The Campaign Builder's Guild

The World of Ralum

New: I've added blurbs on Aya, Asir Embadra, and Siyan recently, but you should really check out the whole new deal on Cosmology, Scions, transitive magic, Axiomites, Death and Renewal, and other wierd stuff.

Welcome!  I've set up a table of contents for easier access.  Most text is in spoiler tags anyway, but this should be even more conducive to reading, now that there is actually enough to categorize.  There are other bits and pieces not listed here, so to be comprehensive  you can just start reading from this post.

Cosmology, Planes, Powers, and Death in Ralum (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741.30#post_25429)

Realms and Distant Lands
The Inner Realm (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_932)
The Muarghid Empire
The Tizi Ceidusa of the Endless Isles
The Dominion of Niirda
The Northlands
The Marak'r of the Sarfeir
The Realms of the Deathless Masters

Thusmarej of the Heartlands (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_3271)
Gadiran, Land of Storms (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_3302)
Narsura, Land of the Two Crowns (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_5792)
Parzasa, Land of Mists (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_5845)
Siyan, Land of the Southern Shore (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_25257)
Aya, Land of Embadra's Heart (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_25424)
Marmeira, Land of Thundering Hooves
Alesira, Land of the Verdant Sky
Asir Embadra, The High Haven (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741.30)
Kaytium, The Ascendant Land
Marya, Land of Sails
Bashaura, Land of the Wanderers
Ocana, Land of the Black Veil
Oud Miran, Land of Incense
Inar Daka, The Bridge of Two Empires
Kioshaa, Land of Springs
Pharesaa, The Golden Land

Maps
A Rough Map of Jadanar (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_3619)

Cities and Locales
Aicaioun, City of Lances (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_5971)

People and Organizations
The Sheinspeakers (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_945)

Other Pieces of Ralum
The Dream Rending (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_3631)
The Proving (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?741#post_5800)


̢,"O Lord of Grey, what is the right you hold?
What standard carry you to our maker?â,¬Â
̢,"The changing patterns of the mind yield little,
Save one solid stone, beneath the glare
On which a universal line is written thus
And to this all your kin unwittingly adhere:
The only justice is that of the spear-arm
My standard shall be nought but My Will.â,¬Â
- The Niiraunshein, Inquiries, lines 123-130

The World of Ralum is quite unlike any medieval fantasy world â,¬' predominantly because it is not medieval.  The mortals of Ralum exist in what we moderns would call the Late Bronze Age, with some major adjustments.  In Ralum, brutal and absolute warrior-kings rule over a world largely ignorant of its past â,¬' a past that, only recently, has begun to reassert its ancient dominance over the mortals that dwell upon Ralum.  The iconic picture of the knight on horseback, heroically charging a dragon, is replaced with the skilled charioteer â,¬' for horses of Ralum, like the ancient horses of Earth, are not sufficiently strong or large to carry an armed warrior.  Weapons and armor are more primitive in terms of materials, but not in craftsmanship, and in a political environment where oneâ,¬,,¢s worthiness to rule depends on the power of the chariot and spear, this means everything.  Magic itself is a new development for the young races, once held only by the Progenitors and their chosen.

The World of Ralum isnâ,¬,,¢t clearly understood by the vast majority of mortals â,¬' most anyone can tell you that the world is an enormous flat disk, but few know that there is another side to the disk, a whole other world in which history after the Manifest Ruin turned out quite differently.  Still fewer know that between these worlds is a space even larger than both combined, within the disk â,¬' the cavernous, maddening reaches of the Inner Realm.  There are many beings that mortals know nothing about who know very much indeed about mortals â,¬' but ignorance will not save the mortal races.  Only knowledge can do that, and in Ralum, knowledge is the most important commodity of all.

The relationship between Gods and Magic is probably the biggest change from the normal in Ralum, mostly because there are no deities in a â,¬Å"Faerunianâ,¬Â sense.  Deities â,¬' or, more properly, Scions â,¬' arenâ,¬,,¢t really deities at all, but beings so ancient and pure of spirit that they are nearly godlike in their ability and power.  They grant spells only to a select few who they choose to be their agents.  The Scions of Ralum, however, have no portfolios and no domains â,¬' they grant only access to Arcane spells to Sorcerers, who end up being the most â,¬Å"priest-likeâ,¬Â class in terms of behavior.  Arcanists are another type altogether, a kind of â,¬Å"proto-wizard,â,¬Â that cast arcane spells with more emphasis on ritual, rune magic, and magical materials.  The divine spells spring either from the Nymph Goddesses, demi-godlike creatures of unknown origins, or from oneself â,¬' instead of a magic-wielding cleric, there is the Philosopher, who can even raise people from the dead with the power of his great enlightenment and steadfast soul.  Bards have become Poets (bards not really being appropriate for a Bronze Age setting), and a new half-caster class is introduced in the form of the Redbinder, which is something like a cross between a barbarian and a sorcerer.

Because I think that every campaign world should have an overarching conflict of some kind to keep things in perspective, there are several greater interests that are all involved in the fate of the world.  The Scions, first creations of the None, all scheme for their own ends, like children plotting to snatch up their fatherâ,¬,,¢s inheritance â,¬' except the dread Niiraun, Lord of the Shadan, who banished his fellow Shade Scions (known as the Ven, the Forgotten Lords) into obscurity and now plots to take command of creation himself.  Within the Inner Realm, an apparently mortal being known only as the Prince of Stars has united much of that gloomy world under his command, and has even driven Scions before him â,¬' his motives and goals were unclear even to his closest confidants.  Recently, however, he has vanished without a trace, leaving his vast realms in chaos.  The Bharim, monstrous and clever, are just beginning to set their plans into motion â,¬' their appetite for revenge against the Shadan, who nearly obliterated their kind in the Spellwar, has only increased with the centuries.  In the forgotten places of the world, the greatest threat to all creation gathers; the Archsouls, led by the greatest of the Scions, are twisted beings that have ripped their very essences away from reality.  Their minds warped beyond reason or sanity, they are plotting ceaselessly to take revenge on their hated creator by destroying the creation â,¬' all of it.  The mortal races of the world toil on in their efforts to rebuild a society from the ashes of the past, and the humans of Ralum are reeling from a great tidal wave that ruined the great and hallowed Grand Embadran Empire.  And of course, above all this is the None, unseen and inscrutable, whose plans for its world have yet to be revealed to any.

-----------------------------

When I posted this, months ago on the WotC forums, I posted a great deal of material â,¬' various descriptions, essays, so on and so forth.  I didnâ,¬,,¢t get much of a reaction, however, probably because I overwhelmed any potential visitors with text.  Iâ,¬,,¢ve got a pretty good idea of the framework Ralum â,¬' or at least the part Iâ,¬,,¢m focusing on now, the â,¬Å"great continentâ,¬Â of Jadanar â,¬' but Iâ,¬,,¢m somewhat at a loss as to where to go next.

So, I suppose Iâ,¬,,¢ll entertain questions here, both general and specific.  Or I might just post more.  I guess we'll find out!

I know well what it's like to overwhelm visitors with text. :(

The quote with which you open the thing... is it an original composition?  I assume so, based on the title.  What is the scope and nature of this work?

On the whole, I like the set-up you have. The Bronze Age happens to be a favorite of mine.  But of course, you knew that.

Okay, good start with breaking the mold. Can I ask about races?

EDIT: And always, a core ethos statement and list of themes gives a good place to start.

This is a fine introduction to an interesting sounding world. I love a good hook early on to draw you in. If your full text seemed overwhelming on the WotC boards I'm not too suprised. People usually comment much more on short little quips that they can read in a minute or too, but really long posts get almost ignored. Probably nothing you can do about that really.

Give us another few paragraphs. I'm sure I'm not alone in my desire to hear more.  :D

Thanks for the encouragement!  To answer your questions:

The quote is my writing.  The Niiraunshein (lit. "Book of Niiraun" in Low Shadan) is the revealed text given to the Shadan by their lord and patron Scion, Niiraun, whom they worship as a god.  The text was given to them in ancient times, inscribed upon three books made of pure silver; the books had been lost in a Bharim raid for hundreds of years until only two years before the Manifest Ruin, when they were recovered by the Dominion of Resheia.  Unfortunately, the Dominion was utterly destroyed during the Ruin, and the original remains lost.  The Niiraunshein lays out the will of Niiraun, in three sections: the Principles, the Inquiries, and the Prophecies.  It is said that the original itself holds tremendous power, and the Sheinspeakers would give anything to lay their hands on their most sacred of works.

As it stands, there are 6 playable races, though this may change substantially:

- The Shadan, a progenitor race.  They look much like humans, having made humans in their own image, but are a bit shorter and thinner, with ash-grey skin and deep red (almost black) eyes and blood.  They are quite intelligent, and have limited telepathy.

- The Bharim, a progenitor race.  They were once the same race as the Shadan, but were differentiated by their Scion lords, Ivreesha and Pagraha, and are now monstrous and fearsome creatures.  They are individually powerful and diabolically clever, but recently they have been falling prey to a strange plague of insanity that seems to affect only them.

- Humans, a slave race.  Humans are much like humans in D&D, though they have telepathic sensitivity of sorts, being attuned to the telepathy of their Shadan masters.

- Sarfeir, a slave race.  Sarfeir, who appear much like gnolls (except dog-like, rather than hyena-like), were bred by the Shadan to only kill - but when they began to get out of hand, the Shadan betrayed them and nearly extermined them with their thrall human troops.

- Saulzarel, a slave race.  The Saulzarel were made by the Bharim, and rebelled against them in a bloody war that triggered the Bharim's use of the Unspeakable and the onset of the Manifest Ruin.  They appear somewhat like elves, but are hardy creatures, who for the most part live in the deep deserts of Jadanar.

- Halflings, a slave race.  The halfings of Ralum are the third slave race made by the Shadan, and they are currently still thralls - the Shadan began breeding them after the Ruin to meet their needs for a labor supply.  They are integrated quite totally into Shadan culture.

I'll have more to post later, right now I've got a flight to catch.

I like what I see a lot, the Scions sound really cool as well.  The whole unknown world thing rocks as well.  a question though, this "inner realm", is it like the underdark?  and how does gravity work on this great disk?

So wait - the original was lost, but I presume the whole text (or at least all but a few fragments) exist in plentiful copies, right?

Sorry for quibbling over flavor minutiae, but as a classical scholar you must understand I have a fascination for manuscript traditions. ;)

So, do you actually have them written out completely?  Or do you just make quotes from them as they are revealed?

As far as the Inner Realm, it's like the Underdark, though there aren't any "mirror races" like drow/elves, dwarves/duergar, and so on.Ã,  For the most part, the two surfaces and the Inner Realm don't really know about each other.Ã,  Most accesses to the Inner Realm are secret, or require long-lost passwords or rituals to open, and the IR is deep enough that there's really no way to access it by simply digging down.The IR has its own organization and politics - rarely do interests within it carry over into the surface world, or vice versa.Ã,  The Prince of Stars may have been an exception, as he appeared to be a mortal human, and there are no human communities in the Inner Realm (nor more than a hundful of humans at all).Ã,  Only the Bharim are active both on the surface and within the IR, mostly because Shadan dominance on the surface has forced them to keep their core communities hidden.

Gravity within the IR is objective towards the nearest surface.Ã,  Gravity on the disk surface is straight down, typical of a "flat earth."Ã,  There are no sides of the disk to speak of; the sea as it approaches the edge is lost in a great and constant tempest, making a journey from one side to the other via the sea apparently impossible.Ã,  Because none have done it and returned to tell of it, what exactly the nature of gravity is there is unknown.Ã,  Many philosophers theorize that the water churned up here takes to the sky and creates rain.

The Niiraunshein is lost, but the Shadan made copies as soon as they first recieved it.Ã,  Because the very nature of their religion is the sacredness of secrecy, however, these copies are few and far between, certainly not something you can purchase.Ã,  When the Sheinspeakers came to power, they siezed every copy and transcript they could find, and systematically burned or impounded every book that quoted the Niiraunshein that they could lay their hands on.Ã,  Thus, the text is currently monopolized by them, and they are its interpreters to Shadan society, save for a few well known verses and lines that are well known by most Shadan.Ã,  This was all part of the purge of Shadan society instigated by the Sheinspeakers, including the execution of Shadan who opposed their views or published parts of the sacred texts.Ã,  It wasn't always this way; despite the secrecy of the tome, most Shadan communities had at least one communal copy that would be housed in their Archive, which is what the Shadan call their temples.Ã,  Some now fear that the Sheinspeakers may even be peverting the intent and text of the work to suit their own ends, but they obviously cannot go too far with this if it is so - Niiraun is very much an active, real lord who would not suffer heretics.

I have some sizeable blocks of text from the Niiraunshein written, but writing the whole work or anything close to it would probably be far more trouble than its worth.Ã,  I often make up quotes for my purposes, which is fine for me since I already have an idea of the philosophy behind the whole work.

Here's all the writing I've done on the IR so far.

The Inner Realm

The surface worlds, even combined together, are small indeed compared to the immense reaches of the Inner Realm, the space between worlds.Ã,  The Inner Realm is a near-infinite world of caverns and tunnels, though not all are dark and cramped â,¬' there are caverns the size of nations, and many with their own source of light and heat.Ã,  Within the depths of the Realm are many creatures unknown to the surface mortals, some good and some wicked, struggling for survival and domination under the watchful gaze of the Gloom Scions, the deities of the realms beneath the surface.Ã,  Even they, however, must be cautious â,¬' the InnerÃ, Realm is the perfect place to hide, and the Archsouls know that as well as any mortal creature.

Geography and Climate

The Inner realm does not have distinct levels or regions, defined only by caves and cavern systems.Ã,  Most are formed by random geologic processes, but many are also artificial, whether by centuries-long toil or powerful magic.Ã,  As one approaches the center of the Realm, it becomes colder and colder, until one at last reaches the fabled Span of Stars, where it is said something great and fearsome resides â,¬' perhaps a great enemy of the None, or None itself.Ã,  No mortal has ever returned (sane) from such a journey, and any greater beings that have gazed upon the fabled Span are not speaking of it.

Traveling to and from the Realm is not actually difficult, but the entrances and exits are hard to find; the vast majority of caves and tunnels do not connect to the deep reaches of the world.Ã,  Once a connection is found, however (usually with the help of a guide), if it is not sealed by some magic or ritual lock, entering the realm is as easy as walking there.Ã,  Mortal explorers, however, often find that survival within the Inner Realm is an entirely different matter.

The Inner Realm is physically composed of what you would expect a tunnel system to be â,¬' rock.Ã,  Large veins of rarer minerals exist, some large enough to contain entire cities.Ã,  Towards the center, some tunnels are burrowed into massive nodes of ice embedded in the rock.Ã,  The size of these nodes can only be guessed at, but some appear to be quite expansive.Ã,  The fluctuation of the seasons, which is present to an extent in the Realm, means that many ice tunnels and caverns shift, change size or shape, or even collapse when the temperatures rise and fall.

Most of the Inner Realm, being underground, experiences no weather effects.Ã,  Climate varies according to the seasons; in summer months, the chilling influence of the Realmâ,¬,,¢s center recedes, and begins expanding again towards the end of autumn.Ã,  Only in the largest of caverns towards the center does any weather exist, in the form of snow.Ã,  Beings who have never left the Inner Realm often find the effect to be most unsettling, and for that reason (and their proximity to the center) such places are often avoided by sentient natives.

Authority

The creatures of the Inner Realm keep largely to themselves.Ã,  While trade does go on, there are only a handful of cities with mixed populations, all of which are trading stations that grew over time.Ã,  The various races thus rule themselves, in the manner that they are used to, which can range from draconian laws and lengthy rules of succession to total anarchy.

Holding power in the Realm are also the Gloom Scions, inscrutable masters of their varied progeny.Ã,  All eight reside within the Inner Realm; they are the order of Scions that does not count at least one Archsoul among its members.Ã,  While powerful, the Scions do not directly intervene in the affairs of the common creatures of the Inner Realm; while some do live in places known to all, some are hidden, likely deep within the Realm near the center itself.Ã,  This is the widely accepted fate of Heshon, Selbe, and Aolthear, who have not been heard from since the Spellwar.Ã,  The rest are manifest, but prefer to remain relatively remote â,¬' Nebaubrigal, Maccrab, Thagus, and Ebredun all have their citadels in lonely caverns within the Realm, though Thagus has since been exiled from his.Ã,  These places are notoriously hazardous to travelers.Ã,  Vezalgremar is the one exception; in the form of an enormous Shadow Dragon, he rules over his own bleak dominion in the outer reaches of the Realm.

There is one being, however, who once ruled the majority of the Inner Realm himself.Ã,  Called simply the Prince of the Inner Realm by mortal travelers, denizens of the Realm itself typically call him the Prince of Stars.Ã,  The nature of the Prince of Stars, and his astonishing rise to power, are topics of fierce dispute among the creatures of the now leaderless Inner Realm.Ã,  The Prince always appeared in the guise of a mortal human; many believe he was a mortal man, but there are many others who dismiss this as an illusion or disguise.Ã,  Nothing is known about his origins, but much is rumored.Ã,  The Prince appeared rather suddenly in the Inner Realm, and proceeded to conquer more than half of the known Realm in detail.Ã,  Playing countless factions, petty rulers, merchant lords, and bandit chiefs against each other, the Prince of Stars steadily increased his power, even at the expense of the Scions â,¬' Vezalgremarâ,¬,,¢s much feared horde was checked at the week-long Battle of the Deep Howl, and for unknown reasons his forces never ventured outside his limited domain until the Princeâ,¬,,¢s disappearance.Ã,  The Hold of Running Stone, the formidable and towering citadel of the Scion Thagus, was overrun and ruined by creatures loyal to the Prince, and the Scion himself was forced to flee.Ã,  The other Scions of the Inner Realm took no apparent action during his reign.

After the first initial conquests by the sword and spell, the Princeâ,¬,,¢s domination continued to grow through subtler means.Ã,  Subterfuge and trade domination brought more and more creatures and nations under his indirect sway, and even nominally sovereign peoples found that all the strings of power somehow led back to the Princeâ,¬,,¢s new residence in Thagusâ,¬,,¢s old fortress.Ã,  Nominally independent kingdoms and nations were wholly dependent on the military and economic might of the Princeâ,¬,,¢s realm, and were forced to behave as vassal states while their leaders loudly trumpeted their autonomy.Ã,  Apparently, caring little for appearances, the Prince never moved to pacify peoples that denounced him, reserving his military strength for the rare occasion when a society closed its doors and severed its connection with its neighbors.Ã,  In the world of the Prince of Stars, so long as you were not isolated, you were dominated.

Not all of the Inner Realm was under the Princeâ,¬,,¢s rule, however.Ã,  Much of the Realm is still unexplored, or too dangerous to travel.Ã,  Some such domains are thought to be the realm of Archsouls, but it is thought by some that they either feared the Prince or had somehow worked out an arrangement with him â,¬' it has not escaped notice that the Prince managed to never have to fight the Archsouls, and that the fabled Maglatassus reappeared in the settled lands of the Inner Realm as soon as the Prince had vanished.Ã,  Other areas of the Realm are ruled by separate powers; Chalethus rules enormous stretches of the Realm, secure in her vile fastness amid the Lakes of Dread, in the sunken city of Tudeinul.Ã,  Shilda, ever the opportunist, has come roaring back after doing little to initially stop the Prince of Stars, and a war between him and Vezalgremar looks imminent.Ã,  Elsewhere lies the realm of Felmai, the only Spirit Scion who resides in the Inner Realm.Ã,  His small but secure land has remained a sanctuary for the lost, embittered, and world-weary since the days of the War of Eternal Night.

Of the greater Archsouls, the Four Firsts, little is known.Ã,  They have not shown themselves since the Battle of the Span, when Tacha vanished and avoided destruction at the hands of the Gloom Scions and Shilda (during the only time in history when those two powers have put aside their mutual hatred long enough to ally).Ã,  While their plans are always long term, many wonder if the Four will pass up this opportunity to make a move in the absence of the Prince of Stars.

Of course, I should note that the IR at this point is peripheral to the world I'm trying to develop.  My efforts are focused on the surface continent of Jadanar.  Were this an actual published campaign world, the IR would be something saved for a future publication.

With that in mind, I'm going to look through my saved files to see if there's something of more general and relevant interest.  Thanks for the questions so far.

Re: the Niiraunshein, I've actually been entertaining the idea that the Sheinspeakers state publicly that they possess the Books themselves, even though they're really lost.  A secret like that is certainly in character for them, and nobody would really be in a position to contradict them unless the text was found.  It would probably give them greater legitimacy in Shadan society, which they would surely be willing to take.  I think my next blurb will be on the Sheinspeakers themselves, as they are definitely central to the campaign world in a way that the IR, at present, is not - except as a great unknown where the Ven, the Gloom Scions, the Archsouls, and the Bharim (all of them the great mysterious forces of the world) dwell.

Quick question: If the Halflings were bred for labor, wouldn't they be BIG?

