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>>85581020

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>>85581041

Would it be fair to assume that most (if not all) Dragons descend from the dragon god?

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>>85581080

>>85581094
Links to the archived threads.

1 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84774616/
2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84847594/
3 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84864673/
4 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84877899/
5 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84890048/
6 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84918731/
7 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84930206/
8 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84943450/
9 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84963046/
10 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84990296/
11 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85001905/
12 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85025361/
13 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85034498/
14 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85074457/
15 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85181021/
15#2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85273765/
16 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85357735/
17 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85442583/
17#2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85499731/

>>85581109
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84774616/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84847594/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84864673/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84877899/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84890048/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84918731/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84930206/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84943450/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84963046/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/84990296/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85001905/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85025361/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85034498/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85074457/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85181021/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85273765/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85357735/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85442583/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85499731/
https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/85554910/

Not the timeline guy, but I do agree that the Lesandros stuff needs to be moved back a couple thousand years to the past. Maybe obscured in myth by now.

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mapanon here again, new thread new update.
Added the maelstrom as anon requested
changed the edge of the world to fit the lore
added most of the cities and towns found on the map in >>85581094
filled in the food lands
Let me know what you guys think about the cities and such, not sure how I feel about the stamps I used. Terminus has a different style I may go with, a flat POV instead of the isometric image

>>85581673
Great work with the map, especially the Foodland. Some suggestions

>Small desert inland in the Nasr satrapies (kinda like the north african desert)

>there is a cold sand desert in the corteau canyon, although idk how you would represent that in the map

>The triarchy/three sisters are completely missing from the map

Also, I'd add some cities like Fenqui (in Changrila, next to that big river, probably the biggest city in the setting)

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Ok, I have to admit I cannot fit this. I've tried to adjust the calendar into something that can fit this dates, and I just can't. I either have a lot of time to fit the events, or I have so little that the events lose a lot of weight. I cannot dedicate this much time to fit this, at some point the calendar has to be done. If I cannot fix this, I'm just going to continue working on my original 3161 CY timeline.

>>85581960
>This ought to be ancient stuff
Agreed. There are no other mentions of Lesandros anywhere else too. Probably older than any recorded event in the lore.
>Azanese's zenith ought to be before the Battle of the Empires
Agreed, although back in the early worldbuilding there was a clear distinction between the Azan and the Dragon (Azan's predecessor) Empire. Now, both are considered the same Empire, with just different names. 1000 years ago could refer only to the later iteration of the Empire reaching its height.

>>85581960
Azan's zenith - has long been established as due to the drow/witch-elves, I see no reason to retcon this. They had plenty of time to recover if the Battle of Empires is 2000 years before their actual zenith

1000 year ago dates - you are correct in that these are approximate, but they are in chronological order. It probably only took one or two decades for the whole thing though, the fall is supposed to be sharp and fast

New Azan Faith and Emperor Cult - I see no reason the New Faith needs to be formed before the Emperor Cult. The Emperor Cult has a lot more in common with the Old Faith. The split would definitely have been troubling to the remaining adherents of the Old Faith, but they made the wrong changes, which in turn eventually led to the New Faith.

Lesandros - I don't like retcons, but agreed no one has done anything with it yet, so may be better to shove it in the past for now

>>85582238
"Dragon Empire" fell out of usage around the time of the New Faith

>>85582308

>Azan's zenith
"The Azan Empire reached its peak during the Eighth Dynasty (one millennium ago), but the poor handling of emergence of the Drow City-States to the west cost them the western part of the empire, and rattled the population’s faith in the government and church."
The lore establishes that it was the drows (and witchelven) movements and rebelions headed by a Drow queen that caused the birth of the Second Elven Empire and then the Drow Confederacy. Either way, Azan lost pretty much all territories in Scimitatian around this time. No way they reached the zenith of their power after that.

>1000 year ago dates If if was an aproximation of just a couple of decades, then Azan went through a near empire crumbling crisis in a very short timespan. There is no mention of a cataclismic event like that in the lore.

>New Azan Faith and Emperor Cult
Yes, my typo, I meant the changrilese faith ought to be earlier than the azanese new faith. Since Changrila just seceded from Azan, they would search for a way to consolidate their power, and a big religious reform would be a great way to do so. But for that to take root, it would need time, and for it to inspire a different religious reform in Azan (a country that they have fought for decades, and thus enmities ought to be high) would take ore time still.
If we assume the timeline of events is:
>Changrila secedes from Azan
>Changrila creates the Faith of the Divine Light
>Azan begins the reforms of the Azanese New Faith
>Internal crisis and secesions in Azan due to the new faith

Then we need a lot of time for this to adapt. And that is assuming the Faith of the Divine Light got adopted quickly and without many hassle, which I don't.
>

>>85581673
Food island mostly looks much better! Good job! Gotta say I kinda prefered the version with the cliffs in the bottom maybe a mixture of waterfalls and cliffs would look good

>>85581673
According to the Red Lotus lore, there is a massive palm groove in the Cornfloor Peninsula.

>>85582674
or maybe scrap the "end of the world" graphic and leave it as it is in the political map

>>85581960
I just assume the "1000 years ago" is a very general, ambiguous timespan. Keep in mind this was the very first attempt at a timeline we got in this setting.

>>85582492
I used the word "zenith" just to identify which comment I was responding to. Like you said, Azan/Dragon Empire reached its peak 1000 years ago, likely due to at least a century of relative peace beforehand, plus the reconquest of Siuverland, but then lost significant territory to the drow and witch-elves shortly after.

>>85582492
The adoption of the Faith of the Divine Light would not have been without hassle or bloodshed, "credibility problems and religious turmoil" are mentioned. But it would have been fairly established relatively quickly since it had government backing and wasn't too different than the existing religion. Basically a Church of England type situation, but resolved quicker as the government is very strong within Changrila.

There is no need for the Faith of the Divine Light to be firmly established before the New Azan Faith forms. The New Faith was mostly in response to issues that sprung up after Changrila left and Scimitaria was lost, and also is very different from the Divine Light.

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The lands to the west of Terpsythea is a collection of many small villages and towns collectively known as "The Remnants". These communities are situated on the "Strakosta" Peninsula.

>History (first part is directly from the wiki)

After the great victory of the Azannean legions during the First Azan-drow war, the emperor of the azure throne took all lands east of the drow mountains, up to the south. Soon after, citizens of the empire began to migrate there, specially the soldiers, who's unpaid salaries were redeemed in the form of vast land grants. Soon after, many Azanni colonies dotted the land, specially in the south where the ground has a smaller ash component.

But when the drow counter-attacked 14 years later (in what is now known as the Second Azan-Drow War) and the imperial fleet was decimated at the Sea of Merchants, the dark elves retook the lands up to the Terusian isthmus. All humans living in the eastern Scimitarian mainland were either killed or fled, with the exception of the communities in the south.

The local provincial exarch quickly chose to submit to the drow, and thus his subjects were allowed to stay. The so called "remnants" of the empire's Western colonies have been quite useful to the drow since then, as the dark elves' natural aversion to sunlight renders them poor farmers. And even through the ample use of slave work, the drow heartland is agriculturally poor, being cold, dark and of ashen soil.

>Government

The Remnants aren't united, with each village and small town being ruled by a local exarch, who is responsible for representing the community.

The few Castles that are scattered in the Strakosta Peninsula are ruled either by a Baron or a Count, usually Human and Drow appointed. High up in the mountains, near the centre of the peninsula, the villagers are less submissive and more rebellious, earning a reputation as brigands and vagabonds.

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>>85584144
These communities are known as the "Strakosts", earning their name from the peninsula in which the Remnants reside. Even though most villages and castles pay tribute to the Drow - be it through coin, cattle, slaves or food - the Strakosts have resisted their influence, and is the only region in the Remnants where one can say with certainy that's independent.

>Geography and Regions

Large part of the terrain is mountainous and inaccessible. Many villages, especially those to the south, are only accessible by sea. The summers are dry and the winters are mild, although high up in the mountains there is frequent snowfall. The climate is perfect for cultivation of various trees and plants, in contrast to the volcanous lands to the north.

The peninsula is split north to south by a mountain range, known as the Bardun Mountains, which are a continuation of the Murun Petriash mountains of the north.

The Outer Remnants are located to the east of the region. Here, the terrain is flatter, and there are a lot of farms and ports here. Lorium is a coastal city and is the largest settlement in the remnants.

The Inner Remnants are located to the north, where the land borders with the Drow states, and to the east of the region. While the north is often plagued by ashstorms from the neighboring volcanoes, the east is quite prosperous, with the villages there - both coastal and inland - enjoying a degree of autonomy, as the harsh terrain limits the influnece of the Drow armies somewhat.

The Lower Remnants are located to the south of the Bardun Mountains. Many castles and forts are located here - some abandoned, and some still manned - and the region is known for its wine and indigo tree cultivation.

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>>85584260
>Strakosts

The Strakosts are found near the centre of the peninsula, occupying villages and forts near the centre and in the foothills of the Bardun Mountains. They take their name from the Strakosta Peninsula, which in turn is named after an ancient castle - the Castle of Strakosta - which still stands today.

Even after the reconquest of the southern Scimitarian lands of the Drow, the Strakostans stayed vigilant and did not follow the lead of the other exarchs and lords, who submitted to the Elves. Many attempts have been made by the Drow to either conquer them, force them to pay tribute or bribe their leaders, although all have been repelled thus far.

Many Strakostans have influence and contacts throughout the rest of the Remnants, particularly in the Inner and Lower Remnants. The Strakostans aim to completely free the Remnants out of any Drow control and influence, and have sought out many champions throughout history. Some of those have been in the Triarchy, Hithlone, Terusia or even Azan itself. However, all of these were empty promises, as these aforementioned nations have yet to fight an all out war against the Drow.

>Religion

Most of the Remnants follow the New Azan Faith. There are a few instances of people worshipping the dark Drow gods, but those are usually restricted to the bigger communities, where most of the Drow live.

The Strakosts follow the New Azan Faith, although due to their seclusion their religion has had fewer influences of the neighboring nations and has remained virtually unchanged throughout the centuries, with many symbols from the Old Azan faith still being present.

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Ok, while I'm trying to solve the timeline conundrum, here's my first draft of the Scimitarian timeline. A couple of things aren't added there:
>Purple
Its lore has no real ties to any other event, so we can move it to whenever we want.
>Grey
Need more lore to really fit it into the timeline.
>Red
Can't find it anywhere

If anyone has the info I'm looking for, or sees some error in the timeline, please point it out.

>>85584379
>Culture

The people of the Remnants practice many local dances. The songs of the Strakosts talk about war, rebellion and resistance and involve hidden symbols and meanings that only those who speak their dialect can discern.

Vendettas and blood feuds are common between clans and villages, and vengeance is a big part of their culture. The Remnants, and particularly the Strakosts, are considered by everyone else as the most "barbarian" of the Southern Scimitarian humans.

>Economy

The Outer Remnants is the most wealthy region, due to their proximity with Hithlone and their flatter land, making it suitable for large fields and plantations.

The Indigo Tree is mostly cultivated in the Lower Remnants, and particularly inland, near the foothills of the Bardun Mountains. Many conflicts have sparked for it, since its demand has risen the importance of the region somewhat. The secluded coastal villages of the Lower and Inner Remnants are rather poor due to the infertile lands and few resources, and as thus, many locals have taken a refugee into piracy, their raids mostly targetting the Drow or other human settlements. Some of these pirates also operate as smugglers, helping the Hydra's Eyes of Moreelse smuggle their narcotics to the bigger cities of Scimitaria. Despite that, presence of the White Death is nowhere to be found in the Remnants.

The Strakosts, as well as other mountainous settlements, have domesticated many animals, such as big horned sheep, goats and mountain hogs. A large part of the wealth that flows in the Strakosts' villages stems from many of their brigand raids in the lands of the Drow and their allies. The Strakosts also supply the other Remnant villages with arms and men, in exchange with coin and other loot obtained by the pirates.

>>85584535
>Demographics

The vast majority of the Remnants are populated by humans, most of being the descendants of the original settlers of Strakosta. The Drow are mostly located in the boundaries with the ashlands to the North, as well as mantaining millitary and political presence in the largest settlements. Merchants from Hithlone, the Three Sisters as well as some Moorelsian smugglers are also found in the bigger coastal towns.

>Millitary

The bigger settlements, such as the city of Lorum, are guarded by stationed Drow soldiers at all times. To weaken the Remnants, the Drow have demanded each family to send their firstborn son in order to serve in the ranks of the Drow. As such, the larger cities and villages have few humans acting as guards or soldiers, and mostly depend on protection on either the Drow.

The Strakostans have always supplied the Remnants with men, trying to make the region less dependant on survival from the Drow. The Strakostans themselves are familiar with the harsh terrain of the land, and are known as excellent guerilla fighters. Their fame as horse warriors and archers stems from the sturdy ponies they use, which are well suited to the terrain of the mountains, giving them an advantange against the Drow.

>>85584442
>33
Should happn around the same time as 23. Azan loses influence in Scimitarian, the Drow invade Calcabra and Belsirya, the conquest doesn't last for long (a few years, decades even?) and then they become independent.

The events of the Hydra's Eyes are fairly recent, compared atleast to the discovery of gold in the Aurous Highlands

>>85584442
I think the disappearance of the Eterans (and subsequently, the founding of Arangea and Bumi) is a bit more ancient than this. I'd say it happens around or before the formation of the First Elven Empire or the first Azanese Expansions.

how does food island interract with the rest of the world?

>>85584973
Many try to reach the island, but I don't think there's any kind of trade with it. Otherwise, it would bankrupt the food production of nearby countries.

>>85584442
Sequencing of a some events is still off:
- 11 - mixes together different things, First Elven Empire had some drow, but generally any fight that specifically mentions drow would be during or after the Second Elven Empire
- 12 - should be around 1000 years ago
- 13 - has happened more than once, but that specific one was probably meant to be recent
- 14 - should be after 1000 years ago
- 15 - probably an error, but could have happened. Them being conquered, and later rebelling from the drow is a much bigger deal though
- 16 - should be specified this was only the western component of the empire, also known as the Western Elven Empire
- 21 - should be way back - somewhere between 9 and 11
- 22 - probably didn't happened until after the drow situation had quieted down
- 23 - drow weren't involved on the eastern front
- 25/26 - dwarfs would have arrived not long after 16
- 27 - drow never really rebelled, just large numbers of them migrated to the area - also this would have happened around 23

House Mutiris Island + Villas of Hithlone - are essentially a part of Hithlone, don't think they have any events worth putting on the timeline

Sea Elves - Someone asked if anyone is planning on writing for them a few days ago so they may get some more writing. Until then, 6 is probably fine, maybe earlier

>>85584830
Bumi lore suggests Eterna disappeared between 2500 and 1500 years ago, as it disappeared "over a millennia" before the founding of Bumi, which in turn was 500 years ago

>>85584973
>>85585009
probably not much, it is basically the playground of an insane god and generally avoided, similar to why no one is rushing to immigrate to Kokaine

>>85585076
>any fight that specifically mentions drow would be during or after the Second Elven Empire
Why? The First Elven Empire had drow as well. They indeed seem to be the majority of elfs in Scimitarian.

>12 - should be around 1000 years ago
No, if the fortress was built during the azan-drow wars, it should be beyond that.

>14 - should be after 1000 years ago
It should be during the second Azan-drow wars. By the what happened to them once Azan conquered the Western Elven Empire?

>15 - probably an error
Why?

>16 - should be specified this was only the western component of the empire, also known as the Western Elven Empire
But the Western Elven Empire is the First Elven empire...

>21 - should be way back - somewhere between 9 and 11
No. The lore clearly states that, by the time the war between Khenomeri and Azan bega, Azan had already beaten and absorbed the First Elven Empire.
"However, in the millennia that followed though, the Azan Empire made no lasting progress against the Khenomeric Empire or the Lands Behind the Hedge, though they were able to conquer the Western Elf Empire through generations of invasion and migration. "

>22 probably didn't happened until after the drow situation had quieted down
True. It makes no sense to abandon a fortess like that in the middle of an invasion.

>23 - drow weren't involved on the eastern front
True. Rewritten as "Invasion of Drow and Witch-Elves to the azanese borders"

>25/26 - dwarfs would have arrived not long after 16

Why? It would make no sense for Azan at the height of its power to let other kingdoms sprout from its recently conquered territories, whereas during times of crisis, making "foederati"-like vassal states is a cheap way to throw the burden to someone else.

>>85585560
>27 - drow never really rebelled, just large numbers of them migrated to the area - also this would have happened around 23

The drow did indeed rebel, according to the lore.

"A charismatic queen convinced many of the western drow to combine into one great confederacy, and seize control of the western surface lands. Although they sacked the dwarven kingdoms and many Azan holdings, they ultimately feel into bickering, and for the past millennium, their borders have remained relatively unchanged. "

Whether this was the reason for the founding of the Second Elven Empire or the Drow Confederacy, the drow did gather around this queen and rebelled.

>>85581731
>>85582707
I used the old biome map to make it, I have found it was missing quite a few things, I made note of the three sisters missing and the next one will have them. As far as a cold desert I can tint the sand or perhaps add an ice texture, I will mess around with it some.
>>85582674
I will add the rocks back underneath the waterfalls and see how it looks, I do like the extra texture it gave
>>85582715
I think having a representation that the world ends in a step of some sort on the map makes it more apparent to a new viewer that the world ends on a hard edge. Without it, the map looks like it was poorly cropped

>>85585560
"This region has historically been underdeveloped. Neither the Western Elf Empire or the various iterations of the Azan Empire cared for the climate despite its great mineral wealth.

However, during the time of the Eighth Azan Dynasty, a number of dwarven kingdoms sprung up here, mining gold, metals, and gems with a vigor that previous inhabitants lacked. This wealth drew the attention of the drow, who had been arriving in small waves from other dimensions for generations."

Drow were never meant to be a major component of the Western Elf Empire, the fact that it contained any at all only got added fairly recently. First and Second Drow Wars don't have clear dates, but are meant to be during/after the Second Elf Empire

>Why?
I would have to see where you got the quote from

>But the Western Elven Empire is the First Elven empire...
Only part of it

>Azan Empire made no lasting progress against the Khenomeric Empire or the Lands Behind the Hedge, though they were able to conquer the Western Elf Empire through generations of invasion and migration.
They never expanded into lands once held by the Khenomeric Empire despite it collapsing on itself

>Why? It would make no sense for Azan at the height of its power to let other kingdoms sprout from its recently conquered territories
Dwarfs and Azan were allies. Dwarves can operate underground for long periods of time, humans can't, or at least didn't want to. Dwarf kingdoms were physically underneath territory claimed by the Azan Empire.

