I've taken input from many of you and have done a massive, massive rewrite of the campaign world. I've nearly eliminated all of the "Tolkienisms", integrated the more politically-charged and humanocentric milieu of the setting and made several clean and clear changes to many of the unvisited areas in my campaign world. I've tried to flesh out the little details of organizations, houses and the faith of Aglador (since this is where the game has always taken place).
Our campaign game is quickly coming to a close (a six year campaign running from 185-188 Third Age in-game) and I will be presenting the updated setting for the Year 200: Aglador campaign we're going to begin upon the cusp of my adaptation of the SW Saga rules into fantasy d20 conversion.
Any feedback on overt influence that needs to be removed would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Daniel
http://deismaar.pbwiki.com
That site is incredible.
Where do you get your illustrations?
How do you think of such awesome religions? Seriously, they are both believable and fantastic.
It is time for sleep. I will visit again soon and give more detailed feedback.
I agree. I've only read a bit of it. One thing stood out to me though - Grand Prince Vladimir Rasputin. The Fifth House Army is full of Tolkienisms, however, so I assume you'll be 'round to edit that soon. :)
The fifth house apparently has no article of yet - I'd like to learn more about them. All I can tell at the moment is that they're extremely rich - they'd have to be, to finance an army like the one they have, with the size it has.
The Fifth House Army listing needs heavy, heavy revision. I need to tailor them more towards the theocracy of Goth Moran, up to an including unit revisions under the Anchorites.
The Fifth House listing needs to be expounded upon as well. I want to break down their titles, influence in local and state goverment and the offices they occupy. Here's what I have thus far - Fifth House http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Fifth%20House
BJZ, I adopted most of the practices of the Divine Source from traditional Christianity, whereas the Orthodoxy of the Saint came from orthodox Christianity (and managed to tie the polytheistic principles/trinity principle of the Steward, Learner and Martyr into the Divine Source). I felt the more familiar the fundamentals the faiths feel, the easier it is to suspend disbelief amongst my players.
As for the illustrations, many of them came from the Guild Wars artist listings from Conceptart.com - I wanted a specific feel, not only in words but in illustration for the campaign world. A lot of how the Guild Wars sketches look is similar to how I always envisioned Deismaar as looking.
Speaking of Goth Moran and the ubiquitous Fifth House, I've made major updates to Goth Moran and it's five counties, as listed here -
Goth Moran http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Goth+Moran
The Five Counties of Goth Moran
Walstania http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Walstania
Gargastan http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Gargastan
Ghastria http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Ghastria
Sylvania http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Sylvania
Moldova http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Moldova
Cartography
Goth Moran map (5.5megs) http://ogy.cc/gM_Done.jpg
I've made a major update and overhauled the website; managed to finish a few days post-deadline!
Kahabro has received major updates for my upcoming 4th edition, Year 200: Kahabro campaign. http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Kahabro
I am currently putting together a ten page PDF for the country of Goth Moran, the setting for Year 200. I'll post it here for download once I've finished it.
Cheers~
It's been a long time since I've updated the CBG with updates to the site, but one of the more important additions I've made concerns the Key Conceits of the campaign world. Here it is in all its glory for your digestion:
On Magic
Magic, or Sorcery as it is known, is extraordinarily. It takes a rare individual to be able to command the powers of The Weave. Sorcerers, as Wizards are called, tend to hide their abilities. Even the most remote of indication of the supernatural amongst folk is enough to either send them running for the hills or in the worst case, gather a host against the "dark power". Even to that effect, it still takes a unique individual to take hold of sorcery and make of it as she will. Sorcery consumes; even the most knowledgable of adepts have succumbed to the Higher Mysteries. Even the most sharpest of minds is vulnerable to the most "common" or paltry of sorcerous tricks. Madness and melancholy often go hand in hand with the vast resources the Weave can offer the merest of adepts. More often than not, those few rare Sorcerers who've lived an age or two is either consumed by his abilities, or takes his own life. To understand Sorcery is to understand death, and to understand death one must look beyond into the Well of Souls.
Other Planes
Our world of Deismaar, while defined by our understanding of science as elemental, is not the only world we as men understand. Deismaar connects directly to one, and only one, other plane. This plane is called the Well of Souls. This "shadow world" reflects the mortal world, but in strange facsimile. Everything is dark and an air of emptiness hangs heavily, as if everything has been long-abandoned. Details change between one glance to the next; a building might remain the same, but a wagon parked beside it might be in a slightly different place, or gone, and a door that stood open might close. The more ephemeral a thing is in the real world, the more its position or condition might change '" the less firm its reflection. Ancient relics, long since torn down, may still stand in the Well of Souls. When a mortal being dies, its soul "wakes" in the Well of Souls and begins its journey towards the home of its patron god. Each spirit instinctively feels the direction in which it must travel to reach the end of its journey; the strength and accuracy of this pull is proportional to the soul's devotion to the ideas of its patron deity. Spirits that have little or no association with a patron are believed to be doomed to wander both Deismaar and the Well of Souls in parallel in what is called Ba'ator until they forget their sense of self and fade into oblivion.
Between Here and Oblivion
Between the Well of Souls and Deismaar is a thinv veil called The Weave that acts as both a barrier and a gate between raw sorcery and Deismaar. With the Weave in place, mortals can access magic and are protected from the harmful effects of contacting raw magic while still able to tap its refined energy. The Weave is present in everything in Deismaar, whether living, dead, undead, inanimate, solid, liquid, or gas. It permeates the soil, suffuses the deeps of the seas, and stretches to the limits of the air in the sky and beyond. The Weave is like a great base fabric upon which the substance of the world is embroidered, a web upon which mortals walk like spiders, a great ocean upon which all objects float. At the same time, it is an aspect of Olorin, and it is by His will that the Weave reaches where it does. Spellcasters, knowingly or not, cause spells to work by drawing power from the Weave, adjusting the balance of energy so that the power of the Weave comes forth and is shaped by their actions and will. When the Weave is damaged by reckless sorcery or disaster, it can be torn, shredded, or destroyed, leaving areas that the laws of physics do not apply. This is the case where breaches through the Weave directly into the aether can be found and hauntings such as in the case of Baileen Abbey.
