of both nations that once ruled it, leaving it to be the currently closest nation to resemble what the Nantic empire once was. The Belkor Republic itself has yet to have fought in any wars, seeing as it's still building itself up as a national power, however it has become home to many mercenary groups as it's newfound nationhood seems to come with a degree of diplomatic immunity, and it's incredibly well preserved trade routes have left it a rather rich place to live. It is one of the few nations to both be known to Belkan that hasn't been attacked by it at any point, possibly due to it's descent from Belkan The Belkor Republic is also a well known vacation spot, and is frequently visited by various nobles and rich merchants.

The Invasion of Belkor:

On the 27th of Alcus Year 1589 the State of Belkan declared war on the Alkorian Empire with the support of the Free City-States and Soukos Republic with the Shahdom as a co-belligerent. Citing the levying of several new trade restrictions by the Alkorian State and their growing influence with the Ercaenmedian Kingdom. On the same day First Division of the Belkan airfleet with the support of several Carrier Zeppelin landed the elite 10th and 15th Corp on the island. The Belkan forces were able to make easy gains initially with Shock-Halberdiers and Griffin Knights able to take numerous strong points with the aid of local Belkan sympathizers. In a few weeks time the Belkans had managed to take Erengrad, Elvani and Sotovai, splitting the nation in hal, but being stopped at the Alkorian Naval base of Knudsgar as the Imperial Marines rallied the local populace and turned the port into a fortress badly mauling the 76th and 55th Divisions in several frontal attack. But the intervention of the Ercaenmedian forces suddenly stalled the Belkan advance, blocking the advance of reinforcements from Soukos in a particularly deadly naval battle at Cawl's Reef. Now the Island is in stalemate with each side waiting for reinforcements and supplies from their mother countries, with the Belkans having to scavenge from the local population to make up for their extremely long supply lines as they were not prepared for an extended campaign.

Soukos Republic

Only now many lesser and uncivilized races have made claims of power and superiority, however the mighty Soukos republic has always remained among the premier trading nations and in the eyes of Soukans, the peak of culture and beauty. The tales of this land are heavily romanticized, however there are kernels of truth in all the prose and hyperbole used. Once these lands were home to aetheric spirits that wished to create a land in their own image. Seeing the many tribes of the area they revealed themselves and said that they would protect the mortals, so long as they worshipped the spirits as gods. An agreement was struck and the majority of tribes agreed, with dissenters being slain as the new pantheon created many natural defenses to seperate the newly named Soukos from the rest of Rinolsol. Quickly a unique and intricate culture of city states evolved and each mustered a fleet to begin trading. It was in this aspect that Soukos shined brightest as the aetheric connection to the lands made by the spirits led to a great many unique flora being made. Rare fruits and herbs could create many a concoction, and some of them served as potent stimulants allowing the Soukans to produce works of fine art at a pace far greater than even the other world powers of the time. However the independence of the city-states also led to a great deal of bickering and petty squabbles between each other. Recently this has changed as the waning power of the land, in both military might and trade due to relentless war has been put to better use by the glorious Dimitar the Benevolent, originating as a prince from the northern region of Macedinios. Dimitar quickly became a leader of great renown and it was with this prowess he soon launched an attack on the weakened city states, unifying them under one banner, one purpose. This purpose was for Soukos to regain her glory and control the trade of the world once again, with it's drugs and rare materials coming into demand now more than ever.

Military:

A Soukan force is one of great class and prowess, much like the rest of their glorious nation. In fact their constant boasting and singing irks possible allies. However this pride is made up for by the rigorous training and concoction a warrior receives to become a master of his chosen craft on the battlefield. Alongside this the siege engines and whimsical creatures brought along to battle are all great assets to even the playing field between the great firepower modern nations possess. Said siege engines are often brought to shrines of the Soukan pantheon to be blessed with unique properties and it is so that if an artillery piece survives long enough it can get a name of it's own with it's awesome power.

Soukan forces primarily consist of well trained and potion enchanted warriors and many are equipped with a 2-3 meter long spear known as a doru. They are drilled in several formations to fight in and are unparalleled by other nations standard infantry in single combat. Long ago that had been enough to win them the seas, however times have changed and with gunpowder weapons on the rise the Soukans have reluctantly adapted to using these so called “barbaric, ungraceful tools”. Through heavily modifying several of their earlier siege engines such as ballistae and rigorously blessing them at shrines to their gods they have developed weapons such as modified mortars that can fire off a swift and deadly bolt alongside flame spewing devices that release Soukan fire, a deadly alchemical weapon. They are backed up by the many fantastical creatures in the area such as minotaurs and Pegasi who have all been fitted and adapted into this army. However their primary flaw is their lack of desire to constantly train new recruits due to no pressing war concerns leading to a thinly an often spread army across the region.

As war is considered merely another art for the Soukans to perfect, it is therefore inevitable that strategy and fighting techniques are passed down from generation to generation alongside the constant addition of new warmachines to the army. Hoplites have and still remain the basic foot soldier of the city-states host and through battlefield experience each soldier chooses a specialized path to embark upon where their talents will shine brightest. This method of training has produced exemplary results however commonly results in infighting as rivals battle for the highest positions of power in their regiment. Some of these specialized troops include the Flamespitter Sarissas, Gladius Sailor Guard, Fonias-Pattern Repeater Crossbowmen and the Drakehead Ashtongues. Released into the battle as well as a myriad of the exotic creatures populating the region, originally mutated from the aetheric radiation of the gods residing in the region such as bonded cyclopses taken from their home island of Sicilia, satyr skirmishers, centaur reavers, warsphinxes, manticores, battle hydras, Soukan harpies, possible the originators of the entire harpy race should the myths written centuries ago be true as they were made far before any other documentation of the harpy race and chimeras, the revolting results of procreation between these beasts. Alongside the rank and file are siege engines such as the trusty ballista, an ancient artillery piece commonly modified with magitech addons and the support of battle mages and oracles, a strange subclass of mage who are supreme advisors to the army due to their inherent gifts of foresight.

Navywise, the Soukans have kept mostly to their original ship designs with the neo-trireme serving as their transport across the sea. With reliance on rowers removed for automated engines allowing for more consistent sailing it has become possible to vastly increase the size of these ships and shove the former rowing ports chock-full of cannons and other such weaponry. Lastly use of small airships and planes have been seeing widespread use as troop carriers, with Soukan Skyslicers being useful in bombing raids and to observe the surrounding terrain. Alongside this the exerevnitis, or explorer in Common Nantic as they call their airships has served as an extremely useful transport dropping a regiment of troopers directly onto the combat zone or wherever they are needed granting a powerful level of maneuverability to the Soukans.

Exports:

Among the primary exports of the Soukan republic, the chief among them is clearly aetherroot. A thin pale root which can be ground into powder and consumed for a boost to ones comprehension of the world, mental processes and ability to comprehend aetheric occurrences this ability is highly in demand within circles of magi leading to a vast market around the product. Along with this are a variety of medicinal supplements, tonics and fine art produced by the artisans of the city-states. Many a noble seeks to purchase a quality piece in an auction house to place in their own home and serve as a sign that they are a patron of fine art

Flickfowl

It is named many things by many people The Belkan's called it "Ace's Right Hand" and believe it to be their holy land The Union called it "Lemortia" their fabled land where one could speak to the spirits of the lost without aid of magic Alkorian's called the northernmost stretch of land "New sharnom" after their capital city The Second Empire believes it to be "Shao-bonham" the remains of the Edrian's first colony Brazilistan called it "Nungunda" a land where one could find sacred metals that would grant one the powers to meet the stars The Shahdom called the Western Half "The Kingdom of Cun (Pronounced Key-Un)" and it was their first colony

The natives of the land call it "Fickfowl", and it's a hot fucking mess that'll try to kill you before setting you up with it's sister over a cup of Findeligh High Tea

Mainland

Second Empire

The main focus of the Second Empire (mostly because of their inability to expand in the mainland) is to colonize Shao-bonham, rightful Eldrian clay. Their attitude towards the natives depend on whether or not the historians sent by the government think that they descend from the Eldrians or were created by them, in this case they are considered citizens and accorded some regional autonomy but "invaders" are conquered and used as much needed servile workforce serving the Eldrian colonists.

Duckers

The Duckers are a confederation of duckmen living in coastal towns and swamp villages. Choleric, mercurial and yet cowardly they are despised by the natives because of their bad personality but they have a culture strangely similar to the one of the ancient Eldrians and claim to be the cursed descendants of a glorious fallen empire, earning them an alliance with the Second Empire.

They worship some Gods like those in the Eldrian Empire with the addition of many local spirits (especially in the swamps) and only practiced Spirit Magic but since then the colonists of the Second Empire teached them all of the southern schools besides Dark Aether Channeling.

Peaks of the Heavens

Beneath the Upper Empire lie the vast Thandara mountains, known to outsiders are the Peaks of the Heavens. Within these mountains lie strange multi-tiered pagodas of many colors and an even stranger people residing inside them. The race of birdmen known as the Akasa-prabuharu in their home tongue call these buildings home however as their elders say they once ruled the entire continent, however a series of devastating losses in battle between the Upper Empire and the races of the South led to them being forced to flee into the mountains where they reside to this day. Many a bird perishes in the conditions found in these peaks as they were never meant to reside in this climate and it is clear the race is a dying one. However they simply wait, content to survive as long as possible seeking trade with nearby settlers.

Copper Plains

Centralized in the west of Flickfowl, lie dry plains with certain arable parts caused from the many rivers flowing from the Thandara mountains. These seemingly standard lands have a bloody history of revolt however as living races no longer rule here. Far in the past a group of mages had settled in this area and through several experiments, discovered the method to create autonomous constructs powered by a magical core. The first of these golems were made from clay leading to these lands being named the terracotta plains. In their pride following this great accomplishment and extreme arrogance they deigned it fit to grant these creatures a mind equal to that of a mans. This would be the mages greatest mistake as once they deployed a legion of iron automatons to push the sky-lords who once lived in the area away and bronze constructs to be servitors. As the golems returned to their homelands a plan was hatched among many of them and by stirring their comrades into a hateful frenzy their greatswords and lances were pointed towards their mage overlords who were all slaughtered. Following this time the newly freed golems have been feverishly studying the techniques once used to create them as they can no longer replicate themselves however when they battle they never tire and will stop at nothing to defend their homeland.

Military:

When the golems of the Terracotta Plains march, it is to defend their homeland. These armies consist of golems with skin of iron and massive weapons such as greatswords, poleaxes and glaives. Following these regiments of unflinching warriors come several more exotic and rarer constructs, created as shows of power among the ancient mages who ruled them. Steel birds, lions, even a great iron dragon was constructed to serve as a defense for their capital before the revolt. As for magic, while golems have cores of magic there is no way for them to tap into this power as magic is very much their lifeblood and not a means to fight with.

Kangoo Tribes

In the warm southern end of Flickflow lives a species of humanoid kangoroos species known as kangoo. They are known for being good hunters and aggressive fighters, it not hapopens rarely that two full grown male kangoos fight to the death for one female during mating season. Each kangoo tribe is led by two people, a chieftain that has to be skilled in the art of fighting and a shaman as spiritual leader, who is the oldest and experienced of the entire tribe and an advisor in difficult times. Shamans are so wise and respected, even by the rivaled tribes that it can happen that one shaman can interferre in a fight between two tribes to stop it. One day a month, shamans from every tribe, gathered on the big island in south around a hill for a session in times of crisis or rituals to call the spirits for help. The kangoos do not believe in gods but in spirits, each spirit has one purpose, most populare one are a spirit of war to increase the morale and courage of the warriors or a spirit fertility who assist a female kangoo during birth.

Deep Desert

The Deep Desert is a dry wasteland occupying most of Flickflow's central regions. Few can stand its harshness besides the local Snake People, bizarre snake-like beings with a single human hand at the end of their tail that they use for tool-making and magic allowing them to have a simple civilization in the desert. Despite being predators rarely encountering outsiders, they are quite gentle and respectful towards all other sapient races.

Puppet Clans

Starkly contrasting the great peaks and warm regions Flickfowl possesses, the southwestern regions are a grim and cheerless place. Relentless storms constantly chip away at the stone cliffs, mysterious creatures stalk the lands, presenting a stark contrast from the eastern Kangoo Tribes. Only savages would deign this land fit to live in, and savages there were as many tribes of foolhardy warriors call these lands home. Initially they attempted to hunt the animals found within the mainland and the 4 large islands dotting the coast yet the prey quite often snuck off into the mist. Raiding soon became a far more viable option for these tribesmen to partake in so they found the mightiest and most brutish among them, named them the leader and set sail crossing the coast. Raiding proved a perfect alternative to hunting as they attacked small towns, large ones were to be avoided as they surely would be repelled. Even with their new lifestyle, the tribesmen hungered for more. They could not travel far as they dwelled in among the most distant regions a man could live in and the demand for food and supplies kept increasing. This came to a head when they discovered a mysterious sort of tower hidden right in the center of the three southwest islands. A presence seemed to beckon them towards it as they opened the heavy door to enter, unknowingly removing a seal that had been placed there for good reason. The spirit they released immediately broke free and his malevolent presence addled the minds of the unfortunate clansmen who had entered the tower. Soon their minds warped to the point where they could understand what the entity had to say, it knew their desires and claimed that it could fulfill them. The clansmen cheerily returned home informing the tribes to meet this entity and hear what it had to say.

The next day the entire population of the land had come forth to see what the spirit could do that would allow them to see the farthest lands and take the most exotic of spices for themselves. They were shown a marvelous and psychedelic sea, claimed to be a part of the aether and if one travelled through, they could enter whatever part of the world pleased them as long as they had the right coordinates. Pleased to hear this the tribes pledged eternal loyalty to the spirit, and unknowingly began the process of becoming thralls. Thrall meant slave in the tribes language and as they entered the sea of souls as this parallel world was dubbed, their minds became filled with dark thoughts and started lapsing into random fits of madness. Mortal beings were not meant to be here and they quickly lost the little sanity they had left, and the spirit chuckled as its plan had been finished. These wretches of former men were now his slaves and he would send them to raid for an eternity. Now, twisted ships appear at small towns and mutated monstrosities disembark to loot and pillage. Unfortunate souls who get captures are fed to the thralls master and before the proper authorities can arrive, the ships have already left in the mist.

