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>>87956641

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>>87956653

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>>87956663

1 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84774616/
2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84847594/
3#1 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/84864673/
3#2 - 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/
18 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85554910/
21 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85580942/
22 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85686282/
23 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85775039/
24 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85865971/
25 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/85981957/
26 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86150840/
27 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86258892/
28 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86355397/
29 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86504173/

>>87956678
30 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86662491/
31 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86786745/
31#2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/86924239/
32 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/87072460/
33 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2022/87171716/
34 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87267880/
35 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87388478/
39#1 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87472712/
38 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87550989/
39#2 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87627406/
40 - Needs to be Archived
41 - Needs to be Archived

Google Doc Link for the timeline. As updated as it can be.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Weiu2IWHLvwzuWaCnggBT0nYVzJvvHEeD0ec3KB16WI/edit?usp=sharing

How the hell did the previous thread get bumped off the board when it was on the first page 1 hour ago?

>>87956825
No idea, I just saw it closed and made the new thread.

Where is the lore map?

I just found this project and i am very interested. I am working thru the wiki, reading about the various nations. Any particularly interesting ones you'd recommend?

Also, since i am gonna read about all of them, i could write up some tl;dr for them.

Here is the (provisional) tl;dr for Changrila and War-wel, as an audition of sorts.

>Changrila:
Originally a part of Azan, and followed the Azan/Dragon religion. A millennia ago Changrila became an independent nation under the rule of the God-Emperor, who is also the object of worship by the new state religion. Morality: mostly Good. Main demographic: Human. Design Motif: Imperial China

>War-Wel:
Built by the Azan as a trading hub and resuppy station for expeditions to explore the far Southwestern seas, with the intention of exploring and settling the Eldritch Jungle. Was a highly successful trading port until it was exposed to a disease from the aforementioned jungle, killing all inhabitants. Now an abandoned ghost town; with even pirates and the desperate avoiding its white marble edifices. Morality: N/a Design Motif: White Marble


Should i write more?

>>87958043
There is a bit of a tldr on 1d4chan.

https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Setting:Crumbling_Giantstep

>>87958271
thank you. I am definitely going to read some more before i actually try to contribute, as the link you provided showed me that i was missing alot of key info.

Very cool setting thus far tho. Kinda feels like WFB, but with its own flavor (or bunch of flavors, since it is a collab.)

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I probably shouldn't have deleted the Evergreen Pastures given there were disagreements about the lore, but whatever

>>87959254
The orange marks places that are halfway done.

>>87958043
War Wel is correct although it was a colony built by the Blind Bastard's Domain (most hailing from Azan)

Ok, so I'm adding a bit to the Evergreen Pastures, to see if we can tweak the bit that's causing trouble.

>The changed bit
The oviscentauresses spend a long time grooming themselves and each other. Their wool grows at a pretty fast pace, and they need to constantly keep it under control. If they do not, it can be very vulnerable to parasites, who find the she-eeps’ bodies a great place to find refuge and multiply. . Not shearing for a while can overburden the individual she-eep, as well as promote the growth of certain fungi. To combat this, the oviscentauresses try to shear as frequently as possible, though never so much that their bodies could be exposed to the elements, since they are rather sensible to cold. Thus, shearing has become a very complex social interaction not only between oviscentauresses, but also with their neighbors. Mothers and daughters will shear each other as a way to reinforce social bonds, as well as to teach the ways of shearing to the next generation. They will also travel to the Baalps once a year for a particularly important shearing. They will go to the hermits living in the Baalps, where the hermits living in the mountains will shed them. Following the orders of Voluptuia, self-proclaimed “Queen of the She-eep”, the wool obtained in this shedding will be used by the hermits to create complex wool tapestries, representing the myths and sacred tales of the Baalps and its inhabitants. This has made certain caves of the Baalps repositories of lore, some of which cannot be translated anymore, since the evolution of the she-eeps’ writing has meant that their knot-based writing is very difficult to pass to the next generation unchanged.

>>87958657
What's this and how does it relate to the main map?

Also, I have a couple of ideas to continue the historical maps series. Specifically to fill the void between the Khenomeric Fall and the rise of the Orange Kingdom.

We need to archive this and the previous thread.

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Ok, so I was thinking of continuing the historical maps series. For the hole in between the Khenomeric Decay and the birth of the Orange Kingdom, I was thinking of using the hints of the Central Giantstep Awakening and the wars between the predecessor of the Gokmavi Khaganate. I'll write it tomorrow, but the basic idea is something like this:

>The retreat of azan and the khenomeric empire causes a lot of people to end up in the lands of Central Giantstep.
>Urgun Culture, Aquilea-Caprea and the early Gokmavi began appearing. "Central Giantstep Awakening".
>Wars in the Red Land Steppes, the different nations and tribes fight for dominance. Unified urban state vs nomad confederation.
>Rise of the "Blind Hawk" warlord, becomes the biggest power in the Red Land Steppes, begins raiding and pillaging the cities of the Urgun region.
>Many cities are burned down, the populations within the Red Land Steppes becomes more favorable to the nomadic confederation, seeing cities as "weak"
>Infighting between the Khaganate of the Blind Hawk. Fall of the Blind Hawk, the surviving city states in the Urgun Plateau begin rebuilding.

Meanwhile, Azan tries to recover the lands near the Cursed Battlefield and fails, finally retreating from the region and focusing south. The Khenomeric Empire keeps fragmenting, but I'm not sure which bits should be away from the empire outside of the lands within the Forest of Getting Lost.

Any suggestions?

>Gokmavi Khanganate:
The Gokmavi Khanganate is an engima to outsiders, who often deride it for its isolationism and apparent lack of culture and military strength. This is because most have only met the raiding parties and caravans of one Horde. In truth the Great Horde would be a force to shake even the mighty empires of the world.

Each Horde is culturally and militarily distinct; yet each is a collection of tribes, each led by a tribal ur-khan . The ur-khans pay tribute and to a Khan. The Khans then in turn owe their loyalty to the Great Khan. Each Great Khan rules for about 100 years, then the hordes go to war to determine the next ruler. The Khan who wins these Succesion Trials is then able to choose a Great Khan. They are not allowed to appoint themselves, but may otherwise choose any Gokviri Tribesmen they wish. Some choose the man or woman they think will lead the tribes to prosperity. Other choose those that owe them loyalty. All chose a capable warrior. The current Great Khan is Mujin Khan, of the Blue Horde. A male khan bears their title after their name (Mujin Khan). Female khans bear the title as a first name (Khan Myris).


>Blue Horde:
Known internally as the Sythic Tribes, the Blue Horde is the second oldest horde, and also invented the "nomadic farming" technique that all the tribes use today. The Sythic count among their number the Great Uniter; Khan Myris, and the current Great Khan; Mujin Khan. They produce more food any other tribe, and trade freely with their counterparts.

They raid, protect their caravans, and protect their farms with heavy cavalry. These cavalry are armed with war sycthes; originally farm equipment, war scythes are long polearms with curved blades mounted parellel to the haft. They are armored in thick leather armor and breastplates of laquered wood. These troops are equally capable in the charge or the middle of a melee.

>>87965488

>Red Horde:
Known interally as the Red Land Tribes, the Red Horde is the oldest Horde, and has adapted to their desert lifestyle by becoming an orderly, disiplined (also dour and serious) people. They are also much more religious than other tribes, with a majority being beilivers in the Cult of Blinding Light. The Red Horde claim to trace their lineage to the mythical First Khan, Blind Hawk; but they are considered the second most important Horde at current. They are also famous for their craftsmen. Red Horde crafters are credited with the invention of the heat-dissapating desertcloth which is used by all the hordes; as well as mastery of many non-metal crafts besides.

Their raiding parties are known for their expertise in mounted shortbow combat and hit and run tactics. They are also feared for their dreaded Red Circle formation; wherein the archers ride circles around an enmey position and fire arrows with great speed and precision. Each warrior carries a long dagger called a khanjar for close combat encounters.

>Black Horde:
Known to their fellow tribes as the Nightborne Tribes, the Black Horde live in an even more desert covered region than their Red Horde neighbors. They have adapted to this harsh climate by becoming a noctunal culture. All tribes of the Black Horde rest during the day and rise with the moon. The culture of this Horde is paradoxical; they are the loudest, merriest, and most brash of the Tribes in civilan life, with tales of Black Horde celebrations being legendary all across the Khanganate, and those few outsiders privileged to the event often too drunk to recall much beyond a legendary hangover.

By contrast, the Black Horde military are disciplined masters of stealth warfare and night raids, as well as light infantry and light cavalry tactics. The principle troops of this horde are lightly armored warriors weilding curved one-handed swords called tachi. These agile soldiers are clad in black tanned leathers.

>>87965488
>>87965557
Are these ok? I did one for each Horde, but dont want to spam the thread if it isn't up to snuff, y'know?

>>87961131
These are the nations in need of a lore dump.

>>87965565
It's pretty good

>Island of the Volcano God

This island, known as Kurotowa by the natives, is mostly shrouded in mystery. What little history of them is known is due to archaeological remains found on the island, or foreign nations' archives mentioning them. Most scholars agree that Kurotowa was settled around three thousands year ago, and different migrations occured up until a millenium ago, each one of them adding different aspects to their culture and traditions.

The people that migrated to Kurotowa are theorized to have done so from Zemyland, perhaps being a sister people to the Hyperboreans and the Kentgorodians. These fierce and war-like people eventually settled into many different tribes, each vying for control over different areas of Kurotowa. But they all shared one common belief: that the volcano at the center of the island was a sacred site, home to the great deity of fire and creation, who triumphed over the rest of the gods.

As the tribes grew in strength and number, they began to develop a primitive system of government, with chiefs, high chiefs and priests ruling over their respective territories. The priests, in particular, held great sway over the people, serving as the intermediaries between the mortal world and the divine. They would perform rituals and ceremonies at the volcano, offering sacrifices to the gods in exchange for their blessings and protection.

The island's' history is marked by a slow, steady growth in population and the size of the chiefdoms, which grew to encompass large parts of the island. The Kurotowans did not stay isolated for long, however, as the growing reputation of the island led to many pilgrims and scholars who sought to learn more about the volcano people and their connection to their deity.

>>87967334

These foreigners, although met with suspicion, were allowed to live with the Kurotowans. Their writings have since become the most valuable source of information on Kurotowan traditions and religious practices, and continue to be studied to this day. One of those scholars was the mad Ilya Antonya Zapalovidakuvna of Zapalovach, who claimed preposterous things, such as the locals being able to touch flowing lava with their bare hands, or being able to drink it. HIs foundings, if they can be called as such, have since been debunked.

Not all interactions with the outside world were benevolent, as the Kurotowans have faced many raids and invasion attempts by foreign powers, particularly by the new Zemylander nations and some Marquisates. Even though none of these invasions were succesful, it has lead these tribes to a life of hardship and constant war, with many of them either dying, or fleeing towards greener pastures to the south. The remaining Kurotowans have been hardened by these conflicts, and have developed an immense distrust and hatred towards outsiders.

>Government

There are six tribes in Kurotowa, each one led by a High Chief and controlling parts of the island, with the exception of the land around the main volcano in the center of the island, which is only inhabitable certain times of the year. Apart from the High Chiefs, Priests of the Volcano God also hold significant influence within the people, as they are responsible for interpreting signs from the Volcano God and determining the appropriate sacrifices to make in order to keep the island safe.

Even though these tribes are in almost constant warfare, there is a degree of inter-tribal cooperation, as they all, once per year, join their forces in order to hunt game and capture prisoners to offer up as sacrifice ot the Volcano God.

>>87965557
>New Horde:
Ironically not the youngest horde, the New Horde (aka Stonebreaker Tribes) are renowned among their kind for two things. First, strength of body, with the average Stonebreaker being two heads taller and much stronger than their counterpart tribes' largest specimens. Second, their skill in metalwork. Even though there are other tribes that operate mines, like some in the Black Horde, they trade all the metal ore extracted to the New Horde to be crafted into tools and traded amongst the various tribes. The New Horde also operate more mines than any other.

The Stonebreaker Tribes are unique in that they don't regularly employ cavalry. Instead the New Horde ply their mineral wealth in arming heavy metal-clad infantry. These massive warriors protect the mines and caravans with the huge curved swords known and feared as Horsekillers or the massive clubs called Wulfbreakers. Such is the combined weight of a Stonebreaker, their weapon, and armor that they can only ride the mightiest horses. However, the value of such mounts is so great that most warriors dismount and shoo the horse away before joining battle on foot. Only the wealthiest can afford to replace such a beast and being dismounted allows them to wield their weapon two-handed, increasing effectiveness.

>>87967569
>Silver Horde:
The youngest of the Hordes, the Silver Horde is a very martial group of tribes. Chosen from the tribes of the Blue Horde and tasked by the Great Khan before Mujin Khan to explore and settle the southern reaches of the Khanganate. The Frontier Tribes have great holdings, and control the only port of the Gokmavi at Opole. In exchange for this wealth and potential wealth, the Silver Horde lives in the most dangerous region of the Khanganate. This Horde defends the others from great beasts ranging up from the Zulutuar Steppe, and from piratic raiding parties coming ashore at Opole.

The Horde's main means of defense and raiding is the mounted longbow. These bowmen have supeior range when compared to their shortbow weilding brethern in the Red Horde and can still loose volleys at full gallop, but with reduced volume of fire. The prefered tactic of these archers is to ride to within arrow range of the enemy, stop, and fire indirect volleys of arrows, before charging with tachi to rout the foe.

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>>87967460
>Geography

The Island of the Volcano God is a land of stark and rugged terrain, dominated by towering mountains and sprawling glaciers, which give way to vast stretches of black sand beaches and rocky shores. The island is also home to numerous hot springs, geysers, and volcanic craters. It is evident why the Kurotowans thought of this land being the home of the gods.

The interior of Kurotowa is extremely harsh, with a vast network of glaciers forming icy valleys and towering peaks, making survival even harder for the few people that make it their home.

The central volcano's countless eruptions have shaped the island over the centuries, spewing forth rivers of lava, ash, and smoke, which occasionally making the interior of the island easier to live in.

Despite the harsh conditions, the island is not entirely barren. Along the coast, there are small pockets of verdant greenery, where hardy grasses and shrubs cling to the rocky soil. These oases provide vital sustenance for the island's wildlife, which includes hardy species such as snow foxes, owlbears, fur seals and ice wyrms.

On the island's interior one can find a large, sprawling forest, one of the few surviving ones in Kurotowa, where no humans are to be seen. Instead, they are home to a fearsome predator, known as the Snow Tiger, a ferocious feline that's almost as large as a brown bear, and is known to hunt boars, deer and hares that inhabit the forests.

>Economy

The Kurotowans sustain themselves almost solely on fishing and hunting, as the extremely harsh envinronment makes it difficult to grow corps or raise livestock.
They also exploit what little the land provides them with, harnessing the geothermal energy for cooking and heating, as well as using obsidian in order to create tools, weapons and decorations.

The Kurotowans very rarely trade with the outside world, especially nowadays, but when they do, it's mostly offering animal furs and obsidian, in exchange for wood and food.

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>>87967598
>Society and Culture

The Volcano God worshippers on the island have a complex system of laws and customs that govern their daily lives, known as the Hapu. The Hapu system is based on a strict division of labor and social hierarchy, where each person has a designated role and status. At the top of the hierarchy are the priests and High Chiefs, who are responsible for maintaining the order and administering justice. They are also the only ones allowed to communicate with the Volcano God and conduct the yearly sacrifices. Below them are the commoners, who are further divided into different classes based on their professions and skills, each with their own rules and restrictions.

Breaking the Hapu could result in severe punishment, such as exile or death. For example, only certain individuals are allowed to approach the sacred volcano, and anyone else who tries to do so will face severe consequences. The Hapu also determines which individuals are allowed to join the tribes in the annual raiding, or which ones are allowed to offer themselves in sacrifice.

The Kurotowans have a rich oral tradition, and their history, myths, and legends are passed down through storytelling, as no form of written language is known to occur. Very few of these legends are known outside of their communities, as entrusting them with foreigners is considered a grave sin.

>>87967671
>Religion

The people of Kurotowa hold a deep reverence for the Volcano God, who they believe controls the forces of nature and can bring both destruction and fertility to the land. According to Kurotowan tradition, the island was formed by the fiery rage of the gods, creating a land of molten rock and ash. It was said that the gods would come to this island to rest and meditate, drawn by the raw power of the active volcano at its heart. The Volcano God, who is to remain unnamed, reigner supreme over the other gods, enslaving them and establishing the volcano as his home and throne, where he still resides today. They believe that without sacrifices, the Volcano God won't be appeased, and in turn will punish them by letting the harsh blizzards freeze over their homes.

Despite their devotion to the Volcano God, the islanders also believe in the existence of other spirits and deities, such as the spirits of the sea and the wind. These spirits are believed to be closely connected to the Volcano God and are often called upon in times of need or to offer thanks for blessings received.

>Demographics

Scholars estimate that no more than ten thousand individuals, all human, occupy the island, with the population potentially being larger in the past.

The locals of Kurotowa have a persistent rumor about an elusive humanoid roaming the mountains and glaciers, known as the Yeti. This creature, covered in thick white fur, shares similarities with creatures found in southwestern Giantstep and Changrila. Despite its frequent appearances in Kurotowan folklore, no outsider has ever sighted the creature, leaving its existence in doubt.

>>87967745
>Foreign Relations

All forms of foreign interactions between Kurotowa and the outside world come in the form of raiding.Every year, the Kurotowans engage in raiding neighboring lands, such as the Land of Fit and Ness, the real Glutton Island, and the Orange Marquisates, as well as passing ships to acquire prisoners for their sacrifices.

As a result of centuries of raids and invasions from neighboring lands, particularly Zemyland and the Orange Marquisates, the volcano islanders have developed a deep distrust and hatred towards outsiders. Long gone are the days where scholars and pilgrims would find themselves living alongside the Kurotowans, even if it were for a few days.

Recently, rumors have spread that merchant clans from Zapalovach and nobles from the northern Orange Marquisates are funding an expedition to conquer and civilize the Kurotowan tribes.

With talks of everything in this setting happening thousands of years ago in the past, what are some current events (millitary/political, etc) that would make for a cool setting of an RPG adventure? From the top of my head

>Laurentian Strongholds and Waldemaria versus Mossovoy necromancers
>Witchelven Empire vs Azan and Aelar'Ra
>Changrila vs Nasr, Azhan Nar and Furlaniya
>Blind Bastard's Domain vs Mumak Mahudoms and Nosso Lar
>Hydra's Eyes operations in Scimitaria
>Avangar's expansion wars, particularly against the Platinum Princedom
>Gnoll Empire expansion warrs against everyone
>Aquilea vs demon breaches and the Witch Elves

cannot think of any more desu

>>87968344
Oddly enough, the gnolls are at "peace" now, since the politics of the Nameless demand to try and open relations with others.