Gods and Priests
Gods do not grant spells. Spellcasting "priests" do not exist in the same way they do in standard D&D. Rather, Gods do not take an immediate enough interest in mortals as to grant them god-like abilities. Men from the past have proclaimed that their abilities were given to them by "Those-Upon-High". Generally, this is either a case of the person attempting to justify their actions to common folk by invoking terror/fear/admonition/worship, or the person was truly insane and had no true understanding of where their powers originated from.
The Gods Are Real
The gods are feared. The gods don't really care all that much about the smallest of men. The gods rarely grant miracles, or cure the sick, or make men fabulously weathy, or restore lovers from the dead (more on that later). But yes, the gods are positively real. How is it that great Masser, burning bright in the daytime sky, does not come crashing down into Deismaar upon its own accord? What of Mandos, the great mirror of light that waxes and wanes with the passage of stars and seasons does not simply wink out? The why is in that the Firstborn gods defined the physics of the world, while the Secondborn gods adjudicate the laws of the universe through their strength amongst their followers. Mankind understands science, but attributes a greater power behind the origin of nature and the order of the universe. To many, there simply are many inexplicable and strange things in Deismaar that nothing other than the will of distant beings could have instilled such order amongst beasts and men.
Monsters Exist
Monsters are real. Well, real enough at least to have been recognized most prevalently during the First Age, some of the Second Age, and rarely, if ever, seen during the Third Age. The thought is that these First Age "beasts" came out of history as Aldernon set out to create what we know as life, and Bhaelos twisted his creations into abominations. A side effect of this has been that what was once seen a just and "goodly" creatures (such as the Lammasu amongst the Olorinites) corrupted over time, and passed into the Well of Souls.
On Death
People die, and they tend to die at a young age. A child amongst most cultures is consirered a man by fifteen years of age, and generally married by the time he's sixteen. He will likely die by the time his children become men from sickness; only the rarest of individuals manage to cheat death and live past the age of 50. For that matter, people die from disease, festering wounds, perish in war, have their appendages hacked off and die of old age Ressurection, Raise Dead, Cure Disease - these common tropes of the Dungeons and Dragons world simply do not exist on a massive scale in Deismaar. However, as mankind realizes that the Well of Souls exists in a paradoxical parallel to Deismaar, he also knows that the dead are a mere touch away from our world. Men murmur of the Hurmasti, restless spirits that dwell between here and there, barely touching either the railings of Deismaar or the Well of Souls. They walk along the razor of the Weave, coexisting in both life and oblivion.
Fantasy Races
Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, etc...they're real, but not in the same sort of ways that we've become to believe in the fantasy world. These "Lost Folk" are known by many different names, but all have one thing in common - they're xenophobic, and extraordinarily dangerous. The deadly Siabran and Carbaen folk, wicker mask-bearing worshippers of death, protect their sanctuaries with a cold neutrality and have never traded goods or met under the flag of peace with mankind. Even then, it's not like they're inviting folk to stumble into their extremely remote settlements...
Mankind
Humanity is abound. The races of men inhabit a diverse variety of locales; from the Dunmen of Dunbrude, to the Gothric of the vast country of Goth Moran all the way to the remote Southern Empire of Pharazon, the mannish races rule Deismaar. As creations by the Firstborn god Aldernon in the image of his Secondborn children, mankind truly rules this world. They fight back the wilderness, they conquer stone mountains, they burn and build and destroy the living world - all the while, fighting each other. One has to look no further than the Andals (and their children the Aradain and Dalefolk) to understand the impact that humans have had upon this fair world.
Politics and Religion - Two Sides Of The Same Coin
Politics is the core of the setting. There is no escaping the crook and cudgel of the branches of the Divine Source faith, no more so than the sword and shield of the Orthodoxy. Whereas the faith of mankind rules the spirit of our fair world, it is the same that government, ranging from kings, barons, counts and even pretender priest-kings, would call themselves the ruler of mankind.
War
War is everywhere. Ranging from the civil war amongst the loggers and the abolitionists of Walstania, to the inter-political house warfare of the Aradain in Aglador, to even the fight amonst the Fomorian for the tinyest rock within their barbarian kingdoms, if there was anything to be said about Deismaar, it is that war drives mankind. War drives commerce, war drives alliance, war drives war. There is no country that has been untouched by the hand of war generals, even the idyllic countrysides of Rhovania boils with hatred, prejudice and murder.
Wow, your site is really awesome... It puts my pbwiki to shame ;_;
I'll read more of it later and comment back :)
The Divine Source, the foundation of Aradain faith (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Divine+Source)
The Godsworn clerics of the Steward, the priestess-Adherents of the Martyr and the Olorinites revealed; the three orders of the Holy Trinity of faith in Aglador
Godsworn (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Bastion+of+Faith)
Adherents of Basaia (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Adherents+of+Basaia)
The Olorinites (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Olorinite)
A bump for the end of my ten year story arc, and the beginning of 4e starting in Kahabro (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Kahabro).