>A charismatic queen convinced many of the western drow to combine into one great confederacy, and seize control of the western surface lands
The drow were underground at the time, scattered across the Western continent, then gathered in one place

>>85581109

18 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85554910/
21 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85580942/

If you could retcon one thing in this setting, what would it be?

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Drow City-States Geography (additional notes)

(in alphabetical order)

Aleanval – This small drow city of Spider Goddess worshippers has long been an irritant to efforts by Azan to expand westward in recent centuries. Its inhabitants are skilled mountain raiders, and the city itself is deep beneath the surface, far from retribution.

Amrurinth – Once the mightiest of the dwarven kingdoms, it is now home to a massive drow city loyal to the Volcano God. It forges are legendary, and its might cows several nearby drow cities to loyalty. It was once the seat of power of the drow queen (and later empress) who united the drow of the western underdark against the dwarves in order to steal their wealth and established holdings on the surface. Although she was later assassinated by unknown parties, her successors still occasionally try to unite the drow city-states and expand the surface holdings.

Aranhrimo – A mid-sized but lacklustre drow city that follows the Poet God, Star Goddess, Spider Queen, Cog God, and Moon Goddess. It is mostly known for its relatively light-handed rule of the “Remnant” communities, which provide them with abundant food.

Ben’zo’varr - Moderate sized drow city loyal to the Spider Queen, last rulers of the Cornfloor Peninsula before they decided maintaining a presence there was not economical.

Boirti’O (The Chambers of the Lustrous) – should probably have its own wiki page, lore is on thread 11

Bori’bir.-sii – This large drow city was badly damaged by volcanic activity two centuries ago, and as a result, some inhabitants are converting to the Ash Goddess or the Cog God.

Buru’dus’sii – This large drow city is home to militant followers of the Volcano God. Like many such cities, it is built around a cluster of live volcanoes. It has several forts near the border and frequently raids north.

>>85588976

Burundugnus Hall – This mid-sized dwarven city was once worked by slaves of the drow following the invasion, but was later abandoned and sealed off once it was deemed no longer profitable.

Cave of Clams – This large ocean cave is full of giant clams. Unfortunately the narrow and winding cave entrance, and powerful waves and tides make it almost impossible to reach.

Chaszaufein – This medium sized drow city is more interested in magic than religion, though the Volcano God, Spider Goddess, Cog God, and Poet God all have reasonable numbers of worshippers here. Has long had an interest in Boirti’O. Generally allied with Amrurinth.

Claddghym – Once said to have been among the mightiest dwarf fortresses in the world, it was seized by drow following the Spider Goddess, but later bullied into becoming a vassal of Shaulsyyn.

Da Wet Caves - A network of hundreds of kilometers of natural limestone caves, cenotes, and lava tubes, some of which are partially filled with sea water. The cave goblins here have become overpopulated, causing some to raid the surface dwellers or goblins in other cave networks.

Dhalmass – This large drow city of followers of the Spider Goddess and the Succubi Queen is known for its oceanic raids. Like many drow coastal cities, it is built in the ruins of an old dwarf coastal fort.

Duskraen – Small drow city notorious for its piratical slavers. Worship the Spider Goddess, the Succubi Queen, the Sea Slug God, the Poet God, but most of all coin. The city is near the surface, and connected to the ocean by several winding tunnels, which have proved unassailable on many occasions.

Endless Abyss – This seemingly natural cave is immensely deep. Some say those who fall in it will keep falling until they reach the other side of the stairs, and keep falling into the celestial realms.

>>85588984

Endless Crypt - This massive tomb network from a now forgotten culture contains tens of thousands of bodies on slabs, shallow pools, and nooks carved into the tunnel walls. They are unusually well preserved despite the jungle climate and presence of vermin, no one knows how.

Gold Flagon Mine – This medium sized dwarf mine was overrun by Malaglyn a millennia ago. It was occasionally garrisoned by drow afterwards, but for the past few centuries has been empty except for the small band of dwarves, goblins, or pirates that occupy it once in a while.

Gordungus Hall – This large dwarf mining complex was abandoned for unknown reasons prior to the drow invasion.

Great Morigrad - This massive coastal fort was once the capital of Kinnog back when it was a dwarven kingdom. Several large sea caves were expanded and fortified to form a large, partially enclosed harbor, while mines and vaults extend nearly a kilometer below the surface. It has occasionally been partially occupied since the fall of Kinnog, particularly by drow, but these days, infestations block the main entrances, while some of the lesser entrance ways are used by smugglers and bandits.

Gruldrugar Hall – This small dwarf hold is only noteworthy as it is near the drow border and is therefore often occupied by drow warbands.

Hammerpike Hall – This lesser known dwarven kingdom was taken by Mizzrion’lyr, but then left alone after Mizzrion’lyr’s fall. It is home to an odd mix of former slaves scrapping by foraging and mushroom farming, as well as a few Ashlander drow, the only ones able to reach it from the surface.

Helviiryn – A small Spider Goddess worshipping drow city that got in a fight with Buru’dus’sii and was destroyed.

>>85588987

Hillguard – This massive dwarf fortress was built during the many wars between the Azan/Dragon Empire, and the First Elven/Western Elven Empire. It was abandoned once it outlived its purpose, but is occasionally reoccupied during more recent fights between the drow and Azan.

Ienenim – This odd drow city has an unusually large surface component. Drow here follow the Ash Goddess and the Moon Goddess. It is surrounded by ashlands, and has no underground links to other cities, making it surprisingly remote.

Ir’as’dida – This small drow city loyal to the Spider Queen was overrun by succubus worshippers from Malaglyn not long after the Drow Confederacy dissolved. It is unusually deep and few surface dwellers are even aware it exists.

Kingdom of Onyxtoe – Once one of the wealthiest of the dwarven kingdoms, known for its rich gem and gold deposits, it is now operated by slaves working for Amrurinth and Chaszaufein.

Kingdom of the Shadowbraids – This dwarven kingdom was once seen as cursed, but during the drow invasion it held firm, and was once of the last to be defeated, resulting in a largely successful evacuation by sea. Its massive fortified harbor is now home to harpy nests.

Kuri’tas-Sii - One of several drow cities that worship Infernus, the Volcano God. Known for its fire magic and proficiency commanding fire demons.

Lair of the Pirate King – This massive sea cave was greatly expanded by man-made tunnels and rooms by a series of “pirate kings” who preyed on ships during the peak of the Azan-Drow fighting. It has been considered cursed and avoided by all but the most reckless for centuries now despite its strategic location and rumored treasure.

Lueltoavae – This small drow city once worshipped the God of Cogs, but was mistaken for a raiding city and overrun by soldiers from Calcabra.

>>85588998

Malaglyn – This large drow city loyal to the succubus queen was a blight on the Kinnog region for centuries. Its drow, demons, slaves and other inhabitants mysteriously disappeared five centuries ago. Large groups that enter report it is empty and picked clean of anything of value, but some smaller groups find great riches, other small groups disappear without a trace.

Mer’itas’sii - This Spider Goddess worshipping drow city is partially located beneath a large surface lake that slowly drains into the crevasses beneath it via tall waterfalls, some hundreds of meters tall. The underground lakes and ponds in the area are warmed by nearby volcanic activity.

Mizzrion’lyr – This medium sized drow city of Spider Goddess worshippers was wiped out by unknown means.

Moraler – This small drow city is built within a massive dwarven coastal fort. It was once meant to help Shaulsyyn maintain control over Moreelse region, but was abandoned during the Moreelse rebellion, then reoccupied by shady exiles from several drow cities. The Hydra’s Eyes sometimes do business here.

Noquviir – Small drow city built into a mountain side that was once a dwarf hold (destroyed), then a Cog God stronghold (destroyed), is now home to followers of the Ash Goddess, but are strongly affiliated with Amrurinth (out of fear).

Nylo’Cormrune – Small drow city that worships the Spider Goddess and the Moon Goddess, a rarity as usually they don’t get along. Even stranger is some sea elves and drow followers of the Sea Slug God live here. Nylo-Cormrune is mostly underground, but a massive canyon created by a river leading to the ocean splits it in half.

Rilynund – One of the earliest drow cities, established long before the Second Elven Empire, its inhabitants migrated north and intermingled with the sea elves. The vast network of sea caves that once connected it to the ocean are now home to merfolk.

>>85589004

Sea of Stars – This vast sea cave is filled with bioluminescent creatures both near the surface, and along the cave falls, that create the illusion of being in outer space. Unfortunately proximity to Aleanval makes enjoying this experience difficult.

Shaulsyyn – A large drow city built in an old dwarf ruin, it tends to be more interested in commerce than religious fanaticism. The Poet God, Star Goddess, and Succubi Queen are most popular here. It controls many plantations along the coast worked by slaves.

Sinbreena – This large city follows both the Queen of Spiders and the Queen of Succubi, a recipe for constant infighting. Unfortunately, its large size means there are often troops left over for slave raids to the north.

Skargil Mines – These dwarven mines were initially massively profitable, but were played out and abandoned before the drow invaders even arrived.

Solen’Naerth – This medium sized drow city once worshipped the God of Cogs, but destroyed itself in an unknown catastrophe.

Tlintarn – This medium sized drow city is near the surface and is built around several sea caves. It worships the Moon Goddess, the Poet God, the Sea Slug God, and the Star Goddess among others. It is one of the few drow cities friendly with surface folk and is an important trade hub. It sometimes wars with Sinbreena. Its massive lighthouses are renowned in the region.

Vadyoni – This small drow city mostly follows the Sea Slug God. They rarely raid, but often visit coastal shrines near the Land of Storms, which they view as holy. One of the few drow cities where inhabitants have adjusted partially to surface life and often fish during cloudy days, or farm and forage in densely forested or otherwise shady areas.

>>85589010

Witch’s Cauldron – This massive circular underground lake is well above sea level, inside a small mountain. Large tunnels allow excess water to drain down the west side of the mountain, ultimately connecting to the Nylo’Cormrune River.

Woldbranch Holds – This cluster of small dwarf holds is one of the oldest dwarf nations on the Scimitarian Peninsula, dating back to the First Elven Empire, though they changed their loyalties quickly, as the Azan/Dragon Empire had long been a friend to the dwarves even before they granted them mining rights and subsurface sovereignty on the Scimitarian Peninsula. They were largely abandoned by the time of the drow invasion.

Yauntin – This small drow city is home to coastal raiders who worship the many gods including the Sea Slug God, Poet God, Succubi Queen, and Spider Queen. The matriarchal house structure favored by many drow is absent here in favor of ever shifting raider captain alliances.

Yon’Despett – This small drow city is a vassal of Shaulsyyn, and has a similar culture and economy, except less wealthy.

Yril’Lysune – This ancient but small drow city is home to followers of the Moon Goddess with a shady past. They are mostly isolationist these days.

Zarravriin – This small drow city was one of the few in the region prior to the invasion of the dwarves by the drow who formed the Second Elven Empire. They worshipped the Moon Goddess. They were once an important member of the First Elven Empire, but were conquered three times, by Azan, by the dwarves, and later by the Second Elven Empire, who enslaved and dispersed the inhabitants.

>Religion (additional notes)

The Drow Gods:

Spider Goddess – Lolth, but known by other names as well. Fond of spiders, cruelty, manipulation, and immoral behavior.

>>85589027

Succubi Queen/Succubus Goddess – Gogothi, same goddess followed by the witch-elves among others, but drow worshippers rarely get along with non-drow worshippers. Sadistic, reckless, endlessly lustful.

Volcano God – Infernus – likely related to other similar gods worshipped by humans and others. Worshippers tend to be militant minded, imperialist, and fond of playing with dangerous magic.

Ash Goddess – Has no other name. Wild and unpredictable, as are her followers. Mostly followed by ashlanders and the fey of the ashlands. Is likely a Faerie Lord.

Moon Goddess – Eili, goddess of harmony and music. As been around for a while and is worshipped by fey elsewhere, so is likely a Faerie Lord. Doesn’t get along well with most other Drow Gods.

Poet God – Vivec/Gilgam – Subject of countless myths and legends, the morals of which are ambiguous. Popular with semi-honorable warriors, merchants, adventures, poets, artists, and the self-important. Worshippers mostly found in the southeast, but some in the west as well.

Star Goddess – Azra – worshipped mostly by the drow of the southeast, but a few are found in the west as well. Goddess of family and clan loyalties.

Sea Slug God – Caijin, mostly followed by sea elves, but has some drow followers as well.

Cog God – Has no other name. Few remaining worshippers. God of innovation and invention.

>>85586078
>Drow were never meant to be a major component of the Western Elf Empire, the fact that it contained any at all only got added fairly recently. First and Second Drow Wars don't have clear dates, but are meant to be during/after the Second Elf Empire
No, the Azan-Drow wars are the ones for the control of the First Elven Empire.

"After the great victory of the Azannean legions during the First Azan-drow war, the emperor of the azure throne took all lands east of the drow mountains, up to the south. Soon after, citizens of the empire began to migrate there, specially the soldiers, who's unpaid salaries were redeemed in the form of vast land grants. Soon after, many Azanni colonies dotted the land, specially in the south where the ground has a smaller ash component."

Unless Scimitatian has been conquered back and forth by Azan, there's no way this didn't happen during the wars between Azan and the First Elven Empire.

>The Western Elven Empire is only part of the First Elven empire
Source? I haven't seen this established anywhere, those two names are used as synonims.

>Azan never expanded into lands once held by the Khenomeric Empire despite it collapsing on itself
And? Whoever won the war in which the BoE was fought was probably too exhausted to increase their territory effectively at the cost of its rival. Besides, I don't think that war has been written yet.

>The drow were underground at the time, scattered across the Western continent, then gathered in one place
Yes, and then rebelled, seized control of the western surface lands and freed themselves from Azan/Dwarves.

So do we add >85578898 to the wiki? The magical/alchemical system needs to be clarified by now...

>>85589133
>>85578898

>>85589133
I'd say yes, although there were some objections about it last thread.

>>85588469
not adding landmasses

>>85589133
I'd say id should be rewritten to a degree to better tie in with the existing lore and give a full overview of alchemy in this setting

>>85581377
Having a giant island recently sink is much cooler than the generic "it sank millennia ago"

>>85581673
Oh, yay. Candy island is here

>>85582308
So do those weirdos around the ancestral Breach call themselves the Dragon Empire? When did they break off from Azam anyhow?

>>85584973
It's a bit odd. It's basically the private property of a god. You can't go there by boat, but there is a hydra guarding the entrance gate so I imagine you can go in if you defeat it.

It's one of those abstract parts of the world.

>>85588469
Hmm, the Cowboy aliens.

>>85584535
>Culture (cont)

The language spoken in the remnants closely resembles that of Azan, more so than other languages spoken in the Triarchy or Terpsythea. The Strakost dialect especially resemblys the Old Azan tongue, and only the oldest families in Azan can recognize it, as their own language has evolved as well.

There's a saying in the Remnants that Strakost women with a scythe or a sickle are as deadly as a man with a sword. This saying originates from when the men would go on raids, either in land or at sea, and their women were left alone to defend their farms and homesteads. When trouble with the Drow brew, the women and children had to fend off for themselves. The Strakost women were particularly succesful in repelling attacks in the past.

>Flora and Fauna

Many types of shrub grow in the hills and fields in the Remnants. In high elevation sometimes pine trees grow, whereas many trees such as olive and pistacchio tree grow in lower elevation.

Many animals can be found in the Remnants. Apart from domesticated animals, wild ones include the boneheaded eagle, the Strakostan ibex and the mountain shadowcat. Bottlenose dolphins can be found in the waters near the coast.

(I think I'll switch around the names of the peninsula and the mountains)

>>85589783
sunken island civilization is generic no matter the context.

>>85589783
Something big enough to sink an entire continent into the sea will inevitably bring destruction to some other areas. Either southern Scimitarian or SW Giantstep would suffer greatly, to the point of even destroying some of those nations. No way it happened recently.

>>85589957
>Foreign Relations

Drow - most communities in the Remnants pay harsh tribute towards the southern Drow city states, effectively making them de-facto vassals. However, the Strakostan communities remain vigilant against the Drow, refusing to pay tribute and conducting many small raids against them, aiding other villages in the Remnants against the Drow menace.

>Azan Empire

Many citizens of the Remnants see Azan as their ancestral home, waiting to be liberated by the Emperor in order to join the Empire once again. Others have completely abandoned any delusions of Azaneese liberation, preferring to depend on themselves for protection.

>Hithlone

Hithlone remains the most important trade partner of the Remnants - apart from the Drow - especially the outer region. Hithlone sympathizes with their cause and has sent representatives to stir up dissent between the Drow and their allies in their Remnants, but so far it's only been talks and very few actions from their part.

>The Three Sisters and Moreelse

Trade is common between the more isolated towns of the Remnants and the Three Sisters. Some pirates of the Lower Remnants and certain Strakostan outlaws have been cooperating with the Hydra's Eyes in order to turn up a profit by smuggling the White Death towards Hithlone and other western nations.

Give me descriptions of cities and locations and I'll post an AI painting of it.

>>85590471
The drunig city of North Rtega is an early modern version of Las Vegas, full of elegant casinos and gambling houses.

File: 1660080863991903_jpg.png (962 KB, 900x1350)

962 KB PNG

Where does he live?

>>85592327
In Hereby, of course. Maybe in one of the hobbit colonies in the Isle of Wizards.

>>85589056
>Scimitatian has been conquered back and forth by Azan
Parts of it definitely were, particularly the south and east sections, though the borders probably have been fairly stagnant for centuries now

>First Elven empire
There has been on and off confusion about this. The term was first coined back on thread 12 during a discussion on a map showing the Western Elven Empire, and from that point onwards, some people used the two terms interchangeably. Then on the second thread 15, someone added a map showing a larger elven empire, which people agreed to as the Lands Behind the Hedge and the Western Elven Empire were thematically similar. On thread 17, I tried to resolve the discrepancy by stating the First Elven Empire is a somewhat nebulous term for territory controlled by allied Faerie Lords, and that the western and eastern halves of the Empire were often at odds, thus the more common usage of the term Western Elven Empire rather than First Elven Empire.