You could say the war between the Red Lotus and the Drow Citystates/Changrila. Or the wars between the Red Pirates and Avangar.

>>87967578
>History:
Most outsiders know almost nothing of the history of the tribes, assuming them to be no more than an uncivilized tribal raiding culture, not worth the effort of study. This image is not helped by the fact that, despite having knowledge of writing, have no written history.

However, those few that have traveled to the Khanganate lands have discovered a land dotted with monumental stone kurgans, and a people who keep a long oral history.

The tales of the Tribes stretch back to the time of the first Gokmavi tribe. The shamans say it was a time of chaos. Two "great tribes" had retreated from Central Giantstep leaving the Gokmavi hunter-gatherer tribe to expand their holdings. The early tribe grew from controlling a single village to wandering a vast rolling steppe.

During those wanderings the tribe discovered the Urgun culture and the twin city-states of Aquilia-Caprea. Early interactions were peaceful. The Urgun introduced the horse to the Gokmavi, and later used Urgun teachings to domesticate the camel and other beasts. Aquilea and Caprea taught the shamans of the tribe simple protection magics, which become the basis of the Gokmavi warding rituals, such as the rituals used to protectec A'rir'ut the Cursed City. With the support of their new neighbors the tribe became the Tribes. They used their newfound beasts of burden to develop from a hunter-gatherer culture to one based on nomadic ranching. But the peace could not last.

>Corteau Canyon

History

The Nemir people of the Corteau Canyon can trace their ancestry to a group of people that fled from the Khenomeric Empire, back when it was but a small state, vying for regional dominance. Although Nemir oral traditions speak little of this migration, historians theorize that they must hail from the region that now encompasses the northwestern portion of the Gnoll Empire, reaching into the Ogabo Desert. The reason for this mass migration is unknown, although a lot of religious immigrants were known to have been created during the Khenomerics’ early days.

The Nemir undertook this monumental trek, and eventually ended up to the far north, in the large island of Zemyland and the Corteau Canyon, untouched by the presence of any race. According to evidence, the Nemir were the first human inhabitants in Zemyland, predating the ancestors of the Hyperboreans. The Nemir made the inhospitable canyon their home, where they’ve lived ever since. Even though it’s been thousands of years, the Nemir are still isolated from the outside world, the majority of them preferring to live in their canyon, even when they’ve got opportunities to immigrate to more “civilized” areas in Zemyland. Despite their isolation, stories and legends of their incredible survival skills and fighting prowess have reached all corners of Giantstep.

Even though the Nerim have been inhabiting the cold reaches of Zemyland for millennia, due to their tendencies to marry solely within their own culture group, they have retained some of the physical characteristics of the Ancient Khenomerics, like swarthy skin and a deep, amber eye color.

>>87972014

>Government

The Corteau Canyon is made up of several tribes. Each tribe is led by a Naib, meaning “Judge” in their tongue, who serves as both a spiritual and political leader. The Naib is responsible for making decisions on behalf of the tribe, settling disputes, and maintaining the customs and traditions of their people. Below the Naib are the Sietch (Nerim word for a singular community) leaders, who manage the day-to-day affairs of the tribe, and the warriors, who form the backbone of the society and are responsible for defending the tribe against external threats.

Each tribe lives in small communities inside huge corals or caves in rock formations around the canyon. Those communities are scattered around the canyon and the tribes usually are fighting with each other, preventing them from uniting and dominating the island. Despite that, the various Nerim tribes are known to have united in the past, when faced against external threats, such as during the first arrival of the Zemylanders.

The title of the Naib is not hereditary, as each time a Naib dies, a new one is elected by the tribe, which usually consists of several Sietches. Typically, Naibs are skilled sorcerers, and they are able to manipulate sand (a form of magic known as "Sandweaving") as well as magically harness the power of the creatures that inhabit it, such as the wooly centipedes. Naibs can usually be identified by their bronze masks, which they wear at all times in public.

>>87972191

(I just realised I kept using "Nemir" instead of "Nerim" all this time)

>Economy

The Nerim are skilled craftsmen, known to create fine tapestries, as well as armor and weapons from corals and the exoskeletons of the wooly rhino beetles and the shells of the berbagazi.

The Nerim are known to provide services such as protection or passage through the forest of Shelkividur, while others are hired by sailors seeking to explore the hazardous Sea of Wraiths. Some, like the company of the Immortals of the Desert, are employed as mercenaries, making their fortune far away from the Corteau Canyon.
>Geography

Even though the canyon is covered by a blanket of white sand due to the erosion of the rocks and the corals, the climate is actually sub-arctic, the nights being particularly freezing. Despite that, snow and rain rarely fall on Corteau, with a small exception of the mountains and plateaus near the center of the canyon, where the Norskyrie amazons live. The fact that there is no snow lying in the Canyon also has to do with the high salt content of the soil. The white sand consists of a mixture of crushed corals, salt and remains of former fishbones. Other creatures that roam the canyon are the berbagazi, medium sized insects with a tough exoskeleton that dwell in the depths of the coral caves. Skeletons of ocean behemoths like whales and sea serpents also dot the landscape, providing cover to the Nerim against the ferocious sandstorms.

Huge pillars of calcified corals dot the landscape, a reminder of when the canyon used to be submerged at the bottom of the northern ocean. Human sized centipedes and wooly rhino beetles that resemble rocks roam the desert canyon, suited for its cold climate, acting as scavengers and providing each other with the food and moisture that's needed to survive.

>>87972288
>>87972191
>>87972014
>>87970014
>>87969884
Nice.

>>87972288

>Society and Culture

To the Nerim, the fight for survival had long dominated their cultural identity. The brutal environment of the Corteau Canyon necessitated the frugal use of energy and resources, especially water. These harsh conditions mandated the need for combat knowledge, making them emerge as hardy warriors and survivalists.

Their social structure is egalitarian, with both men and women playing important roles in all aspects of their society. They value individual skills and expertise over wealth or social status, and decisions are made through a consensus-building process that allows all members of the tribe to have a voice, even with the Sietch leader and the Naib being the final authority.

Polygamy is commonplace in Nerim society, with more prominent men having several wives and children with each of them.

The tribe reigns supreme for the Nerim, with their identification firmly rooted in their own tribe or sietch, rather than the broader Nerim culture, despite sharing a common language, traditions, and religion across all tribes. Individuals are expected to devote their lives to their tribe, providing for it until the day of their death.

>>87972691
>Religion

The Nerim religion is centered around the belief in a universal force that permeates all living things, known as the "Sandsong", or "Sufi Alramal" They believe that the Sandsong is a manifestation of the universe's underlying unity and that it can be harnessed through meditation and spiritual practices.

The Nerim see the world as a constant struggle between order and chaos, and they believe that their purpose is to maintain balance in the universe. They see themselves as the guardians of this balance and believe that they have a sacred duty to protect and preserve the natural world.

The Nerim have a deep respect for nature, and they believe that all living things are connected through the Sandsong. In some versions of the Sandsong faith, certain animals, such as giant wooly Scorpions, are revered as themanifestations of god. They have a strict code of ethics that emphasizes self-discipline, community, and sacrifice. They believe that by living in harmony with nature and with each other, they can achieve spiritual enlightenment and become one with the Sandsong.

The Nerim also have a strong tradition of prophecy and divination. They believe that certain individuals are blessed with the ability to see the future and to interpret the will of the Sandsong.There is also a a stern belief in an afterlife, which they see as a return to the Sandsong. They believe that by living a virtuous life and by making sacrifices for their tribe, they can achieve eternal life in the Sandsong and become one with the universe.

>>87962583

The centuries after the Battle of Empires are witness to slow growth, stagnation and even chaos in the most important areas of the world. This diminished pressure over the borders of the great empires did allow the growth and development of other areas of the step. In particular, the centuries after the Battle of Empires saw the rise of the civilizations near the center of the continent of Giantstep. Many exiled wizards and soldiers from both sides ended up moving to the regions away from the empires, bringing their knowledge and wisdom to areas that were historically underdeveloped. Historians know this process as the “Central Giantstep Awakening”, where areas previously dominated by tribal societies began developing urban worlds, mostly in the shape of individual city-states. Without a particular need to expand their power beyond the borders of the cities, and relatively isolated from the big empires, these city-states managed to create their own individual lifestyle without the need to form a unified state. In particular, we can differentiate three areas of growth: the city-states of the Urgun Plateau, the twin cities of Aquilea and Caprea and the cities of the Red Land Steppes. During many centuries, trade between these areas managed to create a microcosm of civilization, with very little contact with the empires of the east and the west, but enough to advance fairly quickly. In particular, the population of the Red Land Steppes would end up contacting frequently with the azanese explorers moving eastwards through the strip of land between the Great Salt Lake and the Onyx Mountains. This relation was not peaceful, and the population of the steppes saw the expansion of the westerners as a threat to their burgeoning nation. Without the power to push them back, as well as due to the inner tensions within the gökmavi themselves, this would mean a slowly growing tensions between Azan and the gökmavi tribes, exploding many centuries later.

>>87973995
However, this growth did not last forever. In particular, the tribes of the gökmavi quickly entered in a strange duality. On the one hand, many of the territories near the Urgun Plateau and near the Salt River began creating their own city-states, abandoning their nomadic ways and grouping together in tribal confederations. On the other hand, the introduction of the horse turned the nomads from the steppes an exponentially more powerful force in the land, reinforcing the nomadic way of life, moving through the steppes and the desert to take care of the cattle. While at first there was little tension due to the mutual service they provided to each other, over time the traditional tribal tensions and rivalries morphed into a fight for the spirit of the gökmavi. With each side wanting to impose their way of life on the other, and with growing ambitions of empire building, the gökmavi tribes began a series of wars in the Red Land Steppes, the different nations and tribes fighting for dominance. The Wars of the Blind Hawk, as they were known afterwards, lasted between 701 ABE to 822 ABE, and expanded to a great portion of the Red Land Steppes. Many records tell that the war became a particularly brutal affair, with the nomadic raiders cutting off the cities from any supply, poisoning wells during the night and burning down the cities that fell. The gökmavi cities tried to retaliate, but the city armies were not able to mobilize as well as the nomadic raiders, which were capable of just moving around the territory without a central capital to decapitate. In desperation, the gökmavi cities asked for help to the cities of the Urgun Plateau, which saw the threat of the gökmavi raiders as something to defeat before they could reach their homeland. This would backfire for the urgun cities, since the gökmavi raiders launched their hit and run attacks against the region, ravaging the fields near the rivers and burning down whatever they couldn’t take.

>>87974004
However, the Urgun were able to put up a fight against the gökmavi raiders, even long after most of the gökmavi cities had been razed and burned to the ground. In the end, the Wars of the Blind Hawk ended by the inner fights of the gökmavi hordes. Now that the gökmavi raiders had proven their superiority over their city dwelling compatriots, they started to fight each other for the growing influence in the territory, which allowed the Urgun cities a reprieve from the fighting. And thus, with the hordes fighting each other more and more, the war just petered out, and by the year 822 ABE, the exhaustion of decades of war meant that the hordes began settling in an uneasy peace. This peace allowed the cities from the Urgun Plateau to rebuild, but they would never really achieve their power and influence from their peak, since many of the cities would be abandoned, starting the process of power consolidation within Ghülam and Bashur.

>>87974021
In the west, Azan had to deal with a period of recovery and instability. After the Battle of Empires, Azan saw their territories around the Cardammon Plateau shrink, retreating to near the coast. The decades afterwards saw many azanese efforts to recover the lands of the plateau, but due to the corruption of the land, there were very few volunteers, and it became too difficult and costly to defend the lands. Thus, they eventually gave up in occupying the land, waiting for a solution to the darkness from the Cursed Battlefield to disappear. Their expansion to the south was also very slow, due to the internal conflicts and tensions within Azan, like the Scholar’s Revolution during the 6th azanese dynasty.

>>87974034
In the east, the Khenomeric Empire had to deal with the effects of the appearance of the Forest of Getting Lost. The enchanted woods neatly divided the empire into two halves, as well as losing massive portions of the empire, swallowed by the forest. After many attempts to keep administrative normalcy in both sides of the empire, in 155 ABE Pharakhan Klion the IIIrd decreed the formation of a special administrative division, the Northern Khenomeric Empire. However, the wish for independence and the fights around the presence of wizards meant the Northern Khenomeric Empire was a very unstable entity, with provinces becoming independent and rejoining over and over, as well as fighting with each other and with the government of Khoraqualumum.

>>87972766
>Demographics

The Nerim are the sole inhabitants of the Corteau Canyon, save for a small populations of Norskyrie amazons that live on the mountains and plateaus near the center of the canyon.

Throughout history, some individual Nerim, particularly sellswords, have settled in foreign lands, such as the various Zemylander realms or Smallstep. Despite largely retaining their religion and traditions, they are referred to as "city dwellers" or "pariahs" by their fellow Nerim. When returning to the canyon, they are treated like any other foreigner.

>Foreign Relations

The Nerim have limited contact with the outside world. They typically ignore conflicts that don't directly involve them, apart from the Nerim that are employed as sellswords. Foreign traders (usually from the kingdoms of Copper, Gold, and Silver, as well as the Platinum Strait Princedom) are allowed to enter the canyon, but only under the protection and supervision of the Nerim tribes.

>Millitary

The Nerim are masters of guerilla warfare, using the terrain of the Corteau Canyon to their advantage, employing tactics such as hiding under hidden crevices to ambush their enemies, or walking in the natural rhythm of the sand, to hide their footsteps.

The Nerim usually use lightweight and agile armor made of materials such as leather or fabric, sometimes even insect fur or carapace, that allows them to move with ease in battle, but also protect themselves from the cold. The Nerim are skilled bowmen, as well as close combat fighters, utilizing small bucklers (known as "sand-shields") made out of woven fibers and coral, as well as short, curved blades.

>>87974059

Some Nerim able to utilise a special form of magic, known as Sand magic, to manipulate the terrain around them, control the canyon's animals and create illusions, disorienting their opponents. Typically, a Naib is expected to be proficient in sand magic and is taught by a shaman upon ascending as the tribe's leader, if he wasn't profficient already.

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A woolly Scorpion, the largest predator in the Corteau Canyon

Anyone got the link to the Sea of Bile lore that never made it to the wiki?

>>87974045
I wrote a submisson for the Gokmavi history in
>>87970014
but i think this one should supersede anything i wrote. Just seems more lore accurate.

I think the cities vs nomads thing works better as an internal conflict than the way that i was gonna spin it, with the Urgunites trying to force urbanization on the Gokmavi as a form of land grab. Plus, the line
>rivalries morphed into a fight for the spirit of the Gokmavi
is really metal.

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Scarred Phantoms

>History:

The Order of Scarred Phantoms (often simply called “The Order”) has its roots in the worship of Corvic, one of the few gods that was acknowledged by most of the human and fey clans throughout the northwest. Although in most places, worship of Corvic is fairly harmless, there has long been a small sub faction that believes that none should feel safe from the icy hand of death, and have worked as assassins specializing in high value targets.

No one knows for sure how long The Order has existed in its current form, but most likely it has been at least two millennia.

The Order has safe houses in a number of northwestern cities, but they have always had one main headquarters in an inaccessible location. It is believed they were driven out of their previous headquarters by the drow, and moved to their current location (The Sepulcher, upon the nameless island) about a thousand years ago.

>Government:

The Order is a secretive cult that demands absolute loyalty from its members. Their organization is small, so only requires four tiers; Acolyte (rookie member that does drudge work when not training), Phantom (full fledged assassin), Chapter Master (leader in a particular region), and Grand Master (leader of organization).

>Economy:

The Order relies on fees for assassination work for the entirety of their funding. Given the skill of their members, they could easily make large fortunes selling information or providing training, but they see such things as beneath them.

The Order’s fees are astronomical, but its members live spartan lives, spending all their coin on equipment or bribes for other jobs.

The Order rarely works for the obscenely wealthy or for large governments, feeling that even the most immense fees would cause insufficient pain to such individuals. Instead they sometimes work for such individuals in return for the sacrifice of a loved one.

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>>87977425

>Foreign Relations:

The Order is willing to work for just about anyone, but their main customers are nobles, merchants, and spymasters from Arangea, Moreelse, Hithlone, and occasionally Blesire, Calcabra, Bumi, the drow, or Azan.

The nameless island where The Order is based is a fairly open secret, but no nearby government has made an effort to stamp them out, probably since they are well aware The Order would simply slip away and reestablish themselves elsewhere.

>Geography:

The nameless island where The Order makes its home is a desolate rock that is about 50 km wide at its widest, and about 100 km off the coast of the Isle of Wizards.

Several old forts from various time periods can be found on the island, but The Order spends most of its time at “The Sepulcher”, a large fortified temple of unclear origin, though some believe it is Eteran.

>Demographics:

The Order is willing to accept anyone who meets their exacting standards and who is willing to leave their old life behind them. Most of them were already killers prior to attracting The Order’s attention, and generally are individuals with a nihilistic outlook or an all consuming obsession with murder.

The vast majority are human though, with a handful of drow or elves.

>Religion:

Corvic (known by several different names in the northwest) is the God of Death. His followers see death as a part of the natural circle of life, which aligns well with many Westerling or fey faiths which believe in reincarnation of some sort or another.

The Order takes this view to an extreme by taking on only high value targets that are at the height of hubris. They believe those who have become to powerful often forget that death is something they themselves must fear.

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>>87977436

>Military:

The Order are generally considered the best assassins in the world, having honed their craft for millennia.

They see no method of spying or slaying as unfair, and will use all sorts of techniques from bribery, seduction, poisoning, explosives, assorted magical abilities, or ancient artifacts.

Many members are spell casters of varying ability, as plenty of magical techniques have uses in their field of work, including illusions, divination, alchemy, and many types of offensive magic.

>>87976268
Both versions can coexist, especially since >>87974004 starts right after >>87970014

doing the kingdom of poker next

>>87977571
Nice.n0sns

>>87977425
I love this

>>87958043
>Any particularly interesting ones you'd recommend?
The witch bogs are pretty fleshed out.

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>Historical maps Part 6. Birth of the Orange Kingdom, 1.119 ABE

Here we have an approximation of the world's great powers right at the year 1.119 ABE.

The period of time that follows the beginning of the Khenomeric Decay is marked by a surprising amount of stability for most of the world. The Khenomeric Empire was too focused on solving its internal strife after the banning of magic and the growth of the Forest of Getting Lost to try to expand further. The creation of the Northern Khenomeric Empire special administrative division was the only real possible way to keep the northern half of the territories of the nation, but the region was rife with self-interest and internal power struggles, which made it harder and harder to control, going through many periods of self-government, independence and reunification with the government of Khoraqualumum. The Merfolk Empire, as was typical throughout its history, was content with just keeping their status quo, although they did started to take countermeasures to avoid the growth of the Forest of Getting Lost throughout their territory, in the area that would eventually become the Frozen Lake.