Man, you have so much information on your pages, I don't even know where to begin... Are you changing anything up for 4E (races, classes, etc), or pushing up the timeline or anything, or just attempting to make 4E fit with an old system? Also, where do you get your art? Those are some beautiful pictures, but I would personally be worried about posting so many pictures on my site without having any credits linking to the artists' page! :) :)
Ish -
We recently closed up our 3E campaign storyarc we've been playing for roughly ten years, and moved the timeline in-game forward 11 years to make way for some pretty major changes to the way Sorcery and the two worlds of Deismaar and the Well of Souls are handled.
I don't plan to impliment any of the new 4E races, since we use strictly homebrewed human subraces. However, we did make some pretty significant changes to how magic works and functions with 4e in regard to the gaming world. Most of it is covered in the entry for Sorcery http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Sorcery and Well of Souls http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/The+Well+of+Souls.
Since I plan to localize the urban campaign in buroughs and treat each district of the city as a "setting within itself", I've begun detailing Bleak Burough, or "the Court" as locals call it. Check it out here (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Bleak+Burough) or read about the district of Kingsrow (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Kingsrow+District) or the city of Kahabro (http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/Kahabro). This is where my 4th edition campaign will take place.
(http://ogy.cc/284_mountainart.jpg)
[ic]The clunk of the lock mechanism yielding to a professional touch and slight groan of rusted hinges sounded as thunder in the ears of Strat, the foremost spy in the city of Kahabro.
Dark as it was in the shadow haunted stairwell that led from Lighters' Way, down into the bowels of Bleak Burough - or "the Court" to the locals - Strat felt strangely visible. He never liked visiting it in the day, let alone at night. In the day he could at least melt into the crowds that thronged the place, haggling over pennies for curios from distant lands or rooting through crates of oddments, dusk laden and dirty. But at night, Bleak Burough was empty. Dead. Silent. Only the shadows and his own guile could protect him from watchful eyes.
"Ideal for a spy, Strat! No one to disturb you eh? No one to dump you in the briny!" He was talking to himself again, never a good sign. More squealings and groanings from the old hinges were soon pacified by the application of Strat's specially prepared mineral oil. A few seconds later and the shadows at the bottom of the steps under the bronze arch were home to more than just rats.
Peering from the dark into the gloom that was Bleak Burough, sunk deep into the city like some dark well whose sheer sides were a multitude of dwellings, shopfronts, workshops and residences, Strat watched, and waited. And waited some more, as there were more than the eyes of rats to avoid, for the Court was a strange place and no mistake. A din of hellish, orange light dominated the sky from the east, the fires of the Foundry ever-present at night.
Far too late for the Legate now, Strats heart beat faster. He could hardly contain himself. Then it started. The strange, sonorous voice he had heard a few nights previously, floating on the night breeze. It transfixed him now as it had then, he could hardly move. Slowly, he regained his composure, breathed again and peered into the dark.
The beauty of the enchantment wound itself around him, caressed his cheek, filled his very heart and mind, drawing him into the Court, into the open. Caring not for hidden watchers, Strat stepped out of his hidey, darkness falling away from him like a cloak discarded.
Strat froze, his mouth open, his eyes wide. There before him, wrapped up in her own sweet song, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She moved slowly, swaying in time to her own music, her face hidden from him. Around the well she went, carefree and winsome, and very, very naked. And as she sat on the well edge, her toes making circles in the cold, clear water she turned to see the unwanted guest. Her singing stopped of a sudden, her face a visage of alarm. A heartbeat they stared eye to eye, a heartbeat that would haunt Strat the rest of his life. For a heartbeat later, she was gone. Simply gone. No more of her remained than a song in the memory of Strat the spy and a ripple on the water in an old, old well.
And from a window in the Lamprey, hidden in the shadow of the vines, an old man watched with tired eyes. He managed a thin smile as he watched Strat steel into the night, wiped a tear from his time worn cheek and sighed a longing sigh that faded into the dark [/ic]
Daytime in the Court
Settled by industry, this small burough is overlooked by a large smeltery called the Foundry to the west, it's clay pyres burning day and night giving this burough a constant din of orangish light in the evening over the rooftops. The Lamprey provides a place of solace for locals and travelers.
Watched over by the Lady's Well, the burough is a hive of activity during the morning and evening, when barrowmen and hawkers ply trade next to the resident artisans and shop traders. All manner of things can be found in the burough, from the mundane to the exotic, locally made or having travelled half the known world or more to wind up here. In the afternoon, the Lamprey offers good ale and fine food, in the pleasant shade of lilac and vinery, overlooking the place and well, where the servants gather to catch up on gossip or swap tales of Understairs.
The Bleak Burough can be found near the dockside off the Lighters' Way, fifteen feet down a flight of wide steps between the the workshops of Pitre the cobbler and Dignann the leatherworker. A long tunnel leads to the dockside warehouses and loading bays where carts bring goods to the shops of Crowley the cloth merchant, Sark the vinter, Abernathy the weaver and others. There are exits to Bleak Burough, via a narrow stepped tunnel, and to the maze of lanes behind the Lamprey leading into the Foundry Burough. As it is almost sunk into the rock of Kahabro itself, and surrounded by high buildings, the burough sees little sunshine until well into the day, but the colourful stalls of the barrow traders, the exotic cloths and the pleasant facade of the Lamprey, overgrown as it is with lilac and vines, laden with grapes and festooned with riotous colour in the summer months makes this place warm and welcoming, not at all like the rest of the city is is part of.