>I don't think that war has been written yet
It was written on the last thread

>Yes, and then rebelled, seized control of the western surface lands and freed themselves from Azan/Dwarves
Nowhere does it say they rebelled. I wrote the original drow lore dump and that was never my intent. I clarified things a bit it the latest drow lore dump, and can add some additional history lore if needed.

>>85589815
They broke away during the religious schism 900 years ago. Not sure if they have an Emperor, I envision them as being a crusade army cut off from their source due to their fanaticism, so a religious leader may be more appropriate.

>>85590471
Amrurinth - a underground volcano city inhabited by drow

>>85592327
>>85592354
Gvilderstaaten may be best as their hobbits are more capitalist

>>85592395
>BoE was written on the last thread
Oh yeah, it was. I still think it needs a bit more of buildup. The way it's worded makes it sound it was overnight, when this kind of effort needed a lot of preparation. Maybe the khenomeri and azan were tied into a long cold war/arms race of sorts, and the discovery of the egg was the thing that broke the equilibrium. Also the final weapon of the Khenomeri has to be a magical nuke of sorts. A bit cliche, but I think it fits.

Also, how much of the Elven empire was left if the big azanese victories in Scimitarian happened before BoE? Were they still a major power after probably decades of war against Azan?

And talking about ancient empires? Was the Merfolk Empire involved in any way? Or was just too far to do something?

I'm not sure if there should be a "God of Undeath". Should gods represent natural things, or is there no such rule? If so, undeath is the opposite of that, since it is a craft that goes against one of the fundaments of life, mainly that it ends. It's been described as unnatural several times.

>>85592327
Gvilderstaaten sounds perfect.

>>85592327
Is he Bobbit's cousin? Ribbit the Hobbit?

What are the biggest/most important nations without any lore?

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6.03 MB PNG

>>85593945
Countries with a green border have had extensive lore written about them. Those with orange borders have had some lore written about them, but not to the extend of the others.

Keep in mind not every realm in the map really needs lore. How much can you really write about the Oroma Islands or the Crag Island?

>>85594044
To that I would include the lands of Hereby, Thereby, Whereby and Windwillow (the hobbitlands and areas around it). They must have extensive history, since they were part of the Western Elven Empire after all.

>>85592697
>I still think it needs a bit more of buildup. The way it's worded makes it sound it was overnight
"and many smaller wars had already occurred prior to the Battle of Empires"
There is plenty of space for people to add more details on the build-up, I mostly just stuck to the key points mentioned in previous lore

>Maybe the khenomeri and azan were tied into a long cold war/arms race of sorts
Probably, it is mentioned Azan had started copying golems/automata from the Khenomeric Empire

>the discovery of the egg was the thing that broke the equilibrium
That, plus religious outrage from the Azan/Dragon Empire

>Also the final weapon of the Khenomeri has to be a magical nuke of sorts. A bit cliché, but I think it fits.
I threw in some hints that the final weapon may be another demon breach of sorts, it helps explain some of the weirdness of the modern Cursed Battlefield

>Also, how much of the Elven empire was left if the big azanese victories in Scimitarian happened before BoE?
The map I used for the basis of the BoE shows the elves still ruling Scimitaria at the time of the battle. Also Calcabra lore mentions parts of their territory were under Western Elven Empire control until not long before the establishment of the Second Elven Empire (a thousand years ago). And the whole point of using the Second Elven Empire name was a failed attempt to rally the leftovers of the Western Elven Empire to their cause. Although no clear dates have been given in lore dumps, the fall of the Western Elven Empire would have happened in bits and pieces between 3000 and 1000 years ago, with a few holdouts existing even 1000 years ago.

>Was the Merfolk Empire involved in any way?
Unclear, but possible

>I'm not sure if there should be a "God of Undeath". Should gods represent natural things, or is there no such rule?
We have some pretty douchbag gods already, though this one is probably more of a demon really.

>>85594044
I'd say, the nations that need lore, from most important to least, are as follows:

>Remaining Zemylander nations (Alltaf Tribes, Kingdom of Copper and Crimson Queen, Corteau Canyon)
>Remaining Scimitarian nations (Orc'Eire, Sea Elves, Chrysovica, Blesire States, South Belsirya)
>Countries that neighbor Azan (Gautlan, Oront, Lorient, Kalydon)
>Far Eastern countries (Tarot Kingdom, Luden etc)
>Northwestern countries (Whereby, Hereby, Waldemaria, Zapalovah)
>Southern nations (pretty much everything)

And last I'd leave the nations that aren't really states, but mostly nature stuff (Like the Squid Peninsula and the Forest of Getting Lost)

File: timelinetemplate filledin(...).jpg (5.69 MB, 3287x6564)

5.69 MB JPG

>>85594119
>the Second Elven Empire name was a failed attempt to rally the leftovers of the Western Elven Empire to their cause.
Wait, so the Second Elven Empire and the First Elven Empire coexisted together at some point? Where is that established? I thought it was the same entity breaking apart and uniting over and over until all that was left were the Drow Citystates. If that is the case then it needs significant development, since that opens up a lot of questions.

Are you the one who did the first Scimitarian timeline? If so, could you please elaborate on that with more detail? I'm still trying to work on the world's timeline and I just can't fit all within the 2k year ABE timeline (see>>85581960
). I can fit it all if it's somewhat more streched, though, but I would need more consensus and more detailed dates in some events.

>>85594302
>Second Elven Empire and the First Elven Empire coexisted together at some point
"In-universe" the term First Elven Empire was only invented to distinguish previous elven coalitions from the drowish Second Elven Empire. Some of the same crew involved in the running the First Elven Empire are still in power in the Lands Behind the Hedge, and other small hold-outs in Scimitaria probably outlasted the Second Elven Empire, but the term "Elven Empire" probably lost its purpose after tensions with the Azan Empire died down. I will write more on it later.

>I thought it was the same entity breaking apart and uniting over and over until all that was left were the Drow Citystates
Drow were originally meant to be scattered across the underworld, and the Second Elven Empire was the first time some of them really came together to conquer territory. But not all drow were deep underground, more recent lore states some were a part of the First Elven Empire.

>Are you the one who did the first Scimitarian timeline? If so, could you please elaborate on that with more detail?
Yes. It is meant to be a rough outline to avoid boxing in future writers, but all the dates on it were stated in preexisting lore, so I won't want to retcon parts of it without good reason. I already responded to >>85581960

>>85594119
>Was the Merfolk Empire involved in any way?
>Unclear, but possible

I'm pretty sure from lore and context clues that the Merfolk Empire was much older and already on the decline by the war

>>85594856
When did the First Elven Empire fall, if it wasn't conquered by Azan?

>>85595854
I'd say it was a combined effort between the rebellious humans and the Azaneese war effort.

>>85595698
Merfolk Empire didn't necessarily go into decline, it got wrecked by its own god in a fit of boredom. Date given was "over 1500 years ago".

>>85595909
True for the western portion, for the eastern portion they became more decentralized without a threat unifying them and the term Empire now longer applied.

>The Desert of the Weriest.
The Desert of the Weriest is one of the most inhospitable areas in all of Giantstep. Due to the presence of multiple mountain ranges around the area, the land of the Weriest is isolated from most of the wind currents in the region, and thus there is barely any rain. Added to that the poor quality of the soil and the hot climate all year long, and the Desert of the Weriest has been a land with little to no activity. The region’s natural fauna is limited to certain species highly adapted to the dryness and the heat, snakes, lizards and small mammals that spend most of their time underground or searching for food during the night. Its flora mostly consists of bushes and cacti that have evolved to have roots reach hundreds of meters down in the soil for every scrap of water they can find, but even then, the quality of the soil and the frequent sandstorms can break them from their roots. Throughout history, the nearby nations have launched expeditions to search for mineral wealth like gold or silver, but every time they searched, they came back with empty hands. It eventually was reduced to the hideout for bandits and outlaws, but even then, they ended up either dying or moving away to a land where they could actually survive.

>>85597086
>The arrival of the Star People.
Around 700 years ago, numerous astromancers detected that one of the stars in the sky was moving in unorthodox ways. Many of them began debating the meaning of this unusual stellar phenomenon, and around the step there were many fearful of this event heralding some imminent cataclysm. Some of the most radical of their kind argued that the star would collide with the world and bring the end of times. It would turn out that they were partly right, as around 660 years from the discovery of the falling star, an unidentified body fell into the center of the Desert of the Weariest. However, since the area was utterly isolated and uninhabited, it took years for many nations to figure out that the fallen celestial body had actually fallen into the desert instead of the sea. And since the comet hadn’t meant the end of the world, the world mostly forgot about this incident.

It would be around 540 years ago when the astromancer Detruvius Morius who would discover the remains of the fallen star. At the head of a scientific expedition dedicated to the search of the elusive dancing star, his calculations had reached the conclusion that the meteorite had landed somewhere in the Desert of the Weariest. After decades of study and preparation for his expedition, the discoveries that he made there went beyond his wildest expectations.

>>85597105
After a month of reaching the coast, Detruvius and his team were crossing the desert when strange creatures riding horses surrounded them. Due to the well-known lack of people living in the area, they had barely brought any weapons to defend themselves from bandits or wildlife, but luckily for them, they weren’t there to harm them. The individuals were beings like they had never seen before, wearing strange hats and talking a language unknown to the astromancers. After a while, they were able to establish some vague communications, indicating that they were not a threat. The strange beings, later called the Star People, invited them to one of their towns. They would stay in the Desert of the Weariest for nearly two years living with the Star People, and when they came back, their writings and findings about the Star People spread throughout the world.

>>85597119
>Star People Biology

Star People have a thin complexion, with an average height smaller than human’s, but considerably taller than dwarves. However, their proportions are wildly different, since their head is nearly twice the size of that of a human, and their arms considerably longer. The shape of their head is similar to that of an inverted tear, with the broadest part at the top and the thinnest at the bottom, connecting it to the body with a small but powerful neck. Their eyes are elongated ovals, without apparent sclera or iris, being all black pupil. Their eyes are very resistant to light, but even so, the blinding brightness of the desert has made them develop a custom of wearing massive hats to cover themselves from direct contact with the sun. Their sight is apparently quite advanced, they not only can see in much darker conditions than humans or elves, but also they can detect movement with more precision. Their nose is a barely visible protrusion, and is apparently vestigial since they mostly breathe though their skin. They have no ears, their auditory canal is limited to a hole at each side of their head. Their torso is much thinner than that of a human, but somehow their musculature can output similar, albeit smaller amounts of force. Their long arms end in hands with three fingers, which are extremely flexible and sensible. Their legs are as thin as their arms, and are surprisingly similar to that of a human. They are vertebrate, but their bone structure is much different to that of a human or elf, having much smaller bones, but a bigger bone count in total. This, alongside their cartilaginous complexion, gives their bodies a lot of flexibility, at the cost of being slightly frailer than humans are. Their most notorious aspect is their green, hairless skin, which shows properties of reptile skin while presenting an aspect of glossy, toad-like skin. Older Star People can show small moles and dotes in their skin of a darker shade of green.

>>85597147
They are a sexually dimorphic species, though the differences are much smaller between their sexes than those between male and female humans. The female of the Star People are slightly shorter, but with eyes proportionally bigger. The female’s hands are also proportionally longer. Other than that, the most important element to differentiate a male from a female is the color of their skin: the males’ shade of green is much stronger than the females’, which tends to have a much duller and muted shade of green.
The Star People are omnivorous, though their diet tends more towards animal sources. Their diet consists mostly of beef and milk from their cattle, and they are very frugal eaters, probably due to a very small stomach. They also cultivate certain species of cacti, but agriculture, even of that kind, is very difficult in the desert, so it is very limited.

>>85597164
>Star People History and Culture
The Star People’s origins is something that has been studied very little, due to the near impossibility of verifying the Star People’s claims. When asked about their origins, they mention that they come from somewhere “beyond the stars”. Some assumed that that means that refers to a land an infinity away from our world, others defend that they come from another plane of existence, and some have said they have just travelled from another step on the Giant's Staircase. Wherever they come from, the Star People were part of a crumbling civilization, and they decided to find another place to live, beginning a travel for a place that could serve as their new home against all odds. To their knowledge, they are the only surviving members of that voyage. What their civilization was like and what caused its collapse, they don’t talk about it, being an apparent taboo for them.

>>85597178
What we do know is that they swore off any kind of technological advancements and/or magic studies, and decided to live simpler lives. Their level of tech is seemingly on par with some of the more developed nations in Giantstep, with the exception of some items that are seemingly beyond our comprehension. The most common of this is the “lightning gun”, a weapon that is similar to a matchlock pistol, but with strange curves. It does not fire iron pellets, but instead it’s capable of emitting a strange light that disintegrates any living matter that enters in contact with. While this item seems inhumanly powerful, it is not as dangerous as it seems, since it will only have its full effect on still living things. Records have shown that against leather and iron armor, its effect is greatly diminished, and will have nearly no effect against rock or soil. It has also been speculated that the undead would be completely immune to their effects, but due to the rarity of the items, we have no solid data.

They do not form a singular country, but will live independently in small towns or as nomads, guiding their herds of green beasts, similar in shape and size to cows, but with three eyes instead of two. They will also develop artisanal jobs to provide for anything they might need, disregarding the use of any technology more advanced than the already existing in Giantstep. Despite the poor nature of the desert, they have manage to spring towns with small wooden buildings relatively fast before trade with them was established, which makes many think they still have unknown technologies available to them.

>>85597195
They do not always live in harmony with each other. The frequent use of alcohol and the proliferation of gambling, card games and other pastimes usually translates into bar fights, and personal duels. Though this is rare and only found in the bigger population centers. For the most part, they prefer to keep their distance from each other, either living solitary lives or forming small family groups.

>>85597210
Contact with the outside world is rare. The Star People are reclusive and independent by nature, and they seemingly prefer to stay in the desert by themselves or form small communities. The neighboring countries, like the Blind Bastard’s Domain and the Tribes of Mumak Mahûdom organize raids to steal the Star People’s cattle, though the harshness of the desert makes this a daunting proposition. An outside attack is one of the very few things that will make different groups of Star People come together in the defense of the lands. In this cases, they are able to cause considerable chaos and confusion in the raiding forces by just retreating into the desert and launching a series of fast hit and run attacks to their rear, until they are forced to go back or are utterly destroyed. This was particularly effective against the Mumak Mahûdom tribes, since their preference for big war elephants was their undoing during the first raid they launched once they knew of the existence of the Star Men. Searing heat and lack of water made the elephants slow and irresponsive, and the skirmish patrols of Star People with lighting guns did the rest. The poor accuracy of the guns was moot when fighting such massive targets. In their retreat, the Mumak Mahûdom left behind dozens of horses that were used to move troops and/or carry the loot. The Star People quickly took these animals, and nowadays, it is rare to see one Star People without their horse. However, through selective breeding, their horses are smaller than those outside of the desert, but are as quick and nimble as any other, though they will spend most of their time eating and sleeping in the shade.

At the center of the desert it is rumored that the fallen star where the Star Peple with resides. Many suggest that the impact probably left the fallen star deep underground, though no one outside of the Star People has yet found it, and when asked about it, the Star People will not mention it.

So, we've established that some of the gods are definitely real, if not physical in form. What's the extent of their actions? Are they similar to TES Daedra (God-like, demonic beings that rule over their own domains and interfere in the lives of mortals) or more like ASOIAF gods (Even though powers definitely hail from these gods, their form and extent of their power is at question)

>>85597311
Mixed bag.

Most of the time it is ASOIAF tier stuff, or even just ordinary magic users pretending to be divine magic users, but other times they can directly impact whole areas like the Merfolk Empire, Food Land, Nes and Fitt, Harmony Goddess's Realm, and the Land of the Lord Descending from the Sky. Probably the more hands-off gods help keep the more hands-on gods in check.

>>85597311
most of them are preparing the next step for life to continue
some of them visit the current step and either demand ritual worship/sacrifice, or just dick about with their god powers

Going to try to write for sea elves next unless someone called dibs

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Mooslephant - a large herbivore found on in Zemyland, sometimes used as heavy calvary

>>85599297
Why does he have a big jew nose?

>>85599345
It's a Moosephant, that's why.

>>85592327
Looks like an assassin's guild member from Gvilderstaaten

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>>85594856
If you are the one who made the original timeline of Scimitarian, can you please help me fit these dates? Since Scimitarian and Western Giantstep are the areas with the most complicated history (and events that affect other events) it would help a lot to have actual numbers, whether we choose the 3161 as Current Year or 1266 as CY. Once those are in, I should be able to fit the other regions' dates relatively quickly. Thanks.

Also, are the wars between Azan and the First Elven Empire the Azan-Drow Wars described in https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/The_Remnants ? For now I'm assuming they are at least parallel, but if they are not, then we need to fit those in somewhere.

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>Sea Elf City-States and the Domain of the Sea Elves

>History:

The origins of the sea elves are largely unclear, though nearly everyone agrees they are related to drow. The most common theories are either that their ancestors mixed with water nymphs or other aquatic fey, or Caijin gave some sort of blessing to them.

It is known for sure though that some drow converted to the Caijin faith throughout the Western Elven Empire period, and even to this day there are still many drow followers of Caijin in many places around the world.

Caijin himself appears to be a Faerie Lord, albeit a very reclusive one. He kept his followers affiliated with the Western/First Elven Empire, but was never a firm member and often skirmished with other nations within the Empire. As it became clear the Azan/Dragon Empire would likely be victorious in Scimitaria, they switches sides in return for self-governance rights. They later became independent and somewhat imperialistic when the Azan/Dragon Empire territories in North Scimitaria split off from the Empire. There was some talk of establishing a sea elf empire, but after absorbing a few minor fiefdoms, Bumi and Chrysovica were the only nations they picked fights with. For the past century or so, they settled for staying within their core territories, but recently forced Chrysovica to be their vassal over a diplomatic dispute.

>Government:

The sea elves, like many drow, are a matriarchal society led by female dominated noble houses. “The Domain” on Moin Duiki Island consists of several small cities under a single unified government, while the cities on the mainland each have their own government. Strangely, the priesthood is almost all male, but they fill a supporting rather than domineering role in society.

Non-sea elves tend not to have too much power, but some have managed to organize themselves into matriarchal houses and get acknowledged as nobles.

