Main thread for the current setting (http://www.thecbg.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=3d01e6f423f50f4d6a7d672b36bba553&topic=209431)
Since I want to reserve my main Red Valor thread (even if I post infrequently in it) for top-down posts about nations, religions, magic, and other Big World Ideas, I figured I'd make a secondary thread to dump my notes on smaller stuff that I've written for either practical purposes (my players, or my friend's players, needed background information for character creation, for example) or that I wrote to help shape the world in ways other than top-down pseudo-encyclopedian articles.
Comments and questions are welcome
BIOGRAPHY: Kamon Rikomi (cross-posted from my private wiki)
"He is the chosen son of the goddess, the golden-eyed champion of our people. He wields the sacred sword and has harnessed the power of thunderbolts. No man is his equal with a blade, and he will fulfill the ancient prophecy of our savior—the tyrant-slayer who will deliver us from our suffering!" –Su Tyiet, Azrani seer
"I am ill at ease with this talk of champions. I am merely a man with a sword. The tyrants I am to slay? They have armies." -Kamon Rikomi
Early Life
Born the son of a merchant prince of the Incorran city of Nidar, young Adem Raskin was sold into slavery, along with the rest of his family, after his father died and the estate defaulted on its debts. The slavers scattered the Raskin clan across a half-dozen nations, and Adem found himself indentured to an Ergothian mining corps, for whom he worked for three years. The elder miners took pity on the boy and shielded him from the overseers, but nevertheless the caves were a harsh place for a child. When he reached the age of ten, Adem escaped the mines, surviving on the generosity of travelers and a small amount of rations stolen from the mining camps.
Soon, Adem became a petty thief and beggar in the city of Medzam. When he attempted to rob an elderly Arvian knight at knifepoint, Adem was severely wounded in the ensuing brawl and left for dead in an abandoned alleyway. A traveling Salinist monk happened upon the boy and took him to the remote Dai Shu monastery ten miles from the mountainous city of Kaneh. After a long and grueling recovery, Adem felt indebted to the monks and pledged himself to their order.
When he reached the age of majority, Adem was given the ceremonial name Kamon, meaning "mask" in the Ti Mingh dialect. Although grateful to the monks for saving his life and raising him in the following years, Kamon remained deeply angry at the circumstances of his childhood. As a consequence, he left the monastery at the age of nineteen with the intention of finding his family and punishing those responsible for their misfortune.
Seekers of the Sword
Kamon traveled north to the Ruby Road in the Gozhen Empire, befriending a merchant named Ashemir and his entourage along the way. Ashemir, shocked at Kamon's ignorance of civilized life, taught the young monk the purpose of currency, the basic rules of polite etiquette, and how to travel the Middle Realms without attracting unnecessary attention. Kamon and Ashemir parted ways in Cathedral, the capital city of Sicloria.
While in the Free City of Erenbar, Kamon discovered that his family had been sold by Jaren Loraad, a merchant who had died three years prior. Kamon traveled to Jaren's estate and learned that his Jaren's son, Aden Jaraad, was still an active slave trader, despite a recent law enacted by the High Lord of Erenbar. Kamon subsequently murdered Aden and attempted to free the most recent stock of slaves, only to discover that none of them would leave their consigned quarters, suspecting the offer was merely a ruse by their master to justify increased cruelty. Only one slave, a Kettan gladiator who answered to the name Victor, accepted Kamon's offer to escape. As Kamon and Victor prepared to leave the estate, a cadre of the Lord's Guard arrived, and the monk and gladiator were forced to fight their way to safety.
To his dismay and great frustration, Kamon soon learned that Aden had been the only person who had known the fate of the dispersed Raskin clan. In addition, Kamon and Victor were now wanted men, and the duo were forced to hide in shabby inns in the Low Quarter of Erenbar as they evaded the law. Eventually, a man with a similar need for secrecy named Hiru Mentalli contracted Kamon and Victor to act as his bodyguards in exchange for smuggling the outlaws out of the city.