The night watch start to open the gates as sunrise colours the sky above a pale azure, and the stars above the city wink out one by one, assuming the fogs or fires from the Foundry are not obscuring all view above the second stories of these old stone facades. The milk seller arrives and sets up store near the well a little latter. The first of the serving girls comes to draw water just after dawn, and buy milk and cheese. Soon the barrowmen start to arrive, from the alleyways behind the Lamprey, and open their stalls selling breakfasts of sweetmeats, fish and bread. By an hour after sunrise, the artisans and merchants have opened their doors and have their wares on display, enticing folk in to browse and buy all manner of things. As the sun climbs high enough to peer into the court, the Lamprey opens her doors and the first ale of the day is served. As the court empties toward noon, the traders retire to eat, and in the afternoon they see to stock, taking supplies brought through the dock tunnel, or crafting items in their workshops. Towards evening, the traders and hawkers are out again and the air is heavy with the smell of mouthwatering victuals. With nightlights and torches sending shadows dancing all around, the court takes on a life of its own, a pulsating heart in this body of humanity known as Kahabro. As evening draws to a close the last of the harlots leave for the maze as the hawkers pack away their wares and push carts home, the gates closed behind them and bolted by the night watch. Soon all is silent except for the occasional spill of laughter from the Lamprey or the trundle of cartwheels from the docks as a late delivery is made. The night watchmen of the Legate keeps an ear open, listening out for anyone needing to gain legitimate entry, or for any more nefarious noises hinting at illicit activities best carried out in the dark of night. Soon dawn will break again, and the cycle will continue.
Notable Locations
The Lamprey
A tavern in the Kingsrow, the Lamprey is noted for not being laid out in a typical floorplan for a tavern. At some point in the past, a fire had gutted the building, the ground floor collapsed into the cellar and had never been replaced. Instead, the owners built a balcony around the hole at street level and the cellar became the common room. The benefit is the soft temperature of the tavern, for it remains at a cool temperature. Rooms above the ground-floor balcony provide a place for rest and entertainment with one of the many prostitutes who work here. The kitchen is also at ground level, so a constant stream of serving girls ascend and descend the stairs at the back of the common room carrying trays of food and drink. The tavern caters to the craftsmen of the district. Potters and metal workers are the most common patrons. Pewter jacks are common here, unlike the wooden mugs prominent in the Hive.
The Lady's Well
An old handdug well dominated by a single plinth stone of black rock. Strat's story speaks of a ghostly lady "haunting" the well at night, and others of the burough have reported the same. Some dismiss the story as an old backalley tale, used to stir up trouble and keep simple-thinking people away, but others seemingly know the truth, such as Old Man Barmy.
Understairs
A common name for the catacomb-like labyrith beneath Kingsrow. The river floodwaters flow through here, between ruined storefronts and streets of a city long ago buried beneath Kahabro of today. Rats, rabble-rousers and darker things still dwell in the Understairs, clinging to what morsels that fall between the sewer grates, what can be begged for or forced by knifepoint below.
[ooc]July, a new month and a new look for the campaign wiki! As my group begins their first campaign in the new storyarc, I present the myth of creation of Deismaar:[/ooc]
[spoiler](http://ogy.cc/3loret.jpg)
The Ninefather Eol, The Red King Demish and the Steward Alatar[/spoiler]
The Creation Story of Deismaar and Mankind
[ic]In the majority of the world, Aldernon is widely accepted as the creator of the Well of Souls and of humanity. He materialized from primal chaos, self-born and of his own will and a desire to create order. He first gave birth to Mother Deismaar the world, and from her bosom sprang the Tree of Mahal. It bore the fruits of their loins, as the Firstborn twins Demish and Alatar rose from the fallen seeds. Filhaia, Olorin, Silistra, Isilnar, Ushas, Saradusk and Eol soon came thereafter, born flesh and blood as was Demish and Alatar. It is said that mankind then emerged from the shadows of the Tree of Mahal many millennia after, scattered as seeds upon the wind throughout Deismaar. The flesh of men, as was the Firstborn's, took form in Aldernon's image, although it was inherently flawed and subject to mortal weakness.
Before the First Age and the advent of time, Aldernon was busy shaping mountains, dividing the oceans and ordering the seasons to his tastes. He did not have time for mankind who struggled to survive in the tough wilds through shrewdness and strength. Even at this time, Aldernon was busy wrestling with his ancient enemy, the Devourer Bhaelos, a wild and profound creature that despises all civilization. Bhaelos is said to have birthed many of the wild beasts and monsters of the First Age, in order to disrupt the birth and growth of Mother Deismaar.
Aldernon and Bhaelos fought frequently, neither able to slay one another but both causing other grievous wounds and gaining momentary victories. The Picts say that Bhaelos (who they call the "Tempest") is more ancient than Aldernon, that may well be true, for it is a vile, shapeless creature of chaos and rage and seems to have no purpose other than to destroy and ferment conflict. Some suggest the Devourer rose when Mother Deismaar was formed, the spirit of the wild and untamed places given name and spirit.[/ic]
Purging of the Founder Aldernon and the Devourer Bhaelos
[ic]During one long age as Aldernon rested from his wounds, mankind fell to the worship of false gods and their own ancestors. When Aldernon returned, he found the people he had created from the bosom of Mother Deismaar had forgotten him and turned to dark rituals, including veneration of his foe the Devourer Bhaelos. Aldernon then revealed himself in mortal shape and exercised his power; the primitives bowed to him, offering prayers, gifts and sacrifices to atone from their waywardness.
Aldernon was sated. He then decided to protect humanity so as long as they praised him and acknowledged their place as his servants. He instructed the Firstborn and the Secondborn, the brightest of mankind, to show them the way. He taught them mercy and caring, as by the Martyr Filhaia. He gave them gifts of light and fire from the Mistress Ushas. He taught them to build walls and gave them foresight, from the Learner Olorin. He showed them how to use the stars to guide themselves and to give insight to their world by way of the Master Isilnar. He showed them the ways of warfare, through the Axe of Changes wielded by the Red King Demish. He taught them how to exploit their enemies and enslave the lesser folk by way of the Liar Saradusk. Law, ritual and goodliness was brought to them by the Steward Alatar to promote balance. He showed them shrewdness, how to betray one another for gain and how to give birth to worthy children, as he brought the Ninefather Eol from the seeds of the Tree. Aldernon even taught punished them for wayardness of these sacred principles, by returning their spirits to the Well of Souls by way of the Custodian Silistra.