The Shadan don't need labor now in the same way they needed labor in the Spellwar era.  The population of Shadan in Niirda is far too small to require the great cities, roads, palaces, archives, and fortifications that their predecessors required.  The Shadan are, however, used to having servants, and the Halfings fit the bill for fairly unobtrusive ones.

The better answer to this question is that the Halfings were actually invented before the Manifest Ruin, but the project was sidelined by the Dominates because they viewed humans as sufficient.  The actual process of creating new Thrall species was lost with the Ruin, so the only choice the survivors had was to breed their small seed population of Halflings to suit their needs.  The triumph of the Kaytine Zaras of Embadra over the Grand Exarchate (the last human state with nominal loyalty to the Shadan) was the obvious death knell of human servitude to the Shadan.

And a blurb on Sheinspeakers I just wrote:

The Sheinspeakers

The Sheinspeakers are a cabal of Shadan Arcanists that rules the Dominion of Niirda, the only Shadan nation in Jadanar, and the only known Dominion to have survived the Spellwar and the Manifest Ruin.Ã,  There may be others, even some on the other side of the World Disc â,¬' perhaps the influence of the Sheinspeakers extends to these hypothetical Dominions as well, making the cabal far more powerful than it is now thought.

The Sheinspeaker â,¬Å"movementâ,¬Â began not long after the Manifest Ruin.Ã,  The surviving Shadan, their civilization in ruins and the vast majority of their people lost forever, began to question why this tragedy had befallen them.Ã,  The Bharim were the easy targets for blame, but the Manifest Ruin had been scarcely kinder to them, at least on this side of the Disc.Ã,  It began to be widely spoken among the Shadan of Niirda that their patron and god, Niiraun, had abandoned them.Ã,  Some faulted the Lord of Grey himself, saying that he no longer cared about his people and deserved to be renounced by the Shadan.Ã,  Others said that he had caused them to fall to teach them a lesson â,¬' the Niiraunshein itself, after all, is full of references to the great difficulty of the journey to supremacy that the Shadan must undertake.

Sixteen of Niirdaâ,¬,,¢s most powerful Arcanists, however, rejected both these views.Ã,  They held that Niiraun had deserted them because the Shadan had been unfaithful, letting his secret words become common knowledge and allowing apostates to live harmoniously in Shadan society.Ã,  The Arcanists, owing to their great magical supremacy, were able to strong-arm the Dominate into letting them have free rein in the Dominion.Ã,  The so-called â,¬Å"Sheinspeakersâ,¬Â and their fierce followers embarked on a ruthless crusade to rid Niirda of all heretical influences.Ã,  Shadan apostates and those viewed as too willing to compromise, as well as those who publicly doubted Niiraun or the Sheinspeakers, were executed and their names expunged from the Shadan records.Ã,  The Great Archive of Niirda itself was seized by the Sheinspeakers and made into their exclusive center of power.Ã,  All copies of the Niiraunshein were seized, and all books that quoted it in text were burned or filed away in the depths of the Great Archive.Ã,  In less thanÃ, five years, the Sheinspeakers managed to cow the already devastated population of Niirda, and ensure that the Dominate was little more than their puppet.

With their rise to power complete, the Sheinspeakers realized that they would have to educate new members to be part of their elite, if there was any hope of their influence being a lasting achievement.Ã,  They became a secret society, a â,¬Å"knowledge cabal,â,¬Â with the most exacting and secret of rituals to join.Ã,  All Sheinspeakers ingest a specially made elixir upon their entrance to the Cabal that leaves them permanently muted, as a symbol of their commitment to secrecy.Ã,  The elixir, however, also boosts their natural limited telepathy, so they are still able to communicate.Ã,  Sheinspeakers are all Arcanists, and they learn during their years as (not yet mute) acolytes to cast their spells without words as naturally as their non-initiated counterparts do with them.Ã,  Acolytes must study for many years to become a Sheinspeaker, and are fiercely devoted â,¬' because the Sheinspeakers do not want to risk an Acolyte with some knowledge of the Cabal to â,¬Å"drop outâ,¬Â and spread his secrets or oppose the Cabal, all Acolytes who fail to enter the Cabal are killed.Ã,  There are at any one time around 2-3 hundred Sheinspeakers, governed by a Circle of sixteen of the most senior.Ã,  One of these sixteen serves as an â,¬Å"advisorâ,¬Â to the Dominate, who effectively makes his policy decisions for him based on the will of the Circle.Ã,  The rest of the Cabal work in the Great Archive, serve as liaisons to other facets of Shadan society, or form a sort of secret police that monitors the rest of the Dominion for apostasy and dissent.Ã,  Rarely do Sheinspeakers themselves leave the borders of the Dominion, and then only for the most crucial of assignments.Ã,  There is a specially selected group of sixteen Sheinspeakers who are outside the Dominate at all times, however, their life assignment being to track down the original Niiraunshein before someone else does.Ã,  As they grow old, they are replaced, and there are always sixteen roaming the world to find their lost texts.

Most Arcanists in Shadan society are not Sheinspeakers, but the Sheinspeakers have ensured that no Arcanistâ,¬,,¢s guild is ever created that could challenge them.Ã,  The exceptions to this are the various cabals of Arcane Slavers, who are tolerated simply because of their great utility to the Sheinspeakers.Ã,  The Sheinspeakers do not trust sorcerers (or perhaps they merely fear them), as they are an uncontrolled element that supposedly receives their instructions directly from Niiraun, circumventing the Cabalâ,¬,,¢s hierarchy.Ã,  Though the sorcerers cannot be actually attacked or silenced, as that would be a violation of Niiraunâ,¬,,¢s servants, the Sheinspeakers do their best to try to rein in and control the sorcerers of Niiraun that they find.Ã,  It is a complicated and dangerous dance of intrigue between the sorcerers and the Sheinspeakers that penetrates every level of Shadan society.
The Sheinspeakers themselves occupy a position of leadership over the common priests of Niiraun, the Archivists.Ã,  They also control a domestic school of pro-Sheinspeaker philosophy, whose philosophers and zealots are the only officially sanctioned philosophical voice in the Dominion.
The Sheinspeakers are very suspicious of their current thralls, the Halflings â,¬' the project to breed Halflings in earnest was started too early for the Sheinspeakers to stop it, and they have become too vital in Shadan day-to-day society for them to be exterminated in the way that the Sarfeir nearly were.Ã,  The Sheinspeakers are also aware of the dangers of rebellion posed by a downtrodden slave race, the results of which they witnessed in the form of the Saulzarel rebellion against the Bharim.Ã,  Because of this fear, they are careful not to turn the vicious prejudice they have against the â,¬Å"lesser racesâ,¬Â into action â,¬' but all the same, they are very concerned with the increasing acceptance of Halfings into Shadan society.

I like the idea of a Bronze Age setting, but I'm not sure sure that I'd list "Bronze-Aged" as the defining characteristic of this world.  In particular, the part about certain races breeding other races as slaves seemed rather contrary to a Bronze Age theme.  There were many slaves in the Bronze Age, but the idea of eugenics seems a bit advanced for that era; it has more of a gritty, pseudo-modern feel than anything else.

I would also be careful with the cosmology.  It sounds as though the Inner Realm and the two surface realms are very compartmentalized.  Consider either making more connections between the two or making less references to the peripherals.

Quote from: Epic_MeepoI like the idea of a Bronze Age setting, but I'm not sure sure that I'd list "Bronze-Aged" as the defining characteristic of this world.  In particular, the part about certain races breeding other races as slaves seemed rather contrary to a Bronze Age theme.  There were many slaves in the Bronze Age, but the idea of eugenics seems a bit advanced for that era; it has more of a gritty, pseudo-modern feel than anything else.

I would also be careful with the cosmology.  It sounds as though the Inner Realm and the two surface realms are very compartmentalized.  Consider either making more connections between the two or making less references to the peripherals.
[/quote]

I may do that as the world evolves, but right now I'm too uncertain as to what role I want the IR and the Second Realm (the "other side") to play in the overall setting.  I'll certainly keep that in mind, though.

Quote from: MithridatesThe Heartlands themselves, of which I've regrettably said little about in this thread (I hope to soon correct that) are much more in line with the "feel" I want for the campaign than the "Old Order" of the progenitor races and their lost civilizations.

I look forward to hearing more about the Heartlands.

The Heartlands themselves, as they are called by the humans who live there, are a collection of diverse lands and "nations" that surround the Great Inner Sea, a great body of water that connects only through a narrow strait to the surrounding ocean - in terms of geography, think something along the lines of the Mediterranean.  There is some confusion as to exactly what lands are and are not in "the Heartlands;" Culturally speaking, one might say that the Heartlands are the lands inhabited by the descendents of the thralls of Resheia and Niirda, which excludes Narsura (indeed, the entire Kingdom of the Two Crowns) as well as Pharesaa, Bashaura, and Oud Miran.  During the years of the Grand Embadran Empire, "Heartlands" came to describle early every province within the Empire, save for Inar Daka, and perhaps Pharesaa (whose people do not consider their land to be a part of the Heartlands, as it does not border the Inner Sea).  For the purposes of my writing, all the provinces of the Empire, excluding Inar Daka (which is not properly part of the Heartlands "sphere of influence," save its brief occupation by the Embadrans), are considered part of the Heartlands - even Pharesaa, which, while it has its own history, language, and distinct culture, nevertheless is very much a part of the present civilization of the peoples of the Inner Sea.

The Heartlands are primarily a human land, though halflings are common in Siyan, Kioshaa, Aya, and Parzasa.  Saulzarel often travel to the western shores of the Inner Sea, making themselves known in Bashaura and Gadiran (though Ocana, notably, makes war upon them openly).  Sarfeir are not welcome in Bashaura, but many do make the journey south through the flats of Inar Daka into Narsura and beyond, as their ancestors did during the golden age of the Empire of the Red Claw.  The Shadan themselves are present in the southlands, mostly as merchants and agents of their Dominion, seeking ways to expand their inroads into modern human society.

The humans themselves are not all of one great ancestry.  The scholars generally recognize five distinct "races:" the Embadrans, ancestors of the Niirdan thralls; the Augeidhans, the peoples once part of the Thrall Empire of the Grand Exarchate; the Bashaurans, who came into the Heartlands via Inar Daka during the Migrations; the Narsurans, once refugees from the Sarfeir Empire of the Red Claw who settled in the north of Embadra; and the Azians, more recent arrivals to the "golden land" of Pharesaa in the far south.  They speak different languages and follow different gods, and it would be folly to categorize them all as simply branches of a human civilization - the Heartlands really exists as an idea because of the now vanished Embadran Empire, which for a time controlled all these peoples from abroad.

Over time, I hope to flesh out all of the lands of the Heartlands, though their numbers are many.  Presently, the modern lands considered part of the Heartlands according to my interpretation are, roughly counterclockwise around the Inner Sea (those "peripheral" to the Heartlands are in parenthesis, including Inar Daka):

Aya
Marmeira
Parzasa
Ezannum
Kaytium
Alesira
(Asir Embadra)
Marya
Narsura
(Inar Daka)
Bashaura
Ocana
(Oud Miran)
Gadiran
Siyan
Kioshaa
(Pharesaa)

Of these, I've done the most work on Gadiran, Pharesaa, and Aicaioun (an independent city-state in Kioshaa); I'm finishing them up at present, with my next "job" probably being Narsura.  I'll post elements from these along the way.

There's a map, too, and at some point I may get up the moxy to ink it out so it can be scanned.

EDIT: It may also be helpful to note which regions are part of Embadra, itself a large region within the heartlands that makes up most of the eastern shore of the Inner Sea.  Embadra properly includes the first six regions on the above list, Aya through Alesira.  Asir Embadra, literally "High Embadra," really isn't part of the region despite its name, and is at any rate now lost to the current Embadran states.

Gadiran

One of the oldest colonies of free humankind, Gadiran is a rugged, storm-wracked land of adventurous traders, seasoned sailors, and hardened warriors.  Though the population of Gadiran has never been large, the Gadiranin have played a critical part in the histories of the great empires that they have been a part of.  Only in recent times has Gadiran been an independent land, and unlike many places in the Heartlands, there are few who claim a distinctly Gadiranin heritage â,¬' most are from other lands, or descended from seafarers.  It is the way of the Gadiranin that all people come and go, and as a result Gadiran is perhaps the most ancestrally diverse of the Heartlands, though not truly civilized or accessible enough to be a center of culture.

Nomenclature and Language

[spoiler]People who live in Gadiran or are descended from those living in Gadiran are called Gadiranin, but because there is no real Gadiranin ethnic stock, the people of Gadiran are hard to distinguish as such.  Other than that, the nomenclature of Gadiran is quite straightforward.  Gadiran may itself refer to either to the peninsula itself, the Thusmar (province) of Gadiran under the Grand Embadran Empire (the peninsula plus the coast of Oud Miran), or the Thusmar of Gadiran as it is currently, the peninsula plus a small stretch of eastern Oud Miran.  "Gadiranin" can be either a noun indicating inhabitants of Gadiran, or an adjective (both "Gadiranin" and "Gadiranin people" are technically correct and mean the same thing, though the former is most often used).

The people of Gadiranin speak a dialect of Augeidhan that borrows many words from Low Ayan.  It is 90% intelligible to those who speak "standard" Augeidhan, about 50% intelligible to those who speak Low Ayan, and speakers of High Ayan or Shadan will be able to understand bits and pieces.  Maryans, whose dialect is mostly Low Ayan colored with bits of Augeidhan, can usually understand a Gadiranin quite well.  Gadiranin from Aemun are much more easily udnerstood by foreign speakers than are those Gadiranin of isolated villages, who may speak in dialects so thick as to be difficult for even an Aemunin to translate fully.[/spoiler]

Geography and Climate

[spoiler]Gadiran is a jagged, rocky land, with numerous cliffs and spires rising out from the sea along the landâ,¬,,¢s winding coastline.  The sea makes its way inland by narrow canyons and steep-sided ravines, so itâ,¬,,¢s hard to go far in Gadiran without being close to some tendril of the Inner Sea.  The â,¬Å"neckâ,¬Â of Gadiran is a range of low but rugged and broken mountains, as difficult to traverse as the rest of the country.  Even travel by sea is dangerous in Gadiran, as storms continually pound the numerous coastlines.

There are no freshwater rivers of any decent size in Gadiran, only thousands of narrow, easily missed rivulets descending from hillside springs.  For both these springs and the always visible sea, the land is known as the â,¬Å"Land of Many Watersâ,¬Â or simply the â,¬Å"Land of Watersâ,¬Â by foreigners.  Villages in Gadiran are usually built in places where these rivulents meet the ocean, where they can benefit from the fresh water source while maintaining access to the sea.

The peculiar weather of Gadiran consists largely of chaotically alternating periods of clear, crisp blue skies and raging storms, which â,¬' though terrible â,¬' usually expend their energy or move on in a day or two.  The mountains of Oud Miran block the rain clouds from taking their water any further, save during the â,¬Å"wet seasonâ,¬Â when the storms of Gadiran find their way to Siyan.[/spoiler]

Inhabitants

[spoiler]Gadiran, in the places where it is settled, is occupied mostly by humans.  Halflings may sometimes find their way here on trading ships, but they usually donâ,¬,,¢t stay for long, though there is a small permanent minority in Aemun.  The Saulzarel, if they wish to visit the Heartlands, often make their way south and east by way of Gadiran, as the Thusmar of Ocana is openly hostile towards them.  Most of them likewise do not stop for long in Gadiran, finding the climate too wet for their tastes.[/spoiler]

History

[spoiler]The peninsula of Gadiran is actually the top of an ancient mountain range that was almost totally submerged during the Manifest Ruin.  During its time as part of Resheia, the Throne-Dominion of the pre-Ruin Shadan Empire, it was largely uninhabited, like most barren mountain ranges.  It is the only part of Resheia to remain above the waterline.

Gadiran was first settled by seafaring colonists of the early Parroganese Guardianate, which would eventually become the Grand Exarchate.  Gadiran was settled by only the toughest of the Augeidhan colonists, attracted by the potential wealth of the land â,¬' though the soil of Gadiran is poor, it boasts numerous products of the sea that made small fortunes for many of the early colonists.  Of all the seaside villages of Gadiran, Aemun emerged as the largest and wealthiest, mostly because the Cove of Aemun is the only sheltered cove in Gadiran large enough to support a large level of merchant trading.  Aemun provided the point of contact between the Gadiranin and the Exarch at Augeidha, as trade through its port sustained the prosperity of the colony.  Gadiranin were even in this time known as excellent sailors and navigators, and Gadiranin sailors formed the backbone of the Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s great fleets, which in their time exercised unparalleled mastery over the waves.

During the Years of Swift Arrows, the Exarchate fell into civil war, which combined with the chaos in Embadra led to a collapse in the trade routes of Gadiran.  The economy of Aemun collapsed, and many colonists departed for Siyan or moved further inland, to scratch out a living through sustenance farming in the corners of upland Gadiran.  It was not until the rise of the Embadran Ascendancy, the empire of Halkadrim the Boundless, that Gadiran was again brought back into the society of the Heartlands â,¬' Halkadrim made Gadiran a Thusmar (lit. â,¬Å"great provinceâ,¬Â) of his empire, and Gadiran became crucial in the Brothersâ,¬,,¢ War between Halkadrimâ,¬,,¢s sons, its famous sailors contributing to Hemechamâ,¬,,¢s eventual victory and consolidation of the Grand Embadran Empire.  Gadiran remained a backwater, however, as there was no longer much demand in the devastated cities of the former Exarchate for its goods.  Instead, merchant ships bypassed the peninsula entirely, in a quest to obtain the incense available in nearby Oud Miran, a commodity that had come into vogue following Bashauraâ,¬,,¢s inclusion into the Empire.  The legendary Gadiranin sailors were becoming overshadowed by the merchant sailors of Marya, who were in far greater supply and spoke good Ayan.

It took the vision of Hepad the Rich, the first Thusmara of Gadiran, to transform the realm into a thriving land again.  A Maryan merchant of considerable wealth, Hepad was rewarded for his unflagging support of Hemecham during the Brothersâ,¬,,¢ War with considerable favor and resources that he decided to use to make Gadiran, as his personal fief, competitive with the merchant cities of Marya.  He was the first to make contact â,¬' and subsequently, a treaty of peace â,¬' with the Greka, the primitive crablike humanoids who inhabited the coastal waters of the peninsula and had previously limited their contact with humans to occasional shoreline raids.  The Greka not only provided items to trade, but assisted Hepad (for pay, of course) with his greatest project: build a canal into a tunnel underneath the neck of Gadiran itself, from the Bay of Aemun to the waters off the coast of Oud Miran.  The project, known as the â,¬Å"Serpent of Gadiran,â,¬Â took 41 years, and was completed years after Hepadâ,¬,,¢s death, but the new underground canal made Aemun rich again â,¬' now, merchants could cut weeks off their incense trading voyages by going under Gadiran directly to the coastal trading ports of Oud Miran.

Tragically, this was eventually ended by the Great Wave that ruined the Grand Embadran Empire, which horribly damaged the Serpent.  With the coastal settlements of Embadra in ruins, there was little demand for the goods of Gadiran or the incense of Oud Miran, and Gadiran sank back into obscurity.  Now, while renewed trade is beginning to revitalize Aemun again, Gadiran is still very much a fringe province of the Heartlands.[/spoiler]

Politics and Power

[spoiler]Gadiran was never foremost among the Thusmarej, and its Thusmara was more a bureaucrat than a soldier, with no field army ever stationed in Gadiran.  One frontier army, stationed along several remote fortresses south of the neck, was deemed sufficient to protect the province from harassment by Saulzarel, savage humanoids, or the occasional rogue pack of Ephayri.  Oud Miran had a frontier garrison for a while, but this was withdrawn by the Thusmara of Ocana some time before the Great Wave.  Thus, after the Grand Embadran Empire had truly collapsed, the garrison commander of the frontier army of the neck of Gadiran, Dagaekal the Stone-thrower, marched his army from its forgotten border garrisons to Aemun, where he overthrew the Thusmara and established himself as ruler of Aemun and Gadiran itself.  He has since styled himself â,¬Å"Zara of Gadiran,â,¬Â though since Gadiran was never a Zarate this is a rather dubious title.  An aggressive and opportunistic soldier, his early reign consisted of periodic raids on Siyan and Maryan ports that earned him the ire of his neighbors and the reputation of a pirate.  He received his designation â,¬Å"the Stone-throwerâ,¬Â for these raids, on which he often used stone-throwing ballistae on boats to breach costal walls.  The Maryans in particular call him â,¬Å"Dagaekal the Brigand.â,¬Â

In his 50s now, however, he has cooled down considerably, and has secured his position against the Maryans by an alliance with the Zara of Kaytium.  He is keenly interested in the revival of Gadiranin fortunes however possible, and has pursued this goal through a mixture of opportunistic trading, frequent short-term alliances, and promotion of ruthless piracy.  He has enough influence over the pirates of Gadiran to keep them from attacking his â,¬Å"friends,â,¬Â who are usually those realms, cities, or merchants that provide him with favors or monetary recompense to stave off the predations of Gadiranâ,¬,,¢s raiders.  His own navy, which is small but efficient (and largely formed from vessels seized by pirates), provides escort services to Aicai slavers and other large merchant vessels in the area, often charging them for protection against pirates that he himself controls.  This activity aside, he is also interested in legal trade with other lands, and has encouraged a good relationship with the Greka, who keep him informed of everything that happens around his coasts and provide trade goods that Aemunin merchants ply in Aicaioun, Siyan, Marya, and the Isles of Kaytium.