>>87981489
The Western Elven Empire was focused on their golden age, enjoying a resurgence of arts, culture and economic prosperity, leaving military expansion aside. This period is marked by an astonishing economic growth, and many of the great fey provinces and principalities did build their castles and palaces during this period. Without the threat of a war with their human neighbors, and Azan focused elsewhere from Scimitarian, the Wester Elven Empire started a veritable race to push fey architecture and art to its limits. Buildings, paintings, sculpture, music… fey culture saw a renaissance that propelled it further beyond the natural borders of the fey. However, this economic and cultural growth came at the cost of ignoring their military strength, which only kept its original strength in the navy, always checking the waters of the continent against the occasional pirate, as well as a show of force just in case their neighbor tried something unexpected.

>>87981510
This left the Azan Empire as the one great power in the world with the resources and the interest to keep a constant expansion. After ending its period of instability by reinforcing the central power of the emperor, they were once again ready to expand their territory. However, the decision to where they should expand was a difficult one, since the options weren’t that alluring. Expanding towards the areas influenced by the Western Elven Empire would immediately start a war, something they wanted to avoid since the last great war with another empire. The lands between the Malagrite and Widow’s Lakes were swampy marshes with little of interest, difficult to maintain and too close to the Cursed Battlefield to be of comfort. Conquering the lands around the Handprint was an interesting proposition, since it would guarantee the control of some of the most important rivers in this side of the step, but the presence of the up-and-coming nomad warriors of the Gökmavi made a permanent presence difficult, due to the distances involved and the difficulty to defend it. Expanding down the Zulutaur Steppes was not a good option, their fame as strong warriors would make this choice a costly one, and many in the azanese court had put in motion plans to expand their commercial influence in the area through trade instead.

>>87981538
And so, the government of Nananikor decided to expand following the strip of land between the Onyx Mountains and the Meiel U’ush and the Great Salt Lakes. It was difficult due to the many hurdles (distance from the capital, low immediate profits, lack of people willing to settle in…) but it the rumors and stories of the locals were true, continuing ahead would give Azan access to the eastern seas, granting them an immense amount of wealth. The road to the east was long and slow, but azanese forces eventually reached the Strait of the Dead Emperor, called that because legends tell that the emperor who ruled at the time died of happiness once he heard the news. However, it would not be until around 1.300 ABE reached the Aruanda region.

>>87981552
In the lands of Central Giantstep, the end of the Wars of the Blind Hawk allowed the different hordes to recover. The many decades of war together against the city dwellers had managed to compose a more unified culture, and this allowed a more consistent expansion throughout the Red Land Steppes. The nomadic tribes expanded slowly but steadily throughout the territory, pushing always for the expansion of the nomadic way of life against the building of cities, though due to the need for agricultural produce, many areas near the Salt River and the Great Salt Lake were left to agricultural purposes. Even if the salinity levels of the two were higher for most agriculture, the Gökmavi developed many forms of filtering water, both boiling the water and using clay filters to separate the water from the salt. This allowed a growing trade in the area for the Gökmavi, as salt was very appreciated by the nearby empires. The abundance of this product began the establishment of some trade routes throughout gökmavi territory, which necessitated the creation of small towns in which make the dealings. This helped normalize the sedentary way of life within the gökmavi again, though this also worsened the relations with Azan, also in the area of the Great Salt Lake for the business of salt. The Salt Feud between Azan and the Gökmavi were quite bloody affairs, despite the general public barely knowing anything about them. Mostly fought in the Great Salt Lake using small ships made out of the local palm trees, this conflict would cement the antagonism of the gökmavi against Azan, and would use it for future choices against the empire of dragons.

>>87981573
The most important event of this time was the sudden appearance of the Orange Kingdom. Gunther the IIIrd, also known as Gunther the Fat, rose to the throne of his homeland, and throughout the rest of his life, kept expanding his holdings in the lands west of the Great Peaks of Littlestep. By the end of Gunther’s life, it seemed as there would be another great power in the brewing, maybe one capable of expanding into the Green Oak Forest and further into Littlestep. However, this was not to be, as his many heirs began fighting for power and influence in the kingdom immediately after the Conqueror’s death. This would result in the eventual “Fracturing” of the Orange Kingdom, which would result in the birth of the Orange Marquissates.

doing the night rangers next

>>87981588
What would be the best event to base the next historical map?

Thread 40 archived.

https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87795959/

which are your top 5 nations in this setting, when it comes to being the most fun/interesting?

>>87984723
1. bog witch land
2. kingdom of tarot
3. biblion
4. grobianismus
5. evergreen pastures + baalps since they are peak comfy

honorable mentions:
golden sea of wheat
fungest
glass mountains
florinth
grass lake land
corteau canyion
crimson kingdom
shit land unironically

>>87984723
1. All Scimitarian human nations
2. Ampleazzo/Furlaniya
3. Azhar Nar/Nasr Satrapies
4. Zapalovach
5. Avangar

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It's been a while since I last updated the geographical map. Any place I've missed?

>>87984723
I still think Lucy's Land is the best.

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Kingdom of Poker

>History:

Like much of the coastal northeast, the region that is now known as the Kingdom of Poker was settled by humans of the Northman cultural group at some point before recorded history. The earliest major kingdom to arise in this area was known as Prokoyroxa, which disappeared ages ago, but the name stuck and variations of it have often been used to describe the area ever since, with the inhabitants themselves known as the Prokoy.

The lands in the region are subpar, and as a result, the people often found themselves vassals of more organized, powerful, and/or numerous nations. Poker was briefly part of the Khenomeric Empire at its peak, and was at times part of the Northern Khenomeric Empire as well.

The only time the region came close to truly flourishing was when it was a part of the nation of Greater Elanxa, whose capital was located just across the bay. However, when Greater Elanxa fell, the area found itself far from the main surviving population centers in what is now Elanxa and the Princedom of Platinum. It fell into obscurity again as a minor independent kingdom and was later incorporated into the Kingdom of Tarot as a vassal of the Kingdom of Cups.

In recent times, Poker as changed hands yet again, this time to the Avangar Empire following a brutal war between Avangar and Tarot in which many losses on the Tarot side were soldiers and officers from Poker, including the reigning king and queen at the time, several of their children, and a number of other lesser nobles. Even after Tarot officially conceded Poker to Avangar, a local resistance has continued, leading to much bloodshed. These days, the eldest surviving royal is a vassal queen to Avangar, while her remaining sister leads a large part of the resistance.

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>>87988375

>Government:

Since taking over, Avangar has tried to shift Poker’s royal family from being the openly powerless ceremonial function they were under Poker, to a strong, (seemingly) independent ruler for a nationalist nation that would help provide fodder for Avangar’s wars of expansion. However, everyone is well aware the current Queen Dresna serves under duress, and her brother Garr is a necromantic creation under Avangar’s control.

The government consists of a haphazard mess where three competing organizations try to run each fiefdom within Poker. The local lords that weren’t killed or fled into exile tend to be corrupt, decadent, drug users, and/or sadistic magic users, as are many of their guards, magistrates, and stewards. Each region also has an Elyrian military advisor with associated garrison troops (generally not the best of their kind), and a group of clergy, who also handle certain bureaucratic and legal roles.

The most powerful man in Poker is arguably Zwalla Dar, the head of the local clergy. A power mad fanatic, he has brought in a number of rituals seen as dubious even by hard line clerics in central Avangar, such as ritual dismemberment followed by incineration in sacred flames, for both fallen heroes and tortured dissidents.

The second most powerful individual is likely the so-called “Pauper Queen”. The youngest of the royal family, she has forged alliances with dark powers and wages a brutal, nihilistic campaign against the Elyrian occupiers and the local quislings. She knows there is no chance of victory without significant foreign intervention, but no longer cares, seeing vengeance for the sake of vengeance as sufficient motive, and there are plenty in Poker who agree with her.

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>>87988397

>Economy:

The Kingdom of Poker doesn’t have much of an economy. The lands are largely lacking in mineral wealth, and aren’t well suited for agriculture either. In a more stable nation, much more of the land could have been cleared, drained, and made suitable for hardy crops and grazing, but centuries of war, poverty, and lawlessness have kept the population low due to out-migration, and left the land haunted by restless dead and dangerous artifacts.

What population does remain tend to live on the coast or the main river, and live by fishing, growing wheat, potatoes, and other hardy crops, or ranching sheep and cows.

>Foreign Relations:

Avangar Empire – Poker is a vassal of Avangar and there is little love between the two peoples. There are some Elyrians who may have once seen the Prokoy as underdogs like they once were, but years of brutal oppression and insurgency have soured any possible positive relations.

Tarot – Poker had better relations with their former rulers, but even before Poker fell to Avangar, Tarot saw Poker as dirt poor country bumpkins, while Poker saw the Tarot elite as clueless socialites.

Vilga – The Quamona Tong of Vilga has been forging some alliances with the Pauper Queen and other rebel factions, but even the Quamona Tong sometimes find the Pauper Queen’s brutality concerning.

Harmony Goddess’ Realm – Some people from Poker have fled to this realm, but only those who truly convert are allowed to stay.

>Geography:

The terrain is an odd mix of near-empty steppes, scraggly forests and swamps located along the main rivers, and a maze of coastal beaches and salt marshes made dangerous by rapid and unpredictable tides. Much of the rock is limestone, and as a result, caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers are everywhere.

There are several half-empty cities and towns, most of which were in decline well before Avangar took over. Ruins from many different time periods are another common feature.

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>>87988415

>Demographics:

The majority of the population is human, with most being indigenous Prokoy, but some being Elyrian occupiers.

The Prokoy are unofficially divided between the coast dwellers, whose culture is more traditionally Northmen, and the interior dwellers, who have more in common with the plains folk who live in on the southern edge of Platinum and certain parts of Avangar. However, the line between these two groups is often blurry, and neither like the Elyrians.

There are a handful of fey and a few trolls living in the region. It also has a fairly large number of undead, and some rogue demons kicking around.

>Religion:

The Elyrians have been trying to convert the Prokoy to the Avangar Faith, but few have shown genuine interest, though many participate in ceremonies under duress. The head clergyman Zwalla Dar is particularly fond of overly elaborate ceremonies with dark and sadistic undertones that have made even fellow zealots question his sanity.

Even before the occupation by Avangar, the Prokoy were not a particular spiritual people. There were few professional clergy or actual churches, instead a mix of Northmen, Khenomeric, and Tarot Creed rites and rituals were incorporated into locally run festivals and ceremonies.

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>>87988434

>Military:

The local Elyrian garrison is very capable despite being seen as a terrible posting, avoided by any with political connections or the goodwill of their superiors. However, in order to keep up the pretense that Poker is a separate nation, they are relatively few in number, are discouraged from mingling with the locals, and only intervene when the insurgency gets too far out of control.

The local vassal forces vary greatly in quality. Generally despised by locals, they have given up trying to recruit anyone with a moral backbone and instead get by with power hungry bullies, bribe seekers, drug addicts, social pariahs, and those curious about the possibilities provided by harnessing dark magic. Many have been trained in one or more forms of dark magic to varying degrees, which helps compensate for their mismatched equipment and other failings. Avangar still seems to hope that one day the Prokoy will truly embrace their faith and ideology and become willing allies in their Jihad, but that day is still a long way off (if ever), so for now Avangar turns a blind eye to many of their vassal’s shortcomings as long as they help keep Poker under Avangar’s control.

The Pauper Queen’s rebels aren’t much better than the vassal forces from a moral point of view. They accept pretty much anyone, employ all sorts of magic, use any insurgency tactic no matter how brutal or underhand, and ally themselves with all sorts of sinister forces. Most of them have long ago given up on genuine victory and seem only interest in either vengeance against occupiers and traitors, or provoking reprisals against locals until nothing is left of the nation except smoking ruin.

There are a few alternate rebel groups, but they keep a low profile and mostly provide intelligence to foreigners in hopes that one day they will be liberated by outside forces.

doing Chill Steppe and Isle of Cold next

>>87988375
>>87988397
>>87988415
>>87988434
>>87988441
Added to the wiki.

>>87988375
>Poker was briefly part of the Khenomeric Empire at its peak, and was at times part of the Northern Khenomeric Empire as well.
When? According to the historical maps, by the time the NKE was formed, the khenomeri had lost their lands in Littlestep. Did the NKE reconquer it at some point?

>>87990528
He just can‘t help himself

>>87991783
who?

>>87991783
What?

>>87990528
>When? According to the historical maps, by the time the NKE was formed, the khenomeri had lost their lands in Littlestep. Did the NKE reconquer it at some point?
Up to you whether you include it or not on one or more of your historical maps, not every territorial change will be captured on them

I figure it is possible NKE had holdings in Littlestep as Greater Elanxa had holdings on Littlestep, and Greater Elanxa is a NKE successor state. But if that doesn't fit in with your plans for future maps then the NKE holdings in Littlestep were probably small and shortlived, and Greater Elanxa expanded much further into Littlestep than NKE did

>>87993219
I could probably fit it into the next one I do, which it will probably be around 1.300 ABE. That way I can write something new for the khenomeri.

When did Ketlovia become independent from the Khenomeric Empire?

How fast should the Khenomeric Empire crumble? I was thinking of accelerating the breaking process around 1.800 ABE, when they lost the Cowmen Grasslands and maybe Nogar.

>>87999561
probably as fast as possible, the fact they have survived this long is already somewhat contrary to the earlier lore

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The Chill Steppe

>History:

What is now the Chill Steppe was once a part of Solara, a kingdom within the Merfolk Empire. Like the rest of the Merfolk Empire, the region was cursed as Uun departed this universe. Solara (which also once included Khelek and the Frozen Lake) was cursed with unnatural cold, and its former inhabitants cursed to wander the region as ghosts.

However, for unknown reasons, the ghosts mostly keep to Khelek, and parts of the Frozen Lake. This allowed small groups of hearty individuals to explore the Chill Steppes in search of ancient treasure.

Certain animals also learned to survive here, with bighorn sheep, giant foxes, and other animals from the upper levels of the Dren’Ul Peaks migrating into the region.

The main inhabitants of the Steppes didn’t arrive until much later. The Soomi, a plains nomad tribe affiliated with the remains of the Khenomeric Empire decided to settle here as the gnoll problem started spiralling out of control. Hardened survivors from western foothills of the Great End Peak Mountains, even they struggled at first to adapt to the barren Steppes, but eventually they learned how to best gather food along the edges of the Steppes while using the desolate central regions to avoid enemies.

Since they settled into the Steppes centuries ago, the Soomi have changed little. The arrival of the Seven Castles and the Chill Temple ruffled some feathers, but Grobianismus and Khelek, while dangerous, are threats that the Soomi have long ago learned how to evade before they become too serious.

>Government:

The Soomi have a simple tribal system of chiefs and shamans that the wandering family units turn to in times of trouble. However, they spend most of their time travelling the Steppes in small groups without central leadership.

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>>87999915

>Economy:

Even the Soomi can’t truly live in the central Steppes, they spend most of their time along the outskirts, either grazing their bighorn sheep along the northern border, or ice fishing in the Frozen Lake. While along the northern edge, the Soomi also gather roots and berries, and sometimes loot food from abandoned farms in Grobianismus.

The bighorn sheep are central to the Soomi way of life, serving as a source of meat, milk, cheese, and doubling as pack animals. Giant foxes are also useful due to their ability to sense threats.

>Foreign Relations:

Grobianismus – The inhabitants think the Soomi are witches due to their superior intelligence and adapting abilities. They have launched countless “winter crusades”, which they always lose when the Soomi fall back to the central regions.

Frostlands of Khelek – The Soomi are well aware evil lurks these lands, and their shamans are surprisingly knowledgeable of of the motives and behavioral patterns of the creatures that live there. Occasionally they send small groups of their best warriors and shamans out to scout it.

Seven Castles – The Soomi have mixed feelings about the Seven Castles, some hold grudges against them for defeating and absorbing their distant cousins of the Hian tribes, but others have established trading relations with certain inhabitants of the Seven Castles.

Harmony Goddess’ Realm – The Soomi remain annoyed that a temple was established in their territory, but have done little about it as the few visitors to the Chill Temple are not to be trifled with.

The Frozen Lake – The Soomi use the northern shores of this lake for ice fishing, but do not go too far south. To the southeast is Khelek, the southwest shore is home to the troublesome muskoxmen, while the centre is home to dark forces even the shamans do not understand.

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>>87999922

>Geography:

The central Steppes are desolate and covered in snow all year round. Nothing can live there for long, but some migratory animals, as well as the Soomi and their animals, migrate through it.

The tundra and hardy grasslands along the edges are more suited for grazing and foraging, and it is here that most life can be found.

The southern edge of the Steppes borders on the Frozen Lake, which is frozen all year around, but still somehow supports aquatic life for those willing to carve their way through a meter or more of ice to get to it.

>Demographics:

The Soomi are essentially the only inhabitants of the Steppes and even they are relatively few in number.

A handful of elite monks live at the Chill Temple, and occasionally adventurers will come poking around looking for treasure in the few Solaran ruins not buried in the snow.

Ghosts from Solara and ghosts and demons from Khelek are rare but not unheard of.

>Religion:

The Soomi still follow the same religion as their ancestors did when they lived along the western edge of the Great End Peaks. Said religion mixes certain elements of the Khenomeric Pantheon with Animal Spirit Worship.

As animal spirits are very rare in the Steppes, the shamans rely on what is essentially traditional Khenomeric magic dressed up in the trappings and rituals of Animal Spirit worship.

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>>87999924

>Military:

The Soomi are skilled fighters and have developed a number of innovative fighting techniques that allow them to use their tools like fishing spears, skinning knifes, ice picks, and hunting bows as weapons.

Some craft everything from animal parts, wood, and stone, but others trade with the Seven Castles for metal blades and other items.

Their shamans are relatively skilled, and despite their tribal trappings, their magic is rooted in tried and true Khenomeric magical techniques.

The main enemies of the Soomi are the inhabitants of Grobianismus, who they will fight until their numbers become a threat before retreating into the Steppes where their pursuers often die in droves from cold exposure.

They also sometimes fight the demons and undead of Solara and Khelek, though often only magic has any impact on such creatures.

>>87999615
wasn't their total collapse a recent thing?

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>Fortress of the Night Rangers

The Fortress of the Night Rangers is located deep in the Forest of Getting Lost. It is an impenetrable fortress, which is surrounded in a large radius by gloomy, desolate landscape. Shall one enter this mighty fortress, he will find nothing apart from its sturdy, grey walls. This is because the truth behind this monstrosity is only unlocked by the Orb of Ping Mi.

>History

The Orb of Ping Mi was first discovered by the eponymous Changrilese professor of magical studies, inside a deep cave complex, somewhere around the south coast of Changrila. It had the appearance of a dark, perfectly smooth sphere of crystal, about the size of a human head, perfectly polished to perfection. Ping Mi said it was encased in a metallic frame of pure silver, etched with intricate designs and sigils that he believed granted the Orb its immense power. He said that "..when gazed into, the Orb glows with an eerie white light that illuminates its surroundings, casting shadows that dance and writhe like living things."