In these millennia, commonly referred to as the First Age, the Devourer Bhaelos reared its head again and the monsterous beasts and evil men gathered to throw themselves at the walls of mankind, howling and praising the Devourer's many names. Much blood was spilled in these days - war, sickness, famine and indeed all hardships were attributed to the Devourer, while times of good fortune and plenty were credited to Aldernon. Mankind continues in this way for many years, until the rise of the Divine Source and the Orthodoxy of the Saint.[/ic]
Rise of the World's Faith
[ic]Eventually came the Second Age, when the twin brothers Alatar and Demish, discovered a means to transcend their mortal forms. The exact dates of their ascensions are not precisely known, but it was thought that upon this date, the Zentish Empire fell and the Second Age came about. While the lives of Demish and Alatar (as well as the other Firstborn and Secondborn) are recorded in the Concordant of the Infinite Tome (called the Akallabeth amongst some), it is only in cryptic verse designed to test and challenge their followers.
For Alatar, it was not enough that humanity remained ordered and disciplined, cowering behind their walls. Alatar knew that humanity must learn to do good works, be kind to one another, and rise above their jealousies and feuds. Demish however, felt humanity should use its gifts of reason to exploit its enemies' weaknesses for profit and glory. Through the pursuit of their philosophies, Demish and Alatar somehow ascended to divinity, and their teachings have passed on as strong and compelling messages throughout the centuries. With them, they took the best and brightest of mankind - Filhaia, Olorin, Eol, Silistra, Ushas, Saradusk and Isilnar to the Well of Souls, ascendant as well.
Alatar then appointed Filhaia and Olorin to his side as equals, to rule his kingdom of men through the foundations of his faith known as the Divine Source. However, Demish took none but appointed all under his rulership, taking the Godthrone as his own and has since them struggled with Alatar for leadership over the gods.
It is a matter of conjecture as to what passed between Alatar and Demish after their ascension. Undoubtedly, the priesthood of Demish persecuted the followers of Alatar as he sat upon the Godthrone for hundreds of years. It would be the assassination of Demish's chosen son Leuk-O by Aldernon's divine champion Kas the Destroyer that would ultimately end the fighting between the two faiths.
Since then, a great religious theory has practically become canon: Aldernon confronted the Firstborn after their ascension with the intent to drive them from existance and steal the Godthrone for himself. All of the Firstborn and Secondborn faced the Founder; Alatar and Demish united together to make clear that their goal was only to protect and shepherd humanity. Indeed, Alatar asked Aldernon where he had been over the millenia during his creation's time of need, accusing him of leaving men without proper guidance as his servants (the Firstborn and Secondborn) were prone to the same emotions as all of mankind. Aldernon may have realized then that his focus on Mother Deismaar would free him to carry on his eternal battle with the Devourer Bhaelos, unfettered by his responsibilities to mankind. Hence, the Founder let them be, stating that they not undermine the foundations of what he had set forth and on the specification that humanity continued to praise him as its creator. Alatar had no exception to this and Demish consented begrudgingly, only too happy to see the Founder Aldernon withdraw further from the going-ons of Mother Deismaar and beyond the Well of Souls.
And so, officially, the followers of Aldernon accepted the divinity of the Firstborn and Secondborn, but accuse them of exploiting Aldernon's ancient conflict for their own profit. The Old Believers, as they would now be known, believed Alatar was able to forestall the Founder's wrath by begging for mercy and pledging loyalty and vassalage. Once Aldernon turned to other tasks, both Demish and Alatar betrayed their oaths. Today, most Old Believers are incensed by both faiths over this betrayal. They cannot accept the fact that their religion is on the wane, that Aldernon's time is past, and that this is the age of the ascended.[/ic]
[ooc]The only other known plane of existance that has spilled forth into Deismaar during the Last Cataclysm -[/ooc]
[spoiler](http://ogy.cc/cartos3.jpg)[/spoiler]
The Well of Souls
[ic]Deismaar connects directly to one, and only one, other plane. This plane is called the Well of Souls. This "shadow world" reflects the mortal world, but in strange facsimile. Everything is dark and an air of emptiness hangs heavily, as if everything has been long-abandoned. Details change between one glance to the next; a building might remain the same, but a wagon parked beside it might be in a slightly different place, or gone, and a door that stood open might close. The more ephemeral a thing is in the real world, the more its position or condition might change '" the less firm its reflection. Ancient relics, long since torn down, may still stand in the Well of Souls.
Everything in the shadow world has a faded look, like clothes washed too often or and left too long in the sun. There are no normal insects, birds, or other animals. No normal animals rustle in the grass, swim in the waters, or sing in the trees. The water is cool and drinkable, but tastes flat, as if it had been boiled. Worst of all, the land seems to twist the eye.
Everything about the Well of Souls is unreal. While it remains a parallel to Deismaar, the laws of nature do not always apply there. There, illusions live and shadows walk of their own volition. Powered by the aether of the Weave, things unreal come to life. Thus anything, and everything, is possible within the Well of Souls for someone skilled in the Weave, but these changes are largely illusionary; most fade immediately upon returning to the waking world.
Distances are largely a matter of focus in the Well of Souls. What is close at hand looks all right, and what is seen straight ahead in the distance, but whenever one turns their head, things that appear distant when seen from the corner of the eye seem to rush forward, to be nearer when looked at head on. Although this effect makes for dizziness, it is also indicative of a truth within; time and distances are deceiving.