As the sole autocrat of Aemun, the only city in Gadiran, Dagaekal has no real competitors for power except foreign leaders.  He is respected and feared by his people, who â,¬' though they once viewed him as a lower class usurper â,¬' have come to appreciate the moderate prosperity his rule has provided to them.  It is rumored that he is now attempting to recreate the power of old Aemun by re-opening the Serpent of Gadiran, though this may not be something he completes in his lifetime.  There does exist a Commune of Trade in Aemun, where merchants can gather, barter, and associate, but the Commune exists primarily as a way for Dagaekal to keep track of and effectively tax merchants, rather than being a real alternative center of power.  Dagaekal does not tolerate any other opposing center of power within his lands, and those monasteries and schools of philosophy that do operate in Gadiran do so only by remaining apolitical.[/spoiler]

Legal

[spoiler]Gadiran supposedly follows the general Code of Hemecham laid out at the beginning of the Grand Embadran Empire, but for the most part the population is too small to make the administration of justice a serious concern.  Dagaekalâ,¬,,¢s soldiers are efficient at patrolling the streets of Aemun and bringing thieves and killers to swift justice; most serious cases are decided by Dagaekalâ,¬,,¢s Magistrate, Keidrah the White, a woman with a cold and merciless manner who is concerned with keeping the letter of the law and nothing else.  Because the letter of the law can essentially change whenever Dagaekal wills it to, this is a broad mandate.  Usually, minor laws are ignored in the case of foreigners and merchants, if only to encourage trade â,¬' Dagaekal will err on the side of whatever makes him richer.

Outside of Aemun, however, there is essentially no legal structure.  The narrow rocky paths that connect the various isolated villages of Gadiran are not conducive to regular patrols, so Dagaekal chooses to not waste the large sums of money that would be required to enforce law over his rugged domain.  Instead, villages generally handle their own affairs, and as long as they maintain their allegiance to Dagaekal he is willing to dispatch part of his army to deal with any particular problems that the local villagers cannot.  As outsiders rarely visit these communities, however, justice is usually an internal affair.

Of the Greka, not much is known of their communities and laws, but their justice appears to be very simple â,¬' criminals within their societies are lowered in social standing (subtle hierarchies are very important to the Greka), or if the crime is serious enough are exiled.  Humans or other foreigners are typically expelled from Greka territory if they commit a crime, though the Greka often expel intruders before any crimes are committed.  Greka have no qualms about killing a human for a serious crime, including theft or assault, and Dagaekal turns a blind eye for the sake of his cordial relations with them.[/spoiler]

Religion

[spoiler]Gadiran, as a former colony of the Grand Exarchate, followed the â,¬Å"Old Wayâ,¬Â formally, the worship of Niiraun now known by todayâ,¬,,¢s Embadrans as â,¬Å"Augeidhism.â,¬Â  Malechism, the â,¬Å"bloodline religionâ,¬Â of the Embadran Empire, failed to take hold in Gadiran as the Thusmar was never considered quite important enough to merit much proselytizing, and as such Gadiran has the highest proportion of Augeidhists of any realm in the Heartlands.  There exists an impressive temple to Niiraun above the city of Aemun called the High Watch, which was once a mountaintop monastery of the Shadan Dominion of Resheia.

The population has been quick to adopt the new faith of the Nymph Goddesses, however, especially Amlaree, Eyloshan, and Gelmine.  There exists a temple to Gelmine in Aemun, and small shrines to each of them across the land (there is a shrine to Amlaree at practically every known spring in Gadiran).  Most Gadiranin have adopted these faiths in addition to their worship of Niiraun, which many think of as simply an essential part of being Gadiranin.  Worshippers of other faiths, however, are openly tolerated, both by the people and by Dagaekal, who doesnâ,¬,,¢t seem to mind what people worship so long as they show him allegiance.

Sailors of Gadiran often wear necklaces of seashells blessed by priests of various faiths, or more often a band of cloth around their foreheads dyed brilliant orange with Tourichel dye.  It is believed that the dye, as a symbol of the sea and (so the Gadiranin believe) being the favorite color of Gelmine, will give them forethought and insight into the nature of the fickle sea, and thus protection against it.  Given the known reputation of Gadiranin sailors, many sailors from other lands consider the headbands to be good luck and purchase them from the priests of Gelmine when in port at Aemun, which has proven to be quite profitable for the temple.

Some common celebrations in Aemun, which may be celebrated in the villages of Gadiran, are as follows:

Rain of Cleansing.  During a single week in the Spring, the priests of Eyloshan ring an enormous gong in a shrine above the city at the first onset of a storm.  When this gong is rung and the storm begins, many citizens leave their houses to be cleansed by the renewing rains of Eyloshan, and to bring her offerings.  A great bonfire is made out of willow branches, which are cut in previous months from the rock-willow trees in the highlands of Gadiran.  This bonfire is started and kept burning despite the great storm, with the effort of hundreds of Aemunâ,¬,,¢s citizens.  The fire usually is kept burning until rain stops, which can mean a celebration of minutes or even a day or two, and small sacrifices and gifts to the goddess are thrown in.  During the burning, the people dance and sing in the streets, for once in the year not worrying about protecting themselves from the storm.  If no storm appears during the holy week, it is considered a very bad omen for the year ahead.

Fastness.  The Fastness is the holy preparation of homes and families for the brutal winter, during which the port of Aemun is often closed due to terrible storms and ship-crushing waves.  As the autumn wears on towards winter, the priests of Gelmine make somber marches through the streets, banging drums and chanting that the people must prepare for the coming season.  During this time, the commoners stock up on food, kindling, and other necessities, and tie ribbons dyed in Tourichel dye to their homes to signify their preparation.  Neighbors help each other prepare and make plans to shelter the poor and the outcast for the winter ahead.

Naughthymn.  Naughthymn is an annual occasion that spans two days, the first of somberness and funereal sadness, and the second of mirthful celebration.  The festival derives from a two-day celebration of Niiraunâ,¬,,¢s blessings called the High Hymn that was popular during the era of the Exarchate.  After the fall of the Exarchate at the Battle of Magridda, the celebration changed in the formerly Exarchate-controlled colonies of Gadiran to one of both mourning and rejoicing.  The first day is a remembrance of the fall of the Exarchate and the loss at Magridda, though technically Gadiran had ceased to be part of the Exarchate years before.  People fast for the whole day, and women often show their piety by openly weeping as they pray in the High Watch, the temple of Niiraun above Aemun.  Many animals are sacrificed in the High Watch, and the blood is cast down the rocks, visible from the city as a great blood-soaked cliff face representing Magridda and the wars between the Embadrans and the Augeidhans.  Upon the dawn of the second day, the people end their fasting in great morning feasts, and spend the rest of the day in joyous processions down the streets or various games sponsored by the priests of Niiraun (as well as those of other faiths).  This is supposed to represent a confidence in the future, and a belief that the people of the Exarchate will again triumph â,¬' and most importantly, that life goes on despite adversity.  Often, wooden or straw figures supposed to represent Radeima II, the victor at Magridda, are burned or tied to rocks and cast in the sea.  The entire festival was suppressed by Hemecham and his successors for obvious reasons, but it has been remembered and reinstated by the clergy of Niiraun since the fall of the Empire, and Dagaekal makes no moves to stop it, instead personally sponsoring many games and feasts throughout the celebration.[/spoiler]

Economy

[spoiler]Gadiran has no currency, and taxes are levied in kind, whether it is crops or fish from peasants, public labor from the urban commoners, or rare goods and precious metals from merchants and traders.  Dagaekal maintains a large treasury of various goods both pirated and collected, with which he supplies his army and pays for the upkeep of Aemun.  Pharesai pha are only occasionally found in Gadiran, and play no large part in Gadiranin trade.

The trade in Gadiran concerns three parties, with the Gadiranin acting as intermediaries between the foreign merchants and the Greka.  The Greka trade saltwater pearls, seaweed, and polished shells to the Gadiranin, in exchange for copper tools, weapons, and trinkets.  The Gadiranin make nets from the seaweed, once cured, and use them to harvest fish and collect Tourichel shells, which are crushed to make the brilliant orange dye that Gadiran is famous for.  The Gadiranin trade their fish and dye, as well as pearls and shells from the Greka, to foreign merchants in exchange for metal, wood, grain, and dried fruit.  The incense trade was also once quite popular here, but since the fall of the Empire and the closing of the Serpent of Gadiran this has dried up.

The importing of food to Gadiran is not to suggest that nobody farms; on the contrary, many villages in the interior are farming villages.  Their output, however, is not much more than enough to feed themselves, and the continued existence of Aemun at its present size (though it is now only half the size it was at its peak) requires the importing of foodstuffs from abroad.[/spoiler]

Magic

[spoiler]Gadiran has never been a particularly popular locale for Arcanists to study, but all the same its unique situation and geography have resulted in a magical presence that rivals that of some of the more civilized lands of the Heartlands.

With many parts of Gadiran being quite isolated, the realm has always been a popular place of hermitage and solitary self-reflection for philosophers.  A traveler in Gadiran could easily come upon several such philosophers, or even small philosophical communities, carved out of the rocky landscape.  There is a school of philosophy known as the Sanctum Within that is based in Gadiran; its supplicants believe that all truth is to be found through contemplation of the self, and that the self is best listened to in an environment unpolluted by the distractions of civilization.  They maintain colonies in Gadiran that are largely outside the control of Dagaekal and his minions, though they satisfy him by remaining staunchy apolitical.

Arcanists are rare in Gadiran, the court Arcanists of the last Thusmara having fled during Dagaekalâ,¬,,¢s takeover.  One by the name of Reisman stayed, however, and before he died managed to train several apprentices in Gadiran.  Several of these are now in the court of Dagaekal, while others went abroad to other pursuits.  Other arcanists may be found in Gadiran on rare occasion, usually as adventurers or agents of their order.

Druids do exist in Gadiran, usually of Amlaree, Eyloshan, and Gelmine, but they do not usually stay long in Aemun under Dagaekalâ,¬,,¢s watchful eye.  Dagaekal distrusts them, as they do him, but the ruler of Aemun does his best to not interfere with the machinations of the agents of the Nymph Goddesses, whatever those might be.

Redbinders are subject to the usual prejudice that the common folk have against them, but are also greatly feared â,¬' and thus hated â,¬' by Dagaekal.  Such unpredictable elements are undesirable for an ordered tyrant like Dagaekal, and he quickly places any that he finds on the next ship for another land, wherever that might be.  This is not, altogether, a very unpopular policy among the people, who are generally unfavorable to the prospect of Redbinders in their midst.[/spoiler]

Culture and Food

[spoiler]The Gadiranin are viewed as sea-loving and backwards people by other humans of the Heartlands, and this is in part true â,¬' the people of Gadiran have little contact with the world outside, except for their sailors recruited by foreign navies and merchants.  Despite this, their culture is not terribly alien, mostly because of the mixed ethnic stock of the Gadiranin people.  Different Gadiranin will have different accents and somewhat different customs, though these are usually shared within Gadiranâ,¬,,¢s small villages.  Because they are all descended from travelers and colonists, they are generally accepting of all kinds of strangers, and usually not at all interested by even a Saulzarel or Halfling â,¬' they have had exposure to many different people and races over their history.

Gadiranin are known for their drab, purposeful clothing, adorned only with orange sashes and bands or strings of pearls (both sexes).  Great numbers of such pearl-strings indicate wealth and social standing among the Gadiranin, to the point where upper class merchants are practically draped in them.  Clothes tend to be thick and bulky to keep out wind and rain, and most Gadiranin wear hooded mantles with their clothing.

The Gadiranin have borrowed much of their culinary tradition from the Greka, and this makes them somewhat notorious for eating things that foreign humans find repulsive, in particular large amounts of raw fish and shellfish, pickled eel (a delicacy), and a kind of smoked fish oil in just about every dish.  It is a common joke that Gadiranin never cook anything, and that anything can be made into a delicacy in Gadiran by smothering it in fish oil and seasoning it with fish eggs.  This is, again, only partially true.  The Gadiranin enjoy a hot, salted (and supposedly medicinal) seaweed tea they call Seafoam Tea, or usually just â,¬Å"foamâ,¬Â for short.  The Maryans especially find this beverage singularly vile, and Maryan merchants and sailors refer to it as â,¬Å"keel dregs.â,¬Â  Much of Aemunâ,¬,,¢s food, however, is imported, and its citizens have somewhat more â,¬Å"traditionalâ,¬Â diets.

The Gadiranin typically live in thick-walled round stone huts, sunken halfway below the ground, to minimize the danger of damage from storms, wind, and lightning.  In the interest of saving space, homes and buildings in Aemun are built in a square fashion, and are usually fully above ground (otherwise the builders would have to excavate through solid rock).  As might be expected, few buildings in Gadiran have windows.[/spoiler]

Cities and Towns

[spoiler]The only settlement of any significant size in Gadiran is Aemun, at a population of around 8 thousand.  At its peak during the years of the incense trade, it boasted a population of near 17 thousand, though many of these were merchants that only stayed on a seasonal basis.  Aemun forms the shape of a great crescent around the Cove of Aemun, which is sheltered by natural rock formations from the frequent storms of the open sea.  The terrain slopes from the jagged hills around the Cove down to the waterâ,¬,,¢s edge, and thus there is no flat place to build â,¬' the city has been carved out of the rock itself, the buildings resting on broad terraces linked by ramped streets and narrow stairs.  Some buildings span multiple terrace levels, with entrances on different floors.  With the city much smaller than it once was, many vacant houses in Aemun have been torn down over the years and replaced with farming plots.[/spoiler]

Sites of Interest

[spoiler]
The Rock of Aemun â,¬' Dominating the city of Aemun is the Rock of Aemun, a great stone pillar that forms one side of the Coveâ,¬,,¢s mouth.  It was hollowed out during the days of the Exarchate into a sizeable fortress, and despite its age it still functions very well in its intended role.  The Rock overlooks the harbor and the city, and is accessible through either a flagstone-paved road that goes around the cove or several tunnels that link the citadel to various points within the city.  All these entrances are heavily guarded; the Rock of Aemun is now the personal redoubt of the Zara Dagaekal, who rules all of Gadiran from it.

The Serpent of Gadiran and the Twin Holds â,¬' The Serpent of Gadiran is a 22 mile tunnel under the neck of Gadiran designed to accommodate ships seeking to travel from Siyan and the southern Inner Sea to the coasts of Oud Miran.  The tunnel is wide enough to allow two galleys to pass side by side, though they would have to take their masts and rigging down to fit.  At two places along the tunnel, the tunnelâ,¬,,¢s ceiling was removed to let the light of the sun in, and at these places the tunnel expands into a canyon-like way station, with supplies, ports, and lodging for sailors needing some time in the sunlight.  These two way stations are known as the Twin Holds, walled trading stations built deep in the mountainous neck of the peninsula.  Now, the tunnel is inaccessible, filled with the rotting hulks of long abandoned ships, the Twin Holds long since left to ruin.  There are rumors of foul creatures that have made the bleak stretch of tunnel their home.

High Watch â,¬' The High Watch is an ancient monastery built by the Shadan before the Manifest Ruin that is used as a temple of Niiraun and a sacrificial site to this day.  It is the principle temple of Aemun, situated on a rocky crag above the city.  The priests of the High Watch, who call themselves the Farseeing Disciples, are a secretive order (befitting clergy of Niiraun) rumored to keep a great hoard of ancient texts and documents, supposedly dating back to times even before the Ruin.  They are active in the society of Aemun and keep track of the calendar and holy days for the Aemunin people.

The Singing Font â,¬' A holy place of Amlaree in the interior of Gadiran, the Singing Font is a simple domed stone temple built around a clear spring with (some say) magical properties.  The water, which is always quite warm, is said to grant good luck to those who drink it, and the spring itself makes an inexplicable high-pitched â,¬Å"singingâ,¬Â sound at all times (hence its name).  The Font and the grove around it are cared for by a small group of druids, whose members are constantly changing as they leave and arrive for reasons only they can say.

Cha-Ephayri â,¬' Cha-Ephayri is the principle fortress of the old Gadiranin border with the rest of Azia.  It was the headquarters of Dagaekal and his frontier army until he stormed Aemun.  Now, only a small contingent of soldiers keeps watch there, but the hold has become a wilderness outpost for adventurers and explorers in the area, providing room and food for a fee.  It is said that the master of the hold has managed to train an Ephayri, who are present everywhere in the environs of the fortress, and any wishing to trade in the creatures or their eggs are advised to come here.

Chambers of the Higher Self â,¬' â,¬Å"The Chamber,â,¬Â as it is known to outsiders, is the isolated academy of the Sanctum Within, a philosophical school dedicated to the pursuit of a higher metal and physical state through reflection and self-knowledge.  They are welcoming to visitors, so long as they behave themselves, and will freely take in any initiate who sits and meditates in front of their gate, without moving or speaking, in rain or sun, for three straight days.  They are quite insular people, though they occasionally send zealots out into the world to inspire others and combat material decadence.  There is a movement growing within the order to oppose Dagaekal and his stone-fisted materialism, but so far voices of caution and reason have prevailed.

The Pearl Caverns â,¬' These magnificent grottoes are the only settlement of Greka in Gadiran that lies at least partially above water.  Located on the eastern â,¬Å"fingersâ,¬Â of the Gadiranin coastline, the Greka here are far more welcoming to strangers than others of their kind (though even this isnâ,¬,,¢t saying much).  Here, the Greka trade pearls, shells, and their crafts of the sea to those with metal trinkets to barter.  The Greka keep caves full of squid here, which they extract ink from and sell to scholars, sages, and arcanists wishing high-quality ink for papyrus scrolls and parchments.
[/spoiler]

I thought I'd post a rough map here - this isn't my newest one, but it's the only one I have on hand, an old sketched-out map of the continent of Jadanar.  It's useful in that it has the names of all the regions of the continent on it.  For reference, it also has the borders of the Grand Embadran Empire and the Sarfeir Dominion (aka Empire of the Red Claw) sketched out in color as they would have appeared at the maximum extent of each empire.  Note that they overlap in some areas - The empires did not coexist, with the Embadran Empire founded several generations after the fall of the Sarfeir Dominion.

The Sarfeir Dominion is in Red, the Grand Embadran Empire is in Blue.  Their capitals are indicated by dots of the same color, though in practice the capital of the Grand Embadran Empire was really wherever the Malechus happened to be.

One can also see the regions that make up the Dominate of Niirda in the bottom right corner (Thus Niirda and Eid Niirda, plus a few surrounding regions).

Note the tiny "X" near the top of the map - this is an indication of the center of the world disk.  The edge is not far from the southern edge of the map.  Generally, the world gets hotter as one moves away from the center of the disk.

EDIT: Hosting problems...

Some quick background on a particularly dark time in Ralum's history, the Dream Rending.

The Dream Rending

[spoiler]
If Shadan chronicles can be believed, there have been monsters on Ralum ever since the long dead age of the Progenitors, when the Firsts created legions of fell creatures to ruin and set the very world aflame.  They failed, but their progeny still wander Ralum, both above and below the surface.

Since those days, however, there has never been such a strange influx of terrible beasts as great as the world-encompassing event known as the Dream Rending, a time of upheaval that made its mark on all Ralum.  During the Dream Rending, nightmares ruled the minds of mortals, and the very stuff of dreams became living, breathing flesh.  The reasons for the Dream Rendingâ,¬,,¢s occurrence are still unknown, though many will venture a guess.  Some say the Firsts have â,¬Å"returnedâ,¬Â or that they rebelled but were again crushed by the powers that be.  Others told tales of a deathly pale maiden that appeared in the dreams of many, a woman soundlessly resting on the floor of a darkly lit sea, whose nightmares terrorized the world.  The truth may never be known.

The trouble began with nightmares.  All the mortals of Ralum, elder and slave races alike, began having terrible nightmares each night.  At night, the cities of the mortal races resounded with the crying of infants, for even the newly born were subject to this bizarre sorcery.  At the same time, people began to see terrible creatures with their waking eyes, stalking about on the edge of the civilized realms, which seemed to be reflections of the evil visions within mortal minds.  It was said that the nightmares were becoming alive; a hermit would come into town and tell a tale of a great and beastly yellow-haired wolf that he had dreamed of, only to be found days later torn to pieces in his secluded house, with scraps of yellow fur upon what remained of his body.  As the Rending worsened, the cities of mortals were virtually under siege.  Even great walled cities did not escape the plight, as despite their defenses the guards would find victims of the nightmares each morning, slain despite the fact that the walls had remained inviolate.