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>>85600811

For the past few decades, the heads of the main noble houses have had a decidedly aggressive bent to them. They bullied the Earldom into submission over a minor snub, and may pick a fight with Bumi if the opportunity presents itself.

>Economy:

Trade routes going around the Scimitarian Subcontinent inevitability stop at a few sea elf cities, where wines, gold bars, crafted goods, metals, and magical items are traded for local dyes, pearls, silks, rare shells, and cherry blossom cuttings.

The sea elves themselves often work as sailors, or occasionally as pirates, both on human ships, and merchant vessels of their own.

Although the sea elves control a reasonable amount of inland territory, they prefer to stay near the ocean, or baring that, near rivers, lakes, and marshlands. Seafood and salt rice are the main dietary staples.

Sea elves only mine or cut wood reluctantly. Such work is often given to low status half-breeds instead.

>Foreign Relations:

Drow City-States – There is a lot of history between the drow and the sea elves, and despite their mutual dislike, many drow have converted to Caijin, while some sea elves have converted to the drow gods. Sea elves to business at certain drow ports like Nylo’Cormrune, but need to tread carefully as sea elves are seen as high value slaves in many drow cities. Sea elves are sometimes captured by criminals for sale to the drow, while others are captured on the high seas by drow slavers.

Bumi – The sea elves have fought on and off wars with Bumi since its founding, but things have been fairly quiet for the past century. Sea elf luxury goods fetch high prices in Bumi, and the sea elves sometimes purchase magical goods from there, but the sea elves still don’t care much for the Mg’umba faith.

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>>85600821

Arangea – Some more radical minded sea elves have gone to Arangea for magical instruction, but this is rare due to Arangea’s racist attitudes. Aside from this, the sea elves see Arangea as a trade irritant due to the high taxes they put on non-human ships entering their port.

Earldom of Chrysovica – There have been several wars with the Earldom over the past one thousand years. Neighboring nations keep out of these wars seeing them as local matters caused by Earldom stubbornness clashing with sea elf arrogance. For the past few decades, the Earldom has made a show of electing female leaders and paying fealty to Caijin, to avoid war with the current sea elf leadership. Much of the tension comes from the fact that the humans of Chrysovica are close cousins to some small human who were conquered by the sea elves a thousand years ago during their brief imperialist phase.

Isle of Wizards – The sea elves and the wizards don’t interact much, but the sea elves respect their power and wisdom, and are one of the few nations they will listen to on many matters.

Calcrabian Mountains – The sea elves do minor trade with the mountain hobbits, and the two generally get along.

Terusia Peninsula – Sea elves are not uncommon on the north side of Terusia, as many sea elf trade routes end there. Drow and half-drow from Terusia have managed to forge fairly strong bonds with the sea elves and drow followers of Caijin, so drowish merchants from Terusia are a common sight in sea elf ports.

Blesire, Aurous, and Belsirya – The sea elves get along well enough with all these nations, and have firm trading relations with all of them.

Calcabra – Trade ships from Calcabra are common in sea elf ports. Some exiles from sea elf lands seek asylum in Calcabra, but this is only a minor irritant.

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>>85600830

Moreelse – White Death usage is not uncommon in sea elf territory. Although they dislike Moreelse’s involvement in the trade, they feel Moreelse itself is too far away to retaliate against. Smugglers and syndicate members caught handling White Death are dealt with severely though, as are addicts.

Kinnog – Most sea elves are barely aware of Kinnog, though some do know that a few outcast sea elves live there.

>Geography:

The sea elf lands are fairly temperate despite their northern altitude. The mainland is heavily forested, and famous for its cherry blossoms and rugged hills. Moin Duiki, location of the Domain, is colder, and is mostly pine forest, though cherry blossoms can be found here too.

Buildings are mostly made of stone, and are carefully crafted. The population is fairly stable, so new buildings are rarely build, but old ones often improved. Scenic pagodas are a common sight on noble lands or city owned parkland. Hovels and sheds are seen as eyesores and are rare in urban area, but common in rural areas, and some cities have a nearby shanty town somewhere not visible by anyone important. Many nobles would rather sleep in the open then assemble a crude tent or shack should they find themselves in an area with no existing buildings.

The main form of agriculture is salt rice farming along the coastal marshes.

>Demographics:

Sea Elves – are the dominant race, but not necessarily the majority in all cities. They have a mildly xenophobic reputation, but are still much more open minded than many in Scimitaria.

Drow – are fairly common, particularly on the mainland. Drow are close cousins to the sea elves and are generally treated with respect regardless of whether they are from a family with pre-Azan roots in the area, or are recent exiles from the drow city-states.

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>>85600841

Wood Elves – Some have been in Scimitaria for millennia, while others are settlers from the eastern portions of the First Elven Empire. They are fairly common in the interior forests, but also are a common sight in the coastal cities. Wood elves from Elfwood still have some grudges against the sea elves for turning against the Western Elven Empire, but wood elves in the sea elf lands are usually just happy for a place to call their own.

Mutts – A somewhat derogatory term for individuals of mixed sea elf, drow, wood elf, and human ancestry, they are moderately discriminated against, and usually found working low status jobs. Their low status stems mostly from the fact they are usually bastard children, the children of poorer folk unconcerned with societal norms, or descendants of such. Sea elves and drow mate frequently and their societies are closely interlinked, but humans and wood elves have distinct societies within sea elf lands, so mixed children often find themselves between worlds.

Humans – Most humans are visiting merchants, sailors, diplomats, scholars and such. There was a few minor human fiefdoms conquered by the sea elves in the early years, but they eventually got assimilated or left. The sea elves strongly discourage immigration by humans, mindful of how the Western Elven Empire fell.

Fey – A few other fey and fey related races live here, like water nymphs, dryads, hobbits, merfolk, brownies, and goblins. They mostly live in isolated areas and mind their own business.

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>>85600853

>Religion:

The religion of Caijin the Sea Slug God is dominant here. A harsh but firm religion that asserts the best defensive is a strong offence, emphasizes self-reliance and looking after your own before others, and supports cruel punishments for major offences. The priesthood is almost all male and typically noble houses will encourage at least one male member to join the priesthood. Some priests have divine magic like lightning magic or shapeshifting (usually into sea slugs).

Other religions are not well tolerated. The fey and wood elves mostly do their own things, as do human visitors, but drow and sea elves who convert to other religions often eventually get fed up with the low key discrimination and leave. Irem, Eili, Azra, the Cog God, a little known drow god of exiles known as Vhar, and an even more obscure Faerie Lord known as the Trickster are the most popular options. Some of them are banned in certain cities, depending on local politics.

>Military:

Sea elf and drow followers of Caijin tend to be strong fighters due to religious teachings that emphasize self-reliance and the importance of winning over doing the right thing. Each city is able to assemble a disproportionally large army/navy, led by nobles and their experienced retainers. Although both genders can well fight, professional soldiers tend to be female, and officers are almost always female nobles.

Armor and clothing is light, followers of Caijin typically live and fight near water, and believe nothing should be worn that can’t be swam in. The nobles often wear magical protections in place of conventional armor.

Divine magic users are relatively powerful. There is also some conventional magic users as well, using a mix of human and fey traditions.

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>>85600867

Followers of Caijin are skilled at taming wild creatures as mounts and heavy hitters. A particular favorite mount are Ivory-Horned Elk, who are much better swimmers than horses, so are useful mounts for patrolling coastal areas, inland rivers, and small interlinked islands.

>>85594119
I think the Merfolk Empire is the one who gave the Khenomerics the singers who kept the Dragongod King asleep as controlling people trough song is a very mermaid thing to do.

>>85600811
I like this. Good work anon

>>85581059
Should we remove Lunatik Nine and Kowloon?

>>85602024
No

>>85602024
Why would we do that?

>>85580942
What's the first axe from the left? Looks funky

>>85601878
Seconded

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More creatures for the Strange Meadows

>Skunky Beetles
Stunky Beetles are small creatures, around the size of small dogs. They are very skittish herbivores, and will scare easily if an unidentified creature gets close to them while they are eating or searching for food. To defend themselves, Skunky beetles are able to produce a wide array of chemicals within their bodies, ranging from incredibly smelly liquids to stronger acids that could blind any creature if it enters in contact with their eyes. This chemicals are wildly valued by farmers and herders in the area, since they are very effective predator deterents. Skunky beetles are not domestic, however, so many locals will attract Skunky beetles with food and then make loud noises with pots and pans from afar, to scare the Skunky beetle to spray their lands with predator repellent and then leave.

Gonna write some lore about Chrysovica today or tomorrow

How could a Frankenstein-esque story in this setting work?

>>85603751
Well, considering that Mossovoy is a city that's run by a society of necromancers and flesh sculptors, it ought to be there.

>>85600757
For dates I would start from the old timeline and its dates and work your way out.

I am fine with having the Battle of Empires 3161 years ago. I know this leaves a 2000 year gap between the BoE and most other well documented events, but there is lots of stuff we haven't expanded on yet like the Azan/Dragon Empire's recovery from the BoE, the gradual conquest of the Western Elven Empire, the expansion of the dwarves into Scimitaria, the history of Siuverland and its demon breach, plus lots of rebellions, wars, and other events that were a big deal at the time, but have little impact on modern borders.

I didn't write the First/Second Azan-Drow wars, but I assume whoever did meant for them to be after the Second Elven Empire dissolves. Basically the Second Elven Empire at its peak was bigger than the drow city-states are now, but once the drow fell into infighting, the Azan Empire made a push to reclaim territory in the eastern and southern parts of drow territory, while the other areas rebelled and became independent of both the drow and Azan.

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Pondling wizard.

So literally nothing happens in the handprint Desert?

>>85606218
>So literally nothing happens in the handprint Desert?
I mean, it is a desert. And considering it's surrounded by all sides by mountain ranges, there's the very real chance not a drop of rain ever falls in it. That kinda hampers any kind of civilization. There are ruins and giant sandworms, though. Could be a great exporation campaign.

>>85606218
>>85606270
I get the disappointment, it just seems like it's destined for something interesting but as far as I remember nothing even lives there

>>85606218
There are a bunch of ruins and sandworms but nothing else, really.

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>>85597227
>Three Eyed Cows
The main source of food for the Star People is their cattle. Those creatures are similar in form and size to regular cows, but with green fur and skin, and with a third eye. This species is remarkable in that they can survive and thrive under the poor conditions of the desert. They not only need barely any water and food to live, they also multiply in great numbers.

The three eyed cows produce a considerable amount of beef and milk to feed the Star People, which makes herding an essential part of the Star People's life and culture. Society will revolve around taking care of big herds of these animals, moving throughout the desert searching for any spot of greenery they can feed off. The size of the herds depends on the owners, with familiar groups owning between 30-50 animals, and more powerful groups having hundreds. Livestock theft is common, which forces many Star People to keep an eye on their herds.

Thei success of the three eyed cow under harsh conditions has reached a point where many merchants have tried to breed them outside the desert, but for inexplicable reasons they will stop eating and die if they are ever taken out of the desert.

Are there alternate dimensions or realms in this setting?

>>85607931
demon realms are probably a separate dimension, though some anons think they are just physically beneath the surface

faerie/fey realms have been discussed and are definitely separate

most gods probably spend most of their time in alternate dimensions

planar magic has been mentioned a few times

then there is where ever Uun went when he got bored and left

>>85608086
>>85607931
Would all of the steps above and below count?

>>85608820
maybe, I can remember whether it has been discussed before

>>85608820
Maybe the steps above and below are the different realms? Who knows

Hey I'm the guy who created the Blind Bastard's Domain, I haven't been on one of these threads in over a month what did I miss? Sadly the discord (original at least) is gone so I haven't really been active.

>>85610968
- new lore is still being added at a reasonable pace
- southern regions haven't had much focus so far aside from a recent update for Star People (alien cowboys)
- there has been an interest in historical events, so some pages on historic events and nations added
- a lot of recent focus trying to hammer out the timeline
- wiki is mostly up to date
- resident troll down voted the suptg posts into oblivion, so you can't find the old threads by searching suptg, but you can open them with the links to suptg and 4plebs near the top of the thread

>>85611059
Thanks for the update.

Say, by the way, I've noticed a distinct lack of religious discussion in my research. Maybe next thread we should make some religions for everyone. Just so we're all on the same page you know?

>>85611167
most regions with lore have religions identified, and some of the religions themselves have decent amounts of lore

not sure if adding religions for areas without lore will add any value, people tend to either come up with new religions, or use religions in neighboring areas, when doing lore dumps. Defining the religions ahead of time kind of boxes people in since religion is one of the key ways people use to set the tone of a particular region

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I've tweaked the Scimitarian timeline again. I'm assuming the Azan Drow wars are not the wars between the First Elven Empire and Azan, but something else. I'll wait until they are further developed to add them. Also, if the Western Elven Empire survived the wars with Azan and participated in the Battle of Empires, when did it actually disappear? If anyone has some feedback for the timeline, I'd be grateful.

>>85604627
I'd love to keep the 3161 timeline, but I have to take into account the >>85581960, which was posted way before I started with the timeline. And since older lore has weight, I need to try to fit it, even if I still think it's much harder that it's really worth. If I cannot fix this, I'm just going to continue working on my original 3161 CY timeline.

>>85611167
>>85611216
To clarify, if you have some neat ideas for religions for areas with minimal lore, feel free to post them. Just try to be respectful of the existing lore though, and if you are writing a religion that applies to multiple regions don't make it too prescriptive. I don't want the rest of the world to get lumped under 4-5 religions just for the sake of filling a religious map, and on previous world building exercises, people tried to use religion to retcon regions, or apply a set culture to multiple regions at once, thus decreasing people's interest in writing for those regions.

>>85611239
>Western Elven Empire survived the wars with Azan and participated in the Battle of Empires, when did it actually disappear?
It gradually got eaten up piece by piece between 3000 and 1000 years ago. The term probably fell out of use around the time elven holdings on Scimitaria became too small to be referred to as an Empire. It never completely disappeared though, the sea elf territory is a successor state of sorts, and there may be small pockets elsewhere.

>I need to try to fit it, even if I still think it's much harder that it's really worth.
Still not sure why it is so hard to put the Battle of Empires 3000 years ago and leave the rest where it is. Not every historic event needs to be directly linked to every other historic event. Empires go through ups and downs.

>>85611342
>Still not sure why it is so hard to put the Battle of Empires 3000 years ago and leave the rest where it is.

The thing is, according to this >>85581960
timeline the BoE must have happened between Azan's zenith and the drow/witchelven assaults. Which according to >>85581960, happened around 1000 years ago, not nearly enough time to fit all of the story that happens afterwards for the problems I already mentioned in the post. I can't just leave the BoW 3k years ago and leave the rest untouched, since that date is the focal point for a lot of things that happen afterwards. That's why I wrote the 3161 CY timeline.

>>85607384
I can't wait for stabillity diffusion to be out lol

>>85610968
there's been plenty of lore added up. There was a discussion this thread or the last and the Blind Bastard Domain's is probably the biggest nation that hasn't had much lore yet

>>85611239
I think this fits nicely so far, but I think the Hithlone events (such as its founding by refugees from the Drow lands) are missing. Also I'm the guy who wrote about Moreelse. I intended for the Hydra's Eyes resurgence to be more recent than it appears in the timeline, like, a few decades old at best. I'd put it after the Discovery of the Sea Slugs, for example.

does anyone have access to stable diffusion AI? I think some of the images we could generate could look great to help bring the setting to life.

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History of the foundation of the Kingdom of Lorient and her vassals:


The culture of the southern part of the Azanese empire had a long history before any independent state formed in the area. The first written record of a separate language in the area comes from a small collection of Hymns in something known as "Loroi language", a hybrid between an Azanese dialect with certain unique words which would later develop into its own entity. Because of this the people of the south became known as "Loroi" in Azan, later evolving to "Loriaise" and into the modern "Lorientain." The developing culture in the south continued until little connected the locals to the capital other than religion and loyalty to the emperor.


1900 ABE is traditionally seen as the birth of the Lorientain peoples, though this is probably not the exact date, as it was a longer more gradual process. Seeing the civil war tearing the empire a part, the local people had no faith in either supposed "emperor" seeing them both as fools, unworthy of the title. While there was some voices wanting to support Changrila, this was never taken seriously, especially after the creation of the Faith of Divine Light. As demands from Azan to join the war came in the answer was resounding silence. Instead this resulted in the creating of new states in these lands. The Duke of Lorianne Charloi I wanting to unify all Lorientian people declared the kingdom of Lorient, getting many other local lords to swear fealty. This was only a partial success, as the new state only contained what is nowadays known as the Lorientain crownlands, most of Glorenaise and some of Ouestain. The north was reluctant to join, instead being a series of smaller states lead by the prominent duchy of Limonaint. Vrainaint had also centralized under it's own prince, while the Isles were contested. The king spent his first years warring in Ouestain, and defending against Azan loyalists.

Pictured: old panting of a knight swearing fealty to Charloi.

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>>85612741
170 years later, King Guiges II, great grandson of Charloi, after a failed attempt at seizing Vrainaint, had a new plan to unify the nations. The Nasr satrapies to the north, another set of nations who had broken free during the civil war in Azan, was weakened from fighting each other. Guiges arranged a marriage with the family of Limonaint, forming an alliance against the satrapy of Ganex. All the same he recruited young knights from Vrainaint to join him in the campaign. By doing this he hoped to gain enough goodwill in the other states that they might finally be made vassals under him. This was not to be however. While the war was successful and Ganex was annexed by Limonaint it had the opposite effect of what Guiges. The new strenght of Limonaint led them to have an even more prominent position over the northern lords, leading eventually to the declaration of the Lemon Kingdom. Further, while Lorient was seen as strong after the war, they never managed to take the other satrapies. The only gain from the conflict for Lorient was that there now was a generation of knights in Vrainaint who felt closer loyalty to the Lorientain king than to the local prince, having fought besides him in many battles. As a result, Guiges successor, Gedor I, managed to conquer Vrainaint with local help.

Pictured: "Ganex" a panting by famous Lorientain painter Jaqenne DeGrule from the series "scenes from around the kingdom"

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>>85612762
The 2312 ABE founding of the Lemon Kingdom was a large blow to Lorient. Since the subjugation of Ganex Limonaint had taken a prominent prominent position in the north, and after several conflicts with Lorient the northern lords saw no other solution to keep their independence than to proclaim a rival kingdom. While this did not stop the wars, the Lorientain was now a much less severe threat. Seeing the north as a partly lost causes, the king in Oriant instead turned his attention inwards, consolidating the realm, ending the disputed nature of the Isles and began focusing on trade and shipbuilding. This lead to the borders that the kingdom has to this day, though with more lands to the east. The myth of the Lorientain as legendary sailors and merchants began in this era, and courtly culture evolved closer to how it is today.