Military:

Being a nomadic horde, with no clear homeland minus the south of Flickfowl, when they occasionally return to it the Puppet Clans have a very disorganized military. Each longship is filled with crazed wretches who hurl themselves into the nearest fight and each have some sort of bizarre mutation, like tentacles or claws for arms or two heads. These berserkers primarily comprise their forces with gibbering wizards in the back instinctively using dark aether channeling to poison the land and bring devastation. Following them are unholy, animalistic beasts which may have formerly been clansmen or monsters they brought with them.

Sultanate of Miqdaad

Flickfowl is covered by deserts and plains, there's no way around it. The heat is intense and wherever you go you'd most likely just see rocks. Therefore the east coast should also be a desert with nothing much of value, yet a traveler would see shining oases and gilded temples sprawling out into the sunset. This is due to the wondrous art of celestial magic that is the lifeblood of the region known as the Sultanate of Miqdaad. A nation firmly built on the principles of astrology and faith to the one true god Miqdaad, master of life. Through searching the heavens and the teachings of their holy prophet Aasub who first imparted the teachings of Miqdaad, the pitiful nomads who populated the desert brought rain down and made the sands into a paradise by essentially fixing their desire for food and water. In the current day the Sultanate is a land at the forefront of magecraft and divination, constantly inventing new devices to further enhance man's understandings of the stars. Within their capital of Isbillyah lie a thousand telescopes and orreries pointing to the sun and moon and a league of hunched scholars poring over the meaning behind these celestial bodies movement and what it spells for the future. Comfortably far from any major attackers due to the magitech weapons that line their homes and border alongside the battle wizards who twist the winds against their enemy and benefit the fleets of their homelands by always giving favorable sailing conditions. The courts are as decadent as it's people, constantly bickering over who should rightfully become the next heir to the Sultan or spending shocking amounts on pleasure palaces. In fact this had led to quite a rivalry against the celestial college who need this money to purchase new equipment.

Military:

Mostly used for either border defense or homeland security the army of the Sultanate is made of scimitar wielding conscripts and archers. However the nations real power comes from their celestial weapons capable of unleashing deadly blasts at anyone who even dares approach their lands with malicious intent, quickly blowing their ships to smithereens. Alongside this, mages are among the most feared and respected individuals of the land as without them, it would not be the lush paradise that it is.

Chief among their weaponry are the strange weapons known only as Heavenly Eyes. These are great telescopes with a secondary system of glasses and magic cores allowing it to shoot off a magic projectile at blindingly fast speed which is sure to leave a dent if not completely pierce anything it hits. Knowing the power of these weapons crafting variations and other such devices is the primary concern of the army.

Following the mages and scimitar wielders, follow soldiers wielding slender firearms known as Jezails. These weapons are typically decorated by their wielders and similarly to the shahdom found far to the west, camels are a popular means of transport inside the nation due to their capability to survive the farther and more barren reaches of the countries, the last vestiges of the desert that formerly encapsulated the eastern coast. Some assorted nomad tribes live in these regions and serve as auxiliaries, being skilled scouts in travelling the desert alongside attacking and riding back into the sands.

Transport: Camels are the most widespread means of transportation, respected for their hardiness and ability to bear a load, great beetles found across the dunes that are ridden by merchants traveling around the cities to trade at a fast pace (the army even has a flying regiment of great armored scarabs who serve alongside the drake riders as flying cavalry) and flying carpets which are reserved for mages and nobility.

Currency: The golden talent is the currency of the land and is recognized by all nations in Flickfowl and many beyond. Alongside this bartering is a favorite pastime of the locals who frequently partake in it within their great markets known as bazaars.

Religion: Miqdaad is the one and only god worshipped by the Miqdaadites as the father of life, his gift of life is represented in the form of rain. The people of the Sultanate refuse to hear slander against the one true gods name and can be worked into a frenzy over their interpretation of the faith.

Magic: Magical potential is a highly respected gift among children and these blessed children are gladly given to the celestial college for training. celestial magic remains the primary school of wizardry in the land however aetheric magic involved in spirit channeling and healing magic have their users. Alongside this some female leaders of the nomad tribes have the curious ability to control sand in the area.

Fun fact 1: The Sultanate is centered near the ruins of an ancient farming civilization known for building magnificent pyramids and colorful art pieces in a pictographic tongue. Perhaps the blood of these people still runs today inside of the Miqdaadites?

Fun fact 2: Recently the Golems have made an ally of the Miqdaadites and have agreed to guard the western coast in exchange for access to the Blue Library, a massive repository of medicinal, arcane and all sorts of other knowledge. This is a wonder of Isbillyah and a common bragging point to foreigners.

Exports of the Sultanate:

Being a nation with a large amount of land and a warm climate, made tropical thanks to terraforming efforts by celestial mages, the Sultanate has been a major part of the so called "spice trade". Several culinary spices and fragrances with names such as Frankincense and Myrrh. Alongside this spices such as Coriander and Turmeric serve as excellent additions to a meal. The growing hunger for these spices have served as a mainstay in the Miqdaadite economy and will continue to remain so, as they jealously guard their spices from outside merchants.

Navy: The Miqdaadites possess a vast trading network due to their role in the lucrative spice trade, commonly at rival to Soukos over oceanic mastery. Due to this they possess a massive merchant fleet. Sleek dhows skirt the coast of the land fishing and selling their wares to nearby locations. Pictured above alongside some other ship types a dhow can greatly differ from a small trading vessel to a swift merchant ship filled with compartments for fish, spices, jewelry and indeed, some hidden openings to store some more “policed” goods as the traders call their clearly smuggled items. Second to this, a felluca is a ship made to sail the oceans and thus is the main means of international trade the Sultanate possesses. Equipped with 4 slots on each side for cannons and renowned for a swift speed at most times so long as the wind favors its sails, a felluca is used for many purposes, from trade to naval battles where they sail by employing superior speed and skirmish tactics alongside their magical sails enchanted by celestial mages which allow for permanent good wind conditions by subtly altering wind paths letting them perform shocking bursts of speed and maneuverability. And let it be known that the ironclads and paddleships of Alkor have not gone unnoticed as the Sultanate have developed a standard ship of the lune known as a baglah. A massive warship outfitted with an ornate back alongside 3 levels each with 7 weapon ports per side and a hardened hull ready for ramming, with a steam engine powering it and commonly several magitech modifications. Such ships being able to constantly be produced in the shipyards are the pride of the navy and help police the waters from the endless threat of pirates. Should a mage choose to follow a ship or fleet one day you can commonly see them sailing by gently on flying carpets as they survey the surroundings and foretell if there will be storms, attacks or other conditions by studying the stars.

Funnily enough even with devices like flying carpets, the idea of flying machines beyond carpets never crossed the minds of any mage of scientist until the recent rediscovery and subsequent alliance between the Miqdaadites and their estranged northern descendants, the Belkans (before you ask yes this has been discussed before. Belkan sees Flickfowl as the holy land of their religion alongside a shared magitech obsession and an anon who I assume made Belkan put this idea forwards initially) allowed them to see the airships they fielded, the one key discovery keeping them from being among the technological level of the Nantic states. Due to this they immediately set to work using the specialized talents their celestial mages possessed to establish their own brand of flying transport. Currently two patterns of magical airship have been produced, both being supremely powerful yet difficult to manufacture airships. Firstly the efreet-class strike cruiser is a fast and deadly elemental airship shooting forwards and launching a powerful double beam attack due to the two heavenly eyes, harpoon cannon, bombs and fiery ring surrounding it allowing for a powerful wave of heat to be released. Secondly, the djinn-class carrier is a massive armored war machine capable of unleashing shocking amounts of damage due to the 6 heavenly eyes, 12 cannons, 2 harpoon guns and cohort of armored scarab riders surrounding it. Together these weapons have been the key to victory in battles such as a skirmish against the Puppet Clans due to their ability to quickly reach the combat zone and fire upon the longship used by the foul, mutated warriors before they could board and escape into the Sea of Souls once more.

Emerald Isles

Fantal Islands

The Fantal Islands are a cluster of demon inhabited jungle islands that Alkor is trying to colonize since they have lots of gold, but it is not going too great for them.

Crescent Islands

The first archipelago located immediately west of mainland Flickfowl, the Crescent Islands known of course for their crescent shape are famed for ancient stone statue dotting the many islands with menacing faces of ancient warrior-kings leering down upon passerby. These lands were once unified by a vast seafaring empire, known for building magnificent stone temples with statues of their mortal god and his serpentine companion alongside a vast canal system dotting their ancient cities. Archaeological examinations of murals from this time alongside clear signs of battle in the cities show a great civil war fought with unknowable hidden weapons capable of raining hellfire from above and tracing a path of pure destruction across anything in front of it. The many burnt and cracked portions of the islands only prove to certify this fact but any remaining weapons of this nature are well hidden and for now attempts to find them have ended in failure. The islands have vastly devolved in the passing centuries with the few cities remaining on the isles being lawless places where might is the one driving factor to success. This is not exclusively due to the current state of the island, rather the fact that a great deal of the lands populations are mercenaries. Due to the uninhabited state of the now ruined cities the once carefully cultivated gardens and formerly sprawling if the murals are to be believed farms and gardens have grown unchecked only adding to the already convoluted forests covering the landscape as many powerful and exotic creatures who were once kept as curiosities in the capital's zoo have escaped and bred. These nightmarish conditions are enticing to many a headstrong mercenary captain as these lands would serve as prime training for a mercenary company, should they survive of course.

These cities are also frequented by many an archaeologists seeking to sift through the debris of the ruined cities and canals searching for the fabled superweapons that all information about these lands point towards. Weapons of course aren't the primary feature as the bits and bobs of random items will fetch quite a price for them at home. Many an "authentic" piece of Crescent jewelry or ointments pop up on the market, and while most are quickly ousted as being fakes the truly valuable ones can sell for ludicrous sums in auctions. The price is jacked up further due to resistance from a mysterious local tribe of women who seem to share many traits with the Amazonian races scattered across the world who occasionally assault would-be explorers during their hunts. Sailing across the islands with their slender ships these warrior-women seem to have the singular goal of hunting the invasive beasts now populating the jungles in the name of their moon god, whose symbol is coincidentally enough a crescent. This god too can be traced back to the ancient empire that inhabited the isles (fuck I just realized I called my Khmer empire knockoff an empire when I wrote kings earlier) as the lover of the as of yet unnamed patron god of the lands who's statues are a common sight in the many temples found here.

Lapus

Imperium of Dwight

Dright is a heavily industrialized country populated by a large variety of races forced to adapt to the dangerously toxic air prevalent in Dright. The ruling race of Dright are the Dreeght, a strange species of magically-gifted, raptor-like and cruel humanoids that cannot survive with pure air and upholds a strict and draconian caste system within their realm, its population boosted by a large number of slaves they've gathered through raids, trades and other means. The Dreeght are not seen outside their empire without means to protect them from the clean air that are poisonous to them. Needless to say, nobody likes dealing with Dright.

Malsolia

Not too long ago, the Union conquered the small but resource rich nation of Malsolia and enslaved it's citizens to work in the mine shafts. While profit was at an all time high, so was piracy. Union ships would commonly be raided and the strength of the larger pirate fleets would quickly start to rival the Union Navy.

Things truly got out of hand however when the miners discovered a powerful magical ore that gave them great powers and started a rebellion against the union. The combined chaos of both problems forced the Union to retreat quickly, leaving behind many ships, weapons and even one of their smaller zeppelins.

But they'll be back, and the people of Malsolia are preparing for their return.

The magical ore, called Malorite when it was discovered by the Union, can cause rapid mutation in those who either inhale or consume it's powdered form, the mutations take the form of crystaline structures that jut out of random points on the consumer's body, The first time the Malorite's mutagenic effects were discovered was when Malsolian miners started growing these crystaline growths after inhaling the discarded Malorite dust during their duties mining it, while none of those miners live today, they did accidentally make the first "Malorite Ascension Ritual" wherein the "Initiate Consumer" would take a small stone and chip away at a ritually prepared stone of Malorite until they would pass out from the beginning effects of Malorite Inhalation

Mousterians

The cold region between Malsolia and the Imperium of Dwight is primaly inhabited by the Mousterians, the remnant of an ancient race. They are shorter, less dexterous, social, magically able and have less stamina than humans but they make it up with their greater strenght, intelligence, resistance to the cold and talent with purely technological tools. Thanks to the isolation caused by most other races not being able to survive in most of their territory, they built an highly advanced peaceful civilization interacting little with the outside world with the exception of some adventurous tourists, academics and scientists needing to study something on the field, merchants selling strange devices to buy the few magical artifacts that their science can't duplicate and a few diplomats.

Maritime Khurultai

People: Mostly human, a few permanent residents of other species but less than a single percent.

Religion: In a word- complicated. Studies into folklore suggest a hundred goddesses and gods in a singular pantheon, but none have names. Titles exist, but they may or may not be distinct aspects of collective spirit clusters. There appear to be no defining set of scripture or doctrine, simply individual interpretation of the relationship between the divine and the mortal. While not concise by any means, it allows the society some comfort in accepting attitudes that are not their own.

Magic: The use of magic is highly limited to lifestyle magic rather than the typical uses of war or healing- to use them for anything more than small instances is considered an insult to the spirits which allow magic to occur. For instance, Magic might be used to create another pair of hands to work a loom while the caster dyes the thread the loom creates. There are workarounds: rather than creating massive fireballs to lob on ones enemies, a small flame might be produced to light a pitch-covered boulder prior to it being lobbed via catapult, and the ingredients of several dozen healing droughts might be magically combined while the droughts themselves are expected to heal the sick and wounded.

History: Unrecorded, save for third hand accounts. Oral tradition is considered unreliable in these matters. Few who have made contact with them have noted them with more than a historical footnote, though we know that they are attributed to the disappearences of a few coastal cities over the last century.

Economy: Unimpressive in terms of scale. All indication of an agrarian society- focuses on textiles and aquaculture. However, this might be a front for external actors in order to give an illusion of poverty- for instance, we know their crossbows are among some of the most sophisticated non-firearm ranged weapons on the island, and are far, far quieter.