The great city of Tarmesmoun, the largest city in Kiosha, was consumed in the third month of the Rending.  Desperate people began to turn against one another, and in one bloody night the entire population of the city was butchered.  Some fell to the beasts and some to their crazed neighbors, but none escaped â,¬' a messenger from Aicaioun arrived to find the sky over the city darkened by thousands of ravens and vultures, with the gates still locked from the inside.  Tarmesmoun â,¬' or The Wailing City as it is now called (from the cries of the massive flight of birds that once hovered above it) â,¬' has never been reoccupied.

Elsewhere, people fled towns and villages for the cities, only to be turned back by city folk in such fear of monsters that they would not open the gates even for others.  The rulers of the Heartlands were powerless to do anything about it; this was during the darkest time of the Years of Swift Arrows, where petty warlords and Zaras battled each other for supremacy.  The Dream Rending caused the collapse of the Grand Exarchate, when the Exarch was slain in the night by an enormous, black, ridge-backed serpent that had somehow manifested in his private chambers.  This provided the perfect opportunity for the dissenters who had long been waiting for their chance to overthrow him, and the Exarchate descended into civil war.

The Dream Rending was not confined to the Heartlands.  In the Shadan Dominion of Niirda, monstrous creatures chased the Sheinspeakers themselves from the Great Archive, and made it into an unholy warren of unspeakable terrors that preyed upon the surrounding Shadan cities.  Around this time, the inexplicable curse of the Bharim first struck, strange magic that made some Bharimâ,¬,,¢s eyes turn a fierce crimson and made them into insane killing machines â,¬' a curse that still exists today.

Across the waves, the magnificent nation of Sabassl felt the effects of the Rending most strongly.  The ruling caste of the Sabasslians was known as the Dreamers, spellcasters with astonishing power over the mind.  Every last one went mad during the Rending, and in the process killed the majority of Sabasslâ,¬,,¢s population.  Most of those that survived took to the seas and fled their ancestral land, arriving in Jadanar two years later, where they began their bloody crusade against the â,¬Å"heathenâ,¬Â Ulabrians to acquire a realm of their own.

Few know exactly what the effect of the Rending was in the Inner Realm; this was long before the reign of the Prince of Stars, and no central authority existed to record the events that transpired.  Perhaps the scattered residents of that dark place recall what the Rending did to them, but few travel to the surface to speak about it.

After more than four months of this terror, the Dream Rending inexplicably stopped.  There was no warning when it started, and none when it ended â,¬' the nightmares simply ceased.  Though many of the monsters of the Rending remained, they slunk off into the wilderness, where they remain to this day.  None can say exactly why the Rending struck â,¬' nor if it will strike again.[/spoiler]

I really need to read through this setting. Just thumbing through it, doesn't do the effort you've clearly put into Ralum any justice. From what little I've read, this seems very promising and entertaining. There are just too many homebrew worlds to read through all of them, and keep them strait. I've mostly focused on Godswalk, Datrik, and Orden's Mysteries so far, and worked on Convergence, Sulos, and Cebegia...I've got to find time to check this out though; it looks great.

-Nasty-

I know exactly what you mean.  I really wish I had the time to read through all the other settings on this board - over the summer, when I don't have essays and reading every day, I intend to.  For now I'll just content myself with releasing more information here as I go along.

So, a brief preview... I plan to complete the following things soon.  They're all basically written out, but a lot of Ralum's material is scattered in various documents and oddly titled folders, so it takes time to piece together something presentable.  Coming up in the series of descriptions of the Heartlands:

- The Narsuran Kingdom of the Two Crowns
- Parzasa, Land of Mists
- Inmaryolayeh Pharesayi (The Divinely Manifest Empire of the People of Pharesaa)
- Aicaioun, City of Lances

Also, I have some histories of past empires I can post:

- The Grand Exarchate / Parroganese Guardianate
- The Sarfeir Dominion (Empire of the Red Claw)

Finally, I'm about halfway done with a feature on the "Eight Wonders of Jadanar."  Once I do these things, maybe a change of focus will be in order, to the Scions or the Nymph Goddesses.  I love writing history, but too much tires even me out.

Narsura

The Narsurans have ample reason to be proud.  Once refugees fleeing from the Sarfeir Dominion, known to humans as the Empire of the Red Claw, the people of Narsura now control the largest state in the Heartlands, and have been important players in the history of Embadra since their arrival.  The Narsuans, more than any other people of the Heartlands, consider themselves to be one unified people, living in their one new homeland, bowing before the might of one throne that has endured since the migration of their ancestors â,¬' the Throne of the Two Crowns, upon which sits their wise and glorious King.

Nomenclature and Language

[spoiler]More than any other land in the heartlands, ethnic Narsurans and those who live in Narsura are essentially the same entity.  Narsurans tend to be somewhat elitist about their culture and Kingdom, and while they may live abroad, usually never consider anyplace other than Narsura to be their home.  Most people of Embadran or other foreign descent living in Narsura may be considered neighbors and friends by â,¬Å"trueâ,¬Â Narsurans, but they are never considered Narsurans themselves.  Narsurans are the least likely of any human group to intermarry with other â,¬Å"racesâ,¬Â of humans.  Thus, when one speaks of a Narsuran, one is referring to a person of Narsuran descent â,¬' even a person who has lived in Narsura for decades is never considered a Narsuran, and a person born and raised in Narsura but having Embadran parentage may be only grudgingly referred to as â,¬Å"Narsuranâ,¬Â by the natives themselves.

â,¬Å"Narsuraâ,¬Â refers specifically to the stretch of land running from Inar Daka and Ibrizaea in the north to the broad plains of Ezannum in the south, from the coast of the Inner Sea to the Mountains of Ash and the wooded hills of Alesira.  Under the Grand Embadran Empire, this area was divided into two provinces: â,¬Å"Savar Narsuraâ,¬Â (Lower Narsura, in the south) and â,¬Å"Narsura-Thoeraâ,¬Â (Narsura-of-the-Fire, in the north).  Both are known as Narsura together.

The â,¬Å"Kingdom of the Two Crownsâ,¬Â refers to the period of time when the Narsurans ruled virtually all of Embadra; the King wore the crown of Narsura and the crown of Marmeira (then the seat of the Malechid Empire).  Now, the King rules over only one â,¬Å"foreignâ,¬Â land, Alesira, but this is apparently good enough to merit the continuing use of the â,¬Å"two crowns.â,¬Â  The actual crown of the Marmeiran Zaras is still in the royal treasury of Narsura; the Kaytine Emperors of the Grand Embadran Empire saw no need to highlight any connection with the old Malechid-Marmeiran dynasts.

The Narsurans speak Narsuran, a dialect of Ulabrian, one of the languages of the distant Northlands where their people are from.  Narsuran and Ulabrian are entirely different from the languages of Embadra (Augeidhan and Ayan), but are closely related to Sheinemar, the language of the Sarfeir.  Narsurans and Ulabrians can understand each other fully, and a Narsuran can understand around 50% of the Sheinemar she hears (and vice versa).  Many Narsurans also speak at least some Low Ayan, the language of nearby Marya and Kaytium, but few common people know more than a few simple phrases.[/spoiler]

Geography and Climate

[spoiler]Narsura is a large country with many different kinds of terrain.  The east of the country, by the Mountains of Ash, is primarily hilly scrubland that becomes sparse semi-alpine forests as one goes further north.  The â,¬Å"centerâ,¬Â of Narsua, running north to south, is a broad and fertile plain with numerous meandering rivers that travel from the Mountains of Ash to the Inner Sea.  Near the Strait of Marya, there are temperate forests of tall trees much like those on Marya itself.  In the extreme north of Narsura, the terrain becomes the same cold, barren desert wasteland that defines the Inar Daka.  Narsura is a generally dry land, receiving little rainfall, but its many rivers supply its simple farmers with all the water they need to support their civilization.  Sometimes, in the depths of winter, snow will blow down from the Inar Daka into northern Narsura, though it does not last.[/spoiler]

Inhabitants

[spoiler]Most of Narsuraâ,¬,,¢s inhabitants are humans, but increasingly the northernmost part of Narsura is seeing semi-nomadic Sarfeir settling in sparsely populated areas.  As the Narsurans still remember their exodus through the hostile lands of the Sarfeir, these settlers are not welcome and their villages are occasionally sacked and burned by Narsuran warriors.  Without the population in the northern reaches to truly check the Sarfeir advance, however, the Kingdom has begun to accept a limited Sarfeir presence in their territory.  Other races are not common in Narsura, as the Kingdom is considered to be by and for the human (and specifically Narsuran) race.[/spoiler]

History

[spoiler]Little is known of Narsuraâ,¬,,¢s history before the Manifest Ruin, but it is safe to say that the land was probably Shadan controlled and settled (though not technically part of the Dominion of Resheia).  It is possible that it was primarily home to Sarfeir before the betrayal of their people.  After the Ruin, Narsura was known to the people of the Malechid Empire as a large but dangerous land, populated by various savage creatures and roving bands of Sarfeir.  The Grand Exarchate maintained a few coastal colonies and trading posts in Narsura, but these eventually were overshadowed by the Maryan city-states and eventually abandoned.

During the Aushachalid dynasty of the Malechid Empire, the Narsurans â,¬' then known as Marekans, living in the Northlands â,¬' fought a war with the Sarfeir army of the Dominate Seikraz II.  The Marekans were utterly defeated, and one of the larger Marekan tribes fled east along the coast of Ulfar to Inar Daka, where they attempted to scrounge a meager living from the bleak landscape.  A generation later, the new Dominate of the Sarfeir, Seikraz III, again made war on the Narsurans and drove them south into Embadra, attacking them again and again as they fled his wrath.  Eventually, they settled near the Strait of Marya, where they were able to rally and make a stand against the Sarfeir that secured them a temporary respite.

The Narsurans remained a regional tribe in the area for generations, constantly fighting with the Sarfeir of the Dominion and on almost equally bad terms with the Grand Exarchate, whose Exarch Amhameimar had concluded an alliance with Seikraz III.  The Narsurans began their rise to power through an alliance with the Marmeiran-Malechid Empire; while the Zara Basheilga Crimsonhand waged a bloody and inconclusive war with the Exarchate in Parzasa and Kiosha, the Narsurans were much more successful and conquered the northern half of Marya.  The Exarch, after driving Basheilga out of Kiosha, responded by marching on Narsura from Kaytium, but his army was routed by a Narsuran army which used a large force of chariots for the first time in the history of the Heartlands.  Chariots were an invention of the Northmen and had been brought to Embadra by the Narsurans, but it was only after this battle that they gained widespread acceptance by the Marmeiran-Malechid Empire and the Grand Exarchate alike.

Their leader, Hefezal, was declared King of Narsura by his rejoicing subjects, and using the might of his chariot armies made war on the Sarfeir in Narsura, causing them great casualties.  His successor, Hefezal II â,¬Å"Sarfeirbane,â,¬Â managed to expel the Sarfeir entirely from Narsura.  With this deed accomplished, Hefezal II turned south, where the Marmeiran-Malechid Empire had fallen into chaos after their Zara, Modrebeshaf Sunburst, was assassinated.  In a series of brilliant campaigns, Hefezal crushed both the armies of the various factions of Embadra and the Grand Exarchate, causing the Exarchate to sue for peace and being expelled from all their Embadran dominions save the coast of Parzasa.  Hefezal was crowned a second time with the crown of the Malechid Empire, and established the Narsuran Kingdom of the Two Crowns.

His son inherited his empire, but the Narsurans were stretched too thin to control all of Embadra, and the inability of Hefezal III to control his far-flung empire resulted in the Years of Swift Arrows, a period of violent chaos that engulfed southern Embadra and the Exarchate itself (which fell for a time into civil war) for nearly sixty years.  The Narsurans gradually lost control of Marmeira, Ezannum, and Kaytium, keeping only Alesira and northern Marya.

The Kingdom of Narsura remained strong, but was at odds with the new Kaytine dynasty of the Malechid Empire over lands in Ezannum, and was neutral in their wars with the Exarchate.  The Kaytine Zara Radiema II â,¬Å"the Greatâ,¬Â eventually triumphed over the Exarchate at the Battle of Magridda, only two years after the Sarfeir Dominion was overthrown, having been crippled years before by the Sabasslian invasions of the northern lands known as the Wars of the Tide.  The Narsurans took control of Inar Daka and eventually managed to conquer Feihera from the Sarfeir, but successive Kings failed to capture all of Marya, and in their attempts wasted many lives and resources on trying to subjugate the fiercely independent city-states there.  When the Zara Radiema V was succeeded by his idealistic and ambitious son, Halkadrim, Narsura was caught unprepared for a serious war.

Halkadrim, known to all now as â,¬Å"the Boundless,â,¬Â conquered Narsura as well as nearly all of the Heartlands in his quest to create an eternal â,¬Å"Embadran Ascendancy.â,¬Â  Narsura proclaimed its independence again upon his death, and the Kingdom allied with Talbregon against his brother Hemecham as the two siblings fought for control of their fatherâ,¬,,¢s empire.  Hemecham, however, was ultimately victorious, and the Narsuran King was forced to kneel before him.  Instead of dissolving the monarchy, however, the Malechus (emperor) Hemecham â,¬Å"the Victoriousâ,¬Â made the King of Narsura simply pay homage to him, and Narsura was split into two Thusmarej (provinces), with the King ruling the southern province as a semiautonomous domain, and a Thusmara (provincial governor) of the Malechus ruling the northern half.  Though some rebellions occurred, generally the Narsuran monarchy remained cowed into subservience by the power of the Grand Embadran Empire.

Narsura again quickly regained its sovereignty after the Great Wave, and its leaders have managed to reunify the realm and add Alesira to their empire.  The Kingdom of the Two Crowns is now the largest and one of the most powerful states in the Heartlands, and may have its eyes on further expansion.[/spoiler]

Politics and Power

[spoiler]The power of the King of Narsura is absolute.  There are no noble Narsurans except for others within the Kingâ,¬,,¢s family, no councils or deliberative bodies, and no regional governors except for local civilian magistrates.  Throughout history, the leaders of Narsura have used this power both for good and evil, wisely and foolishly, but in the end they are supported in their power by their people, who believe in the near-sacred nature of the Kingâ,¬,,¢s office and hold up the monarchy as being as much a part of being a Narsuran as speaking the language or having Narsuran parentage.  Those who oppose the monarchy or the monarch personally are not considered true Narsurans.

The Narsurans are present in the politics of Embadra and the Heartlands, but only when it suits their immediate interest â,¬' they have little cause to sign the kinds of â,¬Å"good willâ,¬Â treaties that other powers often bandy about, and seldom sign trade agreements unless pressed by others.  Even the Maryans, their close neighbors, are still attempting to negotiate open trade with them after nearly 25 years of effort since the Great Wave.  The Kings of Narsura have always been suspicious of outsiders, and ever since the Kingdom of the Two Crowns controlled Embadra the Kings have seen fit to always address the Zaras of Embadra as their inferiors, which does nothing to endear them to the Embadran nations.

Under their current King, Enzedallad III, the Narsurans have expanded their military power by building the first serious fleet ever constructed by the Kingdom.  This worries the Maryans to no end, and has created speculation that the Narsurans intend on continuing their conquests of their neighbors and bringing all of Marya under their control, long the dream of past Kings.  Perhaps towards this end, Enzedallad has unexpectedly begun to cultivate a relationship with Brensimar, the current Zara of Kaytium, though the diplomatic progress is slow.

Enzedallad is a young but promising monarch who inherited the throne from his father, Hefezal VI, only five years ago.  He has showed an interest in expanding Narsuran power and influence abroad in a way that many Narsuran kings have hesitated to do.  He recently caused an uproar in his own country by taking as his Queen the lady Anmalea, the daughter of the former Thusmara of Alesira, who is only partly Narsuran herself.  Convinced that this was a good decision despite the backlash, however, the King faced down his detractors and did not come out much the worse for wear.  Whether his subjects will be as forgiving if he backs a son from this marriage as his heir â,¬' who would conceivably be not 100% Narsuran â,¬' is another matter.[/spoiler]

Legal

[spoiler]The Malechus Hemecham did not require the Narsuran Thusmar ruled by its King to adopt the Code of Hemecham, and the Narsurans have kept much the same legal code down the generations since their exile from Mareka.  The Narsuran legal system is a combination of local tradition and kingdom-wide law; the individual â,¬Å"peoplesâ,¬Â of Narsura, each referring to a different tribe from the ancient days when the Narsurans lived in Mareka, each have their own subtly different legal codes enforced by local leaders.  Serious crimes, such as murder, treason, and desertion, are â,¬Å"crimes against the Kingâ,¬Â and considered to be affronts to the person of the King himself.  Such crimes are tried by the Kingâ,¬,,¢s â,¬Å"Guard of the Path,â,¬Â made up of soldier-judges that travel throughout the realm to try and execute those responsible for crimes against the royal person.

If guilt cannot be ascertained by local leaders, often the accused must undergo a physical trial of some kind, to prove that the gods are on their side and thus ensure their innocence.  This is vital, as generally speaking, the accused in Narsura are considered guilty unless they are proven otherwise.  The individual trial depends on the crime and the traditions of the area of Narsura in which the accused stands trial.  Disputes over property or family are often resolved in a similar manner.

The Narsurans see their code of justice as superior to the Code of Hemecham, and a criminal is seldom allowed to cite the law of his land in an appeal â,¬' the Kingâ,¬,,¢s law is no more lenient to outsiders than to Narsurans, and ignorance is no excuse.  Local leaders enforcing law may even be more antagonistic towards outsiders.[/spoiler]

Religion

[spoiler]The religion of the original Marekans was one of multitudinous spirits and guardians, similar to that of the Sarfeir in Ulfar.  Religion was the one facet of Narsuran life that Hemecham felt he could not allow to be different, and embarked on a program that continued throughout the early Empire to replace Narsuraâ,¬,,¢s complicated pantheon of deities with Malechism, the â,¬Å"state religionâ,¬Â of the Grand Embadran Empire.  Bloodline temples were established in Narsura, namely the Temple of the Foreseeing Conqueror (Hefezalâ,¬,,¢s lineage) and the Temple of the Persevering One (the bloodline of the first Narsuran leaders from before the monarchy).  Despite this, most Narsurans still keep small shrines in their houses to placate various unnamed spirits of nature, life, and fortune.

The Narsurans have been the slowest in the Heartlands to accept the faith of the Nymph Goddesses, primarily because the personification of nature into twelve beings conflicts with their proto-Ulabrian heritage of considering nature to be a web of small spirits and powers.  King Enzedallad III has so far prohibited the construction of any temples to the Goddesses, and does not allow their followers to hold rank in court or other civil positions.[/spoiler]

Economy

[spoiler]Narsura is a largely self-sufficient country that easily sustains itself with agriculture.  It has respectable local sources of copper, but relies on tin-arsenic mines in northern Marya to produce the bronze required by its armies.  Despite Narsuraâ,¬,,¢s long shoreline, fishing is uncommon.  Alesira provides the timber necessary for all manner of royal projects, including the recently built Royal Fleet.

Narsura has no currency circulated among the common people, but merchants and priests (as well as wealthier farmers and soldiers) keep track of goods exchange by means of thin, cylindrical copper bars etched with various symbols and shapes.  These are considered to be worth one pound of silver from the Royal Treasury, and the Treasury honors all such exchanges.  To prevent fraud, each bar is inscribed with an invisible, magical seal by the Kingâ,¬,,¢s court Arcanists, which can only be seen by magical detection.

Narsura produces a large surplus of silver, though for the most part this is stockpiled to back up currency, rather than traded abroad.  Though it is highly sought after in foreign lands, the monarchy is loath to trade any away at all.[/spoiler]

Magic

[spoiler]Narsura has an average number of various spellcasters for a Heartlands country; because it is such an insular society, few spellcasters come from abroad, and few native spellcasters study elsewhere.  As a result, there are many well-known (among Arcansists) quirks of Narsuran arcane spellcasting that can identify an Arcanist as Narsuran.  

Philosophers exist, but are not as common as in Embadra, where they have been encouraged and cultivated for hundreds of years.  Zealots are similarly present, but uncommon in Narsura.

Druids, if found, are immediately exiled from Narsura because of the suspicion of the monarchy and population towards the Nymph Goddesses.  Despite this, many still travel here, especially from Asir Embadra, in the hopes of expanding the faith to what is currently a very close-minded people.

Narsura is one of the few lands without much prejudice at all towards Redbinders; several noted heroes from Narsuraâ,¬,,¢s early history were Redbinders, and it is generally viewed as a blessing rather than a curse.  Of course, this favor extends only to Narsurans.[/spoiler]

Culture and Food

[spoiler]Narsurans are viewed as arrogant elitists by foreigners, but this is mostly exaggeration.  Individual Narsurans are suspicious of outsiders, but generally no more arrogant in their personal dealings than a Kaytine or Pharesai.  Most of the population consists of poor farmers, with very little dealings or experiences at all with outsiders.  Narsurans are moderately suspicious of other â,¬Å"peoplesâ,¬Â within Narsura as well; regional dialects and customs persist, despite their long shared history and the fact that the peoples of Narsura no longer occupy strictly homogeneous physical territories within Narsura.