In 2653 there were great news from Azan, a new prophet had risen Alarna Hiranur, and with her a reform of the Azan faith. Priests flocked to the south to spread the word of humility and righteousness of the new faith. Several lords and large numbers of people would convert, and some hoped that the king himself would accept the new faith. This would not be however, as the traditional clergy, conservative lords and notably the king himself felt that declaring Hiranur a prophet was grievous heresy, barely better than the Changrilan emperor worship. The new faith was banned in Lorient, and any believers were given the chance to convert, or get killed for high treason. Many of the converted lords would have none of this, naming the king illegitimate and a heretic, thus beginning the Lorientain wars of religion. The wars lasted nearly for 80 years, consuming many lives, leaving entire villages depopulated, and families wiped out. Azan even tried to send an expeditionary force to stop Lorients persecution, which was beaten back. In the end the royalist old faith believers were victorious, but at a massive cost.

Pictured: "Glorenze"

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>>85612776
2795 ABE was a horrible year for Lorient. Still feeling from the last days of the wars of religion, the nation was broken and weak. The orcs to the west unified this year, by an orc named Ingur, and instantly went from a nuisance to a major threat. They would attack further and further to the west, leading eventually to the loss of Gasquinais. This is also the origins of the Knights of the White Rose, knights sworn to defend the realm and to fight the orcs. The next year, Azan threatened military action if the persecution of new faith believers continued. The restrictions were laxed, allowing new faith, but still not allowing them to build temples or to proselytize.


2878 marks the fulfilment of the ambition of Charloi, almost 1000 years later. The death of Lemon king Guille lead to the inheritance of Limonaint going to the crown prince of Lorient. The unification of the old Loroi people was nearly completed. The kings in Oriant now look towards the east to the orca, towards the south to the mercenaries in the knightlands and northward to their old enemies in Nasr. They wish for new trade opportunities, and of new conquests.

Pictured: a set of four paintings from "Scenes from around the kingdom," recreated for a book, possibly of Azanese origin. In addition to "Ganex" and "Glorenze" there is also pictured "Dame-Assaie" and "Limonaint" the style I'd DeGrule is easily recognizable and lead to an epoch in Lorientain art of warm colours.

>>85612135
Seconding this

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>>85611880
So something like this?

>>85613033
Yeah, I think that's better.

>>85612816
Anon who added this to the wiki, you left in the "pictured:[...]" part without adding the picture itself. I am not sure if you meant to remove it or upload the picture, but now it just looks confusing.

>>85613951
I'm on it now, I was doing stuff.

What are the oldest known events in the setting?

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>History
Archeological findings indicate that the people of Chrysovica emigrated to the Adamantine Archipelago from modern Blesirya, although no written history exists to confirm this hypothesis. Most of the Chrysovican elders and history keepers agree somewhat that the Chrysovicans fled to these islands by the time of the formation of the First Elven Empire. There, the fleeing Blesiryans encountered other humans, who were fewer in numbers.
Eventually, the Blesiryans settled down in Shipten Nuiki and the surrounding islands, and over the following decades and then centuries, the two populations intermixed with each other, to the point that pretty much every single individual can trace back their heritage to both Blesirya and to the native population of the islands.
The Chrysovica Isles were for a long time prosperous, thanks to the complete lack of external wars. Chrysovica was the region of Scimitaria that was plagued the less by the wars between Azan and the Elves, as well as the following Drow insurgence. Despite that, there were many internal conflicts, as pretty much for all its existence Chrysovica had been ruled by many different earls across the numerous islands. It was only around 200 years ago that Earl Tukka Godfrigekk united the central island of Shipten Nuiki under his ruleship after a series of succession wars. Not long after, the earls of the surrounding islands bent their knee to Tukka, who was crowned as the first High Earl of Chrysovica.

A century and a half passed, and Chrysovica had prospered under Tukka’s successors. Few wars, coupled with bountiful harvests led to a big population boom. However, after Chrysovica’s unification, the nation got more involved in external affairs, opening its doors to foreign merchants and embassies. As a consequence of this, the court of Chrysovica’s capital, Tuanehemi, got swarmed by Sea Elven spies and agents that only served the interests of the Sea Elves.

>>85615512
>People
Chrysovicans claim a mixed heritage from the natives of the Chrysovican Isles, as well as migrants from Blesirya. Nowadays, these two populations are almost identical, and the small distinctions are made based on physical appearance – native Chrysovicans were more naturally brawny with prevalence of dark hair, while Blesiryans and Calcabrans are shorter with lighter features. Most native Chrysovicans, following the migrations, adopted names fitting to mainland Scimitaria, while other Blesiryans who rose to Earldom adopted local names as a form of tribute towards tradition.
>Government
The Earldom of Chrysovica is ruled by a High Earl who is voted on every 3 years by the land owning population of the islands. The Earl is responsible for protecting the island and making sure trade runs smoothly. There are no term limits and the Earl rules for as long as the people of the islands are content. The Earl can be male or female and is usually of a wealthy or noble birth. Ever since the threat of the Sea Elves to conquer their islands the position of Earl has increasingly become a female position, so as to ease relations with the matriarchical Sea Elves, as well as publicly proclaiming worship to the god Caijin.

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>>85615518
The High Earl lives on the northwesternmost island, at the Seawood Fortress, which serves as the capital of the Earldom. The Northwesternmost island, which is called Suut Magnin is also the wealthiest and seems to have the most sway over elections. The current Earl is on her first term, Isabella II of the House Aldera, who is the granddaughter of the first High Earl that was directly appointed by the Sea Elves. Below Isabella are many Earls who rule over their respective fiefdoms, contributing manpower and taxes to the High Earl.

>Locations
Seawood Fortress is a large fort that was built after the arrival of the Blesiryans, and today serves as the capital of Chrysovica. It’s the ancestral home of House Aldera. Tuanehemi is the largest city of Chrysovica, and it’s situated in the southern coast of Shipten Nuiki, overlooking the Little Hope Strait. Other large settlements include Crawl Town, Arckx, Olgi Morren and the pilgrim town of Allevina.
Most fishing towns of Chrysovica are built either on top of small islands or atolls. The smaller villages are built on top of floating platforms, where the villagers navigate the waters using small gondolas, which are more numerous than horses or other mounts. Tuanehemi started as such a village, and one of its most populous districts is “Old Tuanehemi” which consists of many of these floating shacks, as well as smaller houses built on land.
To prevent overcrowding, some Earls forbidded the additional construction of these floating shacks in the fishing villages, leading people to build their houses instead on islands and atolls. However, many poorer families instead of doing that, were more keen on building their homes on the sides of steep cliffs that overlooked the sea, as sometimes the price of property on the islands became too extreme. This led to the establishment of many shantytowns, where erosion and large waves claimed the lives of many individuals over the years.

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>>85615580
>Geography

Chrysovica is located in the Adamantine Isles, which are now most commonly known as the Chrysovican Isles. This island chain consists of six major islands, as well as hundreds of smaller atolls and coral islets. The atolls are composed of live coral reefs and sand bars. Chrysovica is an extremely flat country, with the only mountain being located near the center of Shipten Nuiki island
.
Despite the high geographical latitude of Chrysovica, the climate is temperate, with mild winters and mild summers. The crystal clear waters are ideal for both humans and animals. Thanks to a gigantic coral reef that surrounds Chrysovica, there is an abundance of marine life, which makes Chrysovica the perfect place for fishermen. Storms and hurricanes are common as well.

The many wide rivers of Shipten Nuiki and the other islands are also home to their own rich ecosystem, and with the overcrowding of the coastal areas, many have opted to move to the river settlements.

>Economy

The economy of Chrysovica revolves around fishing, and because of that most communities are coastal. Most Chrysovicans prefer to fish in their own waters, although some whaling ships often venture north, towards the Treassure Sea, in search of whales and larger sea prey. Fish constitute Chrysovica’s largest export, and the waters around the coral reef house many rare marine species, which fetch a very hefty price in Scimitaria and the Sea Elven Domains.

Pearl, coral and sponge divers are also common. Necklaces, bracelets and crowns made out of pearls are made by certain jewelers, while collectors of strange sea corals can be found paying extraordinary amounts of money for their acquisition. The very few Chrysovicans who don’t occupy themselves in fishing, diving, gastronomy or anything that doesn’t involve the sea, are usually miners, vintners, olive cultivators and farmers.

>>85611394
>timeline the BoE must have happened between Azan's zenith and the drow/witchelven assaults.
Not really though, Azan/Dragon Empire could have had a large territory 3000 years ago, lost parts of it, then reclaimed them by 1000 years ago, which in addition to absorbing Scimitaria between 3000 and 1000 years ago, and retaking Siuverland almost 1000 years ago, means they would have reached their territorial peak about 1000 years ago. Also they could have made significant societal and technological progress between 3000 and 1000 years ago which made them feel much stronger at the 1000 mark than the 3000 mark.

>not nearly enough time to fit all of the story that happens afterwards for the problems I already mentioned in the post
Societal change happens pretty quick sometimes. Once upheaval starts, it often snowballs since central authorities are weakened and all the malcontents and power hungry factions see an opening to get things done.

>>85615512
>thanks to the complete lack of external wars
It has already been mentioned that Chrysovica has fought some wars with the sea elves in the past

>>85616371
It could be thanks to limited external wars and relative geographical isolation, then.

>>85616465
cool, otherwise it looks good

>>85616371
So where would you put the BoE in the >>85600757 timeline? If we move the Boe backwards in time, we are breaking the mentioned >>85581960 timeline. If we move it forward, then it's going to cross the events of the drow/witchelven invasions, the forming of the Second Elven Empire and the wizard diaspora from Khenomeri. Putting the BoE right at the zenith of azanese power seems the optimal choice.

And yes, societal change happens pretty quickly. But we can also have long periods of time with slow change, which, considering we are talking about a medieval-esque world, makes sense for progress to happen slowly.

This also makes me think that we should talk about the tech evolution of the world, which is another clusterfuck we're going to have to tackle eventually.

>>85618620
Also, the BoE isn't in the wiki yet.

>>85618620
Like I said before, put BoE 3000 years ago, keep rest of timeline as it originally was

If we allowed retcons every time someone feels something doesn't make sense to them, literally everything in the setting becomes potentially open to retcons. There is plenty of stuff in the setting that make far less sense than the original timeline shown here >>85581960

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Outskirts of Hithlone

Gvilderstaaten is also missing from the wiki

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Warmog Forest

>>85619823
too photorealistic

>>85610968
>Responding to >>85544391
>What happens in the Blind Bastard's Domain, or in all the far south for that matter? There's very little lore there
The main things I have going on is the angle that it's a pirate republic led by the supposed bastard daughter of the Azan emperor. Her claim is stupid, and even if true it wouldn't be a claim to any nobility but I think of her as a somewhat charismatic grifter who is almost certainly lying and relies on peoples ignorance of both her race and Azan law to contest it.

As a pirate republic it's mostly protected by the loyalty of select pirate crews and privoteer companies (many of whom based in the capital city Mordian (pic related).

To the south of the domain is a loose confederacy of three nomadic Orcish tribes who agreed to a set of treaties after a brutal genocidal war. I consider this more of a reservation or territory of the "nation" rather than an actual core part of it. If I have to name the clans (I'm just pulling this off a name generator) I'll call them the Ghoonak, the Bummob, and the Balzum. Their main job is to provide protection and "collect tolls" from the south in exchange for their treaty being backed up, so it's essentially a three-way MAD doctrine.

The government itself is pretty much a confederacy of trade cities and their surrounding villages, think of a more cohesive Hanseatic League. Each city is ruled by a mayor, and each mayor reports to Renne the "Patriarch" of the domain. Within the country it's just The Domain but the Blind Bastard part is mostly an Azan name since Renne only has one eye. Though she's often reported as fully blind, again unreliably as the domain is very unpopular.

It exports a shit load of slaves. Mostly by raiding neighboring islands and less civilized native populations they host one of the biggest slave exports in the world.

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>>85620146
>Mordian (pic related).

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>>85618852
So the BoE happening before the Azan-Elven Wars? That would include the Azanese conquest of the Isle of Wizards and the Magoclergy takeover in Khenomeri. Which is important, seeing that it was the Magoclergy the one who fought Azan. I could fix it by moving all the previous Khenomeri dates way back, though, but it would still leave Khenomeri's history with a massive gap.Also, that would mean that Current Year would be 4.691 ABE. We could also gut the 1st-2nd millenia space to fit it back to 3.161 ABE.

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>the halting skeleton

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>young blue horde princes

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>the high plateau

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>the village

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>the imperial palace

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>the mountain temple

>>85621736
>the imperial palace
Of where?

>>85621659
This reminds me there is little to no story written about the Gökmavi .

So, what's the most ancient creature in this setting?

>>85624773
The Goddragon King or the Goddragon on Hogman island maybe

>>85624773
It's been mentioned that there is (atleast one) an Elder Vampire which is ancient compared even to the oldest civilizations.

Now that I think about it, Vampires have their own lore page, but there's no mention of them anywhere but there.

>>85625160
Oh yeah, vampires are a thing. I guess they don't interfere that much with the world of the mortals. Also, I assume they don't count as undead, since the undead magic was discovered and codified way after the vampires were around.

Also, vampires vs litches. How do they interact with each other?

>>85625720
>>85625160
I think either in the Arangea or the Bumi lore pages, there's implication of a ruling family being vampires.

Expanding a bit the lore of the Red Lotus Congregation (and to extention Changrila).

>Precedents
To really know the history of the Red Lotus Congregation, one has to go back to the end of the Azanese Civil War. This massive conflict split apart the most powerful empire at the time, giving birth to the Empire of Changrila. After more than a century and a half of war, the seemingly unbreakable stalemate was finally ended with the Treaty of Nefkin. With this, the region of Changrila effectively becomes independent from Azan, as long as the changrilese authorities reject any further claims to the Azanese Throne and control of the Azanese government. While this satisfied the Changrilese noble families and high functionaries, it was not as well received by the common folk. While peace after a century was a godsend for many who didn’t have to fear to be drafted anymore, the truth was that many generations had grown up known nothing but war. Tens of thousands of soldiers and mercenaries suddenly weren’t needed anymore. Many of those went to work to the countryside, but many more ended up as beggars and bandits, using their skills in warfare to assault any traveler they could ambush. Hundreds of bandit groups preyed upon the caravan trade in the country, making roads unsafe and limiting the central power’s ability to control the other provinces. This lack of control allowed many regional lords, slowly but surely taking over the local administrations, although the effects of this would only be decades afterwards. Poverty and hunger were threaten to collapse some of Changrila’s border provinces, while the inner provinces, fat on taxation, had their attentions elsewhere. The increase in arable land and manpower managed to increase the country’s population by quite a margin, worsening the problems, since the economy couldn’t grow as fast as the population.

>>85626674
Ironically, the arrival of the Witch-Elves to the eastern borders of Changrila actually managed to slow down these problems for a while. The mass invasion of the eastern provinces required the central government to focus their efforts in stopping their advances at all costs. The witchelven had claimed a massive portion of land from both Azan, Changrila and other nearby states, who were forced to form an alliance to stop the witchelven. Tens of thousands were once again conscripted into the Changrilese armies to stop the invaders, which they did after a decade of war. Slowly but surely, the Changrilese armies recovered most of the lands that had been conquered by the witchelven, and the war devolved into border skirmishes. Changrilese authorities built a massive wall to protect themselves from the witchelven attacks, as well as a series of fortifications prepared to offer resistance to further witchelven attacks, though skirmishes and incursions are frequent in those areas where the military reaction is slower and/or the defenses are more lacking.

>>85626683
This massive construction project required a ton of resources from a country that was economically exhausted. Once again, the return of the soldiers back to home caused a massive spike in unemployment, especially in the cities. The general turmoil of the population was causing revolts and protests in both the cities and the countryside, which were quashed by the army. However, the central government realized this situation could result in a collapse of the state, and thus began to try rapidly to apply many reforms to alleviate the situation in the countryside. To do so, the Emperor of Changrila decided to concentrate both the political and religious authority of the country into himself, creating the figure of the God-Emperor, and the many theological reforms done to justify this move were codified into the Faith of the Divine Light. While this unilateral decision caused a lot of tension, especially in some of the more traditional areas, still loyal to the Old Azanese Faith, the newly bestowed power allowed the God-Emperor to realize extensive reformations of the economy and the army. This was greatly helped by the hiring of new government officials, recruited from the regions most affected and thus were able to identify the problems these areas suffered, and thus acted accordingly. These reforms managed to hit the mark and in a couple of decades, Changrila not only had revitalized their trade, but also reduced the bandit activity and reinforced the eastern borders.

>>85626698
However, this was not going to last. After a couple of strong God-Emperors, Changrila slowly stagnated in what is known as the “Great Decay”. The control of the God-Emperor was delegated more and more into his bureaucratic administration and the local nobility, dedicating their time and efforts into becoming patrons of arts and culture. This abandonment of government eroded the authority of the God-Emperor, granting a lot of power to the higher echelons of society. The nobility and government officials took this opportunity to expand their personal power and wealth, using their influence to amass great fortunes. In particular, the changrilese nobility and high officials had, over the decades acquire a lot of farming lands, abandoned by their owners due to the Azanese Civil War and the Witchelven Wars, and later using and abusing their power over the farmer. Heavy control of the legal system, the taxation and the prices pushed many farmers to sell their lands for a pittance. This left tens of thousands under strong chains of servitude, unable to make a living doing anything else but work the lands that their ancestors had tilled for millennia. Those who did not stay moved to the cities in search of opportunities, but even then, they would find nothing of the sort.

>>85626705
The cities had become lavish shows of luxury and decadence, where the nobility and the government officials displayed their riches in extravagant events. Outside of this displays of wealth, the common folk were more and more desperate due to a stagnant economy and taxes more overbearing by the day. Slums grew around the centers of power and government, and it was in here where crime and drug use became rampant. Plagues were common in cities, too dirty and poor to prevent the seasonal epidemics. Even the army suffered for this corruption, with many officials taking money from their funds to live lavishly, leaving their men underpaid, underfed and underequipped. As such, the witchelven began raiding the eastern provinces more and more boldly, pillaging and burning whatever they couldn’t carry back to their empire.