This mysterious artifact did not stay in the Arcane Library of Fenqui for long, as it was lost during a heist, being the only item to have been stolen. It was found out two decades later, retrieved by a Caprean vigilante, after a raid deep inside the Witch Elves' lands. The Capreans believed they had come across a powerful weapon, and news of this capture soon spread to other parts of Giantstep. Eventually, it reached the ears of a famed Astromancer, named Daniele Zerva.

The Astromancer made the long and treacherous trek to Caprea, passing through deserts and bogs alike. He managed to buy the Orb off them for an extraodinary fee, not trusting them for its protection. He then returned to the Astromancers' Castle, where the Orb was studied in excruciating detail.

After years of searching, Daniele Zerva's belief that the Orb of Ping Mi was a powerful artifact of old, described in the Astromancers' archives, had finally been vindicated.

>>88001690
According to the archives, the orb was believed to have been used as a key by the Khenomerics to seal the evil demon of Gor'GoLeth, worshipped by the Witch Elves for millenia, deep within a fortress. The Astromancers, determined to uncover the truth, scoured the land until they finally discovered the legendary Fortress of Gor'GoLeth, hidden deep within the Forest of Getting Lost. The Astromancers were shocked to find the Fortress of Gor'GoLeth abandoned and in ruins. If the Witch Elves or anyone else in possession of the Orb had discovered its location, nothing would stop them from freeing the evil demon from its magical prison. To prevent such a catastrophic event, the Astromancers formed a team of over a dozen men from Florinth, Kowloon, and Lunatik 9. Their mission was to master the art of stealth and protect the Fortress's entrance, while also safeguarding the Orb. This group and their descendants, known as the Night Rangers, continue to defend the fortress against all potential intruders to this day.

The Orb of Ping Mi constantly exerts its terrible, corrupting power to anyone around it. The presence of the orb has had a profound effect on the surrounding landscape. The once-vibrant forest has become gloomy and grey, and the wildlife has mutated into larger, hungrier, and more venomous versions of their former selves. The mere sight of the orb is also enough to twist someone's minds, filling them with nightmares and dark thoughts beyond imagination.

The Astromancers went to great lengths to ensure that Gor'GoLeth could not be awakened easily. Although the Orb of Ping Mi was indestructible by any known means, they used an ancient spell that dated back to the early days of the Khenomeric Empire to seal its access. This meant that even if one of the Night Rangers were to be corrupted by the Orb's power or Gor'Goleth's lasting influence, it would be impossible for them to unlock the seal of her demiplane alone.

>>87999615
The War of the Gnoll is not particularly recent.

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>>88001690
I saw this picture and I think it represents the idea of the Fortress better, so I will rewrite the first paragraph.

"The Fortress of the Night Rangers is located deep in the Forest of Getting Lost. It is a decrepit ruin, which is surrounded in a large radius by gloomy, desolate landscape. Shall one enter this once mighty fortress, they will find nothing but twisting corridors and dilapidated stone walls. This is because the truth behind this monstrosity is only unlocked by the Orb of Ping Mi.

>>88003597
Should we pass all the gökmavi history written for the historical maps to its wiki page?

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Continuing with the historical maps. I've decided to do the next one about the azanese annexation of Nosso Lar, since it's the last time Azan trully gains territory before its downfall. The things included in the map will be:

>Azanese annexation of Nosso Lar
>NKE loss of Faarowt and conquest of Poker
>Khenomeric Empire loss of territories like the Ketlovian Kingdom and the Pinewood Peninsula.
>Gökmavi political upheveal, beginnings of the formation of an unified nomadic empire.
>First case of a gnoll mass attack that threaten the stability of a khenomeric province. Gnoll persecutions increase, and the khenomeric believe the gnoll threat is under control.
>The Fracturing of the Orange Kingdom.

Anything else I should add to this period?

>>88002323
>>88001033
>wasn't their total collapse a recent thing?
Not really, original page 1 lore says the gnolls took over the remnants of the Khenomeric Empire, with the "Magehunts of Pharahkhan Nahmut XXII" being responsible for the collapse of the Khenomeric Empire long before the gnolls showed up

The assumption that the Khenomeric Empire had mostly collapsed prior to the gnolls invading shows up periodically in discussions between threads 1-20, is hinted at in a number of write-ups, and is clearly stated on the thread 17-2 write-up on the Khenomeric Empire. It is only on thread 24 that the history anon introduces the idea that the Khenomeric Empire is still fairly large when the gnolls show up

>>88003919
I mean their disappearence as a nation. The Khenomeric Empire is crumbling since the BoE, but at some point that crumbling must have picked up speed.

I imagine that, by the time the War of the Gnoll starts, the Khenomeric Empire is only half of the southern empire, with the NKE long gone. That still makes it fairly big, but it is definitively a shadow of its former self.

Also, the "Magehunts of Pharahkhan Nahmut XXII"? Weren't the wizards expelled from the empire a long time ago? Were there other persecutions?

>>88004010
>but at some point that crumbling must have picked up speed
It was originally supposed to be pretty rapid after the mage purge

>That still makes it fairly big, but it is definitively a shadow of its former self
Maybe still too big, it has been compared to the Byzantine Empire just before its final collapse, and it was stated that it was considered a minor rump state by some of its former vassals

>Also, the "Magehunts of Pharahkhan Nahmut XXII"? Weren't the wizards expelled from the empire a long time ago? Were there other persecutions?
I think this was meant to be the main purge. This is thread 1 lore, but by thread 28 when you were writing the "War of Supper", you were probably using more recent descriptions of the mage purge that didn't mention Nahmut XXII by name. I guess we can retcon it as a later purge.

>>88004506
>Maybe still too big, it has been compared to the Byzantine Empire just before its final collapse, and it was stated that it was considered a minor rump state by some of its former vassals
I'm thinking it was still pretty big for the impact of the gnoll taking it down. If the gnoll quickly occupy a territory the size of a small province, it doesn't have the same impact as taking over a still rather sizeable land. It makes them more of a threat.

>>88004567
I think the original gnoll guy thought the gnolls would be more of a threat if their empire was composed of conquered territory from a number of nations, not just most of it from one mostly dead nation. He used to make lots of posts stating that the Khenomeric Empire had gotten way to big and that it was meant to be smaller than the gnoll's current territory even at its peak.

>>88004699
>>88005100

They do not contradict each other. If the Khenomeric Empire fractured in many nations that were later on swallowed by the gnoll, they wouldn't appear in the documents we have until now.

I really want to write about the War of the Gnoll, once I finish the historical maps.

>>88005120
https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/The_Ogre_Kingdoms
>The Ogre Kingdoms were a series of realms that occupied the bogs and swamps of Central Giantstep between 2.228 ABE and 2.426 ABE.
They haven't appeared yet.

>>88005100
>For some reason ancient empires could not be the size of irl Egypt. They had to own half the world
I think this way mostly done to hype up the Battle of Empires as much as possible, and the Khenomeric Empire being one of the few known ancient empires at the time got chosen as one of the main combatants

>Want settings to be in states of eternal ancient stagnation like Warhammer fantasy
Slow/no technological growth is a pretty standard feature in a lot of fantasy settings, at least we didn't go with BoE being 6k years ago like that one guy wanted

>>88005139
>They do not contradict each other.
I don't get the point you are making here. What doesn't contradict what?

>If the Khenomeric Empire fractured in many nations that were later on swallowed by the gnoll, they wouldn't appear in the documents we have until now.
They would still exist in historic documents of other nations that interacted with the Khenomeric Empire

>>88005522
I meant that the Gnoll Empire, as it is now, is formed both from conquered lands from the Khenomeric Empires and all the other nations that lost to them (and haven't been written up yet, thus they don't appear in out lore).

Thus, the gnoll empire could be bigger than the khenomeric empire at the start of the war, and the khenomeric empire could still had been a sizeable nation before the end.

>They would still exist in historic documents of other nations that interacted with the Khenomeric Empire
No, I meant that they haven't been written up yet, not they have never existed.

>>88005522
>at least we didn't go with BoE being 6k years ago like that one guy wanted
Yeah, looking at it with perspective I was asking too much. It would have been a pain to fill up 6 millennia plus BBE without making years very short.

>>88003617
as long as there are no overrides, sure

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We still need to fill up the capitals.

>>88003597
damn are we getting close

>>88003597
>tfw all the remaining nations suck

>>88009981
there are plenty of other things that can be done instead of just making nation summaries

>>88003702
>Historical maps Part 8. Azanese Annexation of Nosso Lar, 1.321 ABE

Here we have an approximation of the world's great powers right at the year 1.321 ABE.

The decades after the birth of the Orange Kingdom were a period of recovery for the great empires in the world. With the damming effects of the Battle of Empires long gone, and the structural crisis in both Azan and the Khenomeric Empire solved, the two empires managed to recover and began reclaiming their old prosperity. For the Azanese Empire, the political stability after the Scholar’s Revolution meant a recovery of the national economy, which caused a considerable increase of the population. The growing populace was more than the administration could deal as is, and thus they organized a series of census to try to calculate the population, and more importantly, give the fiscal agents of the empire the information needed to do their job. In 1.287 ABE, the “Batelian Census”, named in honor of the man who organized the project, became the biggest single census ever done in Giantstep, unsurpassed in numbers calculated at once to this day. The growing population, however, was causing a lot of tension in the cities of the empire, and the government began seeing how to reroute the growing population to other areas of the empire. This saw the birth of many new cities, and the ploughing of many miles of agricultural soil. This was particularly noteworthy near the Hiuan Tsi and the Princess Yi-Nii rivers, which increased the weight of the changrilese provinces within the empire. This also caused a lot of population movement to the strip of “Onyx Strip”, even with the nearby presence of the gökmavi raiders, whose power was on the rise. Many towns and cities in the area were born out of military outposts, set up to protect the trade routes that connected the salt caravans to the rest of the empire, as well as the expansion to the east.

>>88011487
The azanese expansion to the east was a project long in the making by the azanese government. The emperors had invested a lot of time, money and effort to reach the other side of the world, trying to create a trade route to the eastern seas that didn’t involve sailing the entire continent of Giantstep. By the time the azanese explorers reached the seas of the Strait of the Dead Emperor, Azan had realized that controlling the region was going to be a daunting task. The presence of the Kingdom of Gilgemash in the area was a serious thorn at the azanese expansion. While Gilgemash was dwarfed by the Empire of Dragons, the sheer amount of distance and the following logistical problems between the two meant that, in case of a conflict, Azan would be able to only send a fraction of its actual strength, probably not enough to keep it in check. Luckily for Azan, the gilgemashi government was notoriously corrupt, and they were coerced through bribery and subterfuge to gain a small strip of land through Gilgemash. This caused immense tension between the two nations, but Azan managed to secure it for a couple of centuries. The next step was to actually reach the eastern seas, since not only they were still pretty far due to the region’s geography, but Gilgemash’s fleet controlled the Sea of Fog and the U’ritass Inner Sea, something they wished to change. Their solution was the creation of a full-on azanese province in the Great Norossor Peninsula, but trying to do that without starting a war with the local populations was a daunting task. The herculean project fell in the hands of Nareses Batelios, the azanese administrator who had managed the “Batelian Census” many decades ago. Sent to deal with the Gilgemashi and the Araundans to turn the region into an azanese province without declaring war, pretty much everyone expected the old man to fail.

>>88011499
And yet, by the year 1.321 ABE, he had managed to turn the region of “Nosso Lar” into a puppet state of Azan, which would function as a de facto province. To this day, the story of Nareses Batelios is remembered as one of the finest moments of Azan, and Batelios himself is acclaimed as one of the greatest azanese heroes. The annexation of a Nosso Lar meant the peak of territorial expansion of the Azan Empire. Keeping the territory connected would be difficult, however, since Gilgemash would demand control of the azanese lands that cut gilgemashi territory in half, which they would be able to do after much diplomatic discussion.

>>88011509
To the east, the Khenomeric Empire was having in a strange situation. The Northern Khenomeric Empire experienced a period of economic growth and consolidation, having finally set up enough of an internal structure to self-govern and administrate. However, that independence also reinforced the wish for actual independence in the region, only slowed down by the internal divisions of the semi-state. To try to combat this, the anti-wizard faction decided to spend great amounts of time and resources expanding their territory, hoping that, with the creation of new anti-magic provinces, they would gain the upper hand in the politics of the nation. Their objective were the lands south of Littlestep that used to belong to the Khenomeric Empire. The old province of Prokoyroxa was not in a state to repel the invasion from the Northern Khenomeric Empire, and a new province was established. However, due to the infighting and the political tensions, keeping the territory became much harder than the northern khenomeri authorities expected. Thus, the need for more men forced many territories to organize unpopular levies to guard the new province from pirates, bandits, rebels and the wizards who had left the empire to find refuge in Littlestep. This drain of men was so severe that it allowed the lands of Faarowt, tired of the fights in the Northern Khenomeric Empire and full of druids and other remnants of the Green Order, to declare their secession from the empire, the biggest secession from the empire up to that point. Tied between losing the two territories by dividing their forces or choosing to keep one of them, the northern khenomeri authorities decided that the control of the Labyrinth Bay was much more important and profitable than the problematic lands of the Faarowt druids, and thus they allowed the independence.

>>88011514
For the most part, they considered the trade as a positive one, since they gained an anti-wizard faction and lost a pro-wizard faction, and so the rulers of the Northern Khenomeric Empire didn’t mind, despite the heavy protests of the government of Khoraqualumum.

>>88011519
However, the south of the empire was not in a position to complain about losing territory. The government of Khoraqualumum had had to deal with a series of plagues to the southeast of the empire. While not particularly virulent, the bad administration of the government pretty much left the regions to their own devices, which fostered many feelings for independence. In the case of areas whose control was more nominal due to difficulties to control, like the volcanic deserts of the Runaan Ashlands or the poor lands of the Vodyanic, were straight up abandoned by the few populations in the area. The instability in the region allowed the ketlovians, under the heel of the empire for centuries now, to push for their full independence from Khoraqualumum. At the same time, the city-states of Voita and Malagsh were able to expand their influence northwards, their fighting growing virulent enough to make many in the khenomeric army vomit due to the carnage between the cities and their vassals. The Battle of Yusvaras was a particularly humiliating hit for the khenomeri army: a battle between the voitans and malagshians, the Khenomeric Empire appeared by surprise with an army bigger than the other two combined, and ended up suffering catastrophic losses while trying to subdue both armies at once. This allowed the voitans and malagshians to push their luck and expand northwards, starting independence movements in areas occupied by the Otamlar. The failure of the battle showed to many khenomeri provinces the weakness of the central government and the army. The Pharahkhans began reforming the army so that the humilliation of Yusvaras never happened again, reinforcing the presence of the army in many of the suspected provinces, slowly but steadily arising more animosity towards the empire.

>>88011526
At the same time, the southwestern provinces began suffering an increase of gnoll attacks. The gnolls had been sighted ever since the 3rd Century ABE, but due to the military crisis to the east had let the guarding of the western provinces to other groups, like local guards, hunters and nobles. However, there was very little oversight when it came to gnoll control, seeing the gnolls as a minor pest, less important than even the goblin raiders. However, during the year, 1.312 ABE, there was a demographic explosion of gnolls in the western provinces. However, these gnolls were a far cry from those that would appear many centuries later. They were but animals, ravaging the land without any direction or coordination, and were more a threat to themselves than the hunting parties were. After the humiliation of Yusvaras, the army gladly went to the west to recuperate their image, savaging the gnolls and driving them back to the forests and mountains. The purge was so effective that the fears that the gnoll would become a threat in the future dissipated from the minds of the government of Khoraqualumum, even if this scenario repeated itself every couple of centuries.

>>88011531
In the Red Land Steppes, the growth of the influence of the hordes began causing tension between the different clans. While at first the clans were unified in their defense of the nomadic lifestyle, time had been slowly healing the wounds of that war, making the city dwellers less of an affront in the eyes of the nomads. On the contrary, the expansion of the gökmavi hordes were clashing with each other for land and influence. This began the first of the horde wars, something that would repeat every century or two. The fights between the nomad clans would, oddly enough, led to a resurgence of the city lifestyle, since the nomads were too busy against each other, leaving the cities alone to grow and prosper. The influence of Azan, near the “Onyx strip” that crossed the Red Land Steppes, also influenced the growth of the cities, competing in the profitable business of salt. This time, it was the cities who managed to stop the conflict between the hordes, helping to set up rules of engagement and honor codes to minimize the damage the hordes did to each other in their fights for dominance. In exchange, the cities would still be part of the burgeoning nation, but they would keep to themselves, only really giving tribute to the nomads when in times of need, like war, disease or disaster. The nomad hordes accepted on the grounds that the national power would never be in the hands of the cities, and thus their nation would never have a capital. The “Conclave of Tsa'agan” would be the first step for the creation of what we know nowadays as the Gökmavi Khaganate.

>>88011534
In the Orange Kingdom, the rule of Gunther the VIIth was becoming more and more unstable, with his vassal nobles becoming less obedient by the day. Sensing weakness in the monarch, in 3.323 a conspiracy carried out by the biggest and most powerful nobles took down Gunther the VIIth, to put their own puppet king in the throne. However, the infighting between the members of the conspiracy eventually blew up into a full on civil war, starting what is now known as the “Fracturing” of the Orange Kingdom. This event would kill whatever remaining chance of the Orange Kingdom to become a power in the world, with the fighting lasting for near a century until the “Isolation Edict” was signed, effectively killing the kingdom and creating the Orange Marquisates.

>>88003597
I still have no idea what Windwillow's deal is.

Ok, so it's been a while since the names of the capitals of the Orange Marquisates are empty. So I wrote some names.

>Marquisates ruled by Healthy Noble Houses
-Marquisate of the Sea Lion: Regalia
-Marquisate of the Night Owl: Herminalia
-Marquisate of the Orange Chalice: Naran Don
-Marquisate of the Valorous Heart: Levagneus

>Marquisates ruled by the Merchant Cities
-Marquisate of the Sailing Tiger: Tigris
-Marquisate of the Grey Bear: Faros
-Marquisate of the Brown Hawk: Sigfordia
-Marquisate of the Sublime Rose: Nenuconti
-Marquisate of the Golden Sands: Old Clock
-Marquisate of the Wise Fox: Oosterloo
-Independent Marquisate City of Leneas: Leneas

>Faarowt-aligned Marquisates
-Marquisate of the Fair Light: Casidiei
-Marquisate of the Enlightened Path: Wübubao
-Marquisate of the Grateful Soul: Caohmin

>>88012720
it literally has no lore

>>88012892
It's not!Redwall do with that what you want

>>88012907
>>88012892
Is it technically part of the Hedge? Or is it too northwards for that?

In which thread is the developed lore of Kokaine? It's not in the wiki...

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Continuing with the historical maps. I've decided to do the next one about the sudden fall of the Merfolk Empire. Before that, both sides of the Khenomeric Empire end up in great crisis, including the first civil war of the NKE. But it will be the sudden fall of the Merfolk Empire that will plunge the whole eastern Giantstep into chaos, since an empire doesn't just disappear overnight without creating a TON of problems.