Narsurans wear clothing after the custom of the Northmen â,¬' hide breeches, fur caps, and wide, thick belts.  Even Narsuran women wear breeches, something most other peoples of the Heartlands consider highly unusual.  The customary dress of a Narsuran usually includes a long leather vest, worn over the shirt, which extends almost to the knees, usually embroidered with all manner of geometric designs and stylized animals.  The style of vest usually indicates the personâ,¬,,¢s heritage within the clans of Narsura.  The buttons on the vest often indicate that personâ,¬,,¢s social standing, with farmers wearing wooden toggles or bone buttons, and soldiers or servants of the King wearing copper or silver (only those authorized by the King may wear silver).

Narsurans, being a largely agricultural and pastoral people, have thick food based on grains, legumes, and root vegetables.  Their once-nomadic lifestyle shows in their cuisine, which is generally simple.  Common Narsurans combine many ingredients into a kind of barley porridge; those slightly better off will bake various vegetables and tubers together with chunks of meat all together, and serve it in a broad, flat dish.  Almost every meal is served with a mixed-grain flatbread common among all Narsurans, which is used as side dish and utensil together.  Narsurans enjoy goatâ,¬,,¢s milk as a common drink, especially a fermented yoghurt-like drink (called Abirm) that is famed for staying good for astonishing amounts of time.  Foreigners generally find Narsuran food to be not truly objectionable, but most Embadrans describe it as terribly bland.  Narsurans consider seafood to be the domain of beggars and the destitute, and even commoners avoid it whenever possible.  Most Narsurans, especially important ones, consider being served fish a grave insult.

Most Narsurans live in square, single-room cottages built out of local materials, often sod or woven branches and reeds covered in dried mud.  Clay bricks are less common, but are frequently used for civic or more important buildings.[/spoiler]

Cities and Towns

[spoiler]Narsura has no large cities, and the larger towns it does have are not very common; most of the population is rural.  The King and his servants regularly move between two royal residences; while these are important centers of power, they are not true cities, and they have at most a population of a few hundred stewards and caretakers when the monarchy is not in residence.

Esmira and Fazumal are the two royal residences of the Two Crowns.  During the winter, the King and his entourage govern from Esmira, directly inland from the Strait of Marya, where the Royal Treasury and the barracks of the Guard of the Path are held, as well as the Temple of the Foreseeing Conqueror.  During the summer months, the monarchy moves to Fazumal, a splendid palace near Alesira amid the vast private hunting grounds of the King.

The largest city in Narsura is the port city of Hanma, just north and east of the Strait.  Nearly all of the limited trade of Narsura flows through its port.  It is the main harbor of the Royal Fleet, as well.  Hanma has around 8,000 inhabitants, including a semi-permanent population of Aicai, Maryans, Embadrans, and Gadiranin that occupy a specific part of the city known as the â,¬Å"Outland Quarter.â,¬Â  This is the best place in the city to make deals and commence trade, as the Narsurans in the rest of the city are ambivalent at best about the cityâ,¬,,¢s trading functions.

Two other towns of note are Tormira and Saol.  Tormira is a town of five thousand on the river Tor, which runs to the Spur of Shards.  Tormira is considered the last outpost of â,¬Å"civilizedâ,¬Â Narsura, after which there exist only scattered villages, small towns, and military outposts, and certainly no cities.  It is the last way station for the rare caravan or exploration group that seeks to pass through Inar Daka into the Northlands.  Saol, a town of six thousand on the River Fas, is in the heart of Narsuraâ,¬,,¢s most productive agricultural valleys, and is a meeting place of traders and farmers from all over Narsura selling their wares to other Narsurans.  After harvest each year, the population of the town nearly doubles with all the traders and grain merchants, making Saol temporarily the largest town in Narsura.[/spoiler]

Sites of Interest

[spoiler]Fazumal Palace â,¬' The Palace Complex of Fazumal was built by Hefezal I, the first King of Narsura, in celebration of his 20th year of rule.  It is an enormous and splendid place, sprawling over many acres and surrounded by the verdant hills of the Royal Green, the hunting reserve of the King.  Each of the impressive clay-brick buildings is painted a different color, and all are covered with murals, frescoes, and paintings inside and out, on even the floors and ceilings.  Few are allowed here save the King and his servants, but an invitation is something highly sought after by all notable people of Narsura.

The Red Claw â,¬' Built as a fortress by the Seikraz dynasty of the Sarfeir Dominion, the Red Clawâ,¬,,¢s real name is â,¬Å"Kuzasimt,â,¬Â meaning â,¬Å"The Wise Crowâ,¬Â in Sheinemar.  Kuzasimt served the Dominion as a staging area for its incursions into the Heartlands, and later as a bulwark against Narsura until it finally fell to them.  As the only Dominion fortress or settlement of any size in the Heartlands, it was associated with the Sarfeir by most humans of the South, and was thus known by the same name that the humans called the Dominion (The Empire of the Red Claw).  It is not actually red, and in fact it was originally painted black.  The Narsurans used the fortress as an outpost for some years, until it was deemed too distant and too uneconomical to keep a garrison there.  Now, it lies empty, overseeing a bleak wasteland.  Occasionally, bands of itinerant Sarfeir or roaming adventurers use the grounds of the citadel as a stopping point, but rumors persist that the citadel has more to it that it seems, and most avoid the keep itself.

Temple of the Persevering One â,¬' This sizeable hilltop temple overlooks the Strait of Marya, at the place where the Narsurans were said to have driven back the Sarfeir for the first time since they were forced from their ancestral home in the North.  It is a monumental edifice of stone, shaped like a tall and gently sloping box without top or bottom, through which a gate stands always open on each side.  The outside of the structure is inscribed with enormous letters, detailing in Narsuran and High Ayan the migrations of the Narsuran people and their climactic fight against their oppressors.  On the inside â,¬Å"courtyard,â,¬Â there is a simple stone cubic ossuary about 10 feet on a side that is said to hold the bones of the leaders of each of the tribes of Narsura that fought that day.  The inside walls of the structure are carved with an impressive diorama of the battle.  It was once colored, but the paint has long since washed away.  Gathered around the Temple itself are numerous stone cottages and huts, where the priests of the Persevering One live, work, and pray.

The Spur of Shards â,¬' The Spur is a projection of dark rock from the mostly flat Narsuran coastline into the Inner Sea.  As the rock formations reach the water, they seem to splinter and crack, producing large rock â,¬Å"teethâ,¬Â that jut at odd angles from the water.  The wind makes eerie howling sounds as it whips between the shards, audible from miles around.  The Spur is a desolate place that few people ever travel, and it is perilous to shipping.  There is an old Narsuran folk tale that a Narsuran poet of old, named Sazamat, sought refuge in the Spur from a vengeful river spirit, whose daughter had fallen in love with the poet and had ran away with him.  According to the tale, Sazamat found a portal to an underground world in a hidden grotto, and the spirit still madly searches the shards for this secret entrance, howling with rage wherever he looks (thus the howling sounds made by the Spur).

The Steamwell - In the east of Narsura, the Mountains of Ash smoke constantly, occasionally disgorging their molten contents into the valleys below.  Several such mountains have a common channel for their lava, which terminates at a large lake called the Steamwell.  The Steamwell is very dead - every few months, lava pours into the lake, boiling a great part of it and killing most living things within.  During this time, the whole valley is filled with billowing steam, and often great clouds of it drift downwind to small villages nearby.  Strangely, the Steamwell is reportedly home to a colony of diminuitive demons the locals call "Steam-kin," who seem to be immune to the effect.  These demons are said in local legends to fight with similarly small lava-demons that come in whenever an eruption occurs, and fight for dominion over the lake.  Few people believe these rumors.[/spoiler]

So, yes, I'm back from a long hiatus.  More to come, in a (hopefully) more timely manner!

Parzasa will be next, one of the battlegrounds of Embadra.  In celebration of Embadra, here's a popular gladitorial-type event that Embadrans of all ages enjoy.

The Proving

[spoiler]When humans served as the thrall soldiers of the Shadan Dominions, one of their principal â,¬Å"free timeâ,¬Â pursuits was the Proving, ritual combat that served both to entertain and to further develop their martial skills.  Since then, the ritual has endured among the Embadrans, who have developed the once simple ritual into a cultural phenomenon that is witnessed on a regular basis by every Embadran that can spare the time.

The original Proving was not a public event, but rather a strictly controlled fight between two (or four) humans in a circle (usually just traced out in the dirt), surrounded by their fellow warriors.  As the combatants circled and fought, their compatriots outside the circle would yell, applaud, or jeer at the two in the center.  The objective of the fight differed from time to time, but in general there were three different â,¬Å"games:â,¬Â

- Defeat the Bodyguard.  Both combatants are given a folded throwing net and a single heavy dagger, which is weighted as to be impossible to throw effectively.  Two target dummies (which often look roughly like Bharim) are at opposing ends of the circle, which itself is marked by thick wooden posts every few feet.  The objective is to bury your dagger into the opponentâ,¬,,¢s target; whoever does so first is the winner.  Common strategies are to either dash by your opponent, attempting to dodge his net and reach his dummy, or to try and net your opponent and tie him to one of the circle posts, letting you â,¬Å"killâ,¬Â his target at your leisure.  Leaving the circle also counts as a loss, so sometimes opponents may simply try and push each other out.
- Throttle the Sorcerer.  For this event, one combatant (the Sorcerer) is given a dozen or so brightly colored darts (supposed to represent spells) and a crook (a hooked stave useful for tripping), while the other (the Warrior) is given a shield and several bolas.  The Sorcerer wears a grotesque bronze helm that covers the head, shoulders, and neck, made to look something like a Bharim.  The darts of the Sorcerer are barbed, but have a â,¬Å"rimâ,¬Â behind the barbed point to prevent them from penetrating beyond about an inch.  The Sorcerer wins by getting a fixed number of darts into his opponent; they are designed so that the opponent cannot pull them out himself easily without more serious injury.  His opponent, the Warrior, wins by throwing a bola around the neck of the Sorcerer, who is not actually harmed by the bola because of the heavy headdress.
- Subdue the Spearman.  Four combatants are separated into teams of two.  One in each team is given a tower shield, bronze helmet, and medium or heavy armor, but no weapon.  The other in each team wears no armor or shield, but carries a longspear with a hooked, unsharpened tip.  The objective is for the â,¬Å"shieldbearerâ,¬Â to pin the opposing teamâ,¬,,¢s â,¬Å"spear-carrierâ,¬Â in a grapple.  The spear-carriers themselves use their instruments to trip the opponents, attempting to maximize their attacks of opportunity.  They are usually very fast, dexterous men.  The shieldbearers are large, strong men who must be careful when they decide to â,¬Å"go in for the killâ,¬Â â,¬' a grapple is practically impossible unless they drop their immense body shield, leaving them vulnerable to the enemy team.

In all these games, actually attacking the enemy with a damaging attack is strictly forbidden; finesse is more valuable.  Attacks that do no damage, like trip, disarm, and bull rush maneuvers, are always legal.  Damage is generally only done by the Sorcererâ,¬,,¢s darts in the â,¬Å"Throttle the Sorcererâ,¬Â game (each dart deals one point), and by the shieldbearersâ,¬,,¢ grappling in the â,¬Å"Subdue the Spearmanâ,¬Â game (subdual damage).  Healers are always on hand to tend to wounds; though some injury is common in the Proving, deaths are quite rare.

The increased popularity of these games, in addition to the larger audiences they have acquired, has caused the Embadrans to make some changes over time.  Some different â,¬Å"gamesâ,¬Â are now a part of the Proving, including mass combat games, such as a group version of â,¬Å"Subdueâ,¬Â that pits a whole group of shieldbearers and spear-carriers against another group, with one spear-carrier on each side designated as the â,¬Å"target.â,¬Â  The games are appreciated greatly by the nobles and wealthy persons of Embadra, who often sponsor warriors and make enormous bets on the proceedings.  A warrior who is both successful and impressive to watch (some pageantry is a must) may find himself showered with gifts or favors by nobles.  Nobles are also on the lookout for new games that will be even more exciting to watch, and a skilled Proving promoter and inventor may be able to secure noble patronage.

The spectacle often includes chariot racing, which is especially popular in Marmeira.  A Marmeiran will be on an instantly good relationship with anyone who supports their same chariot-racing team, usually named after common or mythical animals.  More complex chariot games are also held, with charioteers having to hit hanging rings and catch them on their lances as they go by, or having to hit targets with a bow while speeding by them.

Magic is forbidden for contestants to use, mainly because of tradition â,¬' the Shadan never let the humans use magic â,¬' but the organizers of the Proving often bring Poets or Arcanists to especially large games to provide entertainment and keep the attention of the crowd by adding amazing effects to the races.  Illusionists are especially popular for their arts, one of the more common being the illusion of the wheels of chariots being on fire, or the darts of the â,¬Å"Sorcerersâ,¬Â appearing as glowing bolts.[/spoiler]

Parzasa

Parzasa has always been known as the battleground of nations and armies; its largest plain is called the Chariot Field.  Since the days of the Malechid dynasty, humans have fought over this land, and most assuredly many mean lie beneath its plains, hills, and pastures.  Nevertheless, Parzasa is not a barren wasteland â,¬' it is because of its bounty and prosperity that it has always been so coveted.  Parzasa has never been a unified land, with a unified people, but now a rebellion against their Marmeiran rulers has breached open the possibility of a Parzasan Zarate, creating an opportunity for the Land of Mists to become its own master for the first time in history.

[spoiler=Nomenclature]
Properly speaking, there are no Parzasan people in an ethnic sense.  Parzasa is simply the same of the region; most of its inhabitants are a mixed bunch of Embadrans and Augeidhans, with the largest minority Embadrans of Marmeiran and Ayan descent.  A â,¬Å"Parzasanâ,¬Â simply means someone who lives in Parzasa, though they are more likely to be called by the city or village they live nearest to.

Parzasans may speak Low Ayan (from Kaytium), High Ayan (from Marmeira), or Augeidhan, depending on where they live.  In Parsazaâ,¬,,¢s cities, many people can speak all of these languages, and generally converse in a strange fusion of all three that can be bewildering to other Embadrans and Kioshai.  Shadan and Pharalura can also be heard in Parzasan ports, where foreign merchants from those lands are commonplace.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Geography and Climate]
Parzasa is dominated in the east by warm, deciduous forests that spill over the border from Marmeira; this border is formed by the gentle slopes of the Eidgen Hills.  Along the coast, Parzasa is similar to Kaytium, with rolling hills and a â,¬Å"Mediterraneanâ,¬Â climate, though it is somewhat wetter here than in Kaytium.  During the autumn and winter, ocean mists blow in from the Sea of Parrogan, shrouding the coastal valleys in fog.  The interior of Parzasa is composed of several large plains, distinguished from the great plain of Ezannum by the fact that they are slightly hillier and have some occasional tree groves dotting the landscape.  In places in the interior of the country, warm marshes and bogs can be found extending for miles.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Inhabitants]
Parzasa is dominated by humans, but in the port cities there are a small minority of Shadan present, and Halflings can be found throughout the more accessible towns of the region.  Other races are practically unheard of here, save for at Three-Fangs, where Sarfeir dominate.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=History]
It is unclear exactly what role Parzasa played before the Manifest Ruin, but there were apparently already humans living as scattered shepherds and farmers when the Ayans and Kioshans first explored here.  Parzasa was the first addition to the Kaytine and Kioshan Guardianate, under the former Zara Parrogan, and it became an important part of the Grand Exarchate when the Guardianate received that distinction.  Eastern Parzasa was never really under the sway of the Exarchate, however, and its people enjoyed some nominal independence until the Marmeiran-Malechid Empireâ,¬,,¢s expansion in the region during the First Embadran War prompted them to ally with the Empire as a tributary state.  This, among other things, strained relations between the Exarchate and the Marmeiran Zarate.  The next two Embadran Wars saw the expansion of Marmeiran power into the interior of Parzasa, threatening the Augeidhan coastal communities in the region.  The Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s sudden move against the Zarate of Amsumei, an ally of the Marmeiran-Malechid Empire, prompted the Marmeiran Zara Kassulashaf Oathbreaker to invade Parzasa and quickly conquer the coastline from the Exarchate.  The Exarchate, however, claimed victory over the Marmeirans in Ezannum and eastern Kaytium, and when Modrebesha Olive Tree succeeded Kassulashaf as Zara, he made peace with the Exarchate by returning the coast of Parzasa to them.

During Modrebashaâ,¬,,¢s reign in Marmeira, the sailors of the Parzasan towns developed techniques to harvest whale ambergris in bulk, which is known for accumulating in the beaches and coastal waters of Parzasa.  This ambergris found use in perfume, incense, and embalming rituals, and trade in it made the coastal communities of Parzasa quite rich.  It was probably this wealth that encouraged the next Zara of Marmeira, the famous (or infamous) warmaker Basheilga Crimsonhand, to break the truce with the Grand Exarchate and again invade Parzasa.  Basheilgaâ,¬,,¢s conquering of the Parzasan coast was about the only lasting effect of his decades-long war with the Exarchate, which unltimately proved fruitless and wasteful for both sides.  The war dragged on beyond Basheilgaâ,¬,,¢s lifetime, but Parzasa remained part of the Empire until, when the Marmeirans and the Augeidhans alike were at their weakest, a Narsuran army under the leadership of King Hefezal II marched into Marmeira and ended the Marmerian dynasty for good.

Inland Parzasa was included within the province of Marmeira under the rule of the Narsurans (the coast was left to the Exarchate, who had sued for peace with Hefezal), but the region was never really fully under their control â,¬' the Narsurans were far too few to monitor all of Embadra.  The Years of Swift Arrows started in inland Parzasa, where a Narsuran commander (who, say the people of the Parzasan village of Nemize, had been growing fat off the enormous taxes he levied from them) was hacked to death by a Nemizan mob.  In the ensuing chaos, Parzasa became a principal battleground between the petty factions in Kaytium and Marmeira.  Various Parzasan cities managed to hold their own against the invader for a time with assistance from the navy of the Grand Exarchate, but when that realm too fell into civil war the Parzasans were left to fend for themselves.

After Costhemeiam was sacked by a Marmeiran army, Parzasa ceased to become a real power and was divided again and again between foreign Zaras and adventurers.  Sheiasmiam, a hilltop city near the Marmeiran border, became the possession of a Parzasan Philosopher, Jemseigh, the founder of the still popular Jemseighan School of Philosophy (now known as the Incarnadine Order).  Under his leadership, Sheiasmiam became a powerful city during the most turbulent time of the Years of Swift Arrows, and his disciples conquered reaches of Marmeira and eastern Parzasa.  Infighting weakened the School, until the Kaytine Zara Radiema stormed Sheiasmiam after a year long siege and crushed the School for the time being.  Radiema refounded the Malechid Empire under a new Kaytine dynasty, and brought an end to the chaos in Embadra.  His successor, Dauseshau the Grim, was humbled by the still powerful fleet of the Exarchate and forced to give up the Parzasan coast, but the Exarchate was crumbling and its power near an end.  Zara Radiema II decisively crushed the Augeidhans at the Battle of Magridda, sacking Augeidha and dissolving the Exarchate.

Parzasa remained firmly in the grasp of the Malechid Empire, and after a brief stint of neutrality during the Brothersâ,¬,,¢ War, was made a Thusmar (province) by the Malecha Hemecham the Victorious.  Renewed trade with not only the Heartlands but the newly resurgent Shadan Dominion of Niirda made Parzasa one of the wealthiest Thusmarej in the Empire.  Unfortunately, the Great Wave that ended the Empireâ,¬,,¢s reign did more damage to Parzasa than any other of the Heartlands; the land was laid to waste and most of its major cities annihilated.  Since then, the Parzasans have been busily rebuilding their land, after quickly falling under Marmeiran rule after the fall of the Empire, but the recent Kaytine defeat of the army of Marmeira at the Battle of Miren Gap triggered revolts against the Marmeirans in Nemize and Agledar.  It remains to be seen whether Parzasa will shake off its Marmeiran dominance and become a Zarate in its own right.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Politics and Power]
Parzasa has traditionally been only loosely unified, with individual despots, councils, rulers, and republics controlling certain cities, towns, and their environs and often at odds with other Parzasans over trade and regional power.  Currently, Parzasa is under the control of the Marmeiran Zara, Basheilgashaf the Fair-Haired.  Each â,¬Å"regionâ,¬Â of Parzasa, usually formed around cities (but not always, where the population is more rural), is administered by a military magistrate that answers directly to the Zara.  This domination is quite superficial currently â,¬' the position of Marmeira is not sturdy enough to extend absolute control over Parzasa, and instead the magistrates serve as â,¬Å"advisorsâ,¬Â to local councils and governments, collecting tribute for the Marmeiran Zara and making arrangements for the quarter of Marmeiran troops when required.

The very recent revolts of Nemize and Agledar, however, may be the death knell of Marmeiraâ,¬,,¢s domination of the people of Parzasa.  In its history, Parzasa has rarely been independent, but the destruction of the Great Wave may yield a positive future for the Parzasans, should political unity combine with the wealth potential of Parzasa to create one or more entities largely free of the domination of large empires (much like Aicaioun has managed to do).