Kamon and Victor soon found themselves enrolled in Hiru's strange quest to locate an artifact known as the Sword of the Ancients. Along the way, Kamon and Ashemir crossed paths again, and Ashemir gifted the young monk with a magnificent sword with a red dragon carved into the hilt. To his surprise, the sword began speaking to him shortly after Ashemir left, and by the time he had reunited with Victor and Hiru, Kamon was certain he had lost his mind. Hiru, aghast that such an extraordinary weapon had been given so freely, explained that this was the legendary sword Red Valor, the brother to the very blade they sought.
The trio's journeys took them to several remote corners of Ornaea, where they battled mercenaries, dragons, mad wizards, and an insidious shapeshifter named Volen. As it turned out, Hiru was secretly a powerful mage who sought the Sword of the Ancients to protect himself from Xenon Khaomagos, his mad father. After defeating Volen, Hiru received the Sword and he, Victor, and Kamon parted ways. Kamon vowed to never draw Red Valor again, believing he had too much blood on his hands, and sealed the scabbard shut with strong leather bands.
Blood and Thunder in Cao Province
Thanks to Hiru's generous compensation, Kamon was now a wealthy man, though his monastic upbringing made him wary of the temptation for material possessions. Kamon learned through a letter from Ashemir that one of the Raskin clan had supposedly been sold to a warlord in the Azran Empire, prompting Kamon to travel east. While in the volatile Cao Province, Kamon ran afoul of Cao Phan Tegu-Sai (or Cao Phan the Conqueror of Men), known to the west as Kafan Tegusai. The prophets of the Nine Fortunes declared Kamon to be the hero of legend who would defeat Ri Ko-shu, or the "Ghost of the Thunder Demon", a powerful entity who had haunted the Cao region for centuries. Kafan had hoped to defeat the Thunder Demon himself to further cement his legacy and his house's prominence.
The Ghost of the Thunder Demon, having heard the prophecy, began a campaign of terror against the people of Cao Province in the hopes of drawing Kamon out and killing him. Kamon, who had at this point been unwilling to confront the creature, could not let others die in his place and finally answered the Demon's challenge. During their first confrontation, Kamon refused to draw his sword, holding true to his vow of nonviolence. As a consequence, the Thunder Demon viciously wounded the monk but did not kill him, wanting Kamon's failure to haunt him and those who believed in him.
Kamon retreated to the wilderness, where he was captured by Kafan's soldiers and brought before the Conqueror. Kafan gloated that he would kill the Thunder Demon and revealed his true motivation for doing so—prophecies declared that the man who could kill the Thunder Demon would thereafter possess his immense power and long life.
Convinced that Kafan would use this power to ill effect, Kamon escaped from his imprisonment and rode out to confront the Ghost of the Thunder Demon again. This time, he cut the bands from his scabbard and drew the sacred blade against the Demon, whom he quickly dispatched. As Kafan arrived at the scene, Kamon was struck by the Seven Thunders that had given the Demon its powers and became imbued with the immense divine power. Nearly driven mad by the surge of new power, Kamon barely restrained himself from killing Kafan with Red Valor, and instead used the power of the Seven Thunders to escape to solitude.
The people of Cao Province turned on Kafan when they learned of his intention to use the power of the Demon to reign eternally as a tyrant. The entire province rose up in rebellion against the Conqueror, who was driven into exile in the neighboring realm of Sient. Days later, Kamon returned to the provincial capital of Cao Fet, where he was greeted as a hero. Disgusted with the mercurial attitudes of the people, Kamon refused to be named their lord and destroyed idols that had been built in his image before vanishing into a storm cloud. It was on this day that his most famous epithet, Rai Ko-mi, or "The Thunder Swordsman," was coined.
Wrath of the Shadow God
The rumbling of the Seven Thunders continued to cause Kamon considerable psychic pain, prompting the Thunder Swordsman to journey to the remote deserts of the Dontorran Wastelands, where the storm clouds that gave the Seven Thunders their voice were too far to hear. There, he crossed paths with Victor, who had entered the desert seeking an audience with an emissary of the god Sicloran. Kamon and Victor were soon besieged by a tribe of desert nomads and were taken to Outpost Viskona so that the Emir of Dontorr could decide their fate.