Miscellaneous:

one of the very few but well known things the Maritime Khurultai does export to other nations is their silk, which uses highly detailed patterns woven by hand, with each textile house using a style unique to their traditions. This silk is highly durable, absorbs dye easily and is soft enough to make people forget they're wearing it.

Available in spools, sheets and custom order items (with ever increasing amounts of production time), the silk is wore by the people who make it in a layered fashion, often to the point that any gaps in the pattern are covered by more silk. However, due to the cost in both time to produce and to secure a trade visa with the Khurultai, foreigners can rarely afford much bulk silk, so it is regulated to accessories or accents on other pieces.

surprisingly, it can often be found paired with leather jackets, gloves or boots as a liner.

Story 1:

There are few who dare to cross the northern seas in summer, for that is when the ice melts and monsters roam south. Once, people believed this to be a metaphor, a warning about tides and ocean currents. A myth to warn precocious children and reckless traders alike.

But all myths have a kernel of truth to them, and reality is a harsh mistress.

Isolated behind impenetrable mountain chains and their lava filled fjords, and seasonally trapped by a ruthless arctic wind that manages to freeze even the mighty ocean itself, the humans of the Maritime Khurultai would be no threat to anyone, if it wasn't for the local fauna they have managed to tame.

Using all the knowledge at their disposal, they use the resources on hand to bend the monstrous Dire Tigers to their will. Apex predators adapted to extreme temperatures and perfectly at home in the water, the people of the Maritime Khurultai know that they are the key to getting the one thing they have always wanted.

More land.

With each generation of tigers getting larger and larger, they know their dreams will become reality. Soon.

There are many who doubt the idea, upon seeing a Dire Tiger in the wild, that lowly humans are even capable of taming a single one, let alone enough to be a threat to other nations.

Yet humanity has proven resourceful in other ways before, and there are rumors of a journal that outlines the exacting process. Combining animal husbandry, aquaculture, herbalism, perfumery, hypnosis, even clothing patterns, music and dance, the species is lulled into believing humans are not a threat, merely a provider. Instead, through this process, the journal allegedly claims that those who threaten their caretakers become the enemy of the Dire Tigers.

But as of yet, such claims are unverified. If only observers could be placed in the City of Three Rivers, or Kyr'jtlan'isoune in the local tongue. if it even exists at all.

Nobody has ever returned from looking for it, as you well know.

have you ever seen one, the humans from the Maritime Khurultai? consider yourself lucky if you have, there aren't that many who can boast the same claim. I've only heard the description of them third hand, from a drunken sailor no less, but it was fascinating to hear about.

They cover themselves from head to toe, with no skin exposed to the sun, even their faces. But it is no simple robe or armor they wear, for they combine silk and leather, metal and fur, feather and bone, and more, all at once.

The silk is said to be comfort, dyed in wild and bold colors, yet it is almost entirely covered by leather stitched in intricate patterns. the furs of great animals make up their cloaks, but those aren't worn for the cold- they are used to obscure their heavily engraved armor segments. great plums of feathers adorn their helmets in times of anger, and bones rattle from their limbs in symbolic totems tied fast with woven reeds.

Yet it is their carved wooden masks with polished, inlaid glass eyes that remain their most memorable features. you can never follow their eyes, not really- even when you think you can see what they're looking at, they glow from within, obscuring the truth. is it a reflexive movement, a trick of the light? he didn't know, nobody knows.

There is just too much we don't know. the layers of clothing supposedly hide a lattice work of tattoos, scars and brands, but even the old sailor couldn't say for sure if that was true or an embellishment from somewhere down the chain. if it is true, what do they all mean? why obtain them at all if they are to be covered up when in public?

Just what else are they hiding, behind those masked eyes of theirs? or should we be grateful we don't know.

Story 2: Yes ma'am, what I have here is a genuine scent puzzle ball, straight from the Maritime Khurultai. My contact has authenticated it as having come straight from the capital city!

That's right, just spin the inner segments around and the scent becomes stronger or weaker depending on how the holes line up. and you can replace the incense inside once you make it through all seven layers, like this. like this....dangit, it was easier to do last time- AH THERE WE GO. see? just a tiny amount of the stuff produces a smell this strong.

and yes, i know, its a tiny sphere, less than 20 centimeters across, but just think of the envy your friends will have when you present one of the few items used in the modern Martitime Khuruldai. not some ancient relic with no purpose, but a functional piece of their culture! your reputation around here will skyrocket!

No, of course it's not real Dire Tiger fang. Do you think they'd let those out of the country? No, this is the commoner's version, made from ox bone powder and resin, but still, the fact they even allowed it to escape their borders is a minor miracle.

Wait, how did you know they make the larger ones out of tiger fang? huh? customs enforcement? I've never...wait, where did you get that spear from?

Story 3:

Look, we've tried to give you an accurate count of their military capabilities, multiple times. And all, all my agents who've even managed to come back are dead. The ones who were left behind? We don't even know. All we have are rumors and hearsay, and the confessions of dying men.

If we can trust such sources, and that's a big if, then we know the military is mostly occupied by women, and they are terrifyingly efficient. Highly skilled, tactically well organized, proficient in mid-ranged and melee combat. They prefer high-powered crossbows that fire spear sized bolts, and whips that change into spears with the twist of a handle. While they seem to lack siege capabilities, their mounts speed and agility more than make up for such shortfalls.

From what we can estimate, roughly 40 percent of their population serves in the military. Its not hereditary, but there are legacy houses of martial prowess, and entire schools dedicated to the study and training of future war leaders. I couldn't begin to tell you about the locations, tactics or strategies behind such organization because, again, all my agents died trying to find out. That's how good their security is against foreigners.

But here's the real kicker. I'm virtually positive that even these rumors and hearsay and deathbed confessions are only known to us because they want us to know. They want us to have just a taste of that kind of information, probably so they can mislead us with it and then change directions at the last second, when it really counts.

So again, I implore you, do not trust what we have without firsthand, verifiable intelligence on them. I will, eventually, be forced assemble another team of agents and see if they can convert some of the locals into aiding us, but don't count on it. I don't want to send people to their deaths over mere speculation. And remember, if anyone asks, this conversation didn't happen.

Story 4:

Esteemed Ladies, Gentlemen.

As you well know, the origins of the Maritime Khurultai beyond the 400 years we have known of their existence, have not been committed to publication, nor are there written records of any kind on the subject. However, there is, within the extensive and robustly worded oral tradition of the people, an origin myth.

To repeat the myth in its entirely would require several hours of your precious time, as well as an understanding of the local language that I am not qualified to relay with sufficient enough skill. In summary translation, we can say they believe they came from a convoy of refugees of a ruined homeland far to the south, one which persecuted them for their beliefs that slavery was unjust and should be abolished. That any who could work the land should be free, regardless of other factors. They feared for their lives and fled across the ocean in thirteen ships.

Most sank, and while some of their crews and passengers were saved, in the end, only four made it to their new land. When they arrived, they found the land plentiful in rich fruits, grain, vegetables, spices and materials for making homes, textiles, medicine and even tools for mining and metallurgy. Which, even I admit, seems implausible, but then how else are we to explain their alternatives to modern firearms?

But it seems that while they found an abundant paradise, the animals of the land were rare, and often dangerous. Even the fish along the coastal waters were quite deadly, almost as if they had adapted to be as deadly as possible in order to ward off some threat or another with their every waking moment. Mammals, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, they all seemed hostile to human presence, and hunting these creatures was an exercise in folly, for it killed more of their people with each attempt than their bodies could feed.

That is, until they discovered their Tiger God.

Pardon my interruption. A little wine always clears the coughing.

We don't know if they are referring to some predecessor species to the actual Dire Tigers they use today or if they met someone who merely impersonated a deity, regardless, this indivdiual didn't consider them a threat. If anything, it was amused by their attempts to change the nature of the land, and let them go about their business, occasionally following them as a curious neighbor might observe the habits of your pets.

The Tiger God watched their struggles, but didn't offer aid directly, merely leaving hints on occasion so they might discover the truths for themselves. As thanks, they would offer gifts of tribute, which, while quite elegant by our standards, simply served to make the god bored.

However, when the humans finally began breeding fish in their aquacultural gardens and preparing them for meals, the Tiger God took notice and began asking for offerings. The humans relented, and the Tiger God was pleased, offering the services of their children in exchange for regular meals. This bargain appears to lay the foundation for their domestication today.

Now, when most settlers or refugees arrive at a distant landmass, unless they have sufficient materials for housing secured, it isn't uncommon for people to cannibalize their ships for raw materials. This didn't happen in this tale, as the refugees had feared they would be followed, and thus kept their ships in order to evacuate should the land prove too formidable for them to live on.

However, as the people were beginning to discuss what to do with the vessels, the Tiger God was intrigued by these ships and their sturdiness, and they asked that their children be able to use them to play on as part of their arrangement. The people agreed, knowing they would also be useful for trade should they come into contact with others, as well as to find more marine life to hunt and eventually tame for domesticated food sources.

Again, my apologies. This damned cough.

But that is the tale, as told to me by my contacts from the Maritime Khurultai, have laid out. As you well know, the structure of the narrative is typical of a myth whose basis in reality has been lost to time. Not uncommon in particularly ancient civilizations without a readily available source of writing materials.

However, we have plenty of evidence that they do indeed have a writing system. The Litany of Poets even has three examples of their writing system within its text, though the translation is what most people care to read. So why then do they only chronicle their history in oral tradition?

I believe the key to this inclination stems from an axiom they use, away from open ears and in darkened corners. "Still words lie, moving words reflect the soul." In order to trust the words of a person, they must see the person say it, to follow their eyes, the movement of their hands and gauge the emotions of their voice, to carry a greater context with the words- a mass produced writing would be meaningless to such an attitude.

...I must say I am somewhat astonished that there hasn't been a single question about any of this thus far. Does anyone have a...Carl, have you even been looking for raised hands or...

My word. My assistant is dead. How...when...Someone, please call for a coroner.

Why is...no one is moving? What...what is going on...here...

Oh.

Oh, I'm so sorry.

If it's not to much to ask, may I have a final sip of wine first?

The East Unionary Company

While technically part of The Union, the EUC finds itself with a relatively high level of autonomy. Acting primarily as a trade hub for Timber and Furs to bring to the mainland.

Utopia

People:

The people of Utopia come from all over the globe, but most of them are Nantic followers of Vanille, Gaelhalla, and their variants. In addition, the Silver Goddesses clan of Amazons, the original inhabitants of the islands, still form a slight majority.

Religion:

The people of Utopia welcome all religions (except war gods, demons, male gods, and any god that pushes for the supremacy of a particular race (Ayalla's well known favoritism for the Amazon races doesn't count, for reasons)). The Amazons mostly worship Ayalla, while the Nantics mostly worship Vanille and Gaelhalla. Utopia itself is essentially a cult. Although its home base is in the island chain ruled by the Silver Goddesses, its followers can be found around the world, seeking ways to influence governments to embrace its multicultural-feminist-environmentalist creed, or overthrow those it cannot influence.

Magic:

Utopia has a fair number of magic users from all over the world, but particularly the Nantic States. In addition, unlike most other Amazon tribes, the Silver Goddesses have many skilled magic users, specializing in enchantments.

Military:

Members of Utopia stir up trouble all around the world, but prefer subterfuge and political riots to actual warfare. Enchanters are particularly useful to them. However, the Utopians are perfectly capable of defending themselves. In particular, the Silver Goddesses are almost all skilled at martial combat, and have many magic-users as well, causing them to be the main fighters of Utopia. Several attempts by Alkor, the Union, the Shahdom, and Dright to dislodge them from their islands have failed, and in retaliation, Utopia has teamed up with Malsolia, Aquatica, and the Freedom Coalition to engage in piracy and industrial sabotage. They also have a mysterious interest in Khurultai.

History:

The Utopian Movement was founded by Hanna Gannel, a minor noble from Westphallica and a fanatical worshipper of Vanille who believed in a world where everyone will live in harmony with each other and nature. The movement was very popular with activist nobles and intellectuals for a time, but gained a reputation for using violent and underhand methods to achieve their goals and therefore were driven out of one nation after another. They eventually ended up seeking sanctuary in the Silver Islands (now known as Utopia), since the Amazon tribes there largely agree with their politics.

Economy:

Utopia is an island chain off the coast of Lapus covered in temperate conifer rainforest. The indigenous Amazons live simple lives as hunter-gatherers, but foreign followers of Utopia have built several impressive fortresses and port towns with resources provided by wealthy sympathizers and enemies of enemies. Piracy and raids also sometimes yield useful resources and equipment.

Lepre Khans

Between the Imperium of Dright and the Maritime Khurultai lays a land neither dares to thread into. Known as the Lepre-clans these lands are primarily inhabited by leprechauns. The leprechauns are a race feared by all of Lapus, capable of feats of great trickery, incredible magic and clever deception, they can steal someone's underwear undetected while maintaining eye contact with them.

Lindgrub

The leprechauns are however not alone, a colony of Alkor named Lindgrub had settled east of the Lepre Khans. When news came out of Harlbourg's rebellion many of the colonists sympathized with Harlbourg. Fearing this might cause instability, the government ordered the Alkor Global Press to censor any information of the rebellion that would paint Harlbourg in a positive light. The people caught on however, and when the government attempted to imprison several whistleblowers, the colonist launched a revolt of their own. The leprechauns, wanting to cause some chaos, decided to aid the colonist in their battle. Together they kicked Alkor of the continent, and the Liberated Lands of Lindgrub remain in relative peace to this day.

Dead Man's Hand

Orgrillon Domain

Far to the north, in a land of long nights and longer winters, sits the lands of the Orgrillon Domain.

This rough, windswept land is the home of a rough society. The Orgrillon are something akin to Ogres. In fact, they are the distant relatives of the primitive and brutish clans far to the south, being the uncorrupted and still proud originators of that crude race. Larger and more intelligent, they built a society of strict law which often incorporates heavy corporal punishment. Long lived and prideful, the remaining Orgrillon are small in number, only being a fraction of their former splendor. The size of lands they occupy may be deceiving, but it is largely barren and flat, with mountains making up the northern third of their territory.