There is no noble caste in Parzasa, something which has helped the growth of the merchant and artisan classes immensely.  Rather than peripheral elements of society, merchants and traders are the aristocracy of Parzasa, with wealth that translates directly into political power in a society where privilege by birth is rather inconsequential.  Merchant families have come to dominate several Parzasan cities and towns, and their rule is essentially indistinguishable from an aristocratic oligarchy.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Legal]
Though each region and city has its own legal standards and enforcement mechanisms, most follow the Code of Hemecham quite closely.  Legal similarity, after all, helps trade with the rest of Embadra, and removes complications when Parzasan governments attempt to bring in Marmeiran forces to deal with particularly troublesome bandit problems.

The â,¬Å"in-betweenâ,¬Â lands of Parzasa are rather lawless because of the lack of central political authority, and bandits are a common problem, though â,¬Å"officialâ,¬Â caravans are usually well guarded by individual cities.  Parzasa has a reputation for independent thought and living, and its residents are usually quite accepting of the inconvenience that brings right along with the benefits.

The legal influence of Marmeira has recently become more and more heavy-handed in response to the obvious rumblings of anti-Marmeiran sentiment throughout Parzasa that have only recently boiled over.  Marmeiran commanders have been known to summarily execute bandits, and sometimes use a very liberal definition of the term â,¬Å"banditsâ,¬Â when dealing with dissident factions in Parzasan cities.  The collapse of Marmeiran power in Nemize and Agledar have caused the Marmeirans to fall back to their more heavily garrisoned cities, and some of these have been placed under martial law, something greatly resented by commoners and merchants alike.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Religion]
The Parzasans were historically exposed to both the â,¬Å"westernâ,¬Â influences of the Exarchate and the â,¬Å"easternâ,¬Â influences of the Ayans and Marmeirans.  As a result, their religion is a diverse mixture of Malechism and Augeidhism.  Augeidhism, in fact, is more strongly represented in Parzasa than any other former Exarchate locale, save perhaps for Aicaioun and Gadiran.  Local beliefs vary wildly, including beliefs fusing the two major faiths (for example, the common belief in Parzasa that Niiraun is the principal deity, but guides the fate of humanity through the Malechid-influenced bloodlines).  Parzasa borrows heavily from the more â,¬Å"mysticâ,¬Â traditions of the Exarchate, and even Malechid priesthoods in Parzasa are colored by the secrecy and ritual of the old Cult of Niiraun.

The Cult of the None, whose followers call themselves Anaedans after their Prophet, is also present in Parzasa.  Despite ruthless oppression from the Marmeirans, their numbers have been steadily growing in the region, to the point where Anaedan worship ceremonies are held in nearly every town in Parzasa (though most, of course, do not attend).

Parzasa has been influenced by the new faith of the Nymph Goddesses as well, though not to the extent of their neighbors.  Uniquely, the Anaedans have taken up the gaps left by the aging edifices of Malechism and Augeidhism, and the merchant-aristocrats have little understanding or patience for the more spiritual naturalism of the Goddesses.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Economy]
Parzasa is a regional trade hub of great importance, as well as a source of valuable goods and a reasonably wealthy market for imports.  Parzasan merchants act as middlemen between the east and west, competing directly with Aicaioun to be the intermediaries between the eastern powers of Pharesaa, Siyan, and Kioshaa, and the Embadran nations.  This competition is fierce and often ruthless, though because the Parzasans consider slavery somewhat undesirable, this particular market has been left to the Aicai (who have become very good at it).  Parzasan pirates and privateers occasionally prey on Aicai shipping, and the Aicai do the same to the Parzasans â,¬' though south of the Sea of Parrogan, Pharesai galleys typically make sure nothing gets out of hand.  The Great Inner Sea is an open field, with Parzasans and Aicai vying with Maryans, Kaytines, and Dagaekalâ,¬,,¢s Gadiranin brigands for supremacy and profit.

Parzasa is known for its ambergris, but also exports timber (mostly to Pharesaa) and various wood products.  The warm marshes of Parzasa are also excellent for growing papyrus, and Parzasan papyrus is used in the majority of scrolls in Embadra and beyond.  Parzasa also exports olive oil and linen in large quantities.  The chief imports of Parzasa are mined goods, including stone, copper, tin, and Pharesai turquoise.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Magic]
Parzasaâ,¬,,¢s relatively independent nature has drawn spellcasters from abroad, especially philosophers and poets that have become disillusioned with the powerful patronage systems of the Zarates and Western Kingdoms.  Independent thinkers and various iconoclasts often take refuge in Parzasa, where an audience can be readily found for almost anybody with something to say, and with a great deal of permissiveness for â,¬Å"alternativeâ,¬Â methods and philosophies.  The Incarnadine Order is one such force that has thrived here, though there are many other schools and orders that call a city of Parzasa home.

Arcanists, whose studies take more resources and access, are better served by the patronage of the Marmeiran or Kaytine Zaras.  Though some of the more unorthodox spellcasters come to Parzasa, most Arcanists seek more powerful and well-connected patrons that the merchants of Parzasa are ill-equipped to provide.

Druids are present, but not common, as their faith is relatively rare in Parzasa.

Redbinders are mistrusted and feared in Parzasa, as with the rest of Embadra, though it is relatively easy to remain undetected as one for quite some time.  The various cities rarely share lists of such people, when they cooperate at all, and a Redbinder cast out of one city may simply move to another (unless he was known for doing something particularly destructive).[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Culture and Food]
Parzasans are impossible to pin down in terms of common culture, dress, and culinary persuasion.  Kaytine, Marmeiran, Kioshan, and even Pharesai influences dominate the cultural life of Parzasa, and cultural practices are all over the map.  Generally, the peasants and poor of Parzasa share a great deal of cultural affinity with the Marmeirans, which is reflected in their food and dress, though Augeidhan influences are also present.  Richer or more traveled Parzasans take more from the Kaytines and Pharesayi.  Others consider Parzasans to be a cosmopolitan and materialistic people; the accusation of materialism is far from true, and in fact runs counter to the reality of Parzasa as a land very open to religious and philosophical influences.

Parzasan cuisine varies wildly, but they are known abroad for â,¬Å"Tasora,â,¬Â a very peculiar dish that is only common in Parzasa.  It is essentially bog-fermented cheese; large rounds of cheese are wrapped in certain leaves and buried in the brackish marshes of the interior, where it ferments and turns to a dull grey, rubbery mass.  It is not considered a real delicacy, but is a common food, enjoyed by commoners and artisans alike.  Parzasans are also known for heavy use of olive oil, in almost every dish.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Cities and Towns]
Parzasaâ,¬,,¢s coastal cities were destroyed during the Great Wave, but many have been rebuilt in short order.  Still, they are not the size they once were.  Cities farther inland largely escaped the destruction.

The old capital of the Thusmar of Parzasa was Agledar, a very old city founded under the Neo-Malechid dynasty before its overthrow by the Marmeirans.  Though Agledar is an inland city, and thus largely undisturbed by the disastrous Wave, it had begun to lose importance even before the final collapse of the Empire.  Increasingly, coastal cities like Sulatheiar and Nemize gained importance and power, while Agledar became something of a backwater.  Agledar now has a population of about 8,000; though not a wealthy city, and far past its former glory, it is known for its ancient temples and buildings, and a rich Embadran heritage.  Recently, it has become a hotbed of anti-Marmeiran sentiment, as the Marmeirans ruled Parzasa directly from Agledar until the garrison was recently thrown out by rebellious Agledari.

The richest two coastal cities of Parzasa were Sulatheiar, the â,¬Å"twinâ,¬Â of Aicaioun just across the strait, and Costhemeiam, the port of call for traders from the East.  The fate of these two cities illustrates the decline of the old order and the ascendance of new cities on Parzasaâ,¬,,¢s coast.  Costhemeiam was not only destroyed, but partially sunk into the sea; no efforts were ever made to rebuild it, and now it is a vast ruined complex of stone and disintegrating clay brick, avoided by all travelers.  Occasionally, farmers nearby use its old stones for their own cottages and granaries.  Sulatheiar fared better â,¬' it was rebuilt by its inhabitants, but was quickly overshadowed by nearby Aicaioun (which survived the Great Wave much better than Sulatheiar).  Sulatheiar has become something of a â,¬Å"second-rateâ,¬Â extension of Aicaioun, where goods of lesser demand and people of low reputation can gather, away from the eyes of Aicaiounâ,¬,,¢s Magistrate.  Sulatheiar has a population of around ten thousand, mostly spread out over the whole cape, and disproportionately poor.

Other cities have grown at the expense of the older ones.  Nemize, once a small fishing village in the shadow of Costhemeiam, became the capital of Parzasan ambergris trading soon after the Great Wave.  From that point, the town has taken off â,¬' it houses around twelve thousand people, and continues to grow.  Nemize is an oligarchic republic â,¬' an extreme rarity in Ralum â,¬' to which fourteen different families of recognized Nemizan merchants may send a representative.  The â,¬Å"Consortium and People of Nemizeâ,¬Â has risen in power greatly, having stolen most of the Eastern trade routes from the Aicai.  The Consortium, usually quite cautious, has made waves recently by renouncing Marmeiran control and seizing the tribute due Marmeira from the region.

Zavesta, meaning â,¬Å"new harborâ,¬Â in Augeidhan, is another newcomer to prosperity in Parzasa.  It was founded from scratch after the Great Wave, and became an important port for Marmeiran merchants.  Marmeiraâ,¬,,¢s main fleet, in fact, operates out of Zavesta, and the Marmeirans hold a sizeable garrison there.

Sheiasmiam, another old inland city, is still administered by the Incarnadine Order.  The red sandstone-tiled roofs of the Incarnadine School still tower over the city, which â,¬' by contract with the Marmeirans â,¬' has remained independent since the end of the Empire, an island of relative calm in a turbulent land.  The Order, however, is not known for its commitment to neutrality, and will likely seek to play some role for or against the current rebellion.

Fandeimar, another inland city, has also seen its fortunes rise recently.  Fandeimar is a city built in the middle of Parzasaâ,¬,,¢s largest marsh, called â,¬Å"Basheilgaâ,¬,,¢s Fen,â,¬Â on an enormous number of wooden logs driven into the marsh many years ago.  The city requires constant work to keep it afloat.  The city is known for producing more than half of all papyrus used in the Heartlands; Pharesai papyrus is less common, as land along the Opalas is heavily farmed and cultivated with other crops.  The magistrate of Fandeimar, though in theory appointed by the Marmeirans, was in reality chosen by the various masters of the papyrus mills for administrative skill (his one most important purpose is to ensure that the city receives enough timber to supply the constant rebuilding and dredging).  After the Great Wave, however, the city was seized by a mercenary company known as the Blackarrows, who have settled down into a kind of military stewardship over the Fen.  Fandeimar is well known for foiling 26 different assaults and sieges during the Years of Swift Arrows, mostly because of its nearly unassailable position on the Fen.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Sites of Interest]
Basheilgaâ,¬,,¢s Fen â,¬' This vast freshwater marsh got its name from the Marmeiran Zara Basheilga Crimsonhand, who used the marshes to launch a surprise attack on the cities of the Parzasan coast under the control of the Exarchate.  The land is not conducive to travel, save for three causeways in the eastern Fen which link the city of Fandeimar to other locales.  This makes much of the Fen ideal for various kinds of life that thrive best away from humans; various reptilian humanoids are known to live in the Fen, as are stranger creatures, both benign and aggressive, that have been pushed out of Parzasaâ,¬,,¢s more civilized regions.

Cha-Ameyan â,¬' Zara Kassulashaf Oathbreaker left many impressions on this land after he conquered it from the Exarchate.  Chief among these was the great fortress on Ameyan Point, directly across the water from the old Exarchate capital of Augeidha.  From here, Kassulashaf launched many offensives into Exarchate-held Kiosha and Siyan, as did Basheilga Crimsonhand during his reign.  The Fortress was eventually razed by the Narsuran King Hefezal II Gnollbane; the last Marmeiran Zara, Modrebeshaf Sunburst, was holed up here.  Though little of the fortress remains in view save a few crumbled halls and exterior guard towers, a vast underground complex was discovered.  Supposedly a barracks complex, there are rumors that Modrebeshaf (a Redbinder who many believe to have been insane) conducted strange and vile experiments here.  The whole of Ameyan Point is lifeless, rocky, and barren, perhaps supporting that assertion.

The Exarchâ,¬,,¢s Tree â,¬' It is said that the great Cedar tree not far from the city of Zavesta was planted by the founder of the Guardianate (later, the Grand Exarchate), Parrogan, Zara of Kaytium and Kiosha.  Though legends differ, in most Parrogan is said to have planted the tree as a symbol of the â,¬Å"new reignâ,¬Â of Humans alongside Shadan in the world of Ralum.  The tree grew to an amazing height and width, and when the Marmeiran Zara Kassulashaf Oathbreaker captured the Parzasan Coast, he is said to have marveled at its remarkable size.  The tree was protected by an Augeidhan monastery, which was allowed to stay there even though the Marmeiran Zaras routinely expelled or executed most Augeidhan priests they found in their territory.  Radiema II â,¬Å"the Greatâ,¬Â is said to have crafted a bow from its branches that never missed, until Radiema brought down the Exarchate at the Battle of Magridda, after which the bow was cursed beyond hope.  The tree was finally felled by the Great Wave, after standing for hundreds of years, though in a stroke of fortune the ancient monastery was not crushed, and was in fact shielded by the tree from the Wave.  A few hermits still live under the fallen tree; from the splintered and rotting stump a new sprout has emerged.

Three-Fangs â,¬' The Exarchate was nominally allied with the Sarfeir Dominion (known as the Empire of the Red Claw).  Though this alliance usually amounted to little except trade agreements, the Exarch Amhameimar requested and was granted a force of one thousand Sarfeir warriors, who came with their families to the Exarchate as a gift from their Dominate, the Warrior-Queen Seikraz III.  The â,¬Å"Fanged Legionâ,¬Â was stationed in a bucolic valley in Parzasa between three hills.  On each hill, a watchtower was built, and the Sarfeir commuity lived in the valley below.  The Legion saw extensive use in the wars against the Embadrans, though occasionally the Legion was moved to Siyan when the Embadrans had control of Parzasa.  The Legion endured through the Years of Swift Arrows and the Narsuran reign until the army of Radiema I surrounded the fortress and forced it to surrender.  Since then, Three-Fangs has enjoyed relative peace, though the Sarfeir still leave the valley to seek out mercenary employment in Embadra and beyond.  Now, the valley has a population of about six thousand, 90% of which are Sarfeir.  They are generally welcoming to visitors, especially their kin from the distant north, though their dialect is a strange blend of Sheinemar and Augeidhan that is difficult for a northern Sarfeir to understand.

The Chariot Field - The Chariot Field, as the name suggests, is a broad plain where Parzasa meets Ezannum.  Numerous battles have been fought here, between the Exarchate and the Embadrans, the Kaytines and the Marmeirans, the Narsurans and the Marmeirans, the Ayans with other Embadrans, and so on.  The field was often specifically chosen for such armed contests, as it is perfect for chariots, while being near to the often fought-over lands of Parzasa.  Numerous graves, shrines, and monuments can be found throughout the field, often marked by isolated olive groves.  In recent years, parts of the Chariot Field have also served as a muster field for the Marmeiran army.[/spoiler]

Whoohoo!  I finally found the old WotC thread in its entirety, on page 89 of the archives listed by name.  Now I don't have to rewrite the bit about arguably the most important city in the Heartlands...

Aicaioun, City of Lances

â,¬Å"The Exarch Adriab beat his bronze-clad breast and wept, seeing the legions of the enemy upon him. Each of his sons pleaded with him to retreat â,¬' for, though Augeidha had fallen to the great engines of the Ayans, the high walls of Aicaioun still stood, offering shelter from the host arrayed against the Exarchate. But Adriab instead turned to his sons angrily, and said, 'Is it not enough for you that we have been driven from our great city? Is it not enough that all the people of Augeidha have died so that we might see one more day? I will not have the blood of Aicaioun upon my hands. All is lost for us â,¬' my revenge shall be that Aicaioun is spared, that it shall stand in the time of our descendents as a bulwark against the children of my enemies.'â,¬Â
- The Parrogan Cycle, Book XI, Tears of Magridda

Aicaioun, the greatest city of Kioshaa, sits upon the most important ground in all Aziaa and Embadra â,¬' the Cape of Thorns, that guards the narrow straits between the Sea of Parrogan and the Great Inner Sea. All ships traveling to or from Embadra must pass under its immense walls, and from that position it has made itself as wealthy and powerful as any human nation. Though the City of Lances no longer rules over all of Kioshaa as it once did, it is still a powerful center of trade and transportation that has been able to resist both Embadran and Pharesaai domination over the centuries of its existence.

[spoiler=History]

The first king of the ancient Parroganese Guardianate, Parrogan himself, built a fortress on the Cape of Thorns to protect his capital city, Augeidha, from any seaborne invasions by the Ayans or other fallen Thrall Zarates. Over time, a sizeable settlement grew around it, and Aicaioun became an important trade link between the Malechid and Balshihan Zarates in the East and the people living on the shores of the Great Inner Sea. Under the newly formed Grand Exarchate, the small city was given great importance, and the second Exarch had the city fortified with two layers of enormous mud-brick walls. During the wars with the Marmeiran-Malechid Empire, the Marmeiran Zara Basheilga Crimsonhand laid siege to the city, but was unable to capture it. It acquired its present name (Aicaioun means â,¬Å"city of lancesâ,¬Â in the Azian tongue) from this siege, when the defenders celebrated their victory by lining the tops of the walls with the abandoned spears and lances of the retreating enemy. The Narsurans, who briefly united most of Embadra, had little interest in crossing the straits, and the city was at peace until the newly resurgent Embadran Empire declared war. The Kaytine Embadran Zara, Radiema II â,¬Å"the Great,â,¬Â finally brought an end to the Grand Exarchate at the Battle of Magridda, but the people of Aicaioun managed to conclude a separate truce with Radiema. Their city was spared the horrors of sack and plunder in exchange for its sworn loyalty to the Embadran crown.

Aicaioun was able to reestablish itself as a major economic power, but was eventually taken by the famed Zara Halkadrim the Boundless, and went after his death to his son Talbregon. The people of Aicaioun hated Talbregon, and opened the gates to his brother Hemecham, who eventually re-conquered most of his fatherâ,¬,,¢s Empire. As thanks for their support, Hemecham guaranteed their autonomy within the Empire. The city prospered under the Grand Embadran Empire, and managed to preserve some order in Kioshaa even after the fall of the Empire. The great city walls, reconstructed out of stone during the last years of the Exarchate, spared the city from the worst effects of the Great Wave, which devastated most of the other coastal cities of Parzasa and Kioshaa. The city now enjoys a great deal of wealth, a great deal of which comes from its status as the capital of the Embadran slave trade. The Inmaryolai of Pharesaa are known to have had their eyes on the city for several generations, but so far Aicaioun has managed to remain free from foreign rule since the end of Hemechamâ,¬,,¢s empire.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=The City]

The great gates of the city now behind you, you are assailed with the sights, sounds, and smells of the Silver District of Aicaioun.  Stretching before you is a long street paved in large flagstones, packed with people, donkeys, carts, and wagons.  The walls lining the street are mostly bare mud-brick, but nearly everywhere by the walls are makeshift market stands selling everything from dried fruit to shell beads.  Above the deafening din of the busy street, families and their servants take part in the afternoon meal on the roofs of their houses, taking shelter from the sun under cloth canopies and vine-covered trellises.  The strong odor of people, pack animals, and various food spices makes your eyes water, though the inhabitants here seem quite used to it.  Further down the street rises the sprawling, arched complex of the Macaa, the great market of Aicaioun, where one can buy and sell anything from the finest silks to local grains - and especially other humans (or other unfortunate humanoids).

Aicaioun covers a large, low hill on the tip of the Cape of Thorns. Its double walls run in straight segments around the city, forming a great multi-faceted oval. The space between the walls is largely given up to storehouses, mills, shipyards, and slave prisons. Rather noxious professions, like those of tanners and butchers, generally operate in this outer ring as well. There are six gates through the first wall, four of which open directly onto the rocky coast, where warehouses and docks line the water.

There are two gates through the second wall and into the city itself. One large street goes straight through the main city, from the gate on one side to the opposite gate. This street is more like a long plaza; it is fully 150 feet wide, and the sides are lined from one end to the other with merchant stalls and makeshift shops. It is possible to buy nearly anything on the main street of Aicaioun, even things not normally available in other cities â,¬' the rulers of Aicaioun are always hesitant to make any potential source of profit illegal.

The houses of the upper class, which mostly consists of ship owners, slavers, and wealthy merchants, are closest to the main street. The houses and courtyards of the rich are usually quite bare looking on the outside, presenting a dull wall and a single heavy door to passersby. The merchants set up their stalls and tents against these walls during the day. The further one gets from the main street, the poorer the residents are. Alehouses, bronzesmith shops, brothels, stables, and other such establishments are spread throughout the city, with the more expensive and high-quality of these nearest the main street.