The Emir of Dontorr turned out to be a scoundrel named Isaac Renvalli, whom Kamon and Victor had crossed paths with during their search for the Sword of the Ancients. Renvalli had grown desperate to maintain order in Viskona as water shortages had become commonplace, and despite his disdain for Renvalli, Kamon used the power of the Seven Thunders to summon a great storm cloud, filling the city's water supply for a decade to come. The people then ousted Kamon, Victor, and Isaac, believing them to be practitioners of dark magic.
The trio traveled to the Dai Shu monastery where Kamon had grown up. To his horror, the monastery was now home to Kafan Tegusai, who was masquerading as an amnesiac peasant. While the rest of the monastery slept, Kamon confronted Kafan, and the latter revealed that not only did he possess his full memory, but that he had been the anonymous warlord who owned Brea Raskin, Kamon's now deceased elder sister. In a fit of rage, Kamon struck Kafan with the power of the Seven Thunders, nearly killing the former warlord.
The monks restrained Kamon when he attempted to kill Kafan, and after that incident, Kamon was prohibited from ever returning to Dai Shu. At Isaac's suggestion, the three journeyed to the Kettan Empire, where they went largely unnoticed due to the tense political situation between the Kettan Emperor and Maximelius Detrivan. Isaac reunited with Atrus Affilian, his frequent accomplice, and parted ways with Kamon and Victor, who began investigating the seeming reappearance of the shapeshifter Volen.
In the pursuit of the shapeshfiter, the duo discovered that the ousted Kettan heir, Draucus Thuroon, was very much alive and was collaborating with Volen for some unknown purpose. Sensing a dark, intense power about Draucus, Kamon informed Victor that he would go searching for Hiru, suspecting the mage and his sword would be needed for a coming battle. Together, allied begrudgingly with Emperor Kolann, the trio successfully drove Draucus and Volen back into the shadows.
In subsequent years, Kamon has traveled the world, using his powers to defend the people of Ornaea from the forces, both human and supernatural, that threaten them. He has yet to find any of the other Raskin children.
A player inquiry on Eastern-inspired martial artist monks:
As for monk—the martial artist style of monk that is seen in the D&D books is most commonly found in the eastern parts of Ornaea, specifically from the Azran Empire, Karujah, or the Tebalthran Dominion. Followers of the nontheistic philosophy known as Salinism (a name derived from an ancient wise man known as Salin) often train their bodies and minds to be at their peak, spending years perfecting even minor feats of agility and strength.
Salin commanded his pupils to adhere to a strict set of personal laws, although he was unclear as to what those laws entailed. Different monastic traditions in each of the three nations I listed have interpreted these laws in radically different ways.
In the Shi Long Fei school of Azran, the monks are known for their "Dragon's Wing" style of kick-focused combat. Shi Long Fei translates loosely to "Elegant Dragon of the Water," and its devout followers begin their training with a grueling month in the waters of the Cao River, where they learn to move above, beneath, and through water. They are excellent swimmers as a result, but they apply this fluid style of movement to everyday tasks and in personal combat. A Shi Long Fei practitioner has a strong reverence for the symbol of the dragon, who they cite as the wisdom-givers from whom Salin learned. Many Shi Long Fei monks travel the world in search of the mythical ruins of the old dragon civilization. Shi Long Fei monks often shave their heads and are known to wear ceremonial dragon-like masks into battle.
The Xiang Shu school, located principally in western Azran and some eastern reaches of Karujah, centers their philosophy on the time Salin spent travelling the mountains. "Xiang Shu," meaning "mountain-leaper," refers to the extensive climbing and jumping that the mountainous monks endure. Followers of the Path of Xiang Shu generally believe that true power comes from the personal mastery over the earth and sky, and that once either can be conquered, the body and mind can be freed. Xiang Shu monks often travel the world in search of unusual mountains and caves, and are always up for a daunting climb up an impassable cliff or a hearty jump across a wide chasm. Xiang Shu monks often keep their hair short when training at the monastery, but wear long, ceremonial braids when traveling abroad.