The barrier between Deismaar and the Well of Souls varies based upon the difference between the two planes at any give time and location. The middle of a crowded city at high noon differs significantly from the coexistent point in the Well of Souls, whereas there may be little or no difference between the two in the dark depths of an ancient deserted monument. In areas of near exact similarity, beings can occasionally pass between the two planes unknowing. In general, however, travel to or from the Well of Souls requires powerful sorcery or divine intervention.[/ic]
Death
[ic]When a mortal being dies, its soul "wakes" in the Well of Souls and begins its journey towards the home of its patron god. Each spirit instinctively feels the direction in which it must travel to reach the end of its journey; the strength and accuracy of this pull is proportional to the soul's devotion to the ideas of its patron deity. Spirits that have little or no association with a patron are believed to be doomed to wander both Deismaar and the Well of Souls in parallel in what is called Ba'ator until they forget their sense of self and fade into oblivion.[/ic]
The Last Mystery
[ic]The nature of the realms of the gods is apocryphal, at best. Their nature may be as is commonly believed, or may differ significantly from the preaching of the church. Is the nature of these realms determined by the gods that rule them, or by the desires of the spirits that have found their way there? Only the dead know the answer to this final mystery.[/ic]
The Orthodoxy of the Saint
the faith of the Gothric
(http://ogy.cc/annex.jpg)
[ic]The faith of the Orthodoxy is familiar in that it more or less adheres to the central tenants of the Divine Source, but differs in representation and practice and follows a strict monotheistic model. Whereas the Divine Source faith emphasizes the Holy Trinity, the Orthodoxy dismisses this notion. The Orthodoxy preaches that Alatar usurped his brother Demish's rightful place on the Godthrone during the early days. It would not be until the birth of the saint Leuk-O, Demish's earthborn son sent to free the Gothric from their southern Pharazim slavemasters, that Demish would once again assume his position as the Red King of the gods sit upon the Godthrone. The Orthodoxy is absolutely obsessed with the threat to its religious sovereignty from the Divine Source. Indeed, the idea of moral ascendance of those faithful to the Divine Source during the Last Cataclysm is pure blasphemy.[/ic]
Orthodoxy in the Fourth Age
[ic]In the Fourth Age, it is a faded shadow of its former self, having been reduced to the heart of Goth Moran, the capitol Malaga. Outlaying cities articulated their own doctrines, starting with the adoption of the Divine Source as their new branch of faith and others embracing the foundations of the Old Believers. Critics charge the change with an absolutely unyielding response, and often find themselves at odds with the new faith. Its defenders argue that the Orthodoxy puts the truth of the Secondborn after political matters, a faith rife with corruption, parochial and full of hubris.
The remnants of the Orthodoxy stresses Demish as the lawmaker, the arbitrator of the actions that the righteous can take and the sole foundation of law. Laws exist in the view of the church to control the "bestial, solitary" urges in the hearts of all men, order can in turn only be preserved if all accept the social order and their place in it '" those of lowly status who seek to rise above their station are, in the eyes of the church, every bit as evil as those of high status who fail to maintain the honor of their station.
The Orthodoxy in Malaga claims that it is the sole heir of the true word of Leuk-o, and that in changing with the world, or softening the law as laid down by the Red King Demish to account for human frailties other temples of Goth Moran have debased themselves by accepting the Andal's faith. The church keeps the Decalogue in a vault in the cathedral in Malga and refers to its passages to support its creed. This has caused contention between the Andals and the Orthodox Gothric, as the records seem to indicate that both the Steward Alatar and the Red King Demish vie for the Godthrone.
A less well known aspect of the Orthodoxy is its role as the repository of the few surviving records of the Second Age, specifically regarding the fall of the Zentish Empire and the formation of the Southern Empire within Pharazon. The Orthodoxy, in a sense, was the successor to a militant faith dedicated to the Pharazim god Anduran. It was responsible for early record keeping during the unification of the Southern city-states unto the empire beneath Tiber Pharazon, primarily due to the fact that its priests were the only body of substantially literate people and accordingly were responsible for keeping all the records of the nobility. While many of the records elsewhere have been destroyed by the passage of time, the Orthodoxy's vaults have been protected against all those who would damage or 'edit' the records for the lore-keepers of the church ban any alterations to the sacred texts whatsoever.[/ic]
Dogma
[ic]'There is no weakness that cannot be made strength, no frailty that cannot be made fi rm, save one: the weakness in our spirits that tells us we have done enough, that we may rest, that we have achieved all we can achieve. We must always strive, always improve, always struggle against weakness within and without.'
The worship of Demish, and the schisms that have broken out between his faithful, can best be understood when one looks at the roots of the Demishite faith. In the earliest days of the mortal races, Demish was worshipped as a god of strength and personal struggle over the physical. From this religion, the current church arose, and many of its oldest prayers are still common prayers in Demish's temples. The body is rebellious. It grows old and frail. It does not always work properly. The earliest cult of Demish was based on the overcoming of that rebelliousness '" the imposition of order onto the body. As the religion matured, the body came to have greater meaning: the body of society, of nations, of the mortal races, etc. Over the years, the faith of Demish has come to embody the following clear principles based on those earliest ideas, all of which today's faithful try to follow.[/ic]
Divine Origins
[ic]There are two central and unique themes found within the Orthodoxy. The first is of the divine struggle between Demish and Alatar for the Godthrone. This eternal struggle has taken place within the Well of Souls for centuries upon centuries, ever since the birth of mankind from the Tree of Mahal. Thematically, the Gothric and the Orthodoxy believes that tradition is the hallmark of a good man and of salvation, and that man must wage war against the forces of change in order to remain true to the gods. Alatar, the representation of the ancient enemy of Demish, spreads his influence by corrupting men into setting aside their beliefs for the sake of immediate benefit. This has been at the heart of the struggle within Goth Moran ever since it's founding by the saint Leuk-O.