They have no magic, and any youth born with signs of it are left in the empty tundra to die.

They despise humanity, seeing them as upstarts and usurpers. Indeed they maintain that they once held vast lands of all forms and ruled over peoples and creatures of all varieties. If this is true, it was so long ago that it was never recorded by the race of men. Perhaps their diminutive cousins in the south, the ogres, are some remnant of this ancient expanse. Fortunately for nearly all other beings, they no longer have the numbers to threaten the wider world and have long fallen behind the empires of man in the advancement of weaponry and technology.

They are long lived and short tempered. Even in their diminished state, they should not be under estimated and a foray into their lands is fraught with danger.

The Orgrillon, while capable of much brutality and being very martial and physical are far more advanced than the ogre clans. They build massive stone structures and fortifications, the likes of which many in the world could never hope to replicate.

They do not like to sail, and are distrustful of the seas. They subsist off of great herds of shaggy haired beasts. Their diet is nearly entirely carnivorous. There are few trees in their lands, forests are thin and sparse, but they have an abundance of mineral resources.

They worship no gods, considering the practice to have contributed to the fall from greatness.

The Orgrillon currently have a decentralized state. In the past they were jointly ruled by a court of the strongest and most experienced warriors and commanders of their people. These leaders were known as the Krolgar, a term being analogous with general or lord. Amongst these, one would serve as the highest authority, acting as a sort of dictator or overlord. This individual was known as the Gorkargin. This ruler was elected by the assembly of Krolgar, usually for their martial or tactical prowess, though in more peaceful times the Gorkargin could be selected for great feats such as building grand fortresses or other domestic achievements. The Gorkargin essentially held their position for life, but they could be forced to relinquish the position if a large enough number of the Krolgar deemed them ill suited for the job. The Gorkargin had the ability to contest this by a request of combat. Should he defeat a worthy challenger, he could then petition to retain his post. Often the Krolgar assumed to be the best candidate for the position of Gorkargin would be selected for this fight, but any could participate. In theory, every single Krolgar in the assembly could engage the Gorkargin in single combat until the matter was settled. Usually, however, the issue was resolved without going to such extreme lengths with plenty of sitting overlords simply accepting the ruling of the assembly without much confrontation. Although at least a single fight was common on such occasions.

As their power waned, internal strife hastened the crumbling of their expansive hold on the wider lands. This strife would manifested as chaotic and fractious assemblies, with many Gorkargin being replaced or killed in rapid succession. Eventually their lands and people diminished, and the number of Krolgar became far fewer than in their golden age. The assembly still convenes semi-regularly, but it has been a considerable time since a Gorkargin has been selected. The remaining Krolgar have taken to simply administering their individual territories without an overarching authority while maintaining their connections and identity as a single people.

Belkan Arktikos

Belkan Arktikos is a region of Belka on Northern Continent bordering Ogrillion Lands. Following the ascension of the Von Erich family to power in Belkan a series of military expeditions were undertaken by the state to expand the realm and look for artifacts of ancient empires that may aid Belkan's war effort. Belkan Arktikos is one of these colonies being located in the lands on the ancient Ogrillion Empire, with the Belkan military subduing the local Ogre population and putting them to work looking for any relics the mythical Sartyrians and their enemies. The colony is sparsely populated compared to the burgeoning colonies of the Alkorian Empire, with only a handful of cities and native Orge and human tribes, but is heavily defended for its Wyrdstone mines. With the Wyrdstone of this area being crucial for Belkan superweapon development.

Skyr-nada

People:

The Nadians are descendants of an ancient Nantic Empire colony, though harsh conditions, subtle magic, and a high protein diet mean they are larger and stronger than typical Nantians.

Religion:

Nadians worship a primitive version of the Nantic pantheon; Gala (fertility, magic, nature, feminity), Akar (storms, thunder, might makes right), Shogor (oceans, fish, mysteries, forbidden knowledge), and Grumm (werewolves, animals, hunters).

Magic:

Few Nadians use magic, those that do are usually druids of Gala (almost always female) or much more rarely druids of Shogor. The magical traditions used have much more in common with the wild magic of the fey than the scholarly magic of the Nantians.

Military:

Most Nadians are local to their clan or village, but occasionally small, or even large alliances are formed between groups. All adults are expected to know how to fight, and get plenty of practice on the many threats of the region including goblins, hostile fey, werewolves, ogres, giants, restless dead, large predatory animals, and sometimes trespassing foreigners. Nadians prefer brute force weapons like clubs and axes, and don't wear armor, but aren't mindless barbarians and make frequent use of traps and ambushes to even the odds. Many Nadian tribes use crossbows and flintlocks purchased from foreign arms dealers. Nadians tame large fauna like goosaurus, bears, wolves, moose, and giant beaver to serve as hunting companions, guard animals, and mounts. They sometimes ally with outsiders and non-humans when needed.

History:

Nadians descend from a largely forgotten Nantic Empire colony. They sometimes clash with foreign mining, fishing, and archaeological groups, but are mostly ignored by civilized nations.

Economy:

Nadian are a self sufficient people that get by fishing, hunting, and practicing limited agriculture. Nadians build fortified villages from wood and stone but are always prepared to live off the land, even in winter, should their village be overrun by a superior foe. Although capable of mining and smelting in order to produce their own tools, weapons, and currency, they trade furs, gold coins, and potent alcohols for more advanced gear like fire arms and bear traps.

Ignis

Sartyrian

In the Waters of the Southwest lies the continent known as Ignis and the Kingdom of Sartyrian. A nation of elves, the kingdom has existed for millennia, enduring on the strength of it's people and the worship of the World Flame. Once the Sartyrians had a mighty Empire stretching from Ignis all the way to the great continent of Autia but in their pride they thought they could live without the World Flame, the immortal fire which fuels the souls of all Elves, and it was left untended to. But from the colonies the people were struck with a strange disease, what would later be known as Smelter's disease, with much of the population being wiped out by the strange affliction. On Ignis the Fire bust into new life, burning the lands to ash and soon to Sartyrians would find themselves blackening as well as if they themselves are burning, with all compassion from them burned away as well. But the Great Fire gave them one boon, a cure for the Smelters Disease, the afflicted must walk through the World Flame and they will be cleansed and they will be immortal as long as the fire burns, but they will feel an agonizing pain as long as they exist. For now these Dark Elves see fit to practice their pyromancies and guard the flame from all who would assault it but who knows how long it will be before the world feels their fell might again...

They are famous for their destruction of the ancient Ogrillion Empire and scattering of that race.

Hakan:

Hakan is the heart of the Sartyrian Kingdom and the home of the World Flame. When the ancient Elves came to Ignis they were still mortal just as Men are now, but seeing the eternal fire burning in the land they decided to enact a ritual to draw on it's strength. The ancient Elves gathered around the Fire, and using the ritual magic for which they were known for, forever linked the souls of their species to the flame. The World Flame still remains in the same spot it was tens of thousands of years ago, guarded jealously by the Elves lest the younger races try to usurp their fire.

Hakan and the World Flame would come under siege multiple times oved the centuries though always unsuccessfully. The first assults would come from other Elven tribes that would try to steal the power of the Sartyrian Empire, than the Ogres in a fleet of massivd longboats which would be used as kindling by the Dragons and most recently by the Men of the Union, who's leaders craved the immortality granted by the flame.

Krraurah

IBRU (Isekai'd Brazil Russia Union)

Somewhere on not-Antartica, put a massive territory spanning from the left to the center, not close to the Pengu Empire, this is where the entire population of Brazil and Russia as well as some buildings where mysteriously isekai'd too. Some say it has something to do with Eldr.

Tismo

The Shattered Edge Mountains

A vast mountain range of sheer cliffs and jagged peaks, the tallest disappearing into the clouds. Known as the Shattered Edge mountians, this range is a maze of dense narrow valleys and clusters of peaks that stretch north to south for miles. This is a dangerous and precarious place, with hardly any room for cities or villages. Dangerous and wild, a variety of beasts and monsters call this place home.

Perhaps worst of all are the horrific creatures known as the Xiklik species.

The Xiklik are of an unknown origin, though it is theorized that these mountains have always been their home. They are endlessly numerous and vicious horrors. The Xiklik live in deep caverns and caves of the Shattered Edge mountains, and it is believed that they infest nearly the entirety of the range. Below the surface, far from the light of the sun, they reside. Gnawing and multiplying without pause. To get lost in this range of mountains is very dangerous, for every moment spent here is another moment that you risk wandering into one of their lairs or being found by some number that have come to the surface world for unknowable reasons. The minds of the Xiklik are alien to humans. No signs of compassion or intelligence show in their eyes. They build nothing and do not appear to speak any language intelligible to any other beings.

In truth, they need none of the trappings of civilization that other races cling to. They live in a vast and dark system of caves and tunnels that wind and web their way through the mountains in a dizzying fashion. While seemingly mindless to outsiders, they truly posses a terrifying intelligence that is hard to discern. For most people simply avoiding the mountains all together is more than enough to avoid a gruesome fate. However, once every 50 or so years they burst forth, the mountains no longer being able to contain their swelling numbers. They spread across the neighboring lands in a horrifying swarm of death and savagery, attacking everything that moves or breathes with a seemingly mindless recklessness. But mindless they are not. While the minds and ways of humanity are as alien to them as they are to us, they are more than mere beasts. Everytime they rampage they seem to have more specific targets and seemingly begin to account for the tactics or defenses of their prey. Avodining firing lines and circumventing defenses. They are an ever present threat to all who call the eastern half of the continent home.

Crocida and Crocuba

Crocida is a loose federation of crocodile men living in a peninsula full of warm marshes. They are generally solitary and mostly want to be left alone so they are ruled by a minarchy of bureaucrats who are the only ones interrested in running even a minimal state. Their technological level is roughly at a Middle Ages level and they don't care much about magic outside of some basic magitech simplifying the maintenance of their infrastructure but the marshes are inhospitable for most other races and they have very strong natural form of regeneration making them almost unkillable through violence. Their main export are wresting matches for Kornheiseria and stories about the crazy shit some of them do.

Crocuba is almost the same but the higher population density forced them to have a bigger government so they settled on a socialist state doing everything for them, the relative simplicity of their society and how little politicians and bureaucrats can gain means that is it mostly working fine. They are a little more advanced than Crocidians and are mostly known for being less crazy than them and having the only decent doctors in the region.

Dún Cósta

In the northern edge of Tismo sits the lands named Dún Cósta, or the Coastal Fort. So named because the inhabitants here fled the powerful empires of Autia before they fractured and crumbled. The people moved here and built a series of forts and tower houses to protect themselves along the edge of the continent and a few islands off shore in the barren sea.

The coast of this area is often steep and rocky, and small rain showers occur almost daily being swept in off the barren sea. The land is flat or comprosied of rolling hills and is frequently a lush green. Trees are few due to frequent cloud cover but smaller vegetation can grow in abundance. Farming and pastoral life is efficient here.

The people here are proud and clannish, with infighting not being uncommon. They claim an old and proud lineage that they travelled back to before their exodus from Autia. Though feuding is common, the people here are of a shared identity and always rally and unify for mutual defense against outside threats.

They subsist off of farming and livestock, which provides them with all the necessary food they could need, often having large underground stores for hard winters or times of strife.

The clans tend to congregate around their fortified tower houses, which is where the land gets its name. These range in size from simple three story buildings to large structures with walls and additional defensive fortifications. A powerful clan can have several tower houses to their name, often with a preeminent holding being the central point.

Most of their modern arms were initially obtained through trade with outside powers, but they have since begun to replicate and create weaponry of their own to match that of the more powerful empires from over the sea.

The people here take to war readily, but firearms are still less widespread in this land than in others. It is considered a mark of manliness and bravery to go to battle with conventional melee weapons, though there is no taboo against the use of ranged weaponry.

The locals hold to the legend that they fled here as the first human empires of old took hold of Autia. Their greatest hero was reportedly named Balor Manannan, a leader of a small clan, he was a renowned sailor. It was said he could commune with the seas and knew the language of the waves. He was the first to recognize the danger their people faced, and he alone urged them to set sail and head east for a new land. He was challenged on this by the leader, or rí túaithe, of the largest and most influential clan. This came to a head when the two engaged in a duel to settle the matter. The younger and smaller Balor won the fight, and most of their people then agreed to take to the ocean and leave. Balor Manannan seemed to know the exact course to take and exactly when to leave, guiding the clans over the rough seas to their new home. Balor called this place An Baile Glas, or the green home. Here they would start anew, prosper, and flee no more.

Balor Manannan is regarded as a near godlike figure by his people. They say he still sails the world centuries later, always roaming and exploring. It is said should they ever face destruction again, Manannan would return from over the waves with his guard and save them from such a fate.

The Balorians, as they now refer to themselves, fight war in mixed units of men with rifles and others with melee weapons. They are not above a well coordinated ambush and often consider it an exceptional talent to catch the enemy off guard.

When facing a foe in a pitched battle, the rifle armed men tend to let a few volleys loose to weaken and disrupt the enemy, which is quickly followed by a rushing charge of those wielding hand to hand weapons.

Cannons have begun to make an appearance in their forces, which they prefer to use at shorter ranges right along side their rifle fire to maximize damage and the psychologically disrupting impact it can have on the enemy.

When the ancestors of the modern Balorians arrived on Tismo, one of the first tasks they undertook was to erect their traditional Standing Stones. These sites are religious and magical in nature. It is within these standing stones that the people gather under the guidance of the draoithe, or druids, to engage in ancient rituals and ceremonies. From these locations the people are said to have opportunities to commune with the dead or glimpse aspects of the future. It is here that the most dire of matters are settled, the most desperate of prayers made, and the most joyous of festivities are held. The druids of the land are held by custom to be impartial in the affairs of the clans, so that they can fairly arbitrate disputes and that their power cannot be used against their own people.

It is when their lands are threatened from the outside that the draoithe act with the height of their powers. It said they can conjure storms, powerful gales and whipping rain to hamper their adversaries or shroud the land in so thick a mist that invaders would wander almost blindly through the countryside. Rumors abound that through sacrificing one of their own, they can even conjure the wailing spirits of the dead to run rampant through the fog and assail the enemies of their people.