At the center of the city are the Archives and the Palace of the Justicar, facing each other on opposite sides of the main street. At the archives, meticulous records are kept of goods leaving and entering the city, ships entering and leaving the ports, taxes, tariffs, and other such matters. Scribes are on hand to copy down any records requested, though this costs a fee that depends on the age and size of the requested record. The Palace of the Justicar serves as courthouse, residence of the Justicar, and prison. Executions take place in the middle of the main street between the Palace and the Archives.

At the easternmost end of the inner wall, immediately next to the east gate of the wall, is an enormous squat stone tower that is the citadel of Aicaioun. Designed to be a fastness of last resort should the city be invaded, it houses the entirety of the Aicaioun garrison, as well as a vast armory.

The city is a marvel to behold at night â,¬' when the sun sets, residents both rich and poor take to their roofs, taking a needed break from the business of the day, to drink wine and converse in the warm Kioshaai night. During the evening, the city is bright with paper lanterns on nearly every rooftop. Travel, however, is impossible â,¬' once the sun has set completely, the city watch closes off the main street and bars all gates, to remain closed until sunrise.  Only bearers of an order confirmed with the Justicar's seal may pass.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Politics]

Aicaioun has no formal leader; the main civil authorities are the Keeper of the Archives and the Ephasha. Traditionally, they have been appointed by those they replace, but the cabal of Aicai slavers (often called the "Chainers") has grown in power to the point where they are the real masters of the city. They effectively control the appointment of the Keeper and the Ephasha.  Two military officials also exist; the Lance-Captain controls the city's land forces outside the City itself, and administers the towns and hamlets within a day's march of the City that fall under Aicaioun's rule.  The Banner-Captain commands the Aicai fleets, and keeps the small Sea of Augeidha free from pirates and bandits.  The Lance-Captain is appointed by the Ephasha, and the Banner-Captain is selected by the Keeper of the Archives. Each serves a 5-year term.  The current Ephasha is Macharibul the Many-Tongued, an aged man who is most well known for speaking virtually every language in Ralum.  The Keeper is Eirgima Pearltooth, a strange but well respected sage.  The Lance-Captain is not a native Aicai at all, but a fearsome Bashauran warrioress called Indrisun Fair-Haired (Indrisun is not a Bashauran name, but an adopted Kioshai name).  The Banner-Captain is a Sabasslian named Marishac who was brought to Aicaioun as a slave and managed to gain his freedom and become leader of all the Aicai fleets.  "Marishac" means "Thunderer" in Pharalura, and his name is feared by pirates throughout the Heartlands.

The leaders of Aicaioun do struggle against each other for power, but all realize the more pressing threat of the Pharesai, whose armies make raids into Kioshaa a yearly practice, in an effort to weaken Aicaioun by depriving it of its Kioshai allies.  Many cities and towns in Kioshaa recognize the dominance of Aicaioun, out of fear of Pharesai might.  This influence is known as the "Aicai Hegemony," but it is far from complete control - when towns feel less threatened by the Pharesayi, they happily ignore Aicaioun's advice, only coming back into the fold when another Pharesai army is at hand.  The Aicai are quite forgiving of this, as they do not wish to alienate any regional allies.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=People and Society]

Aicaioun is home to around 22,000 people, as well as between about five and eight thousand slaves at any one time.  Most citizens speak both Pharalura and Augeidhan, though the "Golden Tongue" is more common among the lower classes, while Augeidhan is spoken most commonly by the merchants and wealthier citizens.  Nearly all languages, however, can be heard in the streets, from Shadan to Sheinemar.  Shadan and their Halfling servants can be found here, as can enterprising Halflings who (they say) are no longer affiliated with the Shadan.  Saulzarel and Sarfeir are not common, but it would be difficult to pass a day in the cityâ,¬,,¢s more active districts without seeing one.  Other races are much less common, and Bharim are almost never seen - the city is far too Shadan-influenced to make life easy for them.

Most of the people who live in Aicaioun are artisans, merchants, or members of the landowning noble class, as well as their numerous servants, slaves, groomsmen, entertainers, and other workers and auxiliaries.  Peasants, herders, and other villagers may travel to Aicaioun for occasional purchases, but donâ,¬,,¢t live in the city.  Despite the vast difference between a poor fish merchant and a wealthy noble, both are likely to have similar residences; the crowded nature of Aicaioun precludes the construction of sprawling manors, and the Aicai prefer to display wealth through possessions and furnishings rather than with immense houses.  It is considered good social etiquette to not openly display oneâ,¬,,¢s wealth outside oneâ,¬,,¢s own house; though the richest of nobles scoff at this, most merchants and artisans (even wealthy silk merchants and Chainers) are conservatively dressed in public.

Because the streets are so busy, meeting in outside locations is not possible.  Social interaction usually consists of sending messages via servants to anotherâ,¬,,¢s house; Aicai are generously inclined to invite others to their houses, as having guests signifies prosperity and wealth.  Upwardly mobile Aicai will endeavor to always have guests at any given time; itâ,¬,,¢s a bit unseemly for a guest to arrive and find that he is the only one.  For this reason, there are no public lodgings for travelers in Aicaioun; one either secures an invitation from an Aicai or spends the night in a nearby village.  It is considered improper for a guest to stay for fewer than three days, though it is not considered a snub when a short stay is obviously necessary.  Guests are expected to give gifts to their hosts at the conclusion of their stay, and larger gifts when they stay for several weeks or for fewer than three days (to make up for the gaffe of their rather hasty departure).  Aicai value foreign art and delicacies; such items are displayed prominently in most homes, signifying worldliness and providing evidence that the Aicai host has friends and connections far abroad.  A foreigner that leaves without providing a suitably exotic gift will disappoint his host, and the host may even drop not-so-subtle hints during a foreignerâ,¬,,¢s stay that he should give them such a gift that they can display.  Often, ambitious social climbers will try and outmaneuver each other to host exotic foreigners (human or nonhuman); a Saulzarel, for instance, with even a minor repuation may find himself the recipient of multiple invitations upon his arrival, and faced with the decision of who to befriend and who to snub before even entering the city proper.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Landmarks]

The Macaa - Simply meaning "market" in Pharalura, the Macaa is the center of trade - specifically, the slave trade - in Aicaioun.  The market was built in the early years of the Empire, as a gift from the grateful Malechus Hemecham the Victorious.  It is a massive structure, just off to the side of the Archives.  The market is covered by impressive arched vaults, which rise high above the ground, making the whole market feel open (and dispersing the unpleasant odors that slaves can have).  While the sun is up, slavers sell their wares, and merchants of other goods occupy the periphery of the market (as long as they have bought a space from the Chainers).  The Macaa has passageways to the catacombs and prisons below the city, where slaves are kept at night and when they are not yet on auction.

The Silver Keel â,¬' One of the most well-known taverns in the city, the Silver Keel is owned and run by a Halfling by the name of Ausech, a native of Sabran. The tavern is large and well furnished, and is a favorite of many slavers. Ausech is a known Shadan sympathizer, and thus the Silver Keel is also the best place to find Shadan within the city. The Silver Keel is notorious for connections to the Aicai underworld, and is an excellent place to find information and rumors about the slave trade. One must be careful what one says there, however, as the information that Ausech overhears inevitably reaches Shadan ears.

Blackmill â,¬' One of the more bloody skirmishes during Basheilga Crimsonhandâ,¬,,¢s attempt to take Aicaioun took place by a large stone flour-mill just outside the city. Now, this mill lies within the city, in the ring between the two walls. It was used after the aforementioned skirmish as a fortress and armory, and eventually developed into a large bronzeworks by the time of the Embadran Ascendancy.  The Blackmill now is a hub of regional metalsmithing, and the chief latoner, Dresmir the Bald, is renowned as one of the worldâ,¬,,¢s great smiths. The Blackmill is always working, but Dresmir always seems to find the time to have a conversation with visitors. He has been known to hire traveling bronzesmiths on for short apprenticeships, and the charity of the Blackmill ensures that those who can discuss the metals trade with Dresmir and his apprentices wonâ,¬,,¢t lack for a place to stay.

House of Grapes â,¬' One of the more famous citizens of Aicaioun is a Kaytine philosopher by the name of Badras, the founder of a new school of philosophy he calls â,¬Å"the Way of Truth,â,¬Â though others generally call it â,¬Å"Badrasismâ,¬Â or, jokingly, the â,¬Å"School of Wine.â,¬Â Badras teaches that the key to enlightenment is the ability to see through falsehood, and the only way to do that is to become totally, completely, and rather bluntly honest. He has offended many of Aicaiounâ,¬,,¢s most important citizens, and seems rather proud of it. He willingly accepts visitors into his elegant main street house at any time, which is notable for being completely overgrown with grape vines (in contrast to the plain walls of most upper class homes). Badras believes that the best way to begin oneâ,¬,,¢s journey on the Way of Truth is to release all inhibitions that might make one lie or hold back their true feelings, and to this end he makes a particularly potent wine that he is happy to share with visitors willing to listen to his teachings. There are always many pupils, adventurers, drunks, street prophets, and truant youths staying at his home, engaging the portly philosopher in spirited, and often rather inebriated debate.

The Beggarsâ,¬,,¢ Coast â,¬' Slavery law in Aicaioun is quite complicated and not always followed closely, and it is inevitable that some poor souls fall through the cracks of the system â,¬' for some reason, whether an accounting mistake, a sudden death of a slaver, or some legal technicality, they are free men, but totally destitute. Without the means to live in the city itself or buy passage on a ship, they are stuck with nothing. About a thousand or so of these hapless freedmen (and women) live in a ramshackle village in the shadow of the cityâ,¬,,¢s walls known as the Beggarsâ,¬,,¢ Coast, a rocky promontory avoided by ships. There, they live in squalid reed huts and animal fur tents, making a meager living by working jobs as porters and laborers in the cityâ,¬,,¢s outer ring. Those looking for cheap labor often look here â,¬' but sometimes the residents of the Coast can be problematic. Rumor has it that some strange cult philosopher has been bringing the desperate residents under his sway.[/spoiler]

I cast raise dead on this thread.  It might not be the last time I do so, given that most of my time goes to thesis work these days, but all you can do is keep on chugging, right?

Siyan

Siyan is one of the oldest Zarates in the heartlands, and perhaps the first to rise to some semblance of statehood after the Manifest Ruin.  It has been the object of conquerors, the strength of Exarchs, and the retreat of philosophers and prophets for all of human history, but through it all the â,¬Å"Southern Shorelandâ,¬Â has remained a powerful entity with a distinct culture and a proud heritage.

[spoiler=Nomenclature]
People of Siyan typically call themselves â,¬Å"Augeidhansâ,¬Â when speaking of their ethnic backgrounds â,¬' that is, descendents of the people of the Grand Exarchate.  To be â,¬Å"Siyaneseâ,¬Â (or more properly, â,¬Å"Siyaninâ,¬Â) is merely to be a citizen of Siyan, though not necessarily of Augeidhan descent.

People of Siyan generally speak Augeidhan, though knowledge of Low Ayan and some Pharalura is also common, especially among the middle and upper classes.  Siyani Augeidhan is far closer to the original language than the Gadiranin or Maryan dialects, and is prided by its people for its â,¬Å"authenticâ,¬Â nature, in much the same way that Ayans and Marmeirans conceive of their â,¬Å"purerâ,¬Â dialect of Ayan.  Shadan is still used in Siyan, albeit as a scholarly and ecclesiastical tongue.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Geography and Climate]
Siyan lies on a broad and dry valley lowland between Parroganâ,¬,,¢s Wall and the mountains of the Oud Miran range.  To the north is the long, gentle shore of the Inner Sea; to the south, the Broken Sands separate Siyan from southern Kioshaa.  The eastern part of the country (nearer to northern Kioshaa) is hilly and well forested, but most of the country is suitable only for herding.  Several small rivers work their way down from the mountains of Oud Miran towards the Inner Sea, and these are tapped almost completely for irrigation.  The â,¬Å"middle countryâ,¬Â between the east and western fertile zones is sparsely populated, save along the coast, and southern Siyan from Kioshaa to the Azine Gap is almost totally uninhabited.  Like Pharesaa, Siyan has wet and dry seasons, but the wet season tends to be both longer and less intense than its torrential counterpart in the Golden Land.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Inhabitants]
Most of the population of Siyan is human, though because its culture is very similar to the Shadan-inspired culture and traditions of the Exarchate, it is home to the highest population of Shadan and their servants in the Heartlands.  Saulzarel caravans through Oud Miran typically terminate in Siyan, and a population of these desert dwellers does exist in the eastern parts of the country.  In the Azine Gap itself, there may be more Saulzarel than humans at any one time, and this is certainly true of the Broken Sands.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=History]
More is known about Siyan history in the Age of the Progenitors than any other Heartlands region.  Siyan was a â,¬Å"worker colonyâ,¬Â of the Dominion of Resheia, one of several lands that was almost entirely populated by human servants of the Shadan under the rule of a human Zara.  There are records of a â,¬Å"Siyan Legionâ,¬Â serving in the Spellwar; much of it was apparently lost in the Inner Realm in the later stages of the war.

Many Siyanin survived the Manifest Ruin, with their structure of government more or less intact.  Over several generations, the Zarate became hereditary, and was bequeathed to Parrogan the Great, already Zara of Kaytium and Kioshaa, through his marriage to the Zarasi Elun Rainshadow.  Elun, a priestess of the Cult of Niiraun and a renowned prophet, began the process of the codification and standardization of the Augeidhan religion throughout the lands that would become the Grand Exarchate, and Siyan was established during her lifetime as the religious center of Parroganâ,¬,,¢s realm.

Siyan became an important part of the Guardianate (later the Exarchate), serving as the breadbasket of the realm and as the base for the Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s Inner Sea fleets.  Most of the Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s colonies â,¬' Marya, Gadiran, Ocana â,¬' were settled from Siyan, which boasted a great deal of wealth during the years when the Inner Sea was under total Exarchate control.  Though the eastern part of the empire was plagued with sporadic violence in the troubles with the Marmeirans, Ayans, Narsurans, and eventually Kaytines, Siyan was spared these troubles.  Until the fall of the Exarchate itself, Siyan was involved directly in only two major struggles â,¬' the Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s civil war during the Years of Swift Arrows, and the â,¬Å"Azian Migrationâ,¬Â that threatened to overwhelm the neglected western border.  Azian tribes moving south from Oud Miran attempted to settle in Siyan, and paid no mind to Exarchate authority or rule when doing so.  A series of wars were fought that ended in the expulsion of the Azians from Siyan; as a result, they moved further south and settled in Pharesaa and Kioshaa, where the Exarchate was weaker and less able to defend its sprawling territory.  Siyan troops formed the bulk of the late Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s armies, but the wars with the Kaytine dynasty never materially threatened the region.

When Radiema razed Augeidha and crushed the last Exarch, Adriab, at the Battle of Magridda, Siyan was flooded with refugees from the east.  The fact is not commonly known in Embadra, but only two days before the Battle of Magridda, a Siyan force had actually routed a Kaytine invasion force that had thought Siyan would be a simple pushover.  Not wanting to extend the war any further now that the Exarchate had collapsed, Radiema recognized Siyan as an independent Zarate, paying a nominal tribute to the Kaytine-Embadran Empire but in practice totally autonomous.  Siyan enjoyed prosperous times in the years that followed; Marya, Gadiran, and Ocana formed a loose confederacy with Siyan, in which Siyan was clearly the dominant member.  Eventually, economic competition with Marya drove the Maryans out of the league, but as a regional power the Zaras of Siyan enjoyed negotiations with the Kaytines on equal terms.  Though Kioshaa had been lost to the Pharesayi and the Embadrans, most of the Exarchate continued on in a somewhat truncated form under Siyanâ,¬,,¢s leadership.

Understandably, the Siyanin resisted fiercely when Halkadrim the Boundless, ruler of the newly-announced â,¬Å"Embadran Ascendancy,â,¬Â demanded the surrender of the Siyan throne to him.  The campaign in Siyan was arguably Halkadrimâ,¬,,¢s most difficult conquest, and certainly the bloodiest one.  The Zara Alchad the Grim (his moniker derived from this war) fought against Halkadrim for years, taking refuge in the mountains when the lowlands were finally lost.  Alchad never surrendered, but after his death in battle with the Ascendant Companions, a series of brutal punitive raids into what remained of Siyan territory convinced his lieutenants that the war was beyond winning.  Halkadrim dissolved the Zarate and added Siyan as a domain of Embadra.

Siyan attempted to travel a middle way in the Brotherâ,¬,,¢s War, recognizing the legitimacy of neither and claiming its independence.  Hemecham crushed this notion with the aid of a mighty army levied from Pharesai.  The pillage was so brutal that it created a deep hatred for both Hemecham and the Pharesai for centuries to come.  Siyan eventually recovered, but had to be continually suppressed throughout the era of the Grand Embadran Empire.  The attempts of Hemechamâ,¬,,¢s successors to spread the state religion of Malechism to Siyan met with open hostility and several violent rebellions.  Three times, an Augeidhan Siyanin proclaimed himself as the independent Zara of Siyan, only to be crushed by the Empireâ,¬,,¢s armies, easily giving Siyan the distinction of the most rebellious Thusmar in the Empire.  The Thusmara of Siyan, in fact, was never a native Siyanin, for fear that a Siyanin in a position of any real political power would quickly turn traitor on the Malechus and his Imperial authority.  The problems with Siyan became terminal as the Empireâ,¬,,¢s power declined, and parts of Siyan threw off the Embadran yoke decades before the Great Wave finally ended the venerable Empire.

Now established as an independent Zarate again, Siyan lacks the power it once did but its fortunes are certainly rising.  Though its on-and-off proxy war with the Inmaryolayeh Pharesayi in Kioshaa has taxed its resources, it has enjoyed a great boost in wealth from Inner Sea trade and favorable trade agreements with the Aicai Hegemony, close allies of the Zara.  Marya and Kaytium, however, provide stiff competition for Inner Sea goods, and Siyan merchants have their work cut out for them.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Politics and Power]
The present Zara of Siyan, Hestran, is a former monk of the Cult of Niiraun who successfully unified Siyan after the fall of the Empire (before this, local lords controlled various towns and regions, some within the Empireâ,¬,,¢s authority and some claiming independence).  Hestran has proven himself committed to restoring Siyan traditions to preeminence, and has ordered the few Malechist temples in Siyan converted to Temples to the Lord of Grey.  Nevertheless, he has maintained relations with outside powers, cementing an alliance with Aicaioun and engaging Marya and Ocana diplomatically and economically.  Gadiran, ruled by the bandit-Zara Dagaekal, has proven more difficult to bring into Siyan influence, and Hestran seems (like many of his subjects) to hold a great deal of resentment and suspicion for the Embadrans.  The realities of expanding Pharesai power in the south, however, may yet force him to reconcile with formerly hostile powers.

Siyan is the classic example of an â,¬Å"Augeidhan Zarate.â,¬Â  While most Zaras are essentially hereditary general-kings, Siyan abandoned hereditary rule after the fall of the Exarchate and has returned to the pre-Ruin tradition of Zaras being military-spiritual leaders advised by a powerful elder council that is more concerned with administration and management of the realm.  The result is that, though the Zara of Siyan is considerably less powerful than the Zaras of Embadra, he is held in high regard by the common people as a religious authority and a safeguard of ancient tradition.

As the self-appointed inheritors of the legacy of the Exarchate, Zara Hestran and the Siyan elders have demonstrated themselves to be keenly interested in reviving the old pre-Imperial Augeidhan League that included the Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s former colonies around the Inner Sea.  How far they are willing to go to make this vision a reality is unknown.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Legal]
Though the Siyanin have often been staunchly opposed to the perpetuation of Embadran cultural exports in their society, the Code of Hemecham was widely adopted and accepted after Siyanâ,¬,,¢s inclusion within the Grand Embadran Empire (unusual, considering the low esteem in which Hemecham is held in Siyan).  Here, it is known as the Imperial Code, and was recognized centuries ago as inherently simpler and more accessible than the confusing, poorly translated, and largely obsolete compilation of pre-Ruin Shadan edicts that formed the basis of the Exarchateâ,¬,,¢s legal system.  The Code was applied assiduously by the Thusmaras during the Imperial era, and has become so pervasive that many do not recognize its Embadran origins.  Traditionally, the Siyanin have been tolerant of the Saulzarel and their traditions in Siyanâ,¬,,¢s more sparsely civilized areas, and these populations are generally allowed to apply their own legal code and settle local disputes in the way they see fit.  This kind of local adjucation, however, is very uncommon among the human population.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Religion]
Nearly all of the humans of Siyan practice Augeidhism.  Though Malechism is not expressly outlawed, no Malechist temples exist in Siyan â,¬' they have all been confiscated by the Zara â,¬' and priests of the Imperial Cult are swiftly exiled if they are found trying to spread their religion among the Siyanin.  The worship of the Nymph Goddesses is somewhat more palatable to Siyan authorities, and is allowed so long as such practitioners pay their proper respects to the Lord of Grey as well.  Ã¢,¬Å"Apostasy,â,¬Â defined as the failure to make appropriate sacrifices to Niiraun on high holy days or the public denunciation of doing so, is punishable by heavy fines or even exile.  So long as people of other faiths play along for the greater good, they are not bothered by the government.  This has caused a great deal of trouble for the small Anaedan minority, who refuse to honor Niiraun and are thus routinely made examples of by the priesthood (with tacit support from the Council of Elders).