The things included in the map will be:
>The Nitarishan Drought and Betrayal. Northern Khenomeric Empire abandons the region.
>Chaos in the NKE. Three-way civil war between pro-wizards, anti-wizards, and pro-Khoraqualumum. War ends with many pro-wizards going away.
-The Duchy of the Twin Wolves becomes independent from the Khenomeric Empire.
-The Khenomeric Empire abandons the Great Ends Peaks due to the growing difficulties to keep the land.
-Brief war between the Gökmavi and Gilgemash. Status quo ante bellum.
-Gilgemash takes back control of their part of the Onyx Strip, right before the plague hits Gilgemash.
-The God Uun brings the downfall of the Merfolk Empire. Massive crisis in eastern Giantstep.

Anything else I should add to this period?

>>88014882
Also, I just realized that all the maps have the Squid Peninsula instead of the Squid Island. Goddammit.

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Finally finished the map of the Marquisates.

Where is the map of the azanese provinces? It's not in the wiki...

There's also the Sea of Bile lore that never made it to the wiki

>>88016746
In which thread is it?

what's the connection between snow elves and the rest of the elves? is it some type of convergent evolution?

>>88015002
Cool, which sick Marquissate is Chancellor Farvello chancellor of?

>>88020250
The sick noble marquisates do not have names. I envisioned them as very unstable, rising and falling all the time, so I didn't bother with the names.

>>88014882
>Historical maps Part 9. Fall of the Merfolk Empire, 1.660 ABE

Here we have an approximation of the world's great powers right at the year 1.660 ABE.

While the west of the world entered a period of moderate growth, Azan seemingly content with their level of prosperity, the east entered in a turbulent turmoil unseen since many centuries ago. The economic prosperity the Northern Khenomeric Empire had enjoyed began stagnating, due to a series of bad harvests and poor administration, more and more focused on the wizard question than actual administration. In particular, the region of Nitarisha was hit particularly badly. In 1.555 ABE, a heavy drought joined the poor harvest, and it suffered a severe famine, as well as multiple plagues due to the weakened population. Despite the attempts of the other regions to help, the help seemingly was not enough, since the harvests were poor all around, and the price of food was quickly rising all throughout the Northern Khenomeric Empire. And while a year after it seemed that the suffering had ended, with a veritable deluge of healing rain, the discovery of the Nitarishan authorities consorting with wizards to end the drought became catastrophic. The discovery of the “Nitarishan Betrayal”, the use of wizards in one of the sternest anti-wizard provinces, quickly led to a bloody civil war that tore the already damaged region apart. The authorities of the Northern Khenomeric Empire did not see this coming, and the violence that involved the region became too much for both sides of the aisle. By 1.558 ABE, the Northern Khenomeric authorities, having failed on their attempts to pacify the region, abandoned the province of Nitarisha to its luck.

>>88024482
This issue heightened the tensions between the provinces of the Northern Khenomeric Empire. The anti-wizard side accused the wizards of being behind the drought and the violence in Nitarisha, whereas the pro-wizards argued that they had been the ones to end the drought, and were being unfairly persecuted by their opposition. The attempts from Khoraqualumum to stop the tensions and mediate were seen as unwanted intervention, and both sides saw their chance to reach their independence from the empire. The populous became more and more radicalized, with both nobles and peasants siding to one of the three sides. Inevitably, this led to a civil war, the “First North Khenomeric Civil War”, which lasted between 1.560 to 1.566 ABE. The war was extremely damaging to the land due to the sheer chaos of the three-way conflict, and it saw the razing of many cities to the ground. By the end of the conflict, the Northern Khenomeric Empire had lost near a third of its territory, with many of the pro-wizards provinces obtaining their freedom. The remaining provinces were quite vulnerable and in need of reorganizing, help which came from Khoraqualumum, desperately trying to hold on to its influence in the north. To the south, the tremendous effort to save the Northern Khenomeric Empire allowed the more unstable provinces to begin their own independence movements. The populations within the Great End Peaks were able to use their geographical location to push back the few khenomeri garrisons within the territory, and the land was quickly freed from khenomeri soldiers.

>>88024493
A particularly humiliating event during this period was the independence of the Duchy of the Twin Wolves, around the lands of the Lake of Wolves. Taking advantage of the stagnation of the war to the north, the Duke of the Twin Wolves organized in the shadows a complot with other province leaders to secede from the empire. They waited until the bulk of the khenomeric forces were busy in the north to declare their secession, getting plenty of time to fortify their positions. This state of war throughout the Khenomeric Empire was causing tensions all around, with local forces so drained from the effort they were having problems taking care of the gobbling raids and gnoll attacks. Seeing as paramount to recover the lands that had rebelled, once the peace was established in the north, the khenomeric armies went in force to defeat the uprisings, something they managed to do relatively easily, but not without having to negotiate with the Duke of the Twin Wolves himself. In exchange of abandoning the war and betraying his co-conspirators, he would gain the independence of his domain, something he accepted. Thus, the rebellion was crushed, but not without a humiliating loss of territory on the part of the Khenomeric Empire.

>>88024501
Azan, meanwhile, enjoyed its prosperity. With the trade with the eastern seas well established, the azanese could enjoy a period of relative peace. There were some inner woes, but the strength of Azan managed to keep them under control. The first one was an attempt of secession by some rogue Nasr nobles, who were enthralled by a cult and sought to become independent from Azan. This attempt, known as the “Coup of Farok”, took place in 1.401, and it was successfully neutralized by the local authorities before it could even pose a threat. The satrapies loyal to Azan took wind of the situation and informed the azanese authorities, and together they managed to stop the plot. This helped the region keep its standing within the empire, making the coup look like the actions of some madmen. The heads of the cult were never discovered or identified, though, and many historians still wonder who they were or what became of them. The second great woe of Azan during that period was a great hurricane that ravaged the coast south of the Terusia Isthmus and the Pommel Mountains, all the way to the Yamantai Cape. This was catastrophic to the azanese navy, since most of the ships of the azanese fleet south of the Scabbard Range were docked in ports affected by the typhoon. The government of Nanakinor quickly ordered the reconstruction of the fleet in areas safer from the elements. In particular, the docks that were chosen to guard the azanese fleet south of the Scabbard Range were all near the Gulf of Nailing and the Huan Ho-Sei Sea. This made the city ports in the region grow quite a lot in weight, continuing with the increasing importance of the changrilese provinces within the empire.

>>88024514
The third one was the negotiations with Gilgemash about the control of the Onyx Strip. Since part of the strip connecting Azan with Nosso Lar divided the Kingdom of Gilgemash into two territories, Gilgemash began threatening to cut the connection using their fleet unless the territory was given back. Azan managed to negotiate giving the strip back in exchange for a free-movement deal, allowing azanese traders to cross gilgemashi territories freely in exchange for a fee. This was seen as a regrettable but necessary decision, since war with Gilgemash would be a very difficult affair due to the logistical challenges it would entail. Meanwhile, Gilgemash was glad to have avoided a war with Azan, since at the time, they were embroiled in a war against the Gökmavi. The gökmavi expansion to the east clashed with the interests of the gilgemashi to participate in the salt trade, expanding to the west. And while Gilgemash had fought other wars with singular gökmavi hordes and tribes, now the gökmavi were more unified and organized than ever, and were a much bigger threat than Gilgemash had initially imagined. The initial advances against the Gökmavi were considerable, reaching all the way to the Salt Flats, but Gilgemash overextended greatly to achieve it, and was severely punished by the nomad raiders cutting their supply lines and forcing them to a hasty retreat back to Gilgemash. However, once back to the Gilgemash border, the nomads realized their tactics weren’t that effective against the gilgemashi fortifications, well defended and supplied. The war ended in a draw, with no side gaining anything more than what they initially had, and exhausting the resources of both.

>>88024522
However, all of these situations pale in comparisons to the crisis that would start in 1.660 ABE in the east. The Merfolk Empire was an oddity in the world, one of the four great empires, and by far the most stable of them all. While it paled in size or economic power with their neighbors, the lands of the Merfolk Empire had long ago been blessed by the god Uun, who had granted the population with peace and wealth. With little to toil against and enough resources to live comfortably, the people from the empire had dedicated their lives to build wonders and art, all in thanks to their benevolent deity. Trade with the other empires was plentiful, since the Merfolk Empire was a rock of stability in the world: no matter the chaos that would engulf the rest of the world, the Merfolk Empire was there to trade with and to seek refuge in. However, during the year 1.660 ABE, all contact with the Merfolk Empire ceased. All trade and movement of people from the empire ceased overnight, causing great concern in all eastern Giantstep. The people near the borders of the empire went to explore the lands, curious about what might have happened. To their utter horror, they found a land ravaged by chaos and curses, the previous inhabitants mutated and twisted into parodies of themselves, and all the wonders built in honor of Uun shattered, statues and paintings bleeding from their eyes. The few survivors who were still unaffected enough by the curses had their mind shattered, shouting to the heavens asking for an explanation for their woes, and begging everyone else to leave.

>>88024529
The horror stories that reached the rest of the world stunned everyone who heard them, not knowing what exactly had happened. The Khenomeric Empire, Azan and the Western Elven Empire organized a joined investigation to find out exactly what had happened, and if there was a risk of spread. After years of investigation, they found the extent of the decay and destruction that had befallen the Merfolk Empire: palaces of white marble and ivory sinking in a sea of filth and waste, libraries keeping esoteric knowledge and irreplaceable poetry used as kindle for the deathly cold, the people twisting into horrific forms, losing their mind and soul in the process, with sometimes not even death being a reprieve for the suffering… The records that reached the courts of the other nations and the lack of an apparent reason were making the world terrified.

>>88024538
Finally, after many years of investigation, a khenomeric exploratory party found in the depths of the ruined Merfolk Empire a monstrous creature, tumbling over its own weight and screaming in sorrow and pain. Tentacles of all shapes and sizes grew from every inch of its body, making it unable to move, its body swollen to disgusting proportions. However, unlike many of the creatures found in the area, this one was still capable of speech. It turned out that it was a priest of the Church of Uun, the patron god of the empire. While the creature attacked the party, both maddened by pain and seeking to die, it screamed that the fall of the empire was the fault of Uun. After the party came back to the Khenomeric Empire, this clue was used to investigate more closely, and sure enough, the remnants of the cult of Uun had been defiled and destroyed all throughout the land. It was when they entered the Great Temple of Uun, within the capital of the old Kingdom of Akuwamaden, when they found the message of Uun Himself. Written in dark gold, in liquid form despite the cold, a single word, staining the still preserved mural works could be seen:

“Bored”

>>88024551
The conclusion the many experts, wizards, historians and priests from all around the world, is that the god Uun, in a fit of boredom, had turned against His followers, cursing and twisting them for their own amusement. The moment that theory became the leading hypothesis, all throughout the world the cult of Uun was forbidden. Never again would a kingdom risk its soul to a creature that would selfishly turn on its devotees. Whatever temples, shrines, sanctuaries, icons, or prayer books of Uun outside of the Merfolk Empire were burned to cinders, and their ashes thrown into the depths of the sea, the heart of volcanoes or into the Nothing itself for good measure. The great empires of the world agreed to never occupy the now abandoned lands of the Merfolk Empire, to avoid the risk of its demise spreading to their lands.

>>88024553
Meanwhile, the fall of the Merfolk Empire began a worldwide crisis not seen since the Battle of Empires. Suddenly, all the commercial, intellectual, diplomatic and military weight of one of the biggest empires of the world disappeared overnight. Despite its relative isolationism, the Merfolk Empire was still one of the most influential nations of the world, and its sudden fall created chaos unseen until now. The Merfolk Navy was the main power keeping the eastern seas safe, and without it, a new age of piracy began, spreading all throughout the eastern seas and burning down many cities in the coast, using the ruins of the old Merfolk Empire as new hideouts for their operations. Many businesses that depended on the goods traded with the Merfolk Empire suddenly sank, without the needed products to continue their operations. This began a massive economic crisis in eastern Giantstep, reaching all the way to Azan. The Khenomeric Empire, already badly wounded by the wars during the previous decades, was hit particularly badly, and this economic downfall accelerated the crumbling of the old empire.

>>88024486
Fey in general are very poorly defined.

>>87998938
Do we have named magical or legendary sets of armor?

>>88024486
why? only the wood elves are weird

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Ok, so from now on, there's going to be a lot of stuff going on. This is the last map before the great upheveal of the witchelven & drow for the west and the independence of the NKE for the east. I'm not sure if I should do more maps with less text, or stay as I've been.

Anyway, the things included in this map will be:

>Pirate Golden Age in Eastern Giantstep. The White Pirates expand their influence from the island of Ils Muslík.
>Conquests and founding of the Alegnawigan Dominion.
>Migrations from the Hedge to the Isle of Wizards (why did they migrate?)
>Brief colonization of the lands of Leng. A lot of tension for occupying previously cursed lands.
>Cowmen Grasslands and other territories get their independence from the Khenomeric Empire.
>Witchelven congregations in Central Giantstep, answering the call of Morwenna, Prophet of the Succubus Queen.
>Founding of the Witchelven Empire.

Anything else I should add?

>>88030705
Poor NKE

Is there a prevailing winds map? A climate zone map?

>>88033069
There are a temperature map and a biome map, but they are pretty old, they are in one of the first threads.

>>88020234
Aren't they just very, very similar to elves without actuallt being it?

>>88033069
Nobody bothered with any of that till like thread 13 by which point the setting was already hopelessly nonsensical if you tried applying any sort of real-life geographical principles to it with tundras, deserts and jungles all over the place. The only sort of semi consistent thing we have going is NORF=COLD and SOUF=HOT because that's inevitably what you get when you set a gaggle of morons lose on a blank map with no scale or lat/long.

That's why we decided to go with the "the world is the top face of a giant rectangle making up a step in a giant cosmic staircase with astral bodies ascending over it", it nicely solves the geography not making sense by going full balls to the wall with the high fantasy.

New landmass soon maybe?

>>88037814
No.

Sea of Bile lore when?

>>88042164
Someone wrote something for the sea of bile, I think. But I haven't found it.

>>88042198
some anon keeps asking for the sea of bile lore to go to the wiki, but there is no large sea of bile update on any thread, it has a few sentences in thread 1and 2, and a few more on various threads since then

>>88030705
>Historical maps Part 10. Founding of the Witchelven Empire, 1.909 ABE

Here we have an approximation of the world's great powers right at the year 1.909 ABE. The decades preceding the formation of the Witchelven Empire were of crushing economic crisis, at least where high trade was concerned. The fall of the Merfolk Empire, literally disappearing overnight, shot down a significant portion of the world’s trade, too fast to adapt quickly. In the west, this blow was important, but it really only affected the upper echelons of society. Since the distances involved were too great for the technology at the time, the trade between the west and the Merfolk was limited to high quality luxury goods, or magical products. This caused an important crisis in the biggest trade routes to the west, both through sea and land, but the stability and prosperity of both Azan and the Western Elven Empire managed to take the blow, with many cities of the west not noticing that much. The east, however, already immerse in a considerable turmoil due to the slow disintegration of the Khenomeric Empire, suffered tremendously. Both sides of the Khenomeric Empire had deep economic ties with the Merfolk, from luxury goods to more modest products like crafts or foodstuffs. The disappearance of the Merfolk let a hole that caused a lot of instability: many businesses and cities fell into ruin due to the lack of product to buy or markets to bring their products to sell. The uncertainty that many cities suffered made crime skyrocket, burdening the khenomeri authorities even more. This hit particularly hard the coastal cities of the east, much more dependent on trade.

>>88042439
There was also the problem if the power vacuum left in the region: the Merfolk Empire was the biggest naval power in the region, and the main force that kept order and guaranteed safe trade throughout the sea routes of the eastern waters. With the sudden loss of the Merfolk Navy, the task of patrolling the seas fell to the Khenomeric Empire, and while it had historically been a formidable land power, its navy had never been near the same strength. What was worse, with the disappearance of the Merfolk, their port cities (at least those that hadn’t been destroyed or overrun by monsters) had been abandoned, with hundreds of ships of the utmost quality left for the taking. The khenomeri authorities decided to sink as many vessels as possible from a distance, believing at the time that the curse of Uun would spread to them if they pilfered the remnants of the empire (something proven untrue with time). However, they were not fast enough to stop the waves of pirates seeking free pickings. Ruffians, villains, criminals and other scum, caring not for any potential curse, got their hands on invaluable amounts of treasure: the abandoned navy ships of the Merfolk. Hundreds of cutting-edge ships were put to work as raiders and as plunderers, and even if many ships ended up sinking due to the poor quality of the crew, enough of them survived to force the Khenomeric Navy to spread thin trying to protect the waters of the east.

>>88042452
This gave birth to what is now known as “the Golden Age of Piracy”. The Khenomeric Empire, already divided in two halves and with shrinking control of the coasts, and needing to prioritize its inner stability over protecting the seas, simply couldn’t effectively take charge and put a swift end to the pirates and raiders. Instead, it became a decades-long war, with the Khenomeric Empire launching futile campaigns against any warlord whose lair was identified, but even if one pirate king fell, many others would take his place. The pirates began also launching campaigns against each other, fighting to carve out their sea fiefdoms and hunting waters. This period of piracy would eventually subdue, but piracy stayed a problem in the waters of the east until many centuries later, with powers such as Nogar, Drunigzar, Elanxa or Avangar bringing back stable naval power.

The woes of the Khenomeric Empire did not stop there. The need to reinforce their naval power led to rising taxes, as well as an attempt to colonize the region of the Leng archipelago. The control of the islands would allow the khenomeric fleet to safeguard the local waters better, keeping the trade routes safe, plus save face from the perpetual loss of territory. While the project was technically sound, many people were fearful that the curse of Uun would befall to anyone who went there. Thus, the empire needed to invest a considerable amount of time and effort to colonize the islands, and during the years the empire ruled the archipelago, only a token force stayed in the territory, mostly navy personnel. In the year 1.801 ABE, a rebellion in the Northern Khenomeric Empire, protesting about the increased taxes to reinforce the khenomeric navy, began gaining momentum all throughout the NKE. For once, the regions didn’t fight for the controversy over wizard’s rights, but instead the region rose up in arms for the increased taxation.

>>88042483
The khenomeric armies had to help the northern khenomeric authorities to deal with the uprisings, which helped uprisings spread throughout the south as well, especially in the landlocked areas. Having to fight in two fronts to pacify the regions, they were forced to accept the deal of the Mataandura Haishü. The cowmen had secretly fed the flames of discontent in the nearby regions, trying to push for a rebellion, while at the same time dealing with the khenomeric authorities to legalize their independence peacefully. The government of Khoraqualumum, seeing the chance of ending the rebellions in the south of the empire in one fell swoop in exchange for a territory barely profitable in the first place, accepted the deal. The Mataandura Haishü helped then identify the rebel leaders pushing for the rebellion, and thus the crisis in the south was done by 1.802 ABE, at the cost of the loss of the Cowmen Grasslands. The few human populations who had settled there were allowed to stay, but most went back to the empire or to other regions in peace.