Balorian men are not an entirely uncommon sight outside of Tismo. Those that are low in line for inheritance or have fallen afoul of their own laws will often end up venturing into the world as adventurers and even mercenaries. Their services are often welcome amongst the prominent empires as they are typically adept scouts and skirmishers.

Skvoenbard

Skvoenbard is a dark and twisted land on the continent of Tismo. A land once comprised of noble Knights and horsemen, it's Lords warned upon their neighbors for centuries till the reign of King Heinrici. You see King Heinrici and the petty Lords of Skvoenbard had long worshipped the Deadicorn, under the name Posen Lord of Horses, since the lands creation with the Dark god looking at their worship with amusement but Lord Heinrici wanted to summon the full power of the god itself. He called upon all of the mages of the land, all of the Knights and Soldiers in the kingdom, for one great ritual that would see them blessed with the power of their god. But the ritual twisted them into abominations, Centaurs, and stripped the life from their bones giving them an unnatural existence where they would be forced to consume the souls of sentient creatures or see themselves fade into nothingness. With the great and evil land often calling Black Hunts across the continent to bring more food back for the masses.

Sheeple Folk Confederacy

The sheeple folk are an half-human, half-sheeple race living in a band of mountains and surrounding marginal lands. Sheeple women are lithe, fast centaur-like humanoids while the men have a more robust bipedal body plan and an affinity for air magic. They are organized in clans generally ruled by a female warrior and a male shaman-wizard and most are part of the sheeple folk confederacy, a loose intertribal state mostly regulating interactions and judicial matters between clans to avoid blood feuds. Males rarely fight but either do most stenuous menial labor and craftmanship or become shamans Shamans almost always learn to both draw power from countless local godlings and master a form of arcanic elemental magic highly specialized in winds and air. Women are either warriors, messengers or most jobs relying on speed. There are of course exceptions like war shamans, craftswomen and so on but they generally only exist on a individual level.

Writefaggotry

Story of Jacob

In the Kingdom of Yr, a dead man has started walking. Being one the few men to have survived getting cyberformed by the Iron Beasts, Jacob Thameswell fights against tanks, demons and traitors to liberate the citizens of Yr.

Before the rebellion, Jacob worked along with his wife, Patricia in the Hammer It Hot steel mill. Here Jacob suffered a workplace accident where a boiler explosion launched a lever against the back of his skull. Miraculously, Jacob survived the injury with only "minor" brain damage, but had to have the rear end of his skull replaced with a metal prosthetic.

During the Iron Beast Rebellion, Jacob, Patricia and many others where dragged kicking and screaming into the nearby hospital, where a heavily modified Autodoc would keep adding more and more cybernetic augmentations onto them until they were turned into a mechanical abomination which the Iron beasts call a "Meat-Based Combat Drone".

These MBCD's are husks of their former human selves, thanks to an implant in the back of their brain known as a 'Thought Jammer'.

Jacob's role as an MBCD was meant to be used as a 'Heavy Duty Dumb Labor Unit' where he would spent the rest of his life hauling heavy objects from one spot to another.

But destiny had other plans for Jacob, You see, when the Autodoc finishes installing a Thought Jammer, it can't properly stitch the skull back together and has to resort to a metal prosthetic.

The same prosthetic as Jacob's.

So when his skull was introduced to the Autodoc it simply assumed he already had a Thought Jammer installed and shipped him of to the Hammer It Hot warehouse with his sapience still intact.

Not to long after, he escaped his metal oppressors.

The Ekranoplan

The following text is derived from an advertisement from a popular Ercaenmedian newspaper named: The Bluejay.

Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Ercaenmedi! We here at Kotwica Industries are proud to announce to you our nations newest innovation and fastest form of transportation!

Introducing the Ekranoplan:

Built from the retired Alkorian steam ship known as "Andrew" and several parts scrapped from some of those Belkan "airplanes," this ground-effect vehicle flies low above the water on a soft cushion of air, allowing comfort to all passengers onboard.* With the assistance of two contra-rotating propellers and four flettner rotors this beauty will bring you from Autia to Rinolsol in two days! Only having to refuel once at the Dach Coal Mining floating platform.

Our mainland dock is located at Kotwica Bay, hurry up as tickets are running out!

• Kotwica Industries is not responsible for any discomfort caused by Belkan soldiers attempting to steal the Ekranoplan and turning it into a superweapon.

173 ANC Emerald Isles Expeditions

[TOP SECRET]

Belkan, Ercaenmedi, and Alkor, among others, have long been intrigued by the possibility of exploiting ancient Sartyrian artefacts for military use. In 173 ANC, the intelligence agencies of all three nations caught wind of a large complex of Sartyrian structures being discovered in the Emerald Isles by an expedition of explorers from Falconhead.

Belkan Intelligence was the first to act on the news, and dispatched a "scientific expedition" of 87 soldiers, 23 air crew, 4 griffon riders, 13 scholars, and 9 support personnel to the island on board the armored zeppelin "Indomina".

Much slower to catch wind of what was happening, unaware of the Belkan expedition, and not taking the discovery particularly seriously, Alkor and Ercaenmedi (allies at the time) assembled four small cargo zeppelins, and three messenger griffon riders, as well as 34 Alkorian marines, 12 airmen, 6 freelance adventurers, 8 Alkorian colonial bureaucrats with some scholarly knowledge, and an Ercaenmedi intelligence specialist. The force was assembled hastily from nearby Alkorian colonies, though the Ercaenmedian specialist was luckily just in the area.

The Belkan expedition reached the island first, but an unexpected tropical storm caused the Indomina to crash just off the coast of the island, leading to the loss of half the expedition members, most of the gear and equipment, and all but one of their griffons. Even worse, the island contained many dangers, including quicksand, strangler vines, dinosaurs, massive insects, zombies, and sadistic demon worshipping natives. After losing half of their remaining members trying to carve their way through the jungle, the remaining members of the Belkan expedition fortified their beach camp, then relied on their remaining griffon to ferry key members of the expedition directly to the ruins.

However, only 8 members of the Belkan expedition were ferried to the temple before the Alkorian expedition arrived. Outnumbered almost two to one, and possessing only a few functional muskets in addition to their melee weapons, the Belkans were swiftly defeated, with many of the kills attributed to the Ercaenmedian woman Naifi, who was skilled at both magic and melee combat.

After interrogating the surviving Belkans at the beach camp, the Alkorians sent a single messenger, Jessie Young, on a griffon back to the nearest Alkorian colony to report on progress so far, and notify senior officials that the Belkans were taking the ruins unusually seriously. They then mounted back up in their zeppelins with the intent to fly over the jungle and land at the temple complex directly.

Jessie Young's account of the two expeditions up to that point is our only reliable record of their fates. When a second much larger Alkorian expedition arrived on the island, the ruins had mysteriously disappeared, along with almost all traces of either expedition. The bodies of two Alkorian soldiers and a Spartician adventurer who died during the initial clash between the Belkans and the Alkorians were encountered in zombie form two days later deep in the jungle. However, the battle site itself and the Indomina had disappeared without a trace, not to mention the temple and the Alkorian force that reached it.

It was only three years later that Belkan historian Emilia Gunther was rescued during a retaliation raid by Alkorian marines against hostile tribesmen on an island almost three hundred kilometers away. Initially believed to be a captured Alkorian colonist gone native, her accent gave her away as a former citizen of Belkan. By that time the 173 Expeditions were something of a legend among Alkorians stationed in the Emerald Isles, and her rescuers almost instantly jumped to the conclusion that she was in some way associated with the Belkan expedition.

According to her rather farfetched and contradictory account, the 8 Belkans who reached the temple had split up into three groups, and she and a soldier named Hans never saw the other two groups again. She and Hans became lost in the tunnels and began to suffer from what is likely a series of hallucinations brought on by panic, during which Hans shot himself. Emilia later claims to have encountered an Ercaenmedian woman killing several Alkorians before fleeing the area. Emilia apparently wandered the tunnels for several more days before emerging back into the jungle and being captured by tribals. She was apparently unaware until being told so by her Alkorian rescuers that she ended up on an island several hundred kilometers away from where the temple complex disappeared from.

Emilia disappeared without a trace two days after being rescued.

Four subsequent expeditions to the island have turned up nothing, but each expedition was plagued by unexplained disappearances, unexpected bad weather, murders, and outbreaks of insanity. One of these expeditions disappeared completely.

Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them

The following are a series of excerpts from the book "Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them" by controversial but award winning author Magnolia Keeling.

Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 1: The One Where I Kill Ballsack and Sackball (Again)

Napan, the country of my birth, is a beautiful nation of misty forests, breathtaking karst formations, and exotic architecture. Despite being close to the equator, the temperature is almost always pleasant, and the snow covered Yuki Mountains can be seen from almost anywhere on the island. Warfare is rare, the land is bountiful, and people have lots of spare time to nurture bonsai trees, go for hikes along trails crossing babbling brooks to visit pagodas with beautiful views, and other idle pastimes. In short, it is almost the perfect place to live. If it weren't for the fact that almost everyone who lives here are BEASTIALITY LOVING SEXUAL DEVIANTS No seriously, this place is weird.

My mother is a minor Napanese noble, and my father is a merchant from Belkan. I had a fairly normal childhood all things considered up until my parents got separated. Apparently my mother was secretly part of the harem of a giant snake with two REALLY big swords in his scabbard, so to speak. And my dad had at some hooked up with a tortoise with more wrinkles than a gathering of ancient witches.

It was around this time I decided to dedicate my life to killing things.

For obvious reasons, I try to avoid coming to Napan as much as possible, but a great aunt twice removed had passed away and I was apparently in line to inherit something (which later turned out to be some trivial heirlooms which I left with my mum for safe keeping since they weren't even worth selling). I also wanted to see if I could get the chip on my sword fixed.

Okamiokami's Edge is a masterpiece of Napanese blacksmithing. It is said that it is made by folding a piece of steel a thousand times so that it gets sharper with every use, enchanted with powerful magic that can disrupt magic and banish demons, and in the hands of one of pure heart can even cut through steel (probably false because it doesn't even cut through rock). At Fauruburesu's Dojo, where I learned the Art of the Blade, it was constantly drummed in to me how important it was to treat the sword with respect. Unfortunately in a world where firearms and destruction magic exist, even a really fancy sword isn't super useful. Aside from using it to kill or intimidate minor opponents not worth wasting gunpowder or magic on, I have found a wide range of alternate uses for the sword, including: - chopping firewood - shaving my legs when I can't find my razor - cane - dismembering bodies that might get me in trouble with the authorities - getting in bets over what it can and can't cut through (which is why it has a huge chip in it now) Like I said, the sword isn't super useful, but it helps contribute to my "stoic wandering swordswoman look" so it pays to keep it clean and in decent shape.

Anyways, after a brief visit and argument with me mum, it was a two hour hike up the nearest mountain to get to Fauruburesu's Dojo.

There, as per his custom, Fauruburesu insisted on greeting me in fox form rather than human form. I grudgingly let him lick my face (his breath smells like chocolate and "fish" as per usual) which his insists is how foxes normally greet each other.

Sure it is.

For all his faults though, Fauruburesu is actually a pretty good swordsman and blacksmith when he is in his humanoid form, and also has the inside scoop on all the best bounties. Despite his faux outrage, I managed to convince him to fix the sword at a reasonable rate, and prodded him on possible jobs while watching him work.

It turns out that good ol' Ballsack and Sackball had been summoned by some idiot again, and were terrorizing nearby fishing villages. The bounty on them was decently high considering they aren't even that dangerous really.

For those of you who don't know, Ballsack and Sackball are a pair of anthropomorphic raccoons with giant, erm, packages, who love harassing townsfolk in any community where someone is dumb enough to summon them. Some people consider them demons, other people consider them trickster spirits, I consider them an easy score, this will be by third time banishing those two nutters, they were in fact one of my earliest bounties when I was just starting out.

Two days later, I find myself at the docks of Ōkina Ahiru, breaking up an argument between a giant geoduck and a drunken Alkorian foreign exchange student.

No, seriously.

Apparently the Alkorian though the geoduck was in cahoots with Ballsack and Sackball because he looks like, well you know what they look like. One key to the groin later, that particular conflict was resolved, and my new phallic friend was able to tell me all about Ballsack and Sackball current whereabouts.

Well, I won't bore you with the details of what ended up being a dreadfully easy fight. Two days later, with a pair of giant, swinging trophies in tow, I entered the nearest magistrate's office, scored a sack of gold, and lived happily ever after.

But not really, I was on a ship to Brazilistan the next day, money doesn't earn itself.

Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 5: The One Where I Hunt Succubi in Belkan (And Get This Book Labelled As A Porno In Your Local Book Store)

I can say with 100% certainty that Belkans are the dumbest race on the planet. It is pretty much a given that they will either destroy the planet, or at least destroy themselves trying.

In fact, I would rather admit to someone that my great grandmother on me mum's side was a giant magical carp, and I have an older half-sister who hasn't left her monkey animal shape for over a decade, then admit that I am somehow related to those jingoistic simpletons.

[rest of chapter removed due to extreme lewdness]

Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 7: The One Where I Spend Two Weeks Hunting A Minor Demon I Accidently Summoned

When I was twenty-three years old, still early in my monster hunting career, I found myself back in Hagarta, where I had learned many aspects of the demon hunting trade.

For those of you who do not know, Hagarta is a lawless region of southern Gabaet. Mostly home to a scattering of peasant homesteads in the few areas flat enough to grow crops, its only noteworthy trait is that the lack of authority figures makes it an ideal place to experiment around with forms of magic some may consider... questionable.

Although hunting demons is one of my main sources of income, it doesn't hurt to understand the basics of how the are summoned and controlled. After leaving Napan in my youth, I spent several years in Hagarta, learning the basics of demon binding and blood magic from a harpy named Scrrrin. Scrrrin was something of a Renaissance woman, harpy, whatever. She was knowledgeable of many forms of magic, and among other tricks, was the one who taught me how to enchant the shot in my blunderbuss pistol to pierce the flesh of demons and other supernatural critters.

It had been several years since I visited Scrrrin, so I took the opportunity to make a detour to her place on my way to scope out potential work in Falconhead.