The Adagheen school of Salinist thought purports that Salin was but one prophet of an inscrutable seven-minded god-force known as Raghandesh. Adagheen monks strive to seek no less than seven answers to every question, knowing that truth, like Raghandesh, has many faces. Followers of the Adagheen path are bound to six oath-brothers who are pledged to fight alongside each other when the call is given, regardless of whatever divine tasks they are in pursuit of. Many followers of the Adagheen path venture out into the world to learn of the different faces of the god-force worshipped by other cultures, and see no difference in the western gods of the Rionian Pantheon or the non-theistic philosophies of the other Salinist schools—in their eyes, all serve the same divine purpose. Adagheen monks are the only Salinists known to wear beards, shaving only when one of their oath-brothers dies.
The last principal school of Salinist thought comes from the island nation of the Tebalthran Dominion. The predominate Salinist philosophy in Tebalthra is known simply as Rakuzo, and its followers are the most distinctive—each Rakuzo practitioner is covered in dozens of exotic tattoos meant to represent important symbols and battles from the life of Salin. The Rakuzo are in the minority in Tebalthra and are heavily persecuted as a consequence. Many Rakuzo journey outside the island nation in hopes of finding a more tolerant place to found their monastery.
A player inquiry on the Arvian city of Lathis:
Lathis, City of the Broken Spyglass, the Last-fields of Areisborg—a city so old that it is surrounded by no less than four walls, each built centuries apart. The people of Lathis are staunchly Siclorian in their faith, worshipping the One God and flying the banner of clashing swords on a field of blue. The land is hard and the people are harder. In Arvia, to be among the Last-fields—the furthest reaches where the land is fertile and warm enough to sustain a harvest before the darkness of the Arvian Winter—is to shoulder the burden of the north; if the harvests in the Last-fields are insufficient, the people of Aelin or Trath will starve, or the Baron of Tyban might ride to the south and plunder the granary. The great barons own the titles to the lands surrounding Lathis, but they are always in short supply of serfs to work them.
Inside the first wall of Lathis is the Old City, where the statues of foreign and ancient gods stand, formless and faceless after centuries of the Arvian Winter. The old government quarter has long been abandoned and much of the Old City is used to house the artisans and middlefolk.
The second quarter holds the Tower of Tarin, from which the Baron of Areisborg reigns. Certainly the largest fortification in Lathis and one of the largest in Arvia, the Tower is split into six levels—the barracks of the city guard, the Court of Areisborg, the living quarters for the Baron and his retinue, a sanctuary dedicated to Sicloran, and guest-chambers. Besides the Tower, this quarter houses the Temple of Sicloran and the baron's stables.
The third quarter houses the Low People, workers and unclean serfs. In times of plenty, the quarter is peaceful, though it is often whipped into a frenzy when famine or disease strike.
The fourth quarter protects what were once the outer-reaches of the Last-fields from invading nobles and forest-folk. Small markets and tradehouses dot the otherwise agrarian quarter.
Outside the wall is the land that has only been worked for the last few generations. The serfs who work outside the walls are largely superstitious but are self-reliant, knowing that they are far from the Baron's Guard or the king's justice. They believe in the old gods, not the One God Sicloran, and believe that the forest-folk—who they accuse of stealing cattle and crops— are secretly the last of an ancient race of monsters who were driven from the world. The Baron thinks the talk of forest-folk and monsters is foolishness, believing it is the peasants themselves who steal cattle and food. Those who work outside the walls rarely pry into the affairs of their neighbors and keep to themselves, knowing well that a family who works the field beside them could vanish one day with no trace.
The sprawl of the Last-fields protects the denizens of the city from the deep coniferous Areisborg Forest, where it is said that the trees come alive and kill those who step off the winding trails. Perhaps that is an old story to frighten children. Perhaps not.