>>88042503
To the west, in the underground lands of the Seguerials, the constant wars between the hives reached a peak with the rise of the Alegnawiga hive to the most powerful place in the underground. The Alegnawigan Dominion became the most powerful hive that ever existed in the Seguerial Hordes, and their underground empire spread for a massive area. The power of the alegnawigans is difficult to calculate by surface dwellers, since the true depths of the dominion, and all the resources from the underground, are not really knowable. Many argue that the Alegnawigan Dominion even managed to extend to territories under control of the Gökmavi and the Khenomeri, neither of them truly knowing they had an empire beneath their feet. However, as it was an underground empire, the rest of the world pretty much ignored its existence, with only the trade through the Tiyali Brum River, selling underground resources as well as alchemical creations, to show for it. The surface, meanwhile, saw many different towns pop up, functioning as hubs for trade with the underground, ruled independently from the empire underneath.

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This map is not in the wiki yet.

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>>88045410
And also this map needs completion.

>>88042340
Wasn't there lore about Sea of Bile creatures?

>>88048045
I think you mean the page for sea creatures. It was superseeded by the bestiary.

Why did the hobbits migrate to the Island of Wizards?

>>88048045
>>88052509
Yeah, the bile creatures are in the bestiary, but I guess they can be added to the sea of bile page too if someone wants to

>>88053044
>Why did the hobbits migrate to the Island of Wizards?
It is supposed to be something that happened gradually over a long time. Hobbits are found in a number of other northwest nations as well. Some of them left for political or economic reasons, some are adventurers, merchants, scholars, magical students, etc., that settled in a relatively friendly region, some came for various other reasons

I'm back from a three month hiatus and I'm in the mood for some lore writing. Which nation would you say is the most interesting but lacks any lore?

>>88058770
Welcome back. If you are checking for nations in need of lore, they are in >>88003597.

>>88003597
Which one of these would you like to see lore written about?

>>88063724
The Frozen Lake, and we can clean half of the map from there.

>>88042528
In the west, the lands of the Hedge began a period of slight turmoil. The peaceful region had been, for a long time, a point of contention between Azan and the Western Elven Empire. While neither power wanted to forcefully increase their influence in the region, wanting to avoid a needless conflict, there was quite a lot pf politicking to try and bring the many communities from the Hedge to their side. This situation was shared with the island of Wanaidheain, which was territory under fey influence, but now was under the azanese sphere. This political competition actually made the two regions quite profitable and stable, since the race to gain influence there ended up showering their populations in trade and political boons. This influenced the creation of a series of trade routes from the Hedge to the north of Scimitarian, backed by artisan guilds from Hereby, Thereby and Whereby. During the 17th Century ABE, these migrations were particularly active, which resulted in the creation of many colonies of Hobbits, Gnomes, and Brownies in Wanaidheain, as well as in the Calcabrian Mountains.

>>88067024
Meanwhile, in the lands of the Bone Lakes, changes were brewing that would break the stability of the west completely. The Bone Lakes had always been a border land, seen by Azan as not worth the expansion there, due to the violence of the local population. The Bone Lakes concentrated many small nations of witchelven, the twisted branch of the elves. A race with unknown origins, the witchelven had been a thorn on the side of the azanese authorities in the border, with frequent raids to the trade routes and frontier farmlands. The azanese troops, from time to time, had launched campaigns of punishment against the witchelven lands to dissuade them from attacking, to no avail. However, these attempts were not that serious due to the fact that the witchelven were a bigger threat to themselves than to Azan. The dark culture of the witchelven was highly self-destructive, glorifying violence and hedonism in all forms, and it kept the different witchelven nations against each other, raiding one another in search of thrills and slaves. However, around the year 1.853 ABE, the witchelven began congregating around the Bone Lakes. The reason for this was the advent of Morwenna, Prophet of the Succubus Queen. This mysterious figure began doing something that had not been ever before, and began uniting the different nations of witchelven. Many in Azan saw this with interest, thinking this process of unification would pacify the unruly witchelven of the borders. But those authorities in the frontiers knew that this was not what was happening: the faith of the witchelven was not becoming more peaceful, on the contrary. The witchelvens’ beliefs became darker and more grim, with many rituals of sacrifice, torture and humiliation of the weak appeared day by day. All while unifying the land under the rulership of Morwenna. The pleas for action by the border troops were ignored in Nanakinor, having grown overconfident on their capacity of dealing with the threat.

>>88058770
Windwillow

>>87956630
This seems very detailed but what is the premise of all of it? Does it have any central theme? Unique gimmicks?

>>88070865
The gimmick is that it is, at this point, a self-perpetuating paperclip machine of a setting.

>>88070865
it is a kitchen sink fantasy setting with some areas based heavily on real world cultures, and other areas heavily based on popular fantasy tropes, and a few meme or fetish regions left over from the early threads

>>88070889
>>88071116
Pretty much this. It's its own thing without an overall throughline.

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>The Fey

The definition of “The Fey” has long troubled scholars. In the west, its a shorthand for any race associated with the Elven Empire, and this definition also spread to the northeast. However, in the south and east, many of these same, or at least similar races get lumped with “Animal Spirits”, “Beast Races”.

The most common traits associated with the fey are:
- strong ties to nature
- unwillingness to break promises or oaths (though many delight in misleading wording)
- innate, but often whimsical and inconsistent magic

However, some races not associated with the fey also have some or all of these traits, and many “lesser fey” have none of these traits and merely follow the orders of their masters.

Most scholarly attempts to categorize fey focus on lineage. At the top are certain gods strongly associated with the fey, who in turn are said to be responsible for creating the main Faerie Lords and the True Fey, who in turn created the Lesser Fey. However, even these attempts at categorization are riddled with exceptions.

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>>88071249

>The Gods of the Fey

Few true fey worship gods, but most acknowledge that a group of powerful gods were involved in the creation of the universe. There are many distinct creation myths among “fey” cultures, but there are certain reoccurring figures that all seem to have. There is an impartial “earthen” creator god that did much of the initial heavy lifting in the creation of the universe, a somewhat bipolar creator god (or perhaps two separate gods) associated with creating both magic and life (and the fey in particular), and a series of imposter gods who slipped in from other universes.

A common belief among the true fey is that they (and perhaps certain similar entities) were the original creations of the creator gods, and other races are just lesser copies of themselves, creations of the Faerie Lords, or creations of the imposter gods.

The line between the gods and the most powerful of the Faerie Lords can be somewhat blurry, with some Faerie Lords demanding to be treated like gods, and other Faerie Lords being added to the theology of certain cultures whether they ask for it or not.

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>>88071260

>The Faerie Lords

Another confusing term for many, it is often used by Azanese influenced cultures to describe any individual from the Elven Empires or various successor states who has enough political sway to be the equivalent to a senior Azanese noble. However, in the northwest it is usually used to describe a select group of magical beings whose powers range from “powerful wizard” to “demi-god”. Essentially immortal and often one-of-a-kind, they dominated politics in the northwest for millennia, and remain powerful to this day. Some of the oldest are said to have been directly created by the gods, but most were likely created by other Fairie Lords, via a range resource intensive rituals.

The most powerful magic wielded by Faerie Lords is their ability to manipulate the forces of nature. Some have created entirely new ecosystems over wide areas, or created whole new races. Although some wizards can be said to have done the same thing, the creation magic of the Faerie Lords is often innate rather than learned, and in some cases is subconscious.

Faerie Lords are typically treated with great respect by their followers, which often crosses the line into outright worship. This is done for a range of reasons, including:
- The Faerie Lord is seen as a paragon for a certain set of behaviors, ideals, etc.
- Faerie Lords can grant powers to their most favored followers, and lots of brown-nosing increases the chances of being one of said favored followers.
- Some Faerie Lords are more fond of tampering with the physical forms of their followers than others, and have essentially created new races, and therefore seen as creator gods by said races.
- Some Faerie Lords seem to have influence over death itself and are said to be able to reincarnate followers, though concrete evidence of this is hard to find.
- Some of the most tyrannical Faerie Lords simply expect it, so not being sufficiently worshipful is bad for one's long term health.

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>>88071272

>The True Fey

The True Fey see themselves as the first living creations of the creator gods. They are effectively immortal, and often very hard to kill, though luckily few in number and seemingly unable to reproduce with their own kind (but some can reproduce with other races, creating mortal half-breeds in the process). Like the Faerie Lords, creating new ones typically involves divine invention or resource intensive rituals. They often have innate magical abilities, which can blur the lines between True Fey and Faerie Lord in some cases. The line between True Fey and Lesser Fey is also blurry, as some True Fey physically resemble a race of Lesser Fey. There are many types of True Fey, most of which are exceedingly rare or one of a kind, but certain traits are relatively common, allowing some to be lumped into the below categories:

- Dryads and Ents – Tree-like fey of varying shapes and sizes, they can be found in many parts of the world, though are most common in Elfwood. They are often very loyal to a particular Faerie Lord, which can lead to a wide range of motives and behaviors. However, even the friendliest are dangerous when their favorite forests are threatened, while others are extremely territorial, or even sadistic predators. Aside from their own innate durability and strength, they often have innate magical control over the movement and growth of branches, vines, or grasses, which can make them even more dangerous on their home terrain.

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>>88071281

- Hags – Sadistic and cynical fey resembling ugly woman (though many can disguise themselves with illusions), they can be found in many parts of the world and have a number of subraces adapted to specific climates, though are mostly found in the northern third of the continent. They are almost always unseelie fey, and most see the dark goddess of magic Murga as their creator (or equivalent depending on their culture), though many lesser hags were created by stronger hags via rituals, and others were created by rituals developed by the Bog-Witch and the Demon Lord Gogotha instead. In some areas, particularly the Bog-Witch’s territory, the terms “hag” and “witch” are used interchangeably.

- Nymphs – Fey that resemble stunningly attractive women and have an affinity for water. Sirens and rusalka are closely related. Nymphs range from friendly to murderous depending on personality, culture, and affiliation. They are almost always innately magical, with a specialization in mind controlling enchantments.

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>>88071294

>Lesser Fey

Lesser Fey is a vague term often used to describe other races associated with the Faerie Lords. Some of them were created by one or more Faerie Lords, but most are likely pre-existing races that often live in areas inhabited by Faerie Lords, and in some cases have been altered by Faerie Lord magic. This often creates confusion as many races are widely considered fey in one region, but not fey in another. Adding to the confusion is the fact that some True Fey have a strong resemblance to a type of Lesser Fey. The list of races and subraces considered in at least some areas to be lesser fey is long, below are some of the more common varieties:

- Elves – “Elf” has become a catch-all term for any race that is human sized or bigger and has pointy ears. It is unclear how many races of elf there was before racial mixing and Faerie Lord tampering, but there are countless subraces now. The main branches are drow, pale elf, wood elf, and snow elf. Drow and pale elves are at least similar aside from coloration and sensitivity to light, but wood elves are more akin to dryads and treants, and snow elves are notably larger than the others. True fey and Faerie Lords sometimes physically resemble elves.

- Small Folk – This is an incredibly wide category including brownies, pixies, fairies, wisplings, mushroomites, sprites, among others, whose main defining feature is their small size. They often aren’t taken seriously by other races, but sometimes can be dangerous due to their stealth or sheer weight of numbers.

- Goblinoids – A diverse category of races, they are generally only considered fey in areas where they have a long history of serving a Faerie Lord. Includes cave goblins, fungal goblins, coastal goblins, boglins, bugbears, and redcaps, among many others. They have a reputation for both cowardice and cruelty, though often one trait outweighs the other, and many serve benevolent Faerie Lords or are otherwise fairly harmless.

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>>88071311

- Gnomes – There are several varieties of gnome, with the uldra and domovoy of Zemyland and swamp gnomes of the Dominion considered regional variants. They are around three feet tall, and tend to have tricksy personalities, though some groups are quite homicidal as well. They are a fairly magical race, who tend to specialize in illusion magic.

- Harpies – Another fairly common type of fey with numerous subraces, including the northern sirins, and the southern vulturefolk. They resemble a cross between bird and human woman, and require other species to mate. In the south they are more bestial and generally considered to be beastfolk rather than fey. Even in the north, they often don’t associate with other fey, and rarely have magic or other stereotypical fey traits, though when they do have magic it is often some form of wind magic.

- Pondlings – The pondlings and vodyanoi of the north are generally considered fey, though the vodyanik of the south are generally not. It is unclear whether the vodyanik are even related, or they simply remind Northmen colonists of the vodyanoi. Like most fey, there are a number of subraces with significant physical differences, but they all resemble some cross between humanoid, frog, and fish, with an unusually high degree of sexual dimorphism. Not a particularly magical race by fey standards, some of the more powerful ones do have some alteration magic.

- Satyrs – The most common name for a category of fey with goat or deer-like lower halves, horns, and other features. Other common names include chorts, fauns, and goatmen. They have a wild, unpredictable reputation, though just how dangerous they are depends on the individual and his or her affiliation. Not all are magical, though those that are often specialize in mind controlling enchantments.

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>>88071320

- Taurs – A category of races with humanoid upper halves, and animal lower halves, most are considered beastfolk, but the centaurs, oviscentaurs (she-eep), and a few others have long been associated with the fey.

- Animalkin – A relatively common sight in the northwest, these fey are able to switch between an animal form, and a humanoid form. They are very diverse in ability, appearance, personality, and affiliation, so few general statements can be made of them.

- Gibberlings – Unpleasant, hostile creatures of unclear origin, they were likely created by one or more Faerie Lords as foot soldiers in the ancient wars, but are now mostly feral. Their main population is in the Baalps, but pockets can be found elsewhere in the northwest.

- Fungal Creatures – A notable example of how certain Faerie Lords have a strong physical impact on their followers, but far from the only one. “Fungal” subraces like the fungal goblins can be distinguished by the fungi that grow from their still living bodies. In extreme cases, they become more fungus than flesh.

- Swamp Fey – A vague term often used to describe the inhabitants of the Dominion and surrounding nations. Many of them were specifically created by the Bog-Witch and her followers from goblinoids, ogres, and humans, among others.

- Lycanthropes – Created via powerful curses used by certain Faerie Lords and their most powerful followers. Some only transform during full moons, but others become increasingly feral and under the control of their maker. Werewolves are by far the most common variant, but not the only one.

- Wisp – Often believed to be some sort of magical weapon created by one of more Faerie Lords, they serve little purpose other than to lure travelers into swampy areas to drown.

- Balachko – Distant relatives of the ettins, they are considered lesser fey mostly due to their frequent association with hags, and otherwise have few fey-like traits.

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>>88071349

- Merfolk – There are many varieties, including the eel-folk. In many parts of the world they are considered beastfolk, but in the northwest they often associate with Faerie Lords.

- Hobbits – A generally pacifist race, although throughout history they often live in areas controlled by Faerie Lords, many consider them too mundane to be fey. However, some have been gifted with druidic powers by a particular Faerie Lord, and a few have even been physically altered by the Faerie Lords they serve.

- Humans – Although rarely considered fey, many humans did serve the Faerie Lords, and some still do. Like the hobbits, this has resulted in some gaining druidic powers or other magic boons, and others being altered to serve their masters better, like the bog people of the Dominion.

- Ogres – Sometimes considered lesser fey when they have been altered to serve a particular Faerie Lord, with the most famous example being the pale swamp ogres.

I will write some lore about the Sea of Bile

>>88071320
>>88071349
>>88071358

I'm not sure if I agree with many of this classifications. Mostly by following the sentient species page on the wiki.

https://crumbling-giantstep.fandom.com/wiki/Sentient_Species_of_Giantstep?so=search

At the very least, beastfolk should not be considered fey, they are something clearly different. And humans and ogres should not be considered fey at all.

Mushroomites are sprites, but I can see the "small folk definition working", though it's going to include a lot of races.

I do like the definition of elves, though, it simplifies a lot the elven problem.

Also, aren't the merfolk extinct after the curse of Uun? Where do they live that's not the Merfolk Empire?

>>88075756
I am trying to reconcile the fact that certain races are listed as fey in some write-ups and not others.

In terms of the sentient species page, I can reorganize it a bit so that less races fall under "fey", but the information above is summarized and linked to the sentient species page

Merfolk and related species have shown up in various entries since the beginning, I think it is just the east coast merfolk that went extinct.

Merfolk can be found in the north, northwest, and off the coast of Tarot

>>88076381
>Merfolk and related species have shown up in various entries since the beginning, I think it is just the east coast merfolk that went extinct.
Fair enough, that makes sense. I wonder what was their reaction to seeing the curse of uun upon their bretheren...

>I am trying to reconcile the fact that certain races are listed as fey in some write-ups and not others.
Which ones are those? The sentient species bit in the lore needs a lot of editing and discussion, since only a few races have extensive descriptions.

>>88076867
>Which ones are those?
Many examples are in the posts I made earlier on fey. Goblins, hobbits, harpies, and merfolk in particular are listed as fey in some places mostly for cultural/political reasons, but not other areas, but this also opens a can of worms since some other races like humans and ogres also sometimes serve powerful fey and have been modified them.

In some cases, "fey" is more of a state of being, like "undead", then a racial category. In other cases it is more of a political affiliation

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This is the first of many maps very close together in time, to show the instability of the time. Between 1.909 and 1.935, it's the period where Azan has to fight the witchelven before the drow rose up to the west and sanwitched Azan between two enemies to deal with.

Also, I imagine that, at the beginning of the war with the witchelven, the military of Azan is overconfident, unmotivated, undertrained and in general in bad shape after many centuries of Azan being the unchallenged top dog. Still, I think Azan would still deal with the witchelven fast enough, so I imagine the witchelven got a massive and decisive battle early on, something like Rome losing the three legions in Germany. This would cause a panic that would take a while to be solved.

Anyway, the things included in this map will be:

>Witchelven expansion against Azan. The Great Witchelven War between Azan and the Witchelven.
>Battle of the Western Bone Lakes. Decisive azanese defeat, three legions are destroyed overnight, quick advances into Azan. Panic in the Empire.
>Massive levies are organized to combat the witchelven. Azanese territories in Scimitarian protest against the recruitment.
>Panic in the Hedge. Many cross the sea to the Isle of Wizards. The Isle of Wizards becomes unstable due to the arrival of many refugees.
>Witchelven war with the Urgun cities and the Gökmavi. Gökmavi-Urgun alliance against the witchelven.
>Nogar becomes independent from the Khenomeric Empire. Loss of the colonies in Leng.
>Instability in the Western Elven Empire. First Drow Uprisings.

Also, Azan is going to start losing many territories from now on. Do we have a more complete timeline of that? Not all of the lost territories are accounted for in the google doc.

>>88079980
What of the north?