While there, Scrrrin offered me a rather generous bounty on a local group of witches who had summoned a minor demon of Deadicorn known as Glitter-Shaft.

For those of you who don't know, Deadicorn is a powerful demon associated with horses, sexual prowess, and senseless destruction. He grants his followers the ability to blast enemies with agony inducing blasts of rainbow light, raise the dead as horrifically durable zombies, transform people into weird hybrids of man and horse, or some combination of the above.

[section of chapter removed to due extreme lewdness]

Well, after having saved the world again, you can thank me later by the way, I still had to hunt down that Gluttony Demon I accidently helped summon.

Using my excellent investigative skills, I deduced that it would be heading to the Royal Pumpkin Carving Contest in Falconburg set to occur in two days.

Scrrrin gave me a lift (literally) to the nearest trainstation in Gabaet.

For those of you who don't know, the inhabitants of Gabaet are a bit of a strange folk. They love their - Trains - Big fluffy hats (be careful what hat you where in Gabeat, most of them have hidden meanings, usually related to sexual availability, same goes for Westphallica and Falconhead) - Ravens - Trains - Tea (the weirdos sitting with me on the train spend at least thirty minutes lifting their tea bags up and down in their cups)

Anyways, when I arrived at the town of Falconburg, the pumpkin carving was well underway... [section of chapter removed due to extreme grossness]

And that is how I ended up with two gallons of pumpkin mash, offal, and feces vomited down my top.

Excerpt from Magical Beasts and Where to Kill Them, By Magnolia Keeling: Chapter 14: The One Where I Finish That Bitch Victoria

Like all great heroines, I had a rival, several actually, but this one was the most annoying.

Lady Victoria Swann of the Eastwood Swanns was the heir of a minor Alkorian noble family (one of the newer ones, which is why she doesn't look like the offspring of a hairless pug and a featherless ostrich). She was a treasure hunter, monster slayer, bounty hunter, mercenary, celebrity writer, and occasional operative for Alkorian Intelligence, Order of the Black Hourglass, Alkor Demonology Museum, Alkorian Research Council on the Occult, The Royal Privy Council, and/or the Church of Shomdar. So basically just like me except with significantly more resources at her disposal, and willing to sometimes work for her government at discount rates. Also, she was six years older than me, so everyone assumed she was my role model. Which was extremely annoying. Also annoying was the fact that: - She was a massive prude, and strongly disapproved of my choice of attire, even when (especially when) we found ourselves in situations where she herself had to lose a few layers of clothes, like in Chapter 5 where we had to slip into an orgy den via some poorly maintained steam tunnels, or Chapter 12 where we spent a week travelling through the jungles of Nantel. I imagine this is why we came up with similar plans for disposing of each other in this Chapter. - In her own memoirs, released before mine, she refers to me as a slut, whore, harlot, etc. at least once in every paragraph in which I am mentioned, about (exactly) 1,487 times in her book in fact. - She is a backstabbing cunt (see Chapters 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12). But she crossed a line in Nantel when she stomped my fingers when I was dangling over that precipice. Stupid urn wasn't even worth that much money. - She solved most of her problems with money, hired muscle, or calling in government favors. Why steal good contracts from hardworking individuals like myself when you don't even breakeven most of the time?

And yes, I am aware I have already described extensively how much I didn't like her in several other Chapters.

Sue me.

Besides, I am pretty sure half of you will skip straight to this Chapter anyways, assuming you didn't stop to "enjoy" Chapter 5 for a while first.

Anyways, so needless to say it was a bit strange that I found myself sipping tea at her mansion in Alkor. She had sent me a letter several weeks earlier asking for my help in dealing with a mutual problem in Central Lapus. Which is of course a reference to that time we teamed up to steal a shit ton of gold from a certain Lepre Khan warlord named McMiddis (see Chapter 8). I, of course, had also received a letter from McMiddis, so I was fairly confident I knew what both of them were up to, but I will admit, it was a bit nerve-wracking entering her lair. Who knows, she had been smarter, she probably could have arranged for me to be petrified or transmuted then and there. But she always liked convoluted plots, and was probably too much of a prude to have a naked statue in her house anyways, even temporarily.

In order to save time, we agreed to take a magic portal to Lindgrub. The portal mage was a reliable, if extremely expensive fellow, far beyond my normal budget for travel expenses, but Victoria was paying, so why not. Victoria knew another mage in Lindgrub who could get word to the portal mage when we were ready to come back.

Lindgrub is a rather desolate nation of rocky foothills and grasslands on the eastern coast of Lapus. A former Alkorian colony, it rebelled with the help of the Lepre Khans, and has been independant ever since. The locals have close ties with the Lepre Khans, including some cross-breeding, which probably accounts for their short height, annoying accents, and whimsical nature. Much like my kinfolk in Napan, or those in Hoogivs, Falconhead, Hagarta, the Tavern Woods, and other places where ties between the spirit world and this world are strong, folk tend to get a bit strange.

The inhabitants of Lindgrubish town of Potato Creek, where the portal mage dropped us off, are an irritating bunch, never really seem to talk about anything other than potatoes and that poorly fermented beer they like. No idea why they never learned how to make decent potato vodka like my mentors in Hagarta. They don't like Alkorians though, so they aren't that bad. It was fun listening to Victoria put on a fake Union accent when dealing with the locals while trying to make contact with the mage who would send the message to the portal mage to come pick us up for the return trip.

From there, the portal mage brought us as close as he could get to McMiddis's fortress without the fey nature of the area messing with his magic. I didn't mind walking the rest of the way though, the Lepre Khan Hills are impressive in their windswept emptiness, just endless hills with the occasional ruin or creek to mix things up. It reminded me a bit of the Hagarta valleys.

Depending on your viewpoint on these things, Lepre Khans (also known as Leprechauns, Lepres, etc.) are either spirit folk or fey. Strange, mischievous folk, they are mostly found in the central mountains of the continent of Lapus, but can show up anywhere where the boundaries between worlds is thin. Like most fey, they have an odd form of magic unique to their race that makes sense only to them. Most of them are fairly weak magic users, but some are frightfully powerful. Among their tricks are enchantments (particularly persistent illusions and behavior alteration, but sometimes mind controlling geas), the ability to make items disappear and reappear, and most importantly, the ability to conjure up gold coins from nowhere. You never know how things will go when you encounter lepre khans, one day one may give you an extremely generous amount of gold to see your "ladies" or borrow a sheep for "reasons", the next day, one will make your clothes disappear, and cause all your farm animals to suddenly become extremely amorous. Note, lepre khans are extremely greedy despite how easily many can conjure up gold coins, and any coins they give you will probably disappear after a few days, as they were either illusions, or got stolen back.

McMiddis is a eccentric even by fey standards. Despite being highly proficient in both conjuring gold and turning pretty much any object into gold, he is obsessed with acquiring as much gold as possible. Beneath the ruined castle in which he makes his home, a massive gold mine is worked by slaves under the power of various geas. Probably a fetish thing.

Definitely a fetish thing is his love of turning attractive young women into statues of pure gold. He claims all of them are thieves, but I doubt there is that many attractive thieves in this corner of the world (myself and Victoria excluded obviously). Probably just slaves that he got bored with.

In theory, my agreement with Victoria was to team up and kill McMiddis. As much as I hate to admit it, Victoria was a capable combatant, and the two of us shot, stabbed, and burned our way through the token resistance in the castle as we headed to the throne room (luckily Victoria didn't notice I wasn't carrying any of my usual combat gear, and was using cheap replacements instead). McMiddis is an immensely powerful magic user, and I am sure fully intended to take care of us himself, but appearances had to be maintained apparently. Maybe by forcing us to kill some of his servants, and by providing us with plenty of opportunities to help ourselves to some of the endless piles of gold coins and trinkets that covered every flat surface, including the floor in most places, he could add a bit to his own reputation when he stopped us himself.

Sure enough, we eventually ended up in McMiddis's throne room, where McMiddis sat in the middle of a large room filled with massive piles of treasure. Such was his love of gold, that he had even started replacing parts of his own body with gold (not sure about his schlong, but won't be surprised).

First McMiddis used his magic to create gates of pure gold across all doors and windows.

Then he called some of his inner circle to come out of their hiding places to witness his genius.

Then came the long winded monologue where McMiddis laid out his cunning plan, and myself and Victoria pretended to be surprised, and McMiddis pretended not to notice us pretending.

And then things got interesting...

First McMiddis hit us with a powerful wave of magic that caused all visible objects on our persons to disappear. Then a second wave to remove any remaining objects and clothing.

I had expected this, but managed to pretend to be suitably cowed. Victoria was genuinely upset though, prude that she was. Her plan had relied on some extremely expensive runes of protection woven into her clothing protecting her from McMiddis's magic. Unfortunately for her, the runes didn't work quite as well as expected since I had managed to slip a small but powerful disruption rune into one of her pockets during the confusion of one of the earlier skirmishes.

As I had hoped, as the third wave of magic hit, the one that was supposed to turn us both into gold statues, Victoria panicked and tried to pointlessly preserve her modesty, while I adopted a bold stance, and made a rude gesture. In case things didn't work out, I wanted my statue to at least look suitably awesome.

But I didn't get turned, though as planned, Victoria did.

Step 1 = Complete.

Gloating would have to wait though, in her case at least.

I gleefully informed McMiddis that the reason his magic didn't work is because we were related, so his magic couldn't directly harm me as per the strange rules of Lepre Khan magic. I did a bit of research into my family tree, and it turns out McMiddis is my great grandfather, and at some point in his youth, slept with my great grandmother (the giant magic carp). Fish, even magic spirit animal fish, have lots of eggs, so I have a lot of relatives on that side of the family I don't know about. It was in fact for this reason I targeted McMiddis's fortress for theft all those years ago, though at the time I had been unwilling to try going toe to toe with McMiddis himself.

Anyways, McMiddis got hopping mad (literally), and gave a long winded rant about how my great grandmother lied about using contraceptives. Or at least that is what I thought he said. Something about "lion 'arlot" and "said she pud a pod on 'er potaters" and "taw-zines of wee liddle taters".

At some point though he realized this restriction doesn't apply to any henchmen not related to him, so ordered some lepre-khans to kill me while I was standing around empty handed in my birthday suit.

So step two of my plan involved exploiting the other big blind spot in lepre-khan magic, its inability to harm servants of Deadicorn. Apparently Deadicorn has some ancient ties to the lepre-khan race, something about rainbows and pots of gold. I wasn't really able to understand it despite weeks of research, but basically not only can't they harm servants of Deadicorn, but their magic doesn't work nearby such servants.

Mindful of the fact I am in the presence of a (distant) family member, I turn sideways, then [CENSORED FOR LEWDNESS].

I quickly activate the runes on the still damp unicorn statuette, summoning a unicorn, one of the feared servants of Deadicorn.

I then hop on it, and blast my way out of the castle with its flaming breath and incinerating rainbow blasts of jizz, grabbing a large sack of gold on the way out.

Unfortunately, I couldn't bring Victoria's statue with me at the time, though I did retrieve it decades later (see Chapter 34), and converted it into a water fountain at my Westphallica villa for several years before events intervened. Likewise, though I probably could have had the unicorn kill McMiddis, Napanese culture frowns on kin-slaying, and besides, someone needed to keep an eye on Victoria's statue until I found the time to retrieve it. He tried to assassinate me several times after that, but we eventually became great friends.

After much bloodshed, I left the Lepre-Khan Mountains, and made my way to Potato Creek with a stolen potato cart, and some stolen clothes (made of poorly processed wool infested with fleas, not recommended for sensitive skin).

This is where step three of the plan comes into play. I summoned a succubus "friend" (bound captive really, it was Nala from back in Chapter 5). I had Nala transform into Victoria, made contact with Victoria's mage friend to get the portal mage to come pick us up (luckily Victoria paid the return trip in advance), then with "Victoria"'s assistance, I smuggled out a ton of high value goods out of Victoria's mansion, including several pieces she stole from me on past adventures. Then I had "Victoria" [CENSORED FOR EXTREME LEWDNESS] and [CENSORED FOR EXTREME LEWDNESS] for several days, then [CENSORED FOR EXTREME LEWDNESS] which resulted in her family quietly sending her to an asylum, from which she of course escaped and was never seen again. This kept her buddies in the Alkorian government from figuring out what happened to her for many years, and by the time they worked it out, no one really cared anymore.

Long story short, I defeated a rival, humbled a powerful relative, and acquired a great deal of wealth, not bad for a three day adventure.

First Battle of Poole Harbour

Location:

Poole Harbour is a small subtropical island almost a thousand kilometers south of Eritroans, dangerously close to the forbidden continent of Ignis. Several decades ago, the Alkorian Empire established a naval base there to support their ongoing efforts to colonize the Emerald Isles, as well as support discrete investigations to the continent of Ignis. Although they were capable of resupplying the island themselves, its main advantage was that it could be supplied by neutral or allied nations along the west coast of Autia, particularly Ercaenmedi and Aesanaeria.

The principle community on the island was the harbor town, also known as Poole Harbour. The hills surrounding the town had been cleared as pasture land, but much of the rest of the island was dense jungle and large rock formations. Several communities of harpies lived in cave networks in some of the larger rock outcrops.

In addition to military personnel, about 2,000 civilians lived in the town, working as laborers, bureaucrats, fishermen, and shepherds. The number of harpies is unknown but estimated in the hundreds.

Background:

Although the Belkor War ended in a stalemate, it heightened tensions between Belkan and Alkor, as well as solidified the alliance between Belkan and the Soukos Republic. Eager to put the new alliance to the test, military leaders in Belkan and Soukos came up with a plan which would involve forming a task force from the Soukos Omega Fleet, several elite land units, and the Belkan Third Air Fleet (still in Soukos after the war). The task force would head west before looping back south in order to bypass the naval patrols of Alkor and her allies along the western coast of Autia.