The second theme is based around the martyred saint Leuk-O who rose from his own grave and ascended into the Well of Souls, becoming the most powerful of the gods, according to his followers. In fact, the harshest of Leuk-O doctrines maintains that Leuk-O discovered that the Pharazim were actually descendant of Ba'atezu; this belief teaches that he rose again to bring order to the previously disordered, godless universe.
Throughout the first four centuries of the Southern Empire, other religions were outlawed. People could practice their own faith only in secret or in remote areas. However, since the rise of Aglador during the Second Age as a juggernaut nation, the power of the Southern Empire has waned, so too has the influence of the Pharazim over the faith of the Gothric. This showed as the faith of the Divine Source bled into the Southern Empire and the areas that would be known much later as Goth Moran.[/ic]
Orthodoxy Church Structure
[ic]Similar to the Divine Source, the Orthodoxy has a strict structure. Its hierarchy is set up as to that the Mashad is the leader of the faith, and the Patriarchs operate as accomplished elders beneath the Mashad. Each major community in Goth Moran looks to a Patriarch who operates out of a cathedral. The Patriarch usually consults directly with the community's local government and wields a great deal of influence and power. Every cathedral has a dozen or more satellite churches, each managed by an Arbiter who answers to the Patriarch. One normally finds these satellite churches in surrounding settlements, but large cities sometimes have a handful of community churches in addition to the cathedral. The aforementioned Heirarch is a special rank indicating charge of a church - a building, a congregation, and a number of attached priests. Clerics who are not Arbiters are either Anchorites or Ministers, the latter a rank of distinction earned through time and accomplishment. The faithful often address Anchorite and Minister as brother or sister. A further distinction is that all priests of Leuk-O are either bespoken priests or itinerant priests.
The Bespoken
Bespoken priests are assigned official duties and belong to a specific congregation or organization. Itinerant priests have no specific role within the Orthodoxy hierarchy other than to perform good works, obey Leuk-O's will, and spread the word of Leuk-O.
The Itinerant
Itinerant priests function as missionaries, wandering caregivers, or spiritual consultants tied to another organization. For example, a number of itinerant female priestesess work as the Sisterhood as animal menders, churgeons on the battlefield and administrators.[/ic]
The Theocracy
[ic]Since the Orthodoxy is tied directly to the Fifth House Army, all official members of the Orthodoxy hierarchy are also noble officials. This not only affords them a special status under the law, but it grants them some measure of authority. A cleric falls somewhere between a Fifth House soldier and a Fifth House captain in terms of rank'"not unlike the level of most low-ranking Fifth House bureaucrats, such as an inspector. A cleric of Leuk-O can make a request of a Fifth House soldier and expect it to be granted. Even private citizens are required by law to carry out the simple, shortterm orders of clerics of Leuk-O. Most clerics are careful not to abuse this power, else they be reprimanded by their superiors in the Orthodoxy hierarchy. And as long as they do not abuse it, the Gothric government does not burden them with onerous Fifth House duties and responsibilities to go along with this authority.[/i]
Internal Factions
[ic]As a whole, the Orthodoxy stands for justice, mercy, and peace. In recent years, it has become divided into three main factions, denoted by color. The three factions compete constantly and sometimes even oppose each other to support the supremacy of their ideals -
The White
Concentrate on justice, law, and ceremony.
The Gray
Concentrate on philosophy, medicine, and humanitarian work.
The Black
Concentrate on politics, diplomacy, and military strength.[/ic]
Daily Activities
[ic]Some of the oldest prayers to Demish are actually quite poetic and are still in use. One used by soldiers before battle is so ancient that scholars are uncertain of its ultimate origin, with many maintaining that it is what Demish himself uttered in the First Age:
'I am the river and the mountain. As the river, I rage in times of torrent, and decrease in times of drought. I swell to overflowing with my wrath, and my rage is dry in calmer seasons. None can control my run, none can alter it. None can stand against me. As the mountain, I am strong. I do not wax or wane. Age shall never overcome me. I will not be moved. I will not be shaken. I will not be broken. I am the river and the mountain, unstoppable and unbreakable.'[/ic]
Shrines and Ceremonies
[ic]Temples of Demish are of simple but impressive stonework. They lack decorative tapestries or woodwork, although embellishments in bronze, iron and gold are common. They appear more fortress-like than holy places. All images, other than those related to Demish, are strictly forbidden. Demish is always portrayed in abstract statues as a masked giant, bearing the Axe of Changes in his lap or at his feet. Sometimes, he is even seen clashing axe to sword with his brother Alatar. The temples rarely have windows but are lit day and night by smokey torches and blazing hearth fires.
The central gathering chamber of each temple contains a raised circular dais with a large, flat altar engraved with the tenants of Demish. Services include chants of the Fourth Truth -
There is no god above Demish
There is no labor unendurable in the name of Demish
There is no pain unbearable in the cause of Demish
There is no feat unassailable with faith in Demish
There is no object that cannot be given up for Demish
There is no word other than the word of Demish
There is no end. There is a place for us all at the feet of Demish
They recant the stories from the past and passionate predictions of future triumphs. The congregation remains silent during services, save to answer with occasional responses of "Demish be praised". The temples are only used for religious gathering, but the cleric's residences are often contained within the temple walls.