>>88079980
Azan should have taken control of Scimitaria by now, it is they who lose it to the drow, not the Elven Empire, also remember most of the drow migrated up from the underground, it was not a slave revolt or whatever that one guy was pushing for for a while

Also not really sure why there would be panic in the lands behind the hedge

>>88082952
>Azan should have taken control of Scimitaria by now, it is they who lose it to the drow, not the Elven Empire
Didn't we establish that Azan never trully conquered the WEE? That they basically just established their political and military dominance and that's it? I remember early on discussing this and concluding that the WEE survived until the 2nd Elven Empire.

>remember most of the drow migrated up from the underground
That's why it's called the "Drow Uprising". Because they go up from the underground. Maybe a bad pun on my part.

>Also not really sure why there would be panic in the lands behind the hedge
With the azanese defeat at the hands of the witchelven, many in the Hedge would fear the witchelven would arrive to them, so they flee to the other side of the sea just in case.

>>88082256
What about the north?

>>88083768
>Didn't we establish that Azan never trully conquered the WEE?
The issue there was how early the conquest occurred, you wanted to move it well earlier than it happened

Also, you are probably confusing WEE and FEE, the core of the first elven empire isn't Scimitaria, it is what is now Elfwood

>With the azanese defeat at the hands of the witchelven...
Maybe, seems unnecessary though, don't forget the majority of the Isle of Wizards is human

>>88084039
>Also, you are probably confusing WEE and FEE, the core of the first elven empire isn't Scimitaria, it is what is now Elfwood
Since when? Every time we talk about the WEE, we mention Scimitarian. The Hedge was a far buffer between Azan and the WEE for many years precisely because it's a fey land outside of Scimitarian, just like the Island of Wizards was a mainly human land under fey influence.

>>88087102
>Since when?
It is written in the lore for several nations in that area. I tried pointing it out a few times to you, but eventually gave up and assumed that from a human perspective, Scimitaria was the core of the FEE since it is more populated and organized in a fashion more recognizable to Azanese as an Empire, while the lands behind the hedge is where most of the heavyweight Faerie Lords are, but the lands are more sparsely populated and with less obvious mechanisms of governance

>>88087475
>Scimitaria as the empire core
>The Hedge as the dominion and private fiefdom of the Faerie Lords.

I mean, it could see it, since the Hedge is more fey whereas Scimitarian is more elves/dwarves/humans. But I would have to rewrite a fucking ton of lore, plus the maps...

Can you think of a way to reconcile this two positions? There is no mention of a war between azan/wee in ABE times, and the fey didn't lose all territories after the wars in
1.401-1281 BBE. I don't see how the WEE is suddenly absorbed by Azan and still exists in some way. Plus, there's no way Azan conquers the WEE without conquering the Hedge first...

>>88087934
>There is no mention of a war between azan/wee in ABE times
Many of the histories of Scimitarian countries mention that the Azanese took the area from the WEE before the drow showed up, see the pages for the drow, belsire, belsirya, aurous, azan, calcabra, sea elves, etc.

You rely on the timeline too much, not every event has a pivotal date, and even when there is a date, sometimes the existing context is lost. You should periodically check the history sections of nations you are writing updates for.

>I don't see how the WEE is suddenly absorbed by Azan and still exists in some way.
It was supposed to be a gradual back and forth process

>Plus, there's no way Azan conquers the WEE without conquering the Hedge first...
Why not? There are all sorts of reasons why Azan doesn't make progress in the lands behind the hedge:
- lots of powerful faerie lords
- fewer disgruntled human and dwarf locals that they can turn to their side
- faerie lords throwing more resources at defending the lands behind the hedge than defending scimitaria since it is more important to them (for example, the gibberling swarm driving azan and the dwarves out of the baalps region should appear on one of the upcoming maps)

>>88089463
Ok, so would this work?
-Azan is fighting the witchelven. Instead of a surprise defeat, the war becomes a slog, but Azan is confident they can win it.
-Suddenly, the drow uprisings take the WEE by surprise. The faerie lords are taken by complete surprise, and their military forces are routed.
-They ask Azan for help subduing the drow, in exchange for territories in Scimitarian. Azan accepts and half of their armies go to Scimitarian. Azanese presence in all Scimitarian.
-Azanese army becomes overstretched to near breaking point. Two decisive defeats to the west and the east weaken the azanese forces massively.
-Quick losses in both sides. Azan needs to concentrate their forces to the east to prevent catastrophic damages. Scimitarian falls fully to the drow, the WEE falls and is replaced by the Second Elven Empire.
-The drow, sensing blood in the water, continue pushing the azanese, threatening invading the shores of the empire.


Would that work? I'm trying to find a lore friendly compromise that doesn't need me to redo two or three of the maps and their lore, not sure if it'd be possible...

>>88091013
Also, did we agree in the origins of the drow? I remember reading they came from another dimension, but that was discarded. Did they live under the WEE all along?

>>88091013
How about you just alter map 10 (1,909 ABE) so that Azan controls Scimitaria, and add a paragraph about how they gradually took over Scimitaria in the 250 year period between map 9 and 10. And also check out the histories for some of the nations in that area since some of them have additional info for that time period.

>>88091361
They were from a coalition of "western underground cities", the geographical extent of which is unclear, but probably includes underneath Azan and the Witch-Elven Empire judging by the underground map

>>88092134
>about how they gradually took over Scimitaria in the 250
What exactly would have made Azan and the WEE enter in conflict again? The WEE was in a long period of prosperity in everything but military might, and Azan was busy to the east.

Maybe some political divisions in the WEE? Instead of Azan actively conquering territory, the tensions inside the WEE between fey and humans saw many human provinces to follow azanese commands more and more. That would weaken enough the empire for the eventual drow uprisings.

>And also check out the histories for some of the nations in that area
Anything in particular I should be mindful of?

>>88092228
>What exactly would have made Azan and the WEE enter in conflict again?
They have been rivals for pretty much their entire history. The core of their grudge is that the fey feel humans spread out of control and destroy the land, while the Azanese humans feel the fey are too tolerant of unseelie fey and dark magic

>and Azan was busy to the east
they are powerful enough to do more than one thing at once

>Anything in particular I should be mindful of?
a lot of Scimitaria would be vassals of Azan on maps 9+10 rather than direct control. Only Bumi/Etera/Arangea would be truly independent, plus a few minor WEE holdouts that can be placed in remote locations like mountain hobbit territory

>>88092590
I'll see what I can do.

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>>88092590
Ok, so I'm trying to establish what scimitarian lands could have been influenced by Azan (I don't see the two empires going to war again, but I do see a cold war of sorts), mostly those lands mostly inhabit by humans. Thus the Duchy of Calcabria, Arangea and the Island of Terpysythea. The lower bit of the Cornfloor peninsula does have human settlements, but it's not part of the WEE anyway.

Any other places I could mark?

>>88095846
Also, I haven't included the lands of the Remnants because its lore kind of clashes with what's been established.

>>88095875
>>88095846
The Three Sisters archipelago is said to have been taken by Azan as an emergency measure to stop the drow, so they won't take it until later. Same with Moreslee, it was founded after the Second Elven Empire.

>>88071358
Should we put a limit on the amount of races in the setting? We are going to have problems finding places for them to live...

>>88079980
I think you should colour in a few blobs in the core Azan empire as vassals on this map, we know the rise of the witch elves led to a great migration of barbarians from the central bone lakes into Azan and the weakened empire decided to just grant them lands in underpopulated regions and make them vassals.
Source: Furlaniya lore

>>88099098
>>88079980
The 3rd group to settle the region, the Primorscans came later, as a result of the Witchelven Wars. Primorscans and Daligradians used to be part of a much larger common people the Domorotsyi that used to live around the Bone lakes. The Domorotsyi are believed to have been a southern branch of the Zapalovach Northmen as their language and culture are somewhat similar. Sometime between the 7th and 10th Azan dynasties they were driven out of their homeland by the expansion of the Witchelves and forced to migrate to the southwest. Already preoccupied with several wars and rebellions, the massive wave of refugees destabilised the Azan Empire further until one of the Southern Emperors had the bright idea to resettle them in various backwards and/or depopulated provinces of the empire. The backwood hills of Furlaniya were one such chosen location and most of the Primorscans were moved there with the promises of land and peace. Due to their large numbers and preference for a rural lifestyle, Primorscan culture has endured to this day and become effectively autochthonous to the region.

>>88095895
What is an archipelago?

>>88099239
>archipelago
archipelago:group of islands

>>88099098
Sure. What are the least populated areas of Azan at this point? I imagine the area occupied in CY by the Gommorrah Breach was close enough to the witchelven and far enough from the center of the empire to be somewhat underpopulated. The Troll Wastes could be other, but I imagine that was populated by trolls.

>>88099232
>>88099539
And Furlaniya too, but would that is pretty deep within the empire and far from the battlefront, I'm not sure if it's the time to mark the area as vassals instead of proper empire.

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>>88099539
>Troll Wastes
It's not reflected in the map of the region but I imagine the troll wastes to be a bit of an Arnor situation where it was a prosperous province until the succubus breach happened and the Azanese flooded the region with trolls as a last ditch measure and have only begun foraying into the region again very recently, in the past two hundred years. So lots of old white ruins overgrown with pine forests and swamps and tribes of trolls roaming the land making any travel extremely risky.

As for other areas, check the geography/history on the pages of Azan, Gautlan, Hasteria, Daligrad and Changrila. There's quite a few references to plagues or harsh conditions leaving various provinces underpopulated.

Also I don't agree that the new vassals should only be on the witchelf front lines (although there definitely should be some there). While irl Rome started by settling foederati at the frontiers of the empire to help with defence, as the authority of the empire crumbled it allowed some Germanic chiefs a lot more leverage in treating with Rome which is how we get the Suevi being gifted the depopulated modern Galicia far away from any frontlines in exchange for stopping being cunts.

>>88092590
>>88092134
Ok, I'll add this bit of lore to the map of the year 1.909 ABE.

>>88100075
In the Western Elven Empire, many of the most powerful faeie lords, and with the passage of time, they slowly lost interest in the rule of their empire. While the Western Elven Empire was a more fractioned power than a centralized state, the authority of the wise and powerful lords was essential to keep the empire together. However, many of these began thinking that the ruling of the empire was counter to nature, binding the world to mortal laws and rules instead of letting it flourish. Other faeie lords also tired about the administration work needed, especially after the economic crisis caused by the fall of the Merfolk. This meant that the Western Elven Empire began fracturing without strong leadership. The tensions between the many fey principalities, human provinces and dwarven kingdoms that formed the Western Elven Empire began drifting from each other, without a cohesive vision of what the empire should be. Many of these began approaching Azan as a way to increase their influence, something that wouldn’t have been possible if the watchful eyes of the faeie lords were still around. Azan saw this with caution, since they did not want to look like they were encroaching upon fey territory. Many azanese did not want a war to start, since a conflict with the Western Elven Empire would mean doubling down on the navy, something especially expensive since their naval power had not yet recovered their full strength after the typhoons. Also, while not in critical condition, the economic crisis caused by the fall of the Merfolk Empire was still felt in many areas, and many thought a war would worsen this situation. On the other hand, rejecting the offers of the human lords could be seen as weakness, or at least irritate the humans within Scimitarian, something Azan had worked hard to avoid. Thus, slowly, Azan began encroaching into Scimitarian lands, and the more they advance, they more they saw the response from the fey lords was one of indifference.

>>88100099
>>88100075
Also, if I have to modify the 1.909 ABE map, I'd add the lands marked in >>88095846 as vassals. Not sure what other areas in Scimitarian could be marked.

>>88100099
>faeie
Faerie

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>>88092134
>>88092590
Ok, I've added the territories that I think could have been under azanese influence in Scimitarian by 1.909 ABE.

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>>88100687
Also the 1.935 ABE.

>>88100687
>>88100797
I guess we will just agree to disagree on this one

>>88101017
What's the issue?

>>88101078
You are still sticking with the drow fighting the WEE, not Azan and the dwarves

This is contrary to the WEE page, the drow page, the Azan Empire page, among others (the Firebrand page is a surprisingly good source on the conflict)

>>88096717
All the races I listed are from preexisting lore

>>88101397
I see. I was thinking of the WEE crumbling away without a strong leadership, with Azan taking a growing role in Scimitarian. By the time the Drow Uprisings happens, there is still a WEE, but the ties between the provinces is so thin that basically all of them fight on their own with azanese help.

Also, what's with Queen Celia's lore (from Firebrand)? Was she an azanese queen that allied with the drow to conquer dwarven kingdoms? Why would Azan ever ally with the drow when they are invading their scimitarian territory?

>>88101491
Oh, ok. Still my point stands, if we're going to do detailed description of the races. Plus, there are few places with lore yet to be added.

>>88101501
>Drow Uprisings happens, there is still a WEE, but the ties between the provinces is so thin that basically all of them fight on their own with azanese help.
Still seems like a pointless retcon, the main fight is supposed to be between the drow and the dwarves/Azanese

>Also, what's with Queen Celia's lore
Celia and her ancestor Chalia are both drow, it is more obvious in the original postings which had pictures

>>88102015
>the main fight is supposed to be between the drow and the dwarves/Azanese
Sure, by the time the drow uprisings happen, Azan and the dwarven kingdom are the only powers capable of putting up a fight. The other territories are surprised and overwhelmed quickly.

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>>88101491
I've reorganized the species in this table. Some are on the sentient species wiki page, some are not. But the reason why I'm saying we need to stop adding sentient species is that they need a decent amount of description, and we're going to have more sentient species that creatures in the bestiary.

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>>88102108
Fixed a couple of things.

>>88102055
The dwarven strongholds in the ashland/volcano region were vassals of the Azan Empire though, but on your map the area is still WEE

>>88102620
When did they swore allegiance to Azan?

>>88102684
Some were already there, but most arrived from other regions controlled by Azan once Azan took over that part of Scimitaria

>>88102729
The azanese dwarves could have come to Scimitarian between 1.909 and 1.935 ABE, attracted by the mineral wealth. And the scimitarian dwarves were the ones who saw the drow problem brewing early on, and since the WEE did not listen to them, they began getting close to Azan just in case. Would that work?

I could use the drow map to paint the dwarven cities, their lore is in the drow citystates page.

>>88102815
how about the green represents WEE remnant control over parts of the surface of the ashlands, and that any mention of dwarves being a part of the WEE are rare outliers/legal technicalities/matter of perspective

>>88103446
If the dwarven kingdoms are mostly underground, they probably control small bits of land around the exits of their underground lairs, and that's basically it. Especially if they produce their food underground.

But yeah, I can see the dwarves becoming tired of the fey basically ignoring government and going to Azan to prepare for whatever they are expecting. Maybe the dwarves have a prophecy of sorts about the arrival of the drow?

>>88103446
What about this? Continuing >>88100099

The lack of government greatly infuriated many of the constituent territories of the Western Elven Empire. In particular, the many underground dwarven kingdoms became fed up with the faerie lords, seeing them as irresponsible leaders that were not taking their duties of government seriously. What’s more, the underground lifestyle of the dwarves allowed them to begin sensing something was amiss. Dwarven prospectors began sensing instabilities in many areas, not explainable by mere volcanic activity. Dwarven oracles also began sensing premonitions about an impending doom, visions of the Scimitarian continent cracking and bursting with black fire. The dwarven kings tried to warn the faerie lords, but the fey never took dwarven magic seriously, considering it inferior to their own. After many years of affronts and indifference, the dwarven kingdoms began approaching Azan, seeing it as the only alternative that could protect Scimitarian from the unknown danger they were sensing. And while Azan didn’t really trust the dwarven prediction either, they saw the change of allegiance of the dwarves as a great way to inject some life into the azanese economy. Access to the underground riches of Scimitarian would help reactivate the economy after the fall of the Merfolk Empire, and thus they began investing in them. However, outright annexing them would cause a war, even with the growing apathy of the faerie lords, so the dwarven kingdoms continued technically being part of the Western Elven Empire. Slowly, subtly, they began ignoring more and more fey law and began reducing the taxes paid to the WEE, instead going to Azan. In exchange, Azan promised military help in case the threat predicted could be combated by force of arms. Azan also sent many dwarves from Azan to reinforce the undergrounds, mostly expecting the calamity predicted by the oracles to be of geological nature.

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>>88104071
Also, since the dwarven kingdoms are underground, they don't really show in the map that much.

>>88102108
I love this. Maybe add a "primary region/nation" for certain species, so we can keep track of them better?

>>88104071
seems alright

Wow glad to see this setting still kicking.

I am the anon who wrote a lot of Azan empire lore (The Ten Titans, the Titles, the idea of the Sacred Swords) and glad to see folks took the ball and ran with it.

I like how folks introduced the idea of magical cloning and chimera shit in the Second and Third Dynasties. It has this weird ass anime magic system vibe to it.

It seems there were some questions about the 5th and 6th dynasties so hopefully I can clear some things up.

Thea I was my name for the previously unnamed wife who overthrow her spouse, the last Adrianite Emperor. Sophia overthrowing her aunt to start the 5th Dynasty was first presented in the firebrand post. Nothing in it said her aunt *was* Thea I, so the idea that Thea was meant as the only emperor of the 4th dynasty was incorrect, making the Leovus additions unnecessary, but I am sure we can work them in somehow.


By the late 5th dynasty the power of the central emperor was so weak, each local jurisdiction was mostly under control of local rulers, often of their own monarchies, with their own armies and with their own titles in their own local languages .This is why the city of Essakor had a Zamindar while the region of Aetia had a Rangatira . You could compare this to the Holy Roman Empire having an emperor but still having the Count Palatine, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Brandenburg , King of Bohemia and so on.

When the 6th Dynasty rose and did it's whole year zero thing, it deliberately consolidated power by pushing their version of the Azan Faith and centralizing languages with the power of the printing press and gradually weakening those local monarchies until they eventually fully dissolved. (Though given the South Rebelled in the end there may have been some remnants)

Also did anyone ever do anything about the Witch Wars?

>>88105328
>Witch Wars
Where is that from?

>>88104363
Sure. I'll add a category for that alongside the spread of the species. I wrote it a couple of threads ago, maybe it could be more useful here.

Demographic weight of a species in the world of Giantstep.

>Level 0.
Believed to be extinct.

>Level 1.
Small minority within a single region and found nowhere else in the world.

>Level 2A
Big minority within a single region. Few to no colonies in neighboring lands.

>Level 3.
Majority population within a single region. Plenty to few colonies in neighboring lands.

>Level 4
Majority population within multiple regions. They form big minorities in many other regions.

>Level 5.
Present in great quantities in all continents of the world. Only humans have this level of spread.

I still think it needs some tweaking to include all species (goblins are everywhere, but are a minority wherever they are). I'm open to suggestions.

>>88102140
Also, is there a species I've missed?

File: Ancient empires map of Gi(...).jpg (1.38 MB, 6144x3000)

1.38 MB JPG

Ok, so I'm continuing with the 1.935 ABE, the last map with the WEE. I'll add the changes we've discussed here.