Forces:

Attackers: 8 Soukan War Galleys 6 Soukan Transport Vessels 4000 Soukan Sailors (no armor, equipped with gladius and javelins) 400 Elite Hoplites (heavy armor, spears, gladius, and shields) 550 Soukan Amazons (light armor, gladius, shields, short bow) 50 Satyr Skirmishers (mixed equipment) 3 Belkan Carrier Zeppelins 6 Combat Zepplins 30 Griffons 500 Air Crew (light armor, pistols, assorted one-handed melee weapons) 500 Belkan Aerial Marines (light armor with blunderbuss and assorted one-handed melee weapons) 500 Belkan Regular Infantry (medium armor with rifles and assorted one-handed melee weapons) 500 Belkan Shock-Halberdiers (heavy armor, shock halberd

Defenders: Assorted naval and anti-air cannons 12 Griffons, 3 small Zeppelins (recon and courier) 500 Alkorian Marines (no armor, rifles) 500 Colonial Auxiliaries (Bridge Tribesmen, no armor, assorted melee weapons and bows) 50 Elite Ercaemedian Skirmishers (mercenaries awaiting deployment to the Fantal Islands, assorted weaponry and magical abilities) 30 Brass Knights (Day 3 onwards) 80 Privateers (Day 3 onwards) 40 Horsemen (Day 3 onwards) 3 Unravelers (Day 3 onwards) Kujira No Seieki (Napanese Elder Dragon, Day 3 only)

Sartyrians (Day 7 onwards) Large number

Day 1 - Siege/Retreat

Thanks to their risky strategy of crossing the open ocean, the Soukos-Belkan task force was able to attack Poole Harbor largely unexpected. Unfortunately for them, the Alkorian fleet they wanted to ambush had left over a week ago. Unwilling to abandon the element of surprise, the task force leaders decided to raze the town instead.

Although not a major port, Poole Harbor was still had extensive defenses, and the initial battle lasted several hours as Combat Zeppelins, Griffons, and War Galleys gradually wore down the gun emplacements so that firebombs could be safely dropped on the town proper.

Guessing the Belkan's strategy, the commander of Poole Harbour ordered the evacuation of the town, including most of the defenders aside from those manning the gun emplacements. Although most of those manning the guns died at their posts, the heavily fortified nature of the defenses and potent fire power allowed them to destroy 3 Combat Zeppelins, 6 War Galleys, as well as down 8 Griffons.

Outraged by the heavy losses for minor gain, Belkan political attaché Lord Wagner ordered the execution of the three highest ranked Belkan officers and ignored the sensible advice of Soukos Admiral Aetos to leave prior to the arrival of an incoming storm.

Night 1 - Panic/Intrigue

An unexpectedly powerful storm sweeps over the island as the leadership of the Belkan-Soukos force continues to bicker, and 6000 odd soldiers and sailors try their best to take shelter in the remains of the town.

Meanwhile, out in the jungle, the Alkorians and their allies plot. Commander Tweedle accepts a strategy devised by the Ercaenmedians Kyun and Neugdae (a necromancer and a ninja respectively) as well as Bridge Tribe witch doctor Hai. The necromancers were able to summon spirits of deceased soldiers, and aided by the curses and hallucinations of the witch doctors, and the mind controlling abilities of the Ercaenmedian enchantress Nolae, were able to cause mass panic among the Belkan-Soukos force. At the same time, Neugdae and his fellow ninja managed to destroy several zeppelin and ships with magic explosives. His greatest success of the night was detonating the magazine of the Carrier Zeppelin Fortitude while it was still being unloaded.

Much to the fury of Admiral Aetos, Wagner, and his senior Storm Mage Heinrich proclaimed that the storm was a sign that Ace wants them to remain on the island. During a brawl, Heinrich incinerates Aetos and several others with lightning. Hoplite Champion Drakos (a political rival of Aetos) declares Aetos a coward and traitor, and became the de facto Soukos leader with help from the Belkans. Amazon Princess Antiope, Senior Captain Karisa, and Satyr Mystic Ocnus grudgingly accept this, though Ocnus makes an oblique reference to foreseeing doom.

Between the storm, sabotage, and infighting, the Belkan-Soukos force loses nearly a thousand men, all ships save a war galley and two transports, and one of their carrier zeppelins. However, more importantly, several water supplies are spiked with subtle concoctions brewed by the witch doctors, and perhaps most importantly of all, Kyun is able to bind the spirit of Aetos, providing a huge advantage in terms of intelligence.

Day 2 - Harassment/Consolidation/Rescue

Relatively little combat happened on the second day, as both sides grappled with the fact that they were now trapped on the island. There were several clashes between scouts and light skirmishers, but the elite skirmishers of the Belkan-Soukos force, the satyrs, have lost their will to fight thanks to the prophecies of Ocnus. Instead they capture several dozen Alkorian civilians, hijack one of the remaining Soukos transports, and flee the island to seek sanctuary in Afrozil.

Against the advice of his scouts and foreign advisors, Tweedle consolidates most of his forces in an abandoned fishing village on the far side of the island from the main town. He uses his mages and remaining griffons to send word of the attack to a number of allies in the region. He is able to convince a nearby Brazilistan cargo ship to sell them much needed supplies and evacuate 400 women, children, and elderly civilians, but further reinforcements aren't expected until the next day.

Meanwhile, Wagner and Heinrich carry out a purge of "traitors and doubters" many of them in fact suffering from the effects of hallucinogens and mild poisons slipped into their water during the night before. The Belkan-Soukos army is also forced to come to terms with the fact that fighting in armor is almost impossible in the humid, rocky jungles, particularly after the storm.

Night 2 - Massacre

Unable to rely upon armored infantry tactics, Wagner and Heinrich instead default to good old fashion air power, storm magic, and high explosives. The remaining airships are packed with aerial marines, firebombs, and storm mages, and sent to raid the main Alkorian camp at the old village. Showing definite signs of megalomania by this point (a hereditary trait that shows up occasionally in his family), Wagner callously has most of his marines drop into the village with help from their trademark rappelling balloons, before destroying the village from above with firebombs and storm magic while his men were still fighting in it. About 600 Alkorian and allied soldiers, and 1000 civilians (many admittedly armed by this point) are killed for the price of 400 marines.

Day 3 - New Arrivals/Retaliation

The first of the Alkorian reinforcements arrives with a bang. The massive Napanese dragon Kujira No Seieki (an old friend of Kyun's) seemingly arrives from nowhere, and does several strafing runs on the Belkan-Soukos army camping in the ruins of Poole Harbor, before being driven off by a kamikaze griffon rider with a casket of gunpowder. He destroys the remaining zeppelins, griffons, badly damages the remaining ships, destroys almost all the remaining supply stockpiles, and kills nearly three hundred soldiers.

Next are a trio of powerful Unravelers who arrive by unknown means for unknown reasons. Powerful spells are unleashed on the Belkan-Soukos army for the next two hours. Hoplite Champion Drakos is transformed into a Horseman and kills 30 of his own men before being brought down, demoralized, his men hijack one of the remaining ships, but it sinks an hour later due to fire damage from Kujira, and all hands are lost. The other ship is commandeered by Karisa to flee the battle as well. It is captured by Afrozil privateers two days later. Karisa is ransomed back to her family who later throw her down a well due to the shame she has caused them. In a titanic battle of magic, Heinrich kills one of the Unravelers, causing the other two to flee.

The final group of reinforcements are a band of Brass Knights who arrive by catamaran and simply join the Alkorian force rather than attack the Belkan-Soukos directly.

Emboldened by the reinforcements and Belkan-Soukos losses, the remaining Alkorians launch an aggressive raid but are driven off by the Belkan-Soukos force, who still possess superior numbers. With barely 500 soldiers left, many very elite, but many others nothing but armed civilians, the Alkorians retreat back to the jungle. Down to 3000 men, badly demoralized, and unaware of the limited strength of their opponents, the Belkan-Soukos force hunkers down for the night under the uneasy alliance of Wagner, Heinrich, and Amazon leader Antiope.

Night 3 - Parting of Ways

That night, the leaders of both the Alkorian and Belkan armies found their positions challenged.

In the Alkorian camp, Alkorian Commander Tweedle was under pressure from the Ercaenmedians, Brass Knights, and Bridge Tribers to continue an aggressive strategy, while several of his own senior officers plus a few leading civilians believed that now that Belkan air power had been destroyed, it was safe to hunker down in the hills and wait for further reinforcements. In the end, Tweedle took about 300 soldiers (mostly former civilians) and when to hide in the hills, where a junior officer from Hagarta had managed to establish friendly relations with the local harpy clans. The remaining 200 soldiers, a mix of Brass Knights, Ercaenmedians, Bridge Tribers, and a surprising number of Alkorian Marines, spread out to lay siege to the remains of Poole Harbor. An unstable triumvirate of Ercaenmedian Necromancer Kyun, Brass Knight Commander Lord Duba, and Witch Doctor Hai.

In the Belkan-Soukos camp, things are even worse. Evidence has come to light that Wagner is secretly a demon worshipper manipulating the course of the battle to advance a hidden agenda. Already unpopular due to his purges and wasteful tactics, he is locked up on the orders of Antiope and Heinrich. In return for his support, Antiope permits Heinrich to lead a small expedition to one of the Sartyrian ruins on the island, where he claims he can unlock an artefact of great power.

The Ercaenmedians and Bridge Tribers carry out harassment tactics throughout the night, much like they did on the first night.

Day 4 - Orchestra of Death / Duels / Victory Denied

In the early hours of the fourth day, Lord Duba proclaimed the need for another assault on the Belkan-Soukos camp, as he was sensing the use of increasingly powerful daemonic magic from the camp in the name of Gogotha, a rival of his own demonic overlord, the Brass Lord. Despite their significantly reduced numbers from the day before, Lord Duba convinced the others this attack was more likely to succeed thanks to the large numbers of Belkan and Soukan soldiers incapacitated by Bridge Triber poisons and curses, as well as the a promise that the Brass Knights would unleash their full power this time.

Surprisingly, the attack almost did work. Only about a 1000 Belkan and Soukan soldiers were able to mobilize for battle, the rest suffering from illness, chronic fatigue, depression, hallucinations, and other effects of Bridge Triber curses and poisons. The Brass Knights unleashed the full power of their sonic weapons; thunderous booms shattered rock and splattered soldiers, shrill screeches shattered minds and burst eyeballs, and warbling tremors liquified guts and emptied stomachs. Tendrils of pure darkness weaved through the battlefield, thrashing, binding, and crushing. Worse of all was the indestructible Lord Duba himself, who strode through the battle crushing all in his path, seemingly immune to even the power shock halberds. Gunpowder and arrows were in short supply by this point, and fighting degenerated into a brutal melee, with the Belkan and Soukan force eventually driving off the opposition with sheer numbers.

Hoping to boast the morale of her soldiers, Antiope issued a challenge to that she would fight anyone who dared to in a one-on-one duel. Over the course of the next hour she defeated Boxing Champion Ian Murphy, Chain Sword Mistress Victoria Aki, and Hook Fighter Red Scar Kahananui. Worried about the moral of his own forces, Lord Duba challenges Antiope himself. The duel lasts nearly 10 heartstopping minutes, but eventually Antiope is able to wear Duba down with multiple stab wounds from her powerfully enchanted spear. However, unwilling to allow the Soukans this important symbolic victory, sharpshooter Alex Hawthorne uses one of the latest functional firearms on the island to shoot her in the knee from 100 yards.

Meanwhile, the forces commanded by Tweedle and Heinrich slog through the jungle to their respective destinations.

Night 4 - Long Knives

At the ruins of Poole Harbour, the Ercaenmedians step up their harassment tactics. Necromancer Kyun has the spirit of Admiral Aetos possess the second in command of the Amazons, Androdameia, and assassinates Antiope while she is recovering from her injury. Androdameia-Aetos then blames "Belkan demon worshippers", leading to a brief fight between the Belkan and Soukan soldiers. Wagner and his inner circle are executed, and Androdameia-Aetos forms a new leadership council consisting of herself, senior Amazon Maia, Storm Mage Sofia Muller, and dashing Captain Hans Kruger (her lover since early in the campaign). However, having decided that he had secured his revenge against Wagner, Aetos instead breaks free of his bonds and possesses his former master Youra Kyun.

Meanwhile, back at the siege camp, fighting breaks out among the surviving Brass Knights, Ercaenmedians, Marines, and Bridge Tribers. Several groups want to rejoin Tweedle's camp, but others want to stay to disrupt the alleged daemonic ritual. Adding to the confusion, Youra Kyun (possessed by Aetos) urges everyone to join her in investigating an old ruin (at the time simply a ploy to form a third faction and encourage bloodshed). After several deaths, the camp splits into three groups. A handful of Alkorians and Ercaenmedians under Ian Murphy leave to rejoin Tweedle, Kyun-Aetos leaves with 7 soldiers, mostly Ercaenmedians, to investigate the ruins, and about 40 soldiers, mostly Brass Knights, stay to find a way to disrupt the demon worshipper's plans.

Heinrich's group is the least fortunate. As most of them slept, one of the Unravelers returns seeking revenge on Heinrich for killing his master. Most of the group is either zombified or turned into horsemen, or both, but Heinrich (in zombie-horseman form) retains enough will power to brutally kill the Unraveler. The sole survivor is the Amazon Phoebe, who records the events in her journal, but dies sometime afterwards slipping on wet rock. Her journal is recovered by harpies, who later trade it with the Alkorians, providing our only record of the fate of Albrecht Heinrich, one of the most notable Storm Mages of his generation.

In contrast to the infighting of the other groups, Tweedle establishes peaceful relations with the local harpy clan.

Day 5 - Evacuation / Ritual / Failure

At the ruins of Poole Harbour, Androdameia (who wisely never mentions she was possessed, or was responsible for Antiope's death) splits her forces up. About a thousand (mostly wounded or incapacitated) stay at the camp under the supervision of senior Amazon Maia, while 200 soldiers under the command of Storm Mage Sofia Muller investigate the site of the Second Night Massacre for supplies. The remaining 1300 form up under the command of herself and Captain Hans Kruger to assault Tweedle's camp, which had been spotted by an airborne Storm Mage scout.