This state of affairs would continue to stagnate for centuries, until around 200 years ago, where the events of the Dihong Xinjianng Rebellion would take place.

>>85626674
what's the relationship between the red lotus congregation and the SonQo temples? Both are some sort of monastic societies, but the latter is now in ruins, and although their lore isn't quite expanded it sounds like they also come from ChangriLa.

Maybe they are somehow related?

>>85627299
I don't think they are related at all. They just happen to be religious entities, otherwise they are wildly different. That and they also appeared in different periods.

>>85627299
it's kinda hard to assume anything unless we get more lore for the SonQo temples first

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>>85615895
>Religion

After the threat of invasion by the Sea Elves, Chrysovica signed a concord which designated the worship of the Sea Elven god Caijin as the official religion. Many temples were built and many religious authorities were shipped to Chrysovica. Even though it’s been decades since then, very few people worship Caijin or follow any intended religious mandates, with the local religion still standing strong.
The native Chrysovicans worship the “Lady of the Lake” as a goddess. The Lady of the Lake, or else known as “Toc Murra” is a powerful, supernatural being, who has the appearance of a beautiful nymph. She is often found in the Lake of Loc Edna, in the island of Shipten Nuikki. She is known to give blessings to the people that give offerings to her, as well as her various knights that have vowed to represent her virtues over the years. The town of Allevina is located near Loc Edna, and gets many pilgrims that have come to witness the miracles of Toc Murra.

Apart from Toc Murra, some aspects of the Blesiryan faith of the ”Nine Saints” are present in Chrysovica, due to the Blesiryan migration millennia ago. The faith, however, is almost indistinguishable from its original form, as most of these saints are nowadays worshipped as river or sea gods, with only their names remaining as a reminder. These gods have few worshippers, found in small communities within towns or villages.

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>>85629324
There is also another, more insidious and lesser known deity that’s worshipped in Chrysovica. This deity’s name is Kahunoa, and it was an ancient goddess worshipped by a cult cast out of the main islands of Chrysovica many years ago. Only a few Chrysovicans remember her existence, among them being the Maui Snake cultists, exiled worshippers of Kahunoa that are found in the southernmost island of Chrysovica.

Kahunoa is in reality not a goddess, but rather an extraordinarily ancient and powerful Ekhidna. Ekhidnas are intelligent, aquatic creatures, with the lower body of a sea serpent and the upper body of a humanoid. Female Ekhidnas are also called Sirens and possess wings, although unlike sirens, their true form is hideous. Despite that, Kahunoa and her servants – the Fucusyas, or Sea Witches – are able to take the form of beautiful women in order to seduce sailors and fishermen.

Legend says that Kahunoa once fell in love with a human wizard, and she managed to seduce him. Using his magic, she was able to give him many children, who grew up worshipping her as a goddess. Their ancestors were also known as the Maui Snakes, who still worship her to this day, although their numbers have been significantly reduced since they were exiled and attacked by the men of Earl Puka. The worshippers of Kahunoa practiced bloody and savage rituals that repulsed the minds of most Chrysovicans.

>>85629726
>Culture
Most cultural activities of Chrysovica revolve around the sea. They are mostly patriarchical, with men plowing the fields or spending the day fishing, and women taking care of the family, as well as indulging in activities such as knitting and weaving. Chrysovicans are typically peaceful people, and their relatively war-free history proves as much. Violence is only used when it cannot be avoided at all costs.
Tapestries are very common in Chrysovica, with even the poorer families living in leaky, cramped shacks owning several ancestral tapestries, which they hang on their walls. These tapestries usually depict aspects of daily life or aquatic animals.
The language of Chrysovica has some Calcabran, Sea Elven and Blesiryan elements, like loan words and idioms, but is mostly unique, and is mutually unintelligible with the other tongues of Scimitaria.
>Demographics
Humans
The vast majority of Chrysovica’s population consists of humans, who are mostly native Chrysovicans mixed with Blesiryans. There are also some populations that have recently immigrated from the regions of Blesirya and Calcabra. Most of those hail from the Aurous Highlands, where many groups of people move to Chrysovica once the gold mine that they work in dries out. Merchants from the Isle of Wizards and Hithlone can also be found in the cities.
Non Humans
The non-human population of Chrysovica is almost entirely Sea Elven. Most Sea Elves in Chrysovica moved there after the treaty was signed, and are either priests of Caijin, settlers or other government officials. There are some species of troll-like humanoids that are located near rocky shores and grottoes, but the Chrysovicans consider them nothing more than feral animals, despite their sentience.

I'll try to flesh out food island tomorrow. It'll be in the form of a short story of someone visiting, as I'm not sure if a profile exploring the history and organisation from an OOC perspective is even possible.

>>85630090
>Foreign Relations
Sea Elves – Relations between the two are strained, due to the several wars that have been fought over the last thousand years. For the past few decades, the Earldom has made a show of electing female leaders and paying fealty to Caijin, to avoid war with the current sea elf leadership. Even though the Chrysovicans detest the Sea Elves for their imperialist and expansionist mindset, the Sea Elves and the humans in Chrysovica treat each other with respect.
Aurous Highlands, Blesire States, South Belsirya and Grand Duchy of Calcabra – Apart from the Sea Elves, those are the most common trading partners of Chrysovica. Even though traditionally being on good terms, relations have strained recently due to their unwillingness to intervene on Chrysovica’s behalf against the Sea Elves.
Isle of Wizards – Even though the Wizards have generally ignored Chrysovica for most of its history, the last century they have taken notice of the actions of the cult of Kahunoa. Particularly, the use of ancient blood magic in order to transform themselves into half-serpent abominations is something that had worried the Wizards, and for that reason they sent their own representatives, which included wizards as well as a battalion of Amazons. With the help of the ruling High Earl, they intervened and soon the Maui Snakes were exiled. Since then, they haven’t heard from them and for that reason the Wizards don’t bother with Chrysovica.
Cocoon and Warding Fortress Islands – Very few Chrysovicans that ever travelled to the Cocoon Islands ever lived to tell the tale. Those that did described unspeakable and unimaginable horrors, and for that reason Chrysovica considers that place cursed and a hell on earth. For that reason, most of the garrison of these forts consists of Chrysovicans, as well as humans from the Isle of Wizards. Together, they help ward off the expanding ocean of webs from the primordial Death Blossom.

>>85630104
I think this is a good idea. This could also be applied to most nature etc realms on this setting.

>>85630113
>>85630090
>>85629726
I've gone ahead and added this to the wiki, as well as the Gvilderstaaten lore from 5 threads ago.

It's been a while, guys. OP from the Collective worldbuilding threads has been going down the "Tyrannical Asshole" route just a bit, so I thought I would come back here.

Lurker here, tell me about the assassin and thieves guilds of this setting

>>85630930
I imagine most big cities would have something similar to these.

But when I think of these, my mind goes to Hithlone, Gvilderstaaten, and Azan. Changrila could have its own version of the triads.

>>85630923
I am pretty sure their OP bailed and the grumpo troll is pretending to be him. Maybe he will come back, or maybe another anon will step up to update the map, but until then their project isn't going anywhere

>>85633799
Which map needs an update?

>>85634923
It's about the other "project".

man I'd ove to see this world drawn in a style like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebItHUEuYQ0

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>>85630923
>>85633799
other OP apparently had a family emergency but that post got deleted by either the troll or mods

>>85635752
I'd love to do that but my gimp skils suck

>>85626714
More Red Lotus stuff.

>Early life of Dihong Xinjianng
Dihong Xinjianng was the seventh son of a local noble family in the Changrilese province of Buhiau, close to the eastern border. Due the rules of succession, he was unable to inherit anything worthwhile from his family’s estate, and thus Dihong Xinjianng was tutored from a very early age to apply for a job in the Imperial Administration. To facilitate his studies, his family moved him to the provincial capital to study. There, he studied things such as economy, philosophy, religion, law and history. He also saw firsthand the terrible state of the Changrilese economy. The poverty he saw daily in the outskirts of the city combined with the luxury many of his noble family and peers enjoyed shocked Dihong Xinjianng to the core. The traditional values and virtues defended by the old Azanese Faith and by the Changrilese Faith of Divine Light clashed heavily with the reality he saw in the city. At the age of 19 he took the Imperial Exams, but was rejected. He went back to his studies, but also expanded his fields of study with matters such as basic medicine and alchemy, and also the study of the Azanese New Faith. It was during this stage in his life when he began to show symptoms of epilepsy, affected by small periods of convulsions and loss of consciousness. At the age of 21, he took the Imperial Exam once again, but he failed it again. Sources say this drove Dihong Xinjianng into a fit of rage, and made him abandon the residence where he lived. For three years, he completely disappeared, his family and colleagues not knowing where he was or where he had gone, despite the efforts made to search for him.

>>85636350
According to his writings, Dihong Xinjianng lived as a beggar for months, and afterwards he went to live in the rural areas of the province. The more he travelled the more differences he found between his old cozy way of life and the harsh reality of the lower classes. He worked at anything that could allow him to find food and shelter. His knowledge of alchemy and medicine made him quite popular between the poor and the downtrodden, and he finally settled in a small rural town. This area was not a peaceful one, since it was close to the eastern border, and witchelven raids were common enough, as well as raids of the changrilese soldiers who, due to corruption at the highest levels, were underpaid and hungry, and thus had to feed of the land. It is at this point where, according to Dihong Xinjianng’s writings, he was running during a terrible thunderstorm to search for protection, and slipped and hit his face with the ground. The local villagers recovered his body and took him to his house for recovery, but the hit left him unconscious for days. According to him, he had a vision in which he saw the world being devoured by hordes of demons, and at the brink of collapse of human existence, a blinding light drove the demons away. That blinding light then spoke to him, presenting itself as the “Great and Holy Celestial Father of All”, the One and True God of the world. He then told Dihong Xinjianng that the world was at the brink of destruction. The corruption and evil of men and the other sentient species was breaking the balance that He sought to create, and that the world needed to be cleansed and ordered to acquiesce to His divine ideals. He then told Dihong Xinjianng that he was to become the “Great Leader of Men” meant to unify all there is and will be in His name, so that everyone could ascend to the next plane in the Cosmic Stairs.

>>85636363
>Start of the preaching of the Faith of the Great and Holy Celestial Father of All

Once he woke up, he spent a couple of weeks in meditations, mulling about the meanings of that vision. After he finished his meditating, he told the town what he had seen and what it had been told to him. The peasantry quickly believed him, and soon he began proselytizing the nearby villages. His message of universal unity, brotherhood and to fight end of corruption and evil spread like wildfire between the downtrodden. It also helped that this new religion was quick to organize charities and common aid societies to offer help to the poor, the hungry and the sick. These entities also helped organizing defensive militias, to defend these new institutions to fight against bandits and the witchelven raids. Comparing them to the slow and often too late help offered by the Imperial Changrilese Army, these militias were poorly trained and equipped, but they were quickly available, since they recruited locally, and their religious fervor compensated them for all of their downsides. This meant that, even if their efforts were not successful, the locals would still prefer the Xinjianng Militias to the Imperial Changrilese Army. Many bandits actually joined the cult, seeing the direction the winds were blowing, further increasing the cult’s strength by adding hundreds of men experienced in the art of war.

>>85636374
Meanwhile, local authorities saw this new faith as a quaint thing, not particularly threatening to their interests. In fact, the organizing of their charity institutions and militias allowed local governors to reduce public spending in those areas, increasing their wealth considerably. This meant that not only the governors did not crack down this new faith, but also helped it spread in the shadows to reap the benefits. However, one thing that the local governors were quick to do was to pressure the cult into paying taxes. Most of these organizations did not deal in money for the most part, due to them being formed out of the lower classes, but mostly dealt in a barter system. This allowed them to be wildly independent from the local society and institutions, but also meant that they paid little direct taxes to the local government. After 10 years after the beginning of his preaching, Xinjianng officially named the group the “Red Lotus Congregation”, after a vision Xinjianng had where the “Great and Holy Celestial Father of All” gave him a red lotus flower as a sign of their compact. By this point, the cult had established itself firmly in all northwestern provinces, and was quickly spreading throughout northern and southeastern provinces. This also made them one of the most powerful organizations in the region, by all purposes creating a parallel government with their own institutions and militia. A militia that was growing at an accelerated rate. Thousands of volunteers were being trained by the original members of Xinjianng’s Militia to fight against the witchelven and even gain some ground against them, something that granted them a lot of praise within the rest of Changrila. Many peasants would donate all of their possessions to the Congregation, which allowed them to amass quite a massive fortune, used to spread more and more their message.

>>85636393
By this point, Dihong Xinjianng was becoming more and more reclusive, working incessantly in his great philosophical and theological works, leaving mortal matters aside for his followers to deal with. By this point, Red Lotus Congregation had gathered a lot of talented people, though many of them began to be more attracted to the Congregation’s powers rather than the Congregation’s ideals. The establishment of hundreds of temples to the “Great and Holy Celestial Father of All” was the thing that finally began breaking the status quo. The Central Government saw the growth of the faith of the “Great and Holy Celestial Father of All” as a real threat to the authority to the God-Emperor’s authority. The followers of Xinjianng were monotheists, and thus did not recognize the divine authority of the God-Emperor, and this allowed them to publicly criticize the government’s actions. The government also launched campaigns to discredit the Congregation, talking about the excesses of some of their higher echelons in their organizations. However, this was not particularly effective, and the growth of the Congregation’s goals began threatening the peace within Changrila. One of the biggest precepts of the Congregation was to “unify all there is”, and many feared that this would make Changrila’s neighbors (particularly the Azan Empire) that the Congregation would launch a war of conquest that would break the Treaty of Nefkin. Beginning a second great war between Azan and Changrila might have ended up with the loss of Changrila’s independence, and so the God-Emperor and the Central Government began moving against the Red Lotus Congregation.

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>>85636402
>One of the few surviving portraits of Dihong Xinjianng, before the Red Lotus Congregation began exerting their iconoclastic policies.

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Courtyard of a city in the Nasr Satrapies

>>85637739
His looks great. Is this made by DallE?

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>>85637769
It's midjourney, apparently. There's an anon doing requests in another thread on /tg/ so you can hit him up with anything you want while he's here.

Stable diffusion is even better than this. Here's the same prompt.

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Any place in this setting that looks like this?

>>85638329
>massive carps clogging the canals
Boy traffic jams must be interesting there.

>>85638329
What would be the reason to keep massive giant carps around in a city that needs cannals for transportation? It can't be food, I bet people throw their trash into the cannals, they must be poisonous for human consumption at the very least. Can't be for cleaning purposes, they are probably more of a hassle than that'd be worth. Religious, maybe?

>>85638329
That's what I was thinking when I wrote abouth Hithlone, minus the carps, of course. Although I think Florinth has canal cities like that.

>>85639015
Artificial cannals in the Sherrillu Ium Lakes? For what purpose they would do that, instead of just building roads?

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>>85639112
Wasn't Florinth based off Venice? Although in my mind I always imagined it more like lake Como or Lake Maggiore settlements.

>>85639522
Venice, Florence, medieval Paris and France in general

>>85639522
kek I had the same thing in mind

>>85639522
>>85640964
>>85641570
I mean, sure, but what would be the reason to build a city with cannals instead of streets? Florinth is in the middle of the sleep-poppy fields, a weird place a city, that alone a whole confederation.

>>85639112
>>85642356
I will try to tackle Florinth in my next lore dump. Regarding the canals, I figure it is because some areas around the lakes are swampy (as shown on the terrain map), so instead of backfilling entire swamps, ancient builders backfilled some areas for buildings, and dredged other areas for canals.

But the elevation map also shows some mountains near the lakes, which is supports >>85639522, so I will try and capture it as well

>>85638329
Looks like Cyrodiil if it remained true to lore in Oblivion

I think I'll go about writing the lore of the Republic of Vilga next, which is a vassal state of Avangar.

>>85642730
iirc theres an altitude map, with florinth and its lakes on a plateau, the surrounding poppies are on slopes down to sea level

>>85642778
cool, be sure to not forget about the Quammona Tong

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Calendar of Furlaniya

>The 5 Arriving Sundays
Date: 5 Sundays before the spring equinox

In Furlaniya the 5 weeks before the Spring Equinox are a period of fasting in anticipation of the spring equinox, known as Dragonfires Day. Each of the 5 Sundays has its own celebrations along with an associated patron saint. The origins of these traditions can be directly traced to the coronation ceremonies of the 3rd Azan Dynasty.

In those times when the emperor died, their successor would only be crowned on the coming spring equinox which would be preceded by a several weeks long ceremony steeped in religious symbolism. In the south of the empire this tradition would eventually mix with local folk customs in such a way that the ceremonies would be celebrated "in minor" every year, in contrast to the much more pompous "in major" celebrations when a new monarch was actually being crowned. This was known even to the emperors, such as Hwenezzar II. which was known to celebrate Dragonfire day every year in the southern city of Narses.

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>1. Fasting Sunday – Day of the Monks and Friars

"The Crown Prince spends the week in prayer at the Bronze Chapel in the city of Revelations. Neither food nor drink is given to him in that time. The scriptures tell us that during fasting he is able to receive communion with our Lord Bronzar and the saint-emperors of old.”

Starting on Fasting Sunday, a fast is observed for the next 5 weeks. Azan has a tradition of fasting prior to coronation to lay the foundation of divine communion between the followers of Aza and the new emperor. Fasting is strictly observed for the vassals and nobles in the holy cities, and for the eunuchs and messengers between them.
In the first week the officials of the imperial court would attend the meditation of the Crown Prince in the holy city of Aynur. The palace officials would carry out rituals such as dividing up a cushion for the emperor to kneel on, to touch and kiss as is required for the recognition of a presumptive ruler. The significance of touching the cushion is to establish a spiritual bond between the ruler and the people.