The things included in this map will be:

>Witchelven expansion against Azan. The Great Witchelven War between Azan and the Witchelven.
>Battle of the Western Bone Lakes. First great battle between Azan and the witchelven. Azan wins, but doesn't slow the witchelven advance, too many fronts to cover.
>Massive levies are organized to combat the witchelven. Azanese territories in Scimitarian protest against the recruitment.
>Panic in the Hedge. Many cross the sea to the Isle of Wizards. The Isle of Wizards becomes unstable due to the arrival of many refugees.
>Witchelven war with the Urgun cities and the Gökmavi. Gökmavi-Urgun alliance against the witchelven.
>Nogar becomes independent from the Khenomeric Empire. Loss of the colonies in Leng.
>Instability in the Western Elven Empire. First Drow Uprisings. Azan is forced to send troops to Scimitarian. Azan's army is stretched to the breaking point.

Anything else I should add?

File: sentient species table v.3.png (165 KB, 1270x2552)

165 KB PNG

Updated the species table again. Holy shit, there are so many species in the bog witch...

>>88106228
Reference to the Witch Wars:
https://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/85686282/#85715454
https://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/85686282/#85748698
https://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/86504173/#86638558

A possible list of the Witch Wars

https://desuarchive.org/tg/thread/85775039/#85820270

>>88106504
Here we have an approximation of the world's great powers right at the year 1.935 ABE.

The 20th Century ABE was witness to upheaval not seen since the Battle of Empires. The sudden and cataclysmic events that went down during this period crippled the three great empires of the time, heavily damaging the Azanese Empire and the Khenomeric Empire, and ripping the Western Elven Empire apart, after years of mismanagement. It is difficult to quantify the damages the world suffered throughout the century, but most would agree that the bulk of the damage happened in the west.

>>88111065
After the founding of the Witchelven Empire in 1.909 ABE, the territories of the young nation grew exponentially. By converting all witchelven nations and tribes to her version of the witchelven faith, her forces swelled in size, expanding throughout many lands in Central Giantstep. Under both her magnetic oratory and the threat of torturous death, the Prophet of the Succubus Queen became the most powerful person in the entire region. Under her power, the witchelven began building great cities from barren solid rock, and began perfecting their magic to levels never seen in witchelven society before. Still, the growth of the empire could not go on by itself: the Succubus Queen demanded proper sacrifices to continue offering her boons, as well as slaves to fuel the growth of the empire. Many human tribes and cities began suffering raids at a never before seen rate, threatening to exterminate the human population in the area. The slaves were put to work in the fields, in the construction of the cities and temples and on the ritual fields, where they would later be tortured and sacrificed.

>>88111081
By 1.912, Morwenna’s armies were ready to take on Azan, starting encroaching into azanese territory. The fortresses and strongholds at the border, mostly dedicated to watch over for slaver raids, were not enough to stop the witchelven forces, and were quickly overrun. The situation worsened by the many refugees trying to run away from the witchelven, collapsing the supplies of many border towns and causing many tensions and fights wherever they went. Azan was used to repelling the witchelven raids, but the numbers and the organization they were showing now worried many in the army. The crown was not particularly worried, as even with the economic crisis and the many centuries of mostly peace, Azan was by far the biggest military power in the world. The upstart witchelven, no matter how numerous and organized they were, could not really prevail against the azanese legions. However, the long times of peace had left the legions understrength and undertrained. The azanese armies were slower than the witchelven forces, which simply raided every town and city they could find, steal whatever and whoever they could, and kill and burn whatever they couldn’t, and just keep going. Seeing as chasing down the witchelven was seen as pointless, the crown ordered an assault to the witchelven capital, a decapitating strike that may solve the problem from its roots. Three legions of Azan marched deep within the empire, trying to find the throne of witchelven leader, all the while being harassed by the witchelven. The first true battle of the First Witchelven War was the Battle of the Western Bone Lakes, where the azanese legions besieged the city of Meren, where they believed Morwenna resided.

>>88111097
The battle resulted in an azanese victory, claiming the city and freeing all the slaves, but the fight and later siege had taken too much time, and the legions’ supply chain had been severely weakened by raids. What was worse, Morwenna had left the city before the azanese forces arrived, and now found herself in a nearby city. Realizing what her plan was, eroding the azanese legions through a series of battles that led nowhere, the magisters ordered to turn back home, to protect the azanese borders. While the battle proved to be a victory, and a shot of morale for the Azanese populous, the higher echelons knew that the war was looking like a long and bloody affair.

>>88111108
However, the front was too wide, and the witchelven advancing too quickly for the azanese forces to launch a straight up fight. The crown decided that Azan needed to compensate for this with more men, and as such, the emperor ordered a general conscription order. Massive levies bloated the azanese army, which now had enough numbers to slow down the witchelven. However, these levies were not popular, especially in the areas furthest from the border, with many still seeing Azan as a power that could beat the witchelven with little effort. Plus, the efforts of the war meant that taxes were risen considerably, hitting the economy hard. In particular, the azanese territories in Scimitarian and Wanaidheain were outraged. They were not technically part of Azan, merely vassal states, but many of them were forced to not only increase their tribute and offer their young men for their effort, but also receive the refugees and rescued slaves, which caused tensions in the territories. This created a breach of trust between Azan and its vassals, something that would prove critical later down the line.

>>88111123
Meanwhile, the Witchelven were also expanding to the east. While the lands of the Snoloths were harsh enough that pretty much defended themselves, and the lands near the Cursed Battlefield were still too far, the witchelven advance towards the Urgun Plateau. Sensing a mortal threat, the city-states of the Urgun Plateau allied themselves with the Gökmavi, in an effort to push back the fiends. The Gökmavi, on their part, accepted to defend the Urgun cities to avoid having to fight on their own territory. The war between these two groups became one of hit and run tactics, with both sides being master skirmishers. However, this war proved a disaster for the Urgun cities, many of which burned down and destroyed utterly.

>>87981552
When did the government move from Essakor to Nananikor?

From my records Essakor was still the capital at the end of the 5th Dynasty.

Nananikor was the new capital by the near end of the Month Dynasty.

>>88111247
>When did the government move from Essakor to Nananikor?
I don't know.

>>88111247
This reminds me we still have to add tons of capitals.

So where did drow come from?

>>88113344
some were already there, but most came from various underground cities under the western part of the main continent

there is some old references to another dimension, but that has been partially retconned to being one or more of the Faerie Realms

Gonna write the Sea of Bile lore tomorrow

>>88109468
Why would anyone declare war on the bog witch?

>>88102140
>>88106450

I put together some summaries for the sentient species page:

>Humans
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, several subraces.
Society Description: Dominant race, wide range of social organizations.
Geographic Extent: Level 5, found in nearly all nations, dominant in most.
Discussion: N/A

>Wood Elves (aka primal or primordial elves)
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, pointy ears, greenish skin, unnatural speed and toughness, long-lived, some parts of their anatomy function more like plants than mammals, able to reproduce with nearly any living thing, relatively pure blooded ones appear genderless. Many believe that most, if not all elf races can trace their origins back to wood elves via Faerie Lord tampering.
Society Description: hunter-gatherers, typically sworn to the service of a Faerie Lord, behavior (and sometimes appearance) can vary greatly depending on what Lord sworn to
Geographic Extent: Level 2B, found in certain parts of the former Elven Empire, particularly Elfwood and the Sea Elf Domains. Also found in a few northeastern forests.
Discussion: There is a Level 2A, but not a 2B, I am assuming Level 2B means significant minority in several regions

>Snow Elves
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, pointy ears, very pale skin, often 7 feet taller or more, unusually resistant to cold, unusually strong, long lived.
Society Description: Monarchy, generally peaceful and artistic, but growing more militant.
Geographic Extent: Level 3, rare outside Aine Saevherne, where they are dominant.
Discussion: N/A

>Sea Elves
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, pointy ears, light grey-blue skin, strong swimmers, long lived, ancestors were drow.
Society Description: matriarchal noble houses, isolationist and mildly xenophobic, prefer to live next to ocean when possible. Fishers and coastal farmers, rely on others for inland mining and forestry.
Geographic Extent: Level 3, dominant in Sea Elven Domains, relatively rare elsewhere.
Discussion: N/A

>>88117052

>Witch-Elves
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, pointy ears, pale skin, long lived, ancestors were pale elves.
Society Description: Demon worshipping theocracy dominating weak noble houses, though some witch-elves have rejected their society and live in exile. Rely on slaves for most drudge work.
Geographic Extent: Level 3, dominant in Witch-Elven Empire, rare elsewhere.
Discussion: N/A

>Drow
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, pointy ears, grey skin, long lived, most are adapted to life underground and dislike the sun, but others are fine on the surface.
Society Description: Varies, but matriarchal noble houses are common, most worship a member of the drow pantheon, which includes several demons and evil gods, but also some relatively benevolent gods. Most cities rely on slaves for drudge work.
Geographic Extent: Level 4, politically dominant in Drow City-States and several underground kingdoms and alliances, but significant minorities in several nations throughout the northwest, and a few in the south and northeast.
Discussion: N/A

>Ta’lunasir/Moon Elves
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, pointy ears, pale skin, long lived, ancestors were pale elves.
Society Description: Elf faction obsessed with astromancy and other stellar affairs, use agriculture.
Geographic Extent: Level 3, politically dominant in the Moonlight Shores, can also be found in small numbers in a few neighboring nations.
Discussion: N/A

>>88117062

>Pale Elves/Bearded Elves/Horned Elves
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, pointy ears, pale skin (often), long lived, horns (sometimes), facial hair (sometimes), and other traits possible depending on whims of current and past Faerie Lords. Pale Elves are likely the least modified version, and are near identical to their descendants, the witch-elves and moon elves.
Society Description: Typically found serving a Faerie Lord, often at a high level.
Geographic Extent: Level 2B, found former parts of the Elven Empire, with Elfwood being the most significant, and certain other forests.
Discussion: N/A

>Half-Elves
Anatomy Description: Depends on lineage, common varieties include half-drow (half-human), half-elves (typically half-human, half-pale elf or wood elf), half-bloods (witch-elf and anything else), stripped drow (drow and wood elf), and Nchuandar (human, drow, and moon elf). Some regions have a specific name for mixes, like mutt, Zapa Elf, half-breed, or gutter elf. Rarer cross-breeds (sometimes aided by magic and under duress) have been encountered that descend from the offspring of elves and; orcs, merfolk, hobbits, ra’ga, badgassi, ecrkoecknoi, minotaur, and a wide range of fey.
Society Description: Typically found living with elves (often confined to the lower rungs of society), or with humans (status varies).
Geographic Extent: Level 2B, can be found decent numbers in many different nations including much of the northwest, parts of the northeast, the Witch-Elven Empire, and Gilgemash.
Discussion: N/A

>>88117075

>Common Fairies (aka pixies)
Anatomy Description: There are many kinds of fairy, “common fairy” is a blanket term for those that deviate the least from the average, including thorn fairies, sky fairies, pixies, and wisp fairies. They are about a foot tall, resembling small elves or humans with insect wings, though some have other insectoid features as well.
Society Description: Fairies are essentially hunter-gatherers with limited social structure. They have a mischievous nature that often turns to outright sadism if they associate with unseelie fey.
Geographic Extent: Level 2B, can be found decent numbers in many different nations across the world. They are the most numerous race in the Fairy Woods, though aren’t particularly dominant even there.
Discussion: I would recommend amending the “fairy category” to “small-folk - fairy”

>Chotes
Anatomy Description: Humanoids with insect wings. Roughy two inches tall.
Society Description: Hunter gatherers living in tribes of 100-200. Generally friendly with other sentient beings.
Geographic Extent: Level 2A, fairly common in the Terrania Freeholds but rare elsewhere.
Discussion: N/A

>Sprites
Anatomy Description: A catch-all term for the smallest of the fey, usually in the 4-6 inch tall range. Mushroomites and fire sprites are the most common races considered sprites. Some have insect wings and are considered both sprites and fairies.
Society Description: Varies, but most are poorly organized nuisances, plus a few hivemind races.
Geographic Extent: Level 3, can be found decent numbers in many different nations across the world. Mushroomites are dominant in The Fungest.
Discussion: I would recommend changing subcategory to just "small-folk"

>Pixies
Discussion: You can just get rid of this one as a separate line, what I envisioned for them is very similar to what fairies ended up being

>>88117098

>Bog Fairies
Anatomy Description: Insectoid fairies about two inches tall with venomous bites that are extremely itchy.
Society Description: Bog Fairies are barely above wasps in terms of social structure, but do seem to enjoy attacking others for the sake of sadism.
Geographic Extent: Level 1, they are mostly found in the Dominion of the Bog-Witch.
Discussion: N/A

>Black Snatchers
Anatomy Description: No corporeal form, but manifests as long grasping arms and glowing eyes.
Society Description: Seemingly only exists to pull beings into the Fairy Realm via “bog holes”.
Geographic Extent: Level 1, rare in the Dominion of the Bog-Witch, unheard of elsewhere, but some rumors persist.
Discussion: should be “miscellaneous fey”, possible candidate for “true fey”

>Wisps (aka will-o-wisps)
Anatomy Description: A glowing ball, it appears about a foot in diameter, but will get smaller if you get closer.
Society Description: Essentially none. Wisps only existed to lure others to their deaths or captivity, it is likely they were created for this purpose.
Geographic Extent: Level 2B, fairly rare, but can be found decent numbers in the Dominion of the Bog-Witch, bordering nations, and a few other swampy areas across the world, particularly in the west.
Discussion: should be category “miscellaneous fey”

>Wisplings
Anatomy Description: Humanoid, roughly 1-2 feet tall, vary greatly in appearance (plant-like, insectoid, amphibianoid, rodential, corpse-like, etc.)
Society Description: Fairies are hunter-gatherers with limited social structure. Most have an impish, mischievous nature, but some are melancholy, and a few are benevolent
Geographic Extent: Level 2B, can be found decent numbers in the Platanus Bog and surrounding nations.
Discussion: category should be “small-folk”

>>88117112
>Wisps
Are wisps trully sentient?

>>88115186
Neat.

>>88111142
In the lands of the Hedge, a mix between panic and indignation began spreading around. The witchelven threat was seen as something dangerous, especially after Azan couldn’t really end it straightaway, and the lack of care of many faerie lords meant that the forces loyal to the Western Elven Empire in Giantstep were less than prepared. Other than a few voluntary forces, especially from the human population, the lands of the Hedge were quite vulnerable, and many felt it. Many groups accelerated their migration to Wanaidheain and the Calcabrian Mountains, something that would have deep consequences later down the line. This also began breaking the bonds of trust in the faerie lords, seeing their passivity in turbulent times as a bad omen.

>>88121765
In the east, while the lands were safe from the growing witchelven by the harsh terrain of Central Giantstep, the Khenomeric Empire was having its own problems. Around 1.930, another wave of gnolls exploded in the south and southwest of the empire, overrunning local authorities and needing to mobilize the army to save the countryside from the feral gnolls. This, alongside a series of epidemics, required a series of tax increases to solve, something badly received. It was particularly poorly received in the province of Nogar. Nogar had grown in power and influence in the last couple of centuries, becoming the main point of contact between the Northern Khenomeric Empire and the mainland. It also held most of the navy, which had grown considerably to deal with the pirate threat. This economic and political growth, however, did not reflect the situation of the nogarese nobility, who felt left out of the prosperity of their own lands. Worse still, the increased taxes were particularly high in Nogar, since it was one of the most prosperous territories of the empire. This led to a revolt by the nogarese house of Doroseck, who demanded the end of the increased taxation and the recovery many privileges the nogarese nobility had lost at the hands of the khenomeric administration. While the rebellion itself was of a small scale, a series of surprising victories led the nogarese nobility to ally themselves to the Doroseck House, eventually claiming full independence from the Khenomeric Empire.

>>88121773
The independence of Nogar was a huge blow to the empire. The loss of one of the most important provinces was bad enough, but the loss of the remaining ports in the South West Sea meant that trade and communications between the two halves of the empire were severely disrupted. Nogar also kept many warships as war prizes, and soon enough they became the main force keeping the seas safe from pirates. The immediate reaction to this was the loss of the colonies in the Leng Archipelago, which were simply unsustainable without nearby ports. The deeper implications of the loss of Nogar was the loss of control over the territories of the Northern Khenomeric Empire. This would take years to fully show its effects, since at this time, the NKE was too busy with their usual fights about the rights of wizards.

>>88121785
I want to write about the Drow Uprisings in this map and the next, but I have very little info. The Drow City States page has little info as it is.If anyone can redirect me to the pages/threads that have the following info, I'd appreciate it. If there isn't, I'll try to cover the holes myself.

>What caused the Drow Uprisings?
>What were the drow up to before the uprisings?
>Who were the leaders of the uprisings? Were they spontaneous, or were there organized?
>How did they manage to succeed so quickly?
>What numbers did the drow have? I imagine they were more organized and civilized than the witchelven, but their numbers weren't as high.
>Did the fey kingdoms surrender immediately, or did they try to fight? I know the dwarven kingdoms and azanese-influenced areas tried to put up a fight, but what about the rest?
>When did the WEE effectively disappear?
>When was the Second Elven Empire established? Why did they declare war against Azan instead of suing for peace once they had control of most of Scimitarian?

>>88122005
>What caused the Drow Uprisings?
drow wanting to claim dwarven mines

>What were the drow up to before the uprisings?
most of them were underground throughout the west, doing their own thing and occasionally raiding

>Who were the leaders of the uprisings? Were they spontaneous, or were there organized?
Celia brought the drow together

>How did they manage to succeed so quickly?
most of the land they took over was pretty empty and surface dwellers weren't used to fighting them on a large scale.

>What numbers did the drow have? I imagine they were more organized and civilized than the witchelven, but their numbers weren't as high.
Hundreds of thousands is mentioned

>Did the fey kingdoms surrender immediately, or did they try to fight? I know the dwarven kingdoms and azanese-influenced areas tried to put up a fight, but what about the rest?
The fey fighting the drow in the ashlands is a recent retcon, so there isn't much info available. We don't know much about the fey that once lived in the ashlands

>When did the WEE effectively disappear?
It was supposed to have disappeared by now, these are just the remnants. Even in the present date there are probably a few remote pockets of fey claiming loyalty to the WEE

>When was the Second Elven Empire established?
Timeline says 1,936

Why did they declare war against Azan instead of suing for peace once they had control of most of Scimitarian?
Many of their allies and vassals had been attacked, Azan wasn't going to let that go, particularly as they derive a lot of their moral authority from smashing demon worshippers and other blatant evildoers

Some of your questions were addressed on the drow city states history section, albeit briefly. There is a few more minor details in the "places of interest" section. "Firebrand" has some good info, and the WEE and Azan pages also briefly touch on it, as do many other Scimitaria nation history pages

for whoever makes the next thread it should be number 42

thread 41 is archived here:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87956630/

thread 40 is here:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/87795959/

the rest are at the top of this thread

>>88117052
holy shit great job