Tweedle had managed to make contact with the Afrozil privateer Queen Sonia, and arrange for the evacuation of his remaining forces. However, they find themselves cut off from the beach by Androdameia's much larger force, and come up with the highly unusual plan of using harpies to carry his followers to the ship one man at a time. Lacking any ranged weapons by this point, Androdameia orders her forces to scale the cliff to the plateau on which Tweedle made his camp, with assistance from her three remaining Storm Mages, who were capable of both flight and using wind magic to lift others over tricky areas. Unfortunately, this plan falls apart when Hoshi Kagayakia, a powerful Ercaenmedian witch mounted on a flying broom who was part of Ian Murphy's group, joins the battle part way through. She blasts the three Storm Mages to pieces in a vicious aerial duel, then starts picking off the Belkan and Soukan soldiers trying to scale the cliff. She is aided by some of the harpies, who capture some of the soldiers, and knock others to their deaths. Tweedle is able to safely evacuate all his forces and leave the island, while Androdameia can only scream in frustration as her quarry escapes and her best soldiers fall to their deaths.

The fate of Sofia Muller's group is shrouded in mystery. A strange formation of alternating crispy black and withered white bodies is spotted in a clearing by Hoshi as she does one last fly-over of the island looking for Kyun's group. An ominous red glow is seen coming from part of the island at dusk by those leaving the island by ship. A succubus resembling Sofia Muller along with several thralls is encountered by Kyun's group two days later.

Night 5 - Things That Go Bump In The Dark

By this point only a few groups remained on the island (aside from the indigenous harpies and the prisoners they took). The survivors of Androdameia's force are believed to have set out for Poole Harbour at dusk, following their defeat at the cliffs. Around a 1000 soldiers under Maia squabble among themselves at Poole Harbour over the few remaining supplies. Sofia's group was likely "harvested" around dusk, along with the Brass Knights who tried to stop them, though several thralls who were likely recruited from these groups are later encountered fighting alongside Succubus-Sofia. Finally, Kyun's group was lost in the jungle and never joined the evacuation, unlike Ian's group who made it just in time.

According to survivors from Kyun and Maia's groups, Androdameia's force encountered something, likely one of more summoned demons, around 2:00 am. Screams could be heard for the next two hours, but no trace of Androdameia's force is ever seen again. At Poole Harbour, mass panic occurs, and nearly half of Maia's group either disappear into the jungle, or drowns trying to swim out into the ocean, yet those who stay in the ruins of the town never lay eyes on their tormentors. Kyun's group, largely made of hardened mercenaries and adventurers, keep their cool and lie low in a small cave network for the night.

Day 6 - Stranded

Very little happens on this day.

Morale has completely collapsed at Poole Harbour. Maia's surviving soldiers spend the day virtually paralyzed with fear assuming whatever destroyed Androdameia's force would come for them, but it never did.

Kyun's group faired better. Enchantress-Singer Nolae Supasuta does an impromptu live performance of her three best hits, which not only raised everyone's moral, but also inadvertently banished Aetos's hold on Kyun. Realising they have been deceived, the Encaenmedians resolve to join Tweedle's group, but after several hours of searching, they encounter a friendly harpy, who informs them that Tweedle had evacuated the island. Realizing they are now stranded on an island filled with enemies, Kyun comes up with the desperate plan to send several bound spirits to find the ships Tweedle's followers boarded, in hopes that they could communicate with fellow necromancer Awai, who they (correctly) believed to be aboard the evacuation ship.

Succubus-Sofia's group is also on the island, but their activities on this day are unknown.

Night 6 - Anticipation

Maia's soldiers continue to be paralyzed with fear, and Sofia's group's activities continue to be a mystery.

Kyun's gambit pays off and Awai sends back a spirit with instructions to enter the Sartyrian ruins on the highest point of the island and wait for evac by wyvern. Sartyrian ships had been encountered in the area and turning around Queen Sonia's privateer ship was seen as too dangerous.

Day 7 - Fire and Death

In the early hours of the morning on the seventh day, several Sartyrian ships entered the ruins of Poole Harbour. Either not recognizing the design of the ships, or too desperate to leave the island to care, Maia's soldiers make little effort to organize a defense, and many soldiers simply gather at the beach hoping for evac. Many others are bedridden by infected injuries, lingering curses, and a wide range of illnesses. The Sartyrian force sweeps over Poole Harbour in minutes. Most prisoners are either burned alive, flayed, and/or deliberately infected with Smelter's Disease, but about 30 or so of the healthiest and most capable looking individuals are deliberately released into the jungle to be hunted for the Sartyrian's idle amusement.

Meanwhile, Kyun's group encounters resistance at the Sartyrian ruins. Several zombies and horsemen (likely the remnants of Heinrich's group) ambush the group, and only Kyun, Nolae, the ninja Neugdae, and Bridge Triber La'akea survive.

Night 7 - Predators and Prey

Kyun's group fortifies a section of the ruin as best they can with old debris, then hunker down for the night, but are interrupted around midnight by a group of fellow survivors seeking shelter; Alkorian Marine officer Rebecca Haines, Alkorian Marine sharpshooter Alex Hawthorne, Bridge Tribe Witch Doctor Hai, and three unidentified Belkan soldiers. Rebecca, Alex, and Hai were all known to be members of the group that accompanied the Brass Knights to attempt to prevent alleged demonic plot, and Kyun's group grudgingly accepted their story that they are the last survivors of a demonic ritual.

Two hours later, a small group of survivors, made up of "prey" released from Poole Harbour, also arrive at the tower; aircrewman Konrad Linder, journalist Viola Bauer, shock-halberdier Bernd von Rohr, sailor Aeschylus, and Amazon Thermodosa, and were grudgingly accepted as well, particularly when they revealed that Sartyrian hunting bands were roaming the island.

It is believed that all other groups of "prey" were hunted down this night, and by morning, the group sheltering in the Sartyrian ruins, and the Sartyrian raiders were the only living beings on the island. Even the harpies and their remaining prisoners had temporarily relocated to another smaller island by this point.

Day 8 - Last Stand

No one in the Sartyrian ruins group slept that night, and tensions ran high. By morning, several arguments had broken out. Rebecca's behavior was highly unusual to those who knew her, and Konrad correctly deduced that the wyvern coming to pick them up likely couldn't carry 15 people. When talk veered towards drawing lots for spots on the wyvern, Rebecca unexpectedly revealed herself to be a succubus and swiftly killed Neugdae and disabled Nyun and Nolae. La'akea managed to stab the succubus in the back with an enchanted blade, but is in turn killed by one of the Belkans who arrived with "Rebecca". Thermodosa finishes the succubus off, in the process recognizing that in her true form she resembles Sofia, the Storm Mage who led force that mysteriously disappeared around the time the demonic ritual was activated. She then slays Alex and Hai. Hai's death frees Bernd from the curse placed upon him (and many others), and he seizes a shock halberd from one of the corrupted Belkan officers before using it to slay all three corrupted Belkans, but not before one kills Aeschylus.

At this point the wyvern is spotted on the horizon, but so is a fast approaching band of Sartyrian raiders. Bernd valiantly sacrifices himself so that Konrad, Viola, Thermodosa, Nyun, and Nolae can escape. A true master of his art, it is believed he slew five Sartyrians in single combat in order to buy time for the others to escape, an impressive accomplishment given many Sartyrians are believed to have centuries of combat experience.

Epilogue:

Alkorian Commander Tweedle is awarded the highest military honours for successfully evacuating nearly 700 civilians and soldiers from the island in the face of overwhelming opposition.

Nyun and Nolae are also awarded high honours for securing valuable intelligence on the mysterious events that occurred during and after Tweedle's departure from the island.

As the only known survivors of the Belkan-Soukos task force (aside from those that successfully fled during the second and third days of the battle), Konrad, Viola, and Thermodosa are declared intelligence assets for their knowledge of the events that took place during the later days of the conflict from a Belkan-Soukos point of view. They are likely still held in a secure location.

Poole Harbour was investigated by Alkorian intelligence assets for several months, but aside from the minor win of determining the fate of Heinrich, no clues were uncovered explaining the nature of the events that occurred on the fifth night, nor the reason for the Sartyrian raiders. Due to strong traces of demonic energy, as well as the possibility of further raids by either the Belkan-Soukos Alliance, or the Kingdom of Sartyrian, there are no plans to re-establish a base at Poole Harbour anytime soon.

Aftermath:

Although a relatively minor skirmish compared to what followed, the fact that Belkan and Soukos were willing to cooperate in such a tight fashion greatly escalated the tensions between Belkan, Alkor, and their assorted allies, ultimately leading to the first truly global war as Belkan sought allies around the world to dismantle Alkor's colonial empire, while Alkor sought allies around the world to aid them. The instability also led to several unrelated wars between old rivals as various nations sought to take advantage of destabilized trade routes and other shifts in the balance of power.

The behind the scenes manipulation by followers of Gogotha was largely overlooked, but rumors of shapeshifting succubi and other demons manipulating both factions have persisted on many fronts of the ongoing war.

The raid on the seventh day by the Sartyrians was one of the largest acts of aggression by this reclusive race for decades, and was completely unprovoked as far as anyone can tell. Although some optimists at first believed that the raid was launched solely to eliminate the threat of the alleged Gogothan ritual, Sartyrian raids have continued, and some now believe they are on the cusp of launching a new wave of conquest against the world.

Sch'long-Hoof - Zeppelin Conspiracy

Photographed here is a Sch'long-Hoof summoning brick. These would as the name implies summon a Sch'long-Hoof. Sch'long-Hoofs are the guardians of Glitter-Shaft and would assault anyone who threatens to harm his magnificent 40 inches. With enough magic, one could even summon Glitter-Shaft himself. Only two of these are known to exist, one is located in the Alkor Demonology Museum and the other was contained in a reinforced safe at Poole Harbour.

The latter was originally thought to be destroyed during the bombings, as the safe was found at the docks blown to pieces. But two eye witnesses, a Belkan Aerial Marine named Berimund Schwarzmann and a local harpy named Uvya, claim that the brick was stolen.

Berimund was separated from his platoon during the 1st night when their Combat Zeppelin crashed, and was seeking for medical supplies to treat his wounds. Unable to find any laying around the wreckage, he went to search for some in the town. There he found a first aid kit inside a child's bedroom. Berimund spotted movement out the window and went into hiding, he eventually peeked outside the window to see a group of people at the docks.

The group consisted of: >Two Crocidians wearing cloaks. >Three men wearing scholar robes (later identified as the Unravelers present at the battle). >One muscular man of Nantic ethnicity.

Berimund saw the Crocidians carry the safe out of the warehouse it was stored in. The Unravelers surrounded the Nantic and placed the safe in front of him. The Nantic would stretch his arms outwards and started chanting (exactly what is unknown) as the Unravelers bowed to him. The Crocidians where seen exchanging concerned looks.

A flash of multicolored light came from the safe as it blew open, one of the Unravelers picked up the seemingly unharmed brick and the group left the docks.

The second report of the brick's theft came from a local harpy named Uvya, who was attempting to risk her life to escape the island after she (correctly) feared that the conflict would escalate to worse proportions. During her flight, she crashed on top of a soft and invisible object. Suffering from a sprained and possibly broken wing Uvya clung to the object for dear life.

After a short while the object increased altitude, flying directly through the stormy weather unharmed and almost causing Uvya to lose her grip twice throughout the journey. When sunlight shined onto the object, it ceased to be invisible and revealed to be a softbody zeppelin. After this, the next 4 hours of the flight where relatively calm. Uvya experienced almost no turbulence and at one point even relaxed to watch the sunset.

During dusk however the zeppelin would start to decent below the clouds. While the sky was a lot more peaceful now, the zeppelin was starting to lower at dangerously low altitude. Uvye, fearing the zeppelin might go entirely underwater entered the mooring entrance located above the bow's tip and hid within the windowless entrance stairway inside of the balloon.

Here she would encounter something strange, Uvya was able to hear the crew of the zeppelin argue with eachother through the balloon. She did not know what most of the crew where saying other than that each individual spoke a different language (indicating the the crew where under the affect of a translation spell).

One individual spoke "a very guttural version of the Alkorian Language" (this is assumed to be a Balorian dialect, as will be shown later), the following is a transcribe of the conversation:

• Responding after someone snarled at him* Now look here you shortsighted shitebag! I might hate those croc-socs (insult towards Crocubians) as much as you do, but yer little revolution can wait right now. Avery is a godsend, and we're gonna need it [unintelligible] against those focking Khurultai before they become your problem too!

• A more polite snarl respond to the man, almost as if asking a question*

Because those tiger-humpers don't have an airforce! Let alone a zeppelin! All they have are some fucking birds! It's their one weakness and we have to exploit it! More importantly Kaahin and Hanad (common Malsolian names) here have to go back soon or their home will get shafted by the Union.

• A very polite growl is heard*

The plan is simple, we'll send our troops dressed up as Lindgrub guards to the north of their colony and kite them closer to the border. When we see even one bush move, Avery will descent from the sky and bomb the fuckers to slag. The Khurultai will see the big fuckoff Union logo and think it's a joint Union - Lindgrub invasion trying to kick them off Tismo. This will have them focus on Lindgrub, the Lepre Khans and the EUC. This will keep the Union distracted from Malsolia and will tear the Lepre Khans a new one. If ya galls see any wild eagles trying to peck you just raise altitude, they can't reach that high.

The brick? That's so that Karl here can summon a Sch'long-Hoof that can quite literally [unintelligible] our foes in the ass. We'll just drop it in the borders between Khurultai and the Lepre Khans, see which one it'll obliterate first. Karl just wants to see how one of these beast survives here out in the wild. I didn't want him to but he wouldn't do the job otherwise, and now that he lost two of his men we owe him.

>Another growl is heard.

Why now? Because I couldn't tell back at Lapus, that's why we met up in Crocida. The Khurultai have seemingly eyes and ears everywhere and I fear we're already on their hit-list. Hell, they could be with us onboard the ship listening to this. Gushk (common Crocidan name), make yourself useful and check the ship for any spies.

After hearing this Uvya was horrified to see that the hatch that leads to the basket of the zeppelin was starting to open. Uvya immediately flew up the stairs and escaped the ship. Fortunately the ship was not underwater, but was still floating on the ocean. Uvya had to fly despite her injuries in order to escape captivity.

She wouldn't have to fly far however as she quickly encountered as she would encounter an Alkorian steam ship.