Once each year, the Orthodox priests take their services into the streets. Known as the Candlemass, this solemn holiday is held in rememberance of the sacrifice of Leuk-O in the name of Demish to the hand of Kas the Destroyer, who is credited for the faith and political independence from the Southern Empire of Pharazon. As congregations head into the streets and fields, they sing prayers to Demish in hopes that Leuk-O can hear them from his place in the Well of Souls. No blood is spilled or work is done on this day, for all of the faithful must spend it in prayer and reflection on Leuk-O's most noble and worthy sacrifice.[/ic]
RashÅmon
(http://deismaar.pbwiki.com/f/guarhoflag.jpg)
The Land
[ic]RashÅmon is the mysterious shadowland of the east, home of black basilisks and ancient mysteries. RashÅmon is nearly legendary to the average Andal, although the more easterly peoples (such as the Arhun and Pharazim) maintain considerable commerce with the kingdoms of RashÅmon.
RashÅmon's borders are ill-defined, as no other "kingdom" lies near it. The Zentish themselves mark their western boundary at the Gehennum Depths. The capitol of Old Zent marks the center of their small kingdom.
Over the centuries, the peoples of RashÅmon have merged into a homogeneous race: slender, of medium height, with parchment-yellow skin, sharp featuures and dark eyes. Some regional variation exists, but the distinctions are almost invisible to others.
Zentish behavior is wrapped in complex ceremonies. Each member of Zentish society has a place in the structure and codes of behavior which must be followed. These codes do not prevent personal initiative. The Zentish believe that those who best obey the codes will be rewarded by the gods. From this, they deduce that "the winner was right," and this success-oriented approach gives them a penchant for treachery and double-dealing which would cause an Andal noble to blanch.
One confusing aspect of these codes is the extreme politeness of the Zentish demeanor. Most western traders find this unctuousness irritating, if harmless; successful traders recognize the traps concealed in this veneer of respect.
Zentish law in the kingdom flows from the Archmagi of Old Zent. He makes the laws and often personally judges major criminal cases, although appointed jurists try and punish criminals. Fines are common, although for serious crimes or those who upset the status quo, mutilation and death are the usual punishments.
For many years in the Second Age after the collapse of the Zentish Empire, the fragmented city-states of RashÅmon bickered like crows picking at a corpse, each maintaining the fiction that it (and it alone) represented the fallen empire of the late First Age. Periodically, a powerful ruler rose and united some of the city-states, and the long-imagined empire of RashÅmon was (temporarily) established. But the huge distances involved in governing such a kingdom, combined with the demand for independence which burst forth at the time of the original slave-revolt, always brought these empires to collapse.
For some time, RashÅmon extended its hegemony over a vast area of the east - from the northern taiga forests of The Stark Vaasa to the edge of Chaldea. Its influence weakened beyond the southern satellite kingdom of Pharazon, but it claimed all the land east of the Gehennum Depths.
RashÅmon had a varied economy. The city-states were centers of manufacturing and commerce. The craftsmen doubtless produced sophisticated art-objects. There was ample food from myriad small farms and ranches. Mines produced gold, silver, other metals and precious stones. Silken textiles, rare drugs and spices were traded to the west. The people of RashÅmon were very ancient, undoubtedly flourishing during the First Age. Eventually, refugee Stygians entered RashÅmon and were promptly enslaved. Later, the Stygian rebelled and overthrew the ancient RashÅmon civilization before migrating westward.
Today, RashÅmon exists in name but its influence has diminished severely. Yet, she remains as the jewel of the once-powerful First Age Zentish Empire. [/ic]
The People
[ic]The Zentish are an ancient, decadent people, born of a culture more than fifteen hundred years older than any of their neighboring kingdoms to the west.
Dominated by ruthless despotism, the Zentish are masters of occult secrets and diabolic lore. The scholarship is legendary and their reputed mastery of the sorcerous arts is without equal anywhere in the known world. Unlike their neighbors in the Southern Empire of Pharazon, the Zentish care little for what goes on beyond their borders; while the Aradain and the Gothric measure their worth in castles and glittering armies, the scholars of Zent care nothing for such trifles. They learned long ago that true power lies in knowledge and in pacts with dark powers older than the cosmos itself.
The Zentish have a reputation for cruelty, disloyalty and greed. This reputation is only partially earned. Zentian attitudes reflect more of self-interest than of the high (but often ignored) ideals of their Pharazim neighbors. The people are insular, although the increased trade along the Silk Road has done much to increase Zentian contact with the Pharazim and Arhun.
Zentian society is divided into three rigid hereditary castes: the nobility, the aristocracy or middle caste, and the peasant caste. The noble caste is much diminished in the modern age. Unlike the lower castes, whose blood has been increasingly intermingled with Arhun stock, the Zentian noble caste is tall and dark-haired, with pale-colored skin. The middle caste comprises the Zentian aristocracy, and is the true ruling power of the realm. Tall but dusky-skinned, black-haired and hawk-nosed, the aristocracy provides the scholars and magis that run the city-states's many temples and maintain its fabled libraries. Beneath their heel lies the peasant caste, marked by their shorter stature, swarthier skin and heavier build. The aristocrats rule the peasant caste with an iron grip, steeping them in a culture of absolute subservience and fear. The peasant caste exist to serve the aristocracy and to feed the appetites of their gods, and even the merest hint of disobedience is enough to merit an agonizing death in the torture chambers of the city temples.
Zentish as a people favor cunning, intelligence and agility over brute strength. Swords and axes are the hallmarks of a barbarian, not a civilized person. For this reason, most Zentish found outside the borders of their kingdom are typically scholars or seekers of knowledge. This quest for knowledge can come in many forms, whether through the practice of sorcery, the study of the body and the healing arts, or the stealthy practice of assassination or thievery. Each pursuit is equally valid in a Zentian's eyes, because they require intellect, education and discipline; qualities they believe to be lacking in the lesser kingdoms of the Third Age.[/ic]