For the commoners, meat and eggs are altogether banned and most sustain themselves on milk and oats. Sour turnips and wild onions are the preferred vegetables. Some particularly devout followers refrain from eat anything but water and oats. In the temples white banners are unfurled to signal the beginning of the Arrival Sundays. People travelling on pilgrimage may go off to join the monks in their priories and bring them sacrifices from their journey.
In Furlaniya, on the first Monday of Fasting week, the faithful of Bora are taken by their clerics to celebrate a pilgrimage to an abandoned hermitage in the valley of Punevo (Podenoves). After a sermon, they attend several brief services to hear the proclamation of the Arriving Weeks by the archprelate of Vrsar. The monks of Northern Furlaniya also visit their fellow monks at the hermitage of St Odalius, in the remote mountains of Montegranaro.

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>2. Quaternal Sunday – Day of the Travellers and Hermits
"The crown prince leaves the city of Revelations with his retinue and makes way for Castle Essakor. As the Prince leaves the city of Aynur three spells of divination are offered to the spirit of the Maiden of the Quaternal Sun. On the road the crown prince travels under a large lighted lantern on top of a cart. This cart will be adorned with all sorts of beautiful fabrics in a show of piety and generosity. A procession of pilgrims and other faithful accompany the imperial retinue. The horsemen will be clothed in gold and the footmen in silver. All are decked out in embroidered cloaks and bright felt hats. On the last day of the pilgrimage the prince will offer a prayer to Aza and ask the saints to guide him in his journey."

On reaching Castle Essakor, the crown prince would stay with the high priests of Essakor. The prince-pilgrim would have to sit silently at the door of the shrine while the procession of pilgrims and commoners are invited to enter. He would listen to the sounds of those inside, all without interruption or response. The prince would silently observe and listen to the simple voices of the simple souls and would fetch them whatever is asked.

During this week travelling is considered a form of spiritual pilgrimage for everyone and travellers, specially pilgrims are shown special respect. Those who commence their pilgrimage during this week are said to be blessed with luck for their entire journey. In the lands of Furlaniya pilgrims must commence their journey by travelling to the highest mountains or depeest ravines to seek the hermit monks that inhabit those desolate places. As a form of initiation the hermits would teach the pilgrims the art of healing and cleansing wounds and the fashioning of prayer-stones from wood and bronze. Those who suffer an illness are given a ritual cleansing to heal their spirit as well as their body.

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I ain't gonna lie feeling kinda tired rn. Will finish this when I've had some sleep. The rough guidelines I've come up are here. If anyone ITT wants to take a punt, go ahead.

>3. Midarrival Sunday – Day of Servants and Beggars
"The crown prince arrives to the gates of Essakor where he must act as the servant of pilgrims and serfs for one week, washing their feet and serving their food. Those he cannot serve are given money by him and by the shrine's faithful and the shrine's appointed servants This is the order of prayers. Each day as he arrives at the gates he will cast his hand over the gate, giving his prayers to Bronzar and asking the spirits of their forefathers to direct him. He will also ask Aza and the other prophets to bless them."

>4. Excellent Sunday – Day of Infants and Young Parents
"The crown prince is taken into the temple complex of Essakor where he is prepared for the coronation and assumes a regal name."

All babies born in the previous year are officially named and registered on this day. Also the day new converts to the faith are inducted.

>5. Black or Second Fasting Sunday – Day of Mourners and Scribes
"This week is spent in mourning of the old monarch and all those before him."

Temples are clad in black. Statues are covered in black shrouds. Ancestor spirits are invoked and graves cleaned. Only cold food is eaten.

>6. Spring Equinox - Dragonfire Day
"The new monarch is crowned in a grand ceremony, followed by a 4 day feasting period."

>>85636402
More stuff about the Red Lotus.

>The Minxieng Incident

For years, the Imperial Government had been trying to interfere with the Red Lotus Congregation’s growth in power and influence, to no avail. This was mostly done by pressuring the Congregation to pay their due taxes, with the Congregation always finding a way to give only a fraction of the amount demanded. The increasing financial and religious influence was also a thorn into the God-Emperor’s authority, with the Congregation effectively creating a parallel government in those areas where their influence was stronger. The local population also began complaining about the activities of the Red Lotus Congregation to the Imperial Government, accusing them of using proselytizing methods more and more encroaching in day-to-day life. The Congregation had become more reclusive, skewing their help to fellow members more and more. Many businesses belonging to converted would only hire fellow believers. Their masses were done in public places, interrupting the daily activities of the populations as a show of strength. Temples to the Great and Holy Celestial Father of All were built at ever-increasing speed, occupying important areas of the cities and quickening the conversion of the masses. The Congregation’s success with converting the poor and the miserable created a lot of fear in the higher and middle classes, who saw the increasing political and financial influence and strength as a threat to their way of life. The Congregation had always pooled their resources collectively, but now they had become one of the most powerful and rich organizations around, easily able to absorb and bully around any other business, expanding their holdings exponentially. To counter this, the Imperial Government began organizing plans to get local business and the country’s great fortunes to their side, but due to their slow reaction, this was only effective in big cities.

>>85647775
The last straw was when the Red Lotus Congregation began collecting taxes in a small frontier city named Minxieng. This small population was by all intents and purposes abandoned by the Imperial Government, and thus was near universally convert to the Faith of the “Great and Holy Celestial Father of All” once the Congregation had arrived there. This was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Not only they were taking the taxes that rightfully belonged to the Imperial Government (and thus encroaching on a vital function of the State), but their taxes were considerably lower than their imperial equivalents, fearing that this would cause other cities to start paying to the Congregation as the better option of the two. The Imperial Government sent 15.000 men as a show of force to stop the Congregation and to detain the many members of the cult involved in taxation. News of the army’s moves spread fast, and reached Minxieng much earlier than the troops, and this gave the Congregation a chance to organize a defense. Many volunteers immediately joined the militia and, by the time the Imperial forces arrived to the city, the militias outnumbered them two to one. To avoid an all-out fight, the official at the head of the Imperial forces tried to talk to the Congregation leaders to surrender willingly themselves to the Imperial authorities, which they flat out refused.

>>85647794
It is not known what exactly happened afterwards, but what is known is that both armies clashed a couple of hours after the start of the negotiations. It was a chaotic clash, and both sides were comprehensively hurt. On the one hand, the Imperial forces were better trained and equipped than the Red Lotus’ equivalents, but they were not particularly well motivated and they were tired from a long travel to the border. On the other hand, the Red Lotus’ forces were much more motivated and doubled their opposition in number, but they lacked formal training and had no cavalry support. After an hour of combat, neither side managed to gain an advantage over the other, and thus the Imperial forces decided to withdraw to a safer position. While the Red Lotus’ losses were greater than the Imperial ones, the populace considered this a victory for the Congregation. After hearing the news of this fight, Dihong Xinjianng proclamed that the Changrilese government and the God-Emperor were enemies of the vision of "Great and Holy Celestial Father of All", become corrupted by the evils of the world and attacked their own countrymen. Dihong Xinjianng then proclaimed that the Red Lotus Congregation would no longer obey any kind of governmental order, effectively revolting against the God-Emperor. He then went a step further and proclaimed the “Kingdom of Heaven on Earth”, that would become the stepping-stone for a unified world that would bring brotherhood, unity and prosperity to those who saw the light. After this, he publicly executed the imperial soldiers captured in Minxieng. This act is considered the beginning of what many historians have described as the Changrilese Civil War.

So, roughly
>2000 years ago, 1st Azan dynasty
>1000 years ago, 8th Azan dynasty
>500 years ago, 10th Azan dynasty
Is that correct?

>>85647361
good to see you're back, furlananon

>>85648101
I'm not sure. I'm still making the timeline, but I'd like to fix this conundrum. >>85620504 >>85581960. For now I'm still waiting to get feedback on it, and in the meantime, I'm preparing the timelines of the different regions (at least as far as the order of events is concerned). I should start with Littlestep soon, but I still need some history about Tarot and Fyrd.

>>85648825
which reminds me of the fact that some anon wrote some lore about fyrd 1-2 threads ago and it wasn't added to the wiki

>>85648101
8th and 10th Azan Dynasty dates you included are currently correct, though the timeline anon seems to want to change the dates for them for some reason.

The 1st Azan Dynasty was stated as starting 100 years before the Battle of Empires, which seems a bit short but plausible. The Battle of Empires is currently pegged at about 3000 years ago.

>>85647775
>>85647794
>>85647801
Gromplos-tier worldbuilding, embarrassing.

>>85649806
nice false flag

>>85650674
Hi Gromplos.

>>85649749
>The 1st Azan Dynasty was stated as starting 100 years before the Battle of Empires, which seems a bit short but plausible.
Wouldn't this be impossible, though?
If we assume the 1st Dinasty are the descendents of Azan himself, how come they are just 100 years before BoE? Am I missing something?

>>85651144
maybe that was when the Azan Empire was first formed?

>>85651204
>>85651204
If Azan's founding myth has passed into myth, it seems unreasonable it happened so close to BoE. This kind of age seems much more reasonable. >>85594302

>>85648522
Eh I've been posting again for like 2 weeks now, but the whole timeline crafting has started to just bore me, so I'm going back to feast days.

>>85651276
what if the BoE itself is the subject of myth due to how long ago it was? 3k years in the past is a long, long time, especially in late medieval societies that are not very good in history keeping

the fyrd stuff is missing from the wiki

>>85655939
Can I get a link to it, so I may add it to the wiki?

>>85653212
That can't be the case. Not only we have lore written about it, but if it's going to be the calendar's axis, it needs to be clear.

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Jungle in the Maneater Islands

bump

So, do the Orange Marquisates have any extended lore?

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>Florinth and the Sleep Poppy Fields

>History:

Florinth has an ancient culture that dates back to before their conquest by the Khenomeric Empire. Back then they were one of several loosely organized human cultures scattered across the northeast with close ties to the fey. In particular, the Florinthians got along with the red haired water nymphs of the Sherillu-Ium Lakes, and built temples of durable white quartz as tributes to their beauty.

As the Khenomeric Empire expanded, it conquered the Lakes, and forced the region to serve as their vassals for quite some time. However, the Khenomeric Empire was never popular here, and after the Magoclergy formed, dissident mages took refuge here and in other nearby regions, particularly members of the Green Order. Florinth took heavy losses during the Battle of Empires, and with the help of the Green Order, the region rebelled.

Around this time, the “Forest of Getting Lost” was formed, blocking access to the lands of Florinth from the south and west. The Green Order is widely suspected of creating it, but this has never been confirmed.

Since these times, the Florinthian people have grown wealthy but isolationist. Warfare has been rare, population growth stagnant, and many inhabitants see themselves as living in a bastion of civilization in an otherwise backward land.

>Government:

Florinth is a monarchy, supported by several layers of nobility.

The King is a moody sort, prone to periods of mania, sullenness, and occasional anger, though most of the time he appears detached and bored. Like the rest of the Royal Family, he has significant fey heritage, which accounts for his personality, red hair, and slightly feminine appearance. Other nations don’t think much of him, but his is about average by Florinthian standards.

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>>85659650

The noble class of Florinth (and the many families of very wealthy non-nobles) have grown much larger than needed, and many nobles and other wealthy heirs spend their entire lives learning arts, culture, and fencing so they can compete for social prestige in discussions, debates, dances, and the occasional duel at parties and galas. Luckily the nation is abundantly wealthy, and very peaceful, allowing the few useful nobles, and many middle class merchants, guildsmen, bureaucrats, artisans, and others to support their decadent lifestyle (in return for a large cut, and the possibility of one day joining the nobility themselves). Like in most nations, the majority of the populations are simple farmer folk, but the land is fertile, and the farmers are generally able to produce large surpluses of food to support the urban class.

>Economy:

Florinth is a self-sufficient, isolationist nation whose trade goods fetch high prices in foreign lands.

Their knowledge of alchemy derived manufacturing techniques, combined with certain materials that are only found in Florinth, have resulted in several unique goods only found in the area. The most valuable is “Florinthian Glass”, made from the melted sand of an unusual rock, and treated with highly secretive techniques to make a material that is incredibly sharp, durable, and lightweight.

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>>85659661

Another unusual protect is Florinthian Perfume (aka Florinthian Aphrodisiac Scent). Made from sleep poppy extract and yet more secretive techniques, it makes the user irresistible to members of the opposite sex. It is banned in most foreign countries, extremely expensive, and requires much technique to use properly, as too little won’t have the desired effect, while too much means it can’t be washed off easily, and will draw unwanted attention in high traffic areas. Despite this, certain wealthy courtesans, escorts, obsessed admirers, and rapists have managed to master its use. In Florinth itself, specific uses of the perfume aren’t considered rape, like match-making parties, orgies, and certain sexually deviant clubs.

Florinth also exports opiums, processed sugar, and crafted goods.

It produces many other goods for internal use like grains, meat, and master crafted good for the wealthy.

The rapidly changing fashions in Florinth require a particularly large garment making industry to support it.

>Foreign Relations:

The Kingdom of Tarot – This nation had close ties with Florinth, both culturally and politically.

Gnoll Empire – Florinthians fear the gnolls will one day find a way through the Forest of Getting Lost. Many advocate surrender or paying massive tributes rather than trying to fight.

Golden Sea of Wheat – Although somewhat related, the Florinthians find the Wheatmen’s culture to be incomprehensible, and usually ignore them other than to buy flour at cheap rates.

Princedom of Platinum – The prince has been trying to enlist Florinth’s help in driving Avangar’s influence out of Tarot, but so far has had little success.

Forest of Getting Lost – It is believed this enchanted forest was created by the Green Order in ancient times to protect their core territories from the Khenomeric Empire. To this day, magical and druidic orders descended from the Green Order work to strengthen its magical defenses.

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>>85659683

Faarowt – The Florinthians get along well enough with the drug addled druids of Faarowt.

Blackstone Prison – Florinthians sometimes send their very worse prisoners there.

Lucy’s Land – Due to a weird technicality, this stretch of land, nearly 200 kilometers wide, has long been unclaimed by either Florinth or Faarowt. After hearing that a young girl and her friends living in a border village had claimed the region as their own, the king of Florinth at the time decided to label the land “Lucy’s Land” in a fit of whimsy.

>Geography:

Some Florinthians will claim that all of inner Florinth is one big city, though this is clearly false as inner Florinth is over 600 kilometers wide, and contains many cities and towns, not to mention lakes, low mountains, swamps, farmland, parkland, and estates. The basis for the one city claim is mostly the low wall surrounding the entire perimeter of inner Florinth, combined with the more urban reputation of those in inner Florinth, compared to those in the poppy fields.

The architecture of each city is mixed, with older buildings made of quartz and other white stones next to wooden structures built in whatever architectural style was fashionable at the time (currently either elaborate half timbered facades, or plastered walls with arches, depending on the region). Some low lying cities have an abundance of canals, travelled by gondolas, and sometimes inhabited by the massive sacred carp, while other towns and cities are built into the sides of hills and low mountains overlooking the lakes.

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>>85659733

Outer Florinth, also known as the Sleep Poppy Fields, is mostly grasslands, separated by small forests, farms, sugar cane plantations, and sleep poppy plantations. The sleep poppies grow everywhere, but usually not in high enough concentrations to be a threat to human health. The aroma of the poppies cause fatigue, which can led to coma-like conditions in extreme cases, so wide, well maintained roads crisscross the Sleep Poppy Fields to ensure travellers can move between areas safely. Outer Florinth is higher in elevation than the lands north of it, leading some to call it the Florinthian Highlands.

>Demographics:

Humans – make up the majority of the population. They are distantly related to those indigenous to the northwest, suggesting ancient migrations between these two areas. There is significant admixture with the local water nymphs, resulting in red hair and pale, flawless skin in most women, and even some males.

Fey – are not uncommon, particularly around the lakes. The red haired water nymphs are the most famous for obvious reasons, but others like brownies and dryads sometimes appear as well. Unseelie fey are rare but not unheard of. Some, like hags, live in caves, particularly foul marshes, and in city sewers.

>Religion:

Florinthians are easy going in terms of religion, and faiths of many types can be found here. Most Florinthians mix and match between different religions, and follow half a dozen or more gods from different faiths, plus occasionally pay tribute to many others when seeking help in matters that relate to their portfolios.

Some gods are native to the area, like Aphiria, the Queen of the Water Nymphs (a Faerie Lord) who is popular with artists, lovers, and the vain, and thus is popular with many Florinthians. Aside from the nymphs themselves, the massive carp are seen as sacred to her and are left alone. This also has a practical benefit, as some magic effect of the carp cleanses the water around them.

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>>85659748

Others gods are taken from foreign religions like the Northman/Zemylander Pantheon, the worship of foreign Faerie Lords, the many mysterious gods of the druids, and gods from the now fallen Khenomeric Empire.

Temples of many different gods can be found in each city and rural region, and people seek them out as needed to attend sermons, participate in community projects, seek counsel, focus their prayers, or offer tribute. Due to the many different temples dividing worshippers between them, few have even moderate influence in politics.

>Military:

Florinth has a large population, and significant military might, but their incompetent leadership, obsession with tournaments, parades, and honourable fencing techniques, overly decorated uniforms and equipment, and general lack of actual fighting experience means many doubt they will do well in an actual fight. However, despite their foppish reputation, many Florinthian military formations are actually very well trained and equipped, including the Elite Guard, and several knightly orders.

Florinthians have a good grasp of magic, using techniques mostly learned from the Khenomeric Empire and the Kingdom of Tarot. Plant magic, alchemy, and astromancy are the most popular schools of magic.

>>85659391
>So, do the Orange Marquisates have any extended lore?
It does have a lot of written history.

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Palace in Azan

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>>85661193
Azan has a more byzantine style, maybe with a tigne of asian art, since both Azan and Changrila used to be under the same flag once.

>>85661193
this looks great, although too small to be the Nannanikor Palace

>>85647801
More Red Lotus stuff.

>Changrilese Civil War
The Changrilese Civil War, or the War for Heaven as the followers of the “Great and Holy Celestial Father of All" call it, was a conflict that ravaged the Changrila Empire for nearly 20 years. The conflict would cause the destruction of dozens of cities, hundreds of small towns and cost the lives of millions of men between the fighting, the executions and the plagues and famines that came afterwards. The war would also put in question the authority of the God-Emperor and the Imperial Government, who saw the challenge of the Red Lotus Congregation as an existential threat for Changrila. The war also took a terrible level of violence, with attacks and retaliations against civilian centers being common by both sides.

>>85661889
The first stage of the war was marked by both the popular support for the Red Lotus and the slow reaction of the Imperial Government. Weeks after Dihong Xinjianng’s proclamation, thousands of small revolts happened all around Changrila. The Red Lotus preachers had been spreading throughout Changrila during the last couple of years, and because of that, there were thousands of converts even at the furthest points in the empire. These revolts mostly took the form of peasant revolts, with the lower classes rising up and attempting to overthrow their overlords. In many places, local authorities were able to stop these movements easily, forcing the cultists to run away towards the northeast. Other times, however, the numbers of converted were simply too great to push back without serious consequences, leading to destruction of towns, crops and the slaughter of tens of thousands. In many areas, the cult had actually spread to the higher classes, and in those locations it was the population loyal to the God-Emperor the ones who fled in terror to the southwest. This rebellion did not limit itself to the peasantry and the nobility. Many units in the Changrilese Imperial Army had converted long ago, hiding their new alignment for fear of being expelled. Now, however, many of these units simply waited until they were ordered to march against the rebels, and once they were there, simply defected to the Xinjianng Militia. The biggest incident was the First Battle of Fengqui, in which two rogue units of the Imperial Army tried to raid the Imperial Palace to assassinate the God-Emperor. While this attempt ended in disaster and all traitors captured and publicly executed as a warning, the fact that the cult had spread to that point made the Imperial Government terrified from any further treason from the ranks of the military.

>>85661900
The sudden chaos that all of these revolts and uprisings caused allowed the Red Lotus Congregation to strengthen their position in the northeast. Tens of thousands of men travelled to join the Red Lotus’ forces, many more joined to work for him, seeing this as a personal mission stated from the “Great and Holy Celestial Father of All". Most of these volunteers were nothing more than peasants, though, and so they had little to no experience with fighting a war. The task of training them fell under the Xinjianng Militia, since after so many years of fighting the witchelven, they had become a proper military force, hardened by constant war in the borders. They also received help from the turncoats from the Imperial Army, who were received by the Red Lotus’ cultists with open arms. Many of the civilian volunteers were put under training to begin crafting all of the weapons, armor and equipment their armies would need to wage a war. After half a year from the start of the rebellion, the Xinjiang Militia (now renamed the Heavenly Armies) began advancing towards the capital, hoping for a decapitating strike that would effectively end the war swiftly. Many historians today argue that this move was not as foolhardy as it could look. The Imperial Army was spread thin, trying to help the local zhouwei and xianwei to extinguish the local rebellions, which were threatening to completely ruin the economy of many provinces.

>>85661909
The Imperial Government considered that preventing the collapse of the economy ought to take precedent over fighting the Red Lotus’ forces, and this left the Heavenly Army a lot of room to prepare and consolidate their position, advancing to the west and southwest occupying as much land as possible. While at this early stage of the war Xinjianng’s forces were unable to siege any of the big provincial capitals, they were able to take over many of the smaller towns and cities. The Red Lotus’ followers always celebrated these victories by sharing all the food reserves the local nobility and rulers had stacked, trying to gain the favor of the people. This was necessary, since not only they needed them to keep the economy active, but also to increase the size of the Heavenly Army. To organize the war effort, the Red Lotus seized all the farmland they could come across, to put in the hands of groups of cultists (shehnogs), to try to continue food productions. Secretly, the shehnogs had orders to burn down all the crops if imperial forces retook the land. This would worsen the famines as the years went by. At the same time, the Heavenly Army also aimed to conquer as much farmland as possible from the God-Emperor loyalists, which could cause hunger and unrest in the imperial cities.

>>85661915
The Heavenly Army avoided any initial direct confrontation with the Imperial Army, preferring to move fast through the countryside. At the same time, the Imperial authorities were still busy putting down rebellions, preferring to fortified their positions within the fortified cities, too strongly protected to be besieged by the Heavenly Army, mostly composed of masses of light infantry and cavalry. This didn’t mean some big cities did not fall under the grasp of the Red Lotus. The fall of the fortified city of Fuhuxoi thanks to the guard units being secretly members of the cult and opening the doors during the night, marked a turning point for the war. Fuhuxoi, one of the richest and most influential cities in Changrila, falling in less than a day due to treason, sent shockwaves to the rest of Changrila, increasing the rate of the uprisings throughout the land. Dihong Xinjianng turned the Fuhuxoi into the new capital of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. The capture of this city also meant that the Red Lotus also gained a fortified river port, which would let them go straight to the capital of Fenqui by navigating downriver.

>>85661925
This made the Imperial Government finally appreciate the true threat that the Red Lotus posed. The God-Emperor ordered to mobilize all navy ships that could navigate in rivers to block the advance of the Heavenly Army. The God-Emperor also ordered a mass conscription to fight the great numbers of the Red Lotus’ fanatics. However, instead of moving to the imperial capital, Xinjianng ordered to consolidate their holdings, reinforcing the authority of the Red Lotus over the people and the economy. He ordered the forceful conversion of all people within their territory, with the punishment for disobeying being the expropriation of all of their possessions. An since all the land and charity organizations were under the grasp of the Red Lotus, who ignored more and more those not part of the cult, it was a drawn out death sentence. This caused many refugees to move to imperial territory, who recruited them for their armies. Xinjianng also ordered a strong policy of iconoclasm, destroying any image or figure of gods they could find, since Xinjianng claimed that: “The might and majesty Great and Holy Celestial Father of All cannot be grasped by mortal men, and any attempt to do so is challenging His holy design, and thus will be punished as all heresy is”. The Imperial Government countered this by reinforcing the cult of the Changrilese gods, establishing a policy of iconoduly in favor of the God-Emperor. This slowing down of the Heavenly Army advances gave enough time to the Imperial Army to reorganize and prepare, but it also gave the Heavenly Army time to rearm and train, turning them from a horde of fanatics into a proper professional army.

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>>85661267
How about this for the Nannanikor Palace?

>everyone just ignored the thread question and the thread task

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>>85665222
I think the roof still makes it look a bit too much like something you would find in Changrila

I think it would look more like pic related

>>85666154
>>85665222

since Nannanikor is the capital of Azan, I'd say it's pretty safe to assume that Changrilese influence is at a minimum there. But I'm not the one who wrote about Azan, so idk

>>85666670
Changrila was once part of the Azan/Dragon Empire, so it makes sense for there to be some East Asian influences in the palace design, but I think the Byzantine influences should be dominant

>>85666788
didn't the original author say that the countryside of Azan has plenty of feudal japanese influences?

alright gonna write up some vilga lore tomorrow

>>85666154
I think it would be more byzantine, rather than just renaissance italy.

>>85668066
He said it was Byzantine with some Italian and Japanese influences.

The whole "rural areas are all ninjas" thing was an idea of a guy who was brainstorming for a mini-rpg campaign, but it didn't really make sense with how Azan was written.

I figure they are mostly Byzantine in rural areas, but with some East Asian influences where people migrated over from Changrila and haven't fully assimilated yet, or when architectural or fashion trends from Changrila spread to Azan.

>>85669053
Can't wait anon

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Where in this setting can you find places like pic rel?

>>85674230
Fyrd.

I just realised that the eastern countries are technologically more advanced than the western ones, but considerably smaller. Just look at gunpowder weapons, they seem common in the east, whereas in the west they are far rarer and more primitive.

>>85675439
I think that has more to do with the fact that anons on these threads never agree on tech levels and there are always a few areas that end up well ahead of the curve for no particular reason, while other areas that were supposed to be cutting edge when they were first written end up falling further and further behind.

I think most human nations have early gunpowder weapons, even if it is not explicitly stated.

Luden and the Star People are the only ones that are more technologically advanced than early Renaissance, though I figure in the case of Luden, they are a half-mad god cursed race, so even though their tech has an industrial age aesthetic, it doesn't really work that well, and in some cases relies on magic to work at all.

>>85675947
I imagined that this would be because of the old empires were becoming stagnant while keeping their territories through more medieval-esque armies and magics (Azan, Changrila, Drow City States, the Witchelven...) whereas the smaller states were faster and more flexible in accepting and incorporating new tech and the new ways of warfare (Avangar, Drunigzar, the Platinum Princedom...), leaving magic aside. The ones that seem apart from this dichotomy are the Bog Witch, who seems to keep to herself, and the Gnoll Empire, that just uses hordes of gnolls to expand.

>>85661934
More Red Lotus stuff.

While both sides prepared their forces for a direct clash, the thousands of rebellions and revolts continued to burn the country to cinders. Whoever side won, it was followed soon by the massacre of the defeated. From small rural towns to provincial cities, no place was safe from the purges from either side, splitting apart families, friends and neighbors with the fires of faith. Frequently, the defeated would try to burn down the crops or kill the livestock as a measure of last resort, to take any resources from their enemies, even after they won. This, alongside the mass levies ordered by both sides, caused massive starvation throughout the country. Many historians reported that some areas even devolved into cannibalism, with them pursuing their enemies not just to defeat them, but as a source of nourishment. Some regions kept active centers of rebellion and fighting even long after the war, and the scars of these battles still cover the empire even years after the war.

>>85676655
The first great clash of forces between the Imperial Army and the Heavenly Army was the Second Battle of Fengqui, a year after the beginning of the rebellion. By this point, both armies were well trained and equipped, but there were still important differences between them. The Heavenly Army, knowing that their forces would be vulnerable to a fight of attrition, decided to finally try to take the imperial capital of Fengqui. They planned for a quick breakthrough, but before the assault they needed to reduce the Imperial Army to fully focus their forces on a singular point. The Imperial Army, however, knew this, and after extensive reforms of the army and their leaders, decided to outlast the Red Lotus. The defenses of the imperial capital were mighty, having been reinforced every single year since the start of the Azanese Civil War, and thus posed a near impossible obstacle for the Heavenly Army. The Red Lotus’ plan focused on starving the capital, blocking all entrances to the city so that it would not have enough to feed their population. The areas too close to the city to control, they would raze, and thus they would have no land other than whatever they could farm behind the walls. However, this strategy could not happen if the Imperial Army just garrisoned and protected all entrance routes to Fengqui. The Second Battle of Fengqui lasted five entire years, in which both sides pursued each other, with the Imperial Army, more experienced and with access to cavalry and army wizards. This long game of cat and mouse caused terrible losses for both sides, mostly due to skirmishes, disease and famine rather than from battle, though great clashes did indeed occur. This devastation was mostly felt within the city, since the state of intermittent blockade meant that food was not always available.

>>85676669
This would ravage the population, with the God-Emperor even ordering to turn any arable area inside the walls to food production, even the near millennia old Imperial Gardens. However, this marked a turning point for the rebellion, since the resistance against the Red Lotus meant that any attempt of treason from within was met with popular punishment. Public lynching of members of the cult were frequent, as well as executions of prisoners. This began coalescing in the areas still under imperial control, where the general opposition against the Red Lotus began reducing the cult’s influence over the population. In contrast, the Red Lotus’ ever increasing religious and political edicts began chafing the population’s support. Dihong Xinjianng had shut himself off from the world, only talking through his most faithful supporters. He kept increasing the power the Red Lotus had over the lives of its members, all in the name of His divine designs. Imperial raids to Red Lotus controlled regions, an increase of banditry and the witchelven raids started turning the northeast of the country into a desert, worsened by hunger, disease, military levies and religious purges to those considered not pure or faithful enough.

>>85676686
Year after year, the Imperial Army began gaining the advantage in the Second Battle of Fengqui, and on the 5th year, the Heavenly Army generals ordered a retreat to Fuhuxoi. This started the second phase of the war, where the Imperial Army began gaining ground against the Red Lotus’ domains in the north and the northeast. Fuhuxoi had been fortified as much as posible, and while it didn’t have the centuries of pre-prepared positions Fengqui had, the city held some of the most zealous and hardened members of the Red Lotus. Knowing this, the Imperial Army focused on retaking as much land as possible before dealing with the cult’s capital. Slowly but surely they began retaking the northern territories and then advanced eastwards. The Red Lotus’ main centers of support were completely burnt out after years of war, famine, pestilence, banditry, witchelven raids and the ever more paranoid and zealous religious persecution. More and more the Imperial Army were received as saviors and heroes, half as a legitimate feeling and half as a way to try not to be purged as traitors to Changrila. Purges did indeed occur, though, with the Imperial Army executing entire towns suspected of loyalty to Dihong Xinjianng and the Red Lotus.

>>85676700
After fifteen years from the start of the rebellion, the position of Dihong Xinjianng, the Red Lotus and the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was dire. The Red Lotus’ generals argued that there was no way to win the war without divine intervention, and such they pleaded to Xinjianng for a miracle. After a month of contemplation and meditation, Xinjianng came out of his chambers and told his followers that he had been blessed with a divine vision. In this message, the "Great and Holy Celestial Father of All" had told him that he and all of his followers were to traverse heathen territory and cross the sea, where they would reforge the “Kingdom of Heaven on Earth” stronger than before, to recuperate and to plan their liberation of the world. After hearing the doubts and complaints of some of his generals, some of them even wondering if a conditional surrender wouldn’t be the best option, he then ordered the ones who believed him wholeheartedly to execute the others. This began the Great Purge of Fuhuxoi, where nearly a third of the Heavenly Army’s forces on the city were executed. After this was over, Xinjianng ordered a great march towards the coast. After reuniting every spec of resources they could take from their still loyal provinces, he then marched to the southwest, abandoning the city of Fuhuxoi and burning it for good measure, to keep the imperials from retaking the city.

>>85676409
Azan doesn't seem particularly stagnant, their tech levels are probably standard for the setting.

Changrila is mentioned as being a major hub for innovation.

Drow and Witch-elves probably don't use gunpowder as much just because they have better stuff. They are elite skirmishers so they use bows and quick reload crossbows since their firing rate is higher, and they are skilled enough to hit weak points in armor reliably. They may use cannons and explosives for siege work though.

Avangar relies heavily on magic, and the Platinum Princedom and Drunigzar are also mentioned as using it.

>>85676715
This began the last phase of the war, where millions of followers of Dihong Xinjianng marched throughout Changrila to try to reach a port to sail to the unknown. Historians still debate the numbers of men and women accompanying Dihong Xinjianng, but the general consensus seem to vary between 2 and 6 million. This force would ravage the regions that it crossed, being simply too great to fight directly, even for the Imperial Army. However, a throng of people of this size could not stay still, and thus they had to keep moving, razing the land from resources, taking whatever they could bring along and burning whatever they couldn’t. The Imperial Army chased them wherever they went, but were unable to effectively stop them, since most units were still busy in the northwest, extinguishing the last remaining centers of Red Lotus’ resistance that had been left behind. Millions of the cultists died while they were marching through mountains, swamps, rivers and the Imperial Army blockades they had to push through to continue.

>>85676733
The final year of the war mostly consisted of the remainder of the Red Lotus’ forces raiding coastal towns, taking whatever sea worth vessel they could find and moving over to the next port. While the Imperial Army’s and the God-Emperor’s orders were that any ship had to set sail once the Red Lotus’ forces drew near, this didn’t stop the Red Lotus from taking many ships. The final battle of the war, the Battle of Port Veiaxi. Veiaxi was a city near the Hiuan Tsi’s rivermouth, and due to a storm the days before the Red Lotus arrived, the city fleet had been unable to leave. This allowed the Red Lotus to take near all of the ships, and then sail into the unknown. While they were pursued by an imperial flotilla, the storms were still raging, and thus the Imperial Navy considered chasing them down too dangerous, assuming they would just sink and drown into the sea.

>>85676747
The escape of the Red Lotus marked the end of the Changrilese Civil War. The toll of the war is measured in millions of people dead and a country ravaged by war, famine, disease and religious unrest. A good chunk of Changrila would be lost to the witchelven, who capitalized the unrest in their neighbor by conquering dozens of cities in the northwest and the west. The numbers of Red Lotus’ survivors are unknown, but they were unlikely to number more than 50.000 men. The ones that stayed in Changrila were hunted down and punished in the following years.

>>85676727
I checked them, you are right (though Drunigzar barely has any magic mentioned outside of some hired wizards for their army). Maybe it's a case of divergent evolution? Their tech advances at a similar pace, but focuses on different things? The east seems to have the more advanced ships of the setting, for example.

>>85675439
well, both the east and the west are a bit more low-fantasy focused, so I imagine with magic being more absent there you'd have more technological prowess. it could be a dividing theme of the setting

>>85677394
>well, both the east and the west are a bit more low-fantasy focused, so I imagine with magic being more absent there you'd have more technological prowess. it could be a dividing theme of the setting
People have tried this in previous settings and it usually ends up feeling forced and dumb, and gets ignored as the writers continue to pile on new gimmicks and sometimes blatant powerwank to various regions.

I imagine most human nations have a decent blend of magic and technology, and would "play" pretty similarly. New technological innovations spread pretty quickly between nations with decent sized industrial bases, so I don't see too many technologies being unique to certain regions, at least not for long.

Magic seems a lot more exclusive. Some areas attract magic users because they have the best schools and access to restricted knowledge, others get their magic from a particular source or patron. I think these areas would have a more unique "play style". Some of these areas will have up-to-date tech as well, but it gets overshadowed by the abundance of magic users.

There are also some areas that don't seem to have much of either magic or tech, but are still probably pretty dangerous due to fighting spirit, knowledge of local terrain, and/or racial perks.

>>85677634
>>85677394
speaking of Magic, did we come to a conclusion on how it works or who gets to practice it?

I thought it was hereditary/genetic, or outsourced from a godly power/achieved through a demonic pact. I think it's fine to leave it ambiguous for the moment.

>>85677634
when you think about it, most of the high fantasy stuff is near the center of the map

I like land mines.

>>85678203
It is pretty ambiguous and probably for the best.

Some of it is directly granted by gods, demons, faerie lords, etc., while others are somewhat hereditary, but needs extensive training to unlock, which many people don't have access to.

When it comes to how common it is, there is a lot of disagreement though, so it is probably better to leave this ambiguous.

What's the lore behind South Belsirya?

>>85679647
Not much other than what appears in the lore for neighboring nations.

Probably the most useful to read is the Aurous Highlands history, which touches on South Belsirya history as well

lurker here, haven't had the opportunity to contribute in anyway but I appreciate the lore you guys have written. When do you reckon this will be able to be playtested?

>>85680182
We still need to write how the magic works, how the gods work, the calendar (which is being worked on, but there's a debate on when exactly is current year), and add a lot of characters. Right now we have a lot of lore about history, beasts, nations... but no real explanation for the magical workings, alchemy, and special characters.

Also deciding which system to use. I imagine GURPS would sufice.

If anyone playtests this, please add the campaign to the thread so that we might add it to the lore.