The religious festivals of Siyan are some of the most impressive in the Heartlands.  They are massive and expensive affairs, and in major towns can produce hundreds of sacrificed animals in a single holy day.  Siyan inherited a complex religious calendar from the Exarchate, and rituals and holy days are painstakingly observed by the more pious citizens.  Not all Siyanin are this careful or dedicated with the observation of the faith, but the image of Siyanin as deeply religious and heavily superstitious people persists elsewhere in the Heartlands.  Hemechamshaf III, Sixth Malechus of the Grand Embadran Empire, famously remarked that the only times the Siyanin were not upright in insurrection were when they were prostrate in prayer.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Economy]
Siyan originally issued silver Exarchate currency, but the consolidation of currency under the Empire resulted in the total extinguishing of this tradition.  For all their traditional sensibility, the merchants of Siyan would likely find it terribly inconvenient and unprofitable to resume this particular tradition, and Siyan continues to use Imperial â,¬Å"silverwheelsâ,¬Â as their primary coin.  Pharesai pha are also increasingly common; Pharesai gold is far more welcome in Siyan than the Pharesayi themselves.  As elsewhere in the heartlands, the peasantry and lower classes rely almost totally on the barter system, paying taxes in kind and rarely laying a hand on any manner of coin in their entire lives.

Siyan is a respectable agricultural center, though its exports are not as great a share as they once were â,¬' Narsura and Pharesaa have exported more foodstuffs every year and have edged Siyan out of much of the market.  Siyanâ,¬,,¢s most important export since the early days of the Empire has been cloth.  Siyan grows more flax than Pharesaa, and its more central location means that its linen is generally cheaper as well.  The Saulzarel have more recently imparted Siyan weavers with the technique of silk production, a secret jealously guarded by the Siyanin, and the growing silk trade has brought new life into the economy of Siyan.  Incense from Oud Miran is also traded, though it is much rarer than it once was â,¬' the closing of the Serpent of Gadiran has made overland caravans the only feasible way to bring in incense, and the Saulzarel (the only ones who attempt the journey) cannot supply nearly as much as was once available.  Other Siyan exports include fish, salt, and spicewood.  Siyan plays a negligible part in the slave trade.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Magic]
Siyan was host to a huge influx of Exarchate philosophers and priests after Magridda, and has been a bastion of â,¬Å"western thoughtâ,¬Â for generations.  Philosophers and zealots are quite common, and several schools of philosophy have their strongest roots here.  The Celestial Hierarchy is perhaps the best known, if only for their association with the Shadan.  Other schools are also strong in Siyan and many are supported by the patronage of the Cult of Niiraun, which actively encourages Siyan philosophy so long as nothing is terribly objectionable to their faith.

Arcanists are not uncommon either, as many practitioners fled to Siyan along with the philosophers and established academies or tutorships in the realm.  The Shadan presence here has also led to an increased interest in arcanism and magical studies, though this was discouraged by the former Thusmaras, on the assumption that Siyan arcanism would inevitably find treacherous and seditious uses.

Redbinders are as persecuted and feared here as in most other human lands.  Many Gadiranin redbinders, expelled by Dagaekal, find their way to Siyan (much to the consternation of the Siyanin).  As they are little more welcome in Siyan, many of these continue south and eventually find sanctuary under the auspices of the Inmaryolâ,¬,,¢s Falcon Guard (much to the consternation of Zara Hestran).[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Culture and Food]
The Siyan are viewed as deeply religious and somewhat elitist about their traditions by outsiders, though this is held to be not nearly as bad as Narsuran xenophobia.  The perception of Augeidhans by the Embadrans was always one of a â,¬Å"soft,â,¬Â â,¬Å"decadent,â,¬Â â,¬Å"pleasure-lovingâ,¬Â people.  This is easily disproved by Siyanâ,¬,,¢s notoriously combative and independent streak, but Siyanin do tend to value luxury items and fine clothing.  Grey is worn in religious garments, but besides that Siyanin clothing tends to be as colorful as the wearer can afford (though usually not too garish).  Siyanin middle and upper classes value imported luxuries, and the local availability of silk, incense, and spicewood have made their possession common among the Siyanin that can afford such things.  A silk sash about the waist is a common statement of means in Siyanin society, and even the stingiest merchant will likely have one to indicate his status as a person of money and trade.  Typical Siyanin clothing is loose and breezy, and topped with a headscarf to protect against the sun.  The combination of loose, often open clothing and the covering the head has spawned many tavern jokes about Siyanin women, who are reputed to cover their heads with great care while being somewhat less concerned with modesty elsewhere.  While Siyanin dress is less conservative than some other traditions, these rumors are greatly exaggerated.

The Siyanin are famous for heavily spiced dishes.  This is partly because of the availability of spices, and partly because the need to cover up the taste of spoiling is more urgent in hot climates.  Siyan dishes are often spiced to the point of being distasteful or unpalatable to outsiders used to blander food.  Narsurans generally find Siyanin food to be totally inedible, though many nobles and rich merchants elsewhere in the heartlands have acquired tastes for Siyanin-style dishes.  Crushed ice and fruit juice is a uniquely Siyanin delicacy; those who can afford it have it brought from Siyanâ,¬,,¢s mountaintops, while those with even more resources at their disposal may secure a more magical source.  The most well known Siyanin dish is probably Desj, a pudding-like rice paste flavored with meat (usually mutton or fish) and mixed with various ground spices.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Cities and Towns]
Siyan has many significant towns, but few truly large cities like Aicaioun, Ashuba, or Costhemeiam (before the Great Wave).  Siyan was largely spared from the horrors of the Wave.

The seat of the Zara is in Terebain, in western Siyan.  Terebain is one of the oldest continually inhabited human cities in the Heartlands, and was a garrison town before the Manifest Ruin.  While it is not a great center for trade, it is an important administrative center and is an important central point for the movement of agricultural goods to the coast.  In the latter days of the Exarchate, the constable of Terebain had the Nemna river diverted to surround the city with a constantly running moat.  The city remains in the middle of the river, connected to the shore by two causeways.  Further down the river is the city of Nemna, one of Siyanâ,¬,,¢s primary merchant ports, where goods from the irrigated Nemna river valley eventually make their way before moving onward to their destinations elsewhere in the Heartlands.

Siyanâ,¬,,¢s west is dominated by the â,¬Å"Triad,â,¬Â the three cities of Arshand, Dethevesta, and Angesjar.  Arshand is the most famous; it lies directly adjacent to the ancient Shadan city of Arshandein, part of the lost Dominion of Resheia, which lies sunken in the cityâ,¬,,¢s harbor.  The drowned buildings of Arshadein have long since turned into perilous reefs that are as dangerous to ships as they are beneficial to local fishermen (the ruins teem with undersea life).  The ancient â,¬Å"main streetâ,¬Â of Arshadein is now the only navigable channel from Arshand to open water, making Arshandâ,¬,,¢s port one of the most secure in the world.  The Zara Alchad had several warships sunk in the channel when it was clear the city would be lost to the Kaytines, rendering the port unusable to the invaders for months until the proper arcanists could finish raising the hulks from the channelâ,¬,,¢s bottom.  Dethevesta, another port city, lies to the west.  Dethevesta, the â,¬Å"deep harbor,â,¬Â is another one of Siyanâ,¬,,¢s most important mercantile ports, and is the location of the Zarateâ,¬,,¢s closely guarded silk workhouses.  Angesjar lies further inland, located by a series of hillside springs.  It was the last redoubt of many Siyanin rebels before they were inevitably pushed into the mountains, and is a well-fortified town that has enjoyed some modest prosperity from the spicewood groves that encircle it.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Sites of Interest]
The Statue of Himerishe - Overlooking Arshandâ,¬,,¢s port, standing by the center of the main channel, stands the marvelous and awesome statue of a robed Shadan woman.  According to an inscription below the waterline, she is Himerishe, recognized by the Shadan as the first Arcanist in history.  The statue stands 70 feet tall, though it appears somewhat shorter â,¬' the sinking of the old city led to the statue being submerged up to her ankles in the sea.  Even so, the statue has resisted weathering remarkably well, as it was crafted out of some magical black rock that has proven impervious to every effort to chip or crack it.

The Orderine Orrery â,¬' Angesjar is home to the most well known of the Siyanin schools of philosophy, the Celestial Hierarchy.  The Hierarchy is committed to the idea that all things have a well defined place in the clockwork functioning of nature, and that only by harmonious obedience to oneâ,¬,,¢s place in that order can one gain true satisfaction and mental attunement with the world.  Their principal retreat is called the â,¬Å"Orderine Orreryâ,¬Â by the Siyanin, as it is the location of an immense gilded indoor orrery that purportedly charts not only the placement of the celestial globes, but the order of living things and greater powers on the face of Ralum and within the darkest reaches of the Inner Realm.  Much research and divination has gone into its construction, as well as fine craftsmanship.  The Orderines (Hierarch cenobites) spend hours in prayer with the Orrery, contemplating its mysteries and implications in silent meditation.

Keirad â,¬' The Azine Gap has always been important to Siyan both strategically and economically, as all traffic from deeper Aziaa â,¬' friend or foe â,¬' must traverse this break in the mountains of Ephayrasaa.  At the northern edge of the gap lies the isolated stronghold of Keirad.  Keirad is both a military headquarters and a trading post.  The citadel itself is administered by a Siyanin constable, but the habitations and markets that have grown around the citadel are generally left to their inhabitants to run and maintain.  More Saulzarel live here than humans, and Pharesai merchants can often be found here as well.  Keriad is an important stop on the incense trade from Oud Miran, as well as the last outpost of Siyan civilization and rule before the vast wastelands of central Aziaa.

The City of Rain â,¬' Stragglers from an Azian tribe were once intercepted by an Exarchate army just east of the Azine Gap, but they were heading west, rather than east into Siyan.  A questioning of their leaders revealed that they had sighted a city shrouded in clouds and rain within the Broken Sands, and had gone to see if any plunder awaited them.  They were instead swallowed up by the rainy mists, and became utterly lost â,¬' only a handful had found their way out of the cityâ,¬,,¢s drizzling shroud, and soon the city had moved  away from the survivors, its form vanishing into the dunes.  Their tale was dismissed as fantasy, but even to this day there are occasional tales of travelers sighting a city in the desert wreathed in rainclouds.  The Saulzarel do not say much about their encounters with the City of Rain, but they are well known to regard the entire Broken Sands as a â,¬Å"cursedâ,¬Â desert, and do not enter its reaches willingly.[/spoiler]

Asir Embadra

Once a holy place to the Shadan, the mountain-ringed basin of Asir (literally, â,¬Å"highâ,¬Â) Embadra has long been a forgotten land.  Only the coming of the Aludani in the early years of the Grand Embadran Empire truly opened this land to explorers, colonists, soldiers, traders, and adventurers.  Asir Embadra now is one of the most thriving lands in the greater Heartlands; the Concordant Haven is the only state in Jadanar where two races rule and live as equals, a state only beginning to realize its potential to be a significant power in the Heartlands and beyond.

[spoiler=Nomenclature]
â,¬Å"Asir Embadraâ,¬Â is the name of the former Thusmar located here under the Embadran Empire, but this name is only used by the humans of the Heartlands.  To the Shadan, it is Aserâ,¬,,¢asja-li, â,¬Å"the high holy place.â,¬Â  To the Aludani who first settled here after the Ruin, it was Inta-Om, â,¬Å"high home.â,¬Â  The residents of Asir Embadra do not have one set name for it; the Aludani and Humans still use their separate names, though â,¬Å"high homeâ,¬Â has also become a frequently used name in some human communities.

There are no such things as â,¬Å"Asir Embadrans.â,¬Â  Aludani and Humans from the Concordant Haven, which spans nearly all of the region, call themselves â,¬Å"A-Jemaâ,¬,,¢anâ,¬Â (Low Ayan) or â,¬Å"Solniâ,¬Â (Aludani) â,¬' both of these words essentially translate to â,¬Å"Havenites,â,¬Â or â,¬Å"those of the Haven.â,¬Â  In the Heartlands, â,¬Å"A-Jemaâ,¬,,¢anâ,¬Â (or its translations) is sometimes used, but more often the humans of Asir Embadra are called â,¬Å"A-Esirâ,¬,,¢an,â,¬Â literally, â,¬Å"the high people.â,¬Â

The Concordant Haven is a strange political entity that rules loosely over the aludani and humans of Asir Embadra.  The name was decided upon by a council of leaders from both races, and has been used since the first All-Father and All-Mother were installed in the dual monarchy.

Aludane and Low Ayan are both spoken in Asir Embadra, though High Ayan can also be occasionally heard.  Most native humans know at least some Aludane, and many are quite fluent; the Aludani usually know some Low Ayan as well, but they have a lesser aptitude for languages and have difficulty with some of the sharper sounds in Ayan.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Geography and Climate]
Asir Embadra is a collection of mountain valleys that run together in a fairly large basin.  The elevation is quite high, and the terrain is rather rough; though valleys are easy to transit, going between them involves rigorous hiking over hills and mountains.  Chariots are generally unsuitable save on established roads, of which there are only a few â,¬' the aludani have no need for them.  Each valley has one or more small rivers, which merge near the center of the basin to form the two dominant rivers, named after the first All-Father and All-Mother (Kusjdes and Lotau).  These flow south and east into the Ehar, eventually reaching the Shadan land of Cashuar.

As one might expect from an alpine land, Asir Embadra is quite cold compared to the plains of Ezannum and the Ehar below it.  Isolated from rainclouds, the climate is quite dry, with water provided mostly from the snow-laden peaks that ring the basin.  The elevation means that plants do not grow large, and there are few large trees in the region.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Inhabitants]
Most of the inhabitants of Asir Embadra are humans and aludani.  Humans make up a bit more than half of the population, though it is believed that this advantage is lessening thanks to the higher birth rate of the aludani and continued migration of their peoples from the Ehar.  The Concordant Haven has recently begun trade with the Dominate of Niirda, which lies far downriver of the Haven, and as a result Shadan and Halflings are being seen in Asir Embadra with increasing regularity.  Sarfeir are very rare, but the occasional explorer or itinerant merchant from beyond Feihera is not uheard of.  Saulzarel and Sabasslians know virtually nothing of this land.  It is rumored that cabals of Bharim to live in the valleys, and occasionally one taken with the Madness ventures into human and aludan society[/spoiler]

[spoiler=History]
The â,¬Å"High Holy Placeâ,¬Â was once a place of Shadan worship, a mountaintop land where the Shadan held rituals and sacrifices to Niiraun.  At some point, the land was abandoned, apparently after a particularly savage Bharim attack.  Shadan ruins can still be found all over Asir Embadra, weathered and overgrown with the ages.  The Manifest Ruin changed little, though since the place had already been abandoned, few found shelter here from the great tribulations of the time.

The first of the great mortal races to visit Asir Embadra were the Sarfeir.  The Sarfeir Dominion sent scouts over the mountains just after Feihera was absorbed into the Dominion.  The scouts reported that the land was fertile and promising, but the difficulty of the transit over the mountains and the increasing difficulties with the Narsurans prevented any long-term Sarfeir presence from being established.  A few border outposts in the mountains were eventually abandoned as the Dominion declined.

The Aludani, created in the distant land of Cendroun, were the next to arrive in the â,¬Å"High Home.â,¬Â  The Aludani migrated across the desolate wastes of Enshaleth, arriving in the wide steppes of the Ehar a generation later.  As their numbers grew, several tribes migrated further into the High Home, where the Aludani made their first contacts with humans: the occasional human trader or explorer who told them of the great and mighty Grand Embadran Empire that lay over the mountains to the west.

Contact was minimal until the reign of Hemechamshaf III, when an aludani druid known as Udo led his tribe, the Ousethi, to dominance over the other aludani of the High Home.  Enticed by reports of the great wealth and power of the Empire, he led a host over the mountains and laid waste to Alesira, whose inhabitants fled in terror from the â,¬Å"half-man, half-horseâ,¬Â raiders.  With every aludan under his command swifter than any human, Udo and his successors raided far and wide, striking into Narsura and virtually all of Embadra.  The armies of the Empire were repeatedly defeated by the more mobile aludan force, as the humans had not nearly enough chariots to beat them at their own game.  It took the brilliance of Tesfel the Evenhanded, a general of Narsuran birth acting on the orders of Hemechamshaf IV, to come up with a solution.  He organized a corps of experienced mountaineering soldiers from Aya, Tazria, Ocana and elsewhere.  Instead of trying fruitlessly to meet the aludan raids, Tesfelâ,¬,,¢s force crossed the mountains east into the High Home and made retaliatory raids into aludan land.  His strategy proved effective, though brutal and costly â,¬' it would take until the reign of Hemechamshaf VI to finally wrest High Home from the aludan and secure the land as a new Embadran province.

â,¬Å"Asir Embadraâ,¬Â was the name given to this land when the great valley was finally wrested from the Ousethi Horde of Aludani after decades of intermittent warfare.  Asir Embadra was the only Thusmarej (high province) that was not actually managed by a Thusmara (provincial governor) or a client king; the province remained in a â,¬Å"state of spears,â,¬Â essentially military administration, until the Malechus Hemechamshaf IX withdrew all Imperial soldiers from the province, citing mounting costs and diminishing returns from the perpetual occupation and defense of the region.  The two corps stationed there, however, refused to leave; over many years the soldiers had settled down with their families and were used to living in the high valleys.  The Malechus sent four entire corps to punish the troops for their disloyalty, but the natives knew the land well and ruined the expedition with an ambush that routed the Empireâ,¬,,¢s armies.  Hemechamshaf IX, furious at the defeat, pronounced that none of the rebels could ever return to the Empire and decided to leave them to their own devices.

Without the support of the Empire, the human colonies of Asir Embadra quickly fell under renewed aludan attack.  The aludani had not been totally expelled, only pacified, and soon the situation devolved into one of general hostility and open war.  Though much of the realm was fairly peaceful at any one time, skirmishes and battles between the races (and between rivals within each race) wracked Asir Embadra for decades.  The humans eventually fought a battle with the Aludani under the shadow of Auskeman, a towering crag in the east of the realm.  The humans, led by the warlord Nemunnem the Cold, slew aludani by the thousands.  The army fell upon their encampment, killing aludani children and elders.  Nemunnem (known to history as â,¬Å"the Repentantâ,¬Â), surveying the field the next day, was so horrified that he chose to fall on his sword, exclaiming that â,¬Å"on this field I have slain the soul of Man.â,¬Â  His lieutenant, Kusjdes Ash-Tree, was so moved that he sought out the retreating aludani and begged their forgiveness, and according to legend broke his spear in two before the elders, saying that he would never kill again.  The aludani and humans met for the first time in peace, and after several years of tense negotiation founded the Concordant Haven, to be ruled jointly by the races.

The Haven grew steadily in the years that followed, and was confirmed in its unified existence by the successful defeat of a warlike aludan tribe from the east, which the native aludan agreed to fight together with their human neighbors.  The borders of the Haven remained secure after that, with the declining Empire caring little and the aludani of the east checked in their expansion.  The Great Wave did not touch the Haven, and the enclave of men and aludani has remained intact and increasingly prosperous.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Politics and Power]
With peace in Asir Embadra so elusive for so many years, it was a miracle that a settlement was reached at all, and the balance and complexity of the settlement is a testament to the will of the peoples of the Concordant Haven and their desire for an end to uncertainty and strife.

The original council of humans and aludani decided that there could be no one leader; a leader might simply favor his or her own race.  It was decided that there would be two; one aludan and one human, one male and one female.  The two were to be married symbolically â,¬' humans and aludani cannot reproduce together, but the marriage symbolized the attachment of the two races, as well as the equality of the two leaders.  The races, however, were at odds at how to select these leaders.  The humans had a long tradition of monarchy, and scoffed at any proposal that was not hereditary.  The aludani ruled themselves by council, and rejected the idea of a monarchal family out of hand.  Thus, the humans opted to make their half of the monarchy hereditary, while the aludani ruler is elected by a council of elders.

The rulers are known as the All-Mother and All-Father, though the humans often call them the â,¬Å"Zaraâ,¬Â and â,¬Å"Zarasiâ,¬Â (though Asir Embadra is properly not a Zarate, nor has it ever been).  The two rule as one, and if one dies the other is also removed.  Each race then advances its own selection, the humans from the royal family and the aludani from their elder council.  The races take turns on appointing males and females; if the All-Father is human, when he dies (or leaves office due to the All-Motherâ,¬,,¢s death) the humans then select a female from the royal family to become All-Mother.  Because humans and aludani have a similar lifespan, this generally works out well.  As unforeseen accidents require plenty of available heirs, however, the human royal family is constantly being replenished, with concubines ensuring that the family is robust and large.  The â,¬Å"married coupleâ,¬Â does not always see eye to eye, but there have been many co-rulerships in which the honorary husband and wife were good friends and cooperated together for the good of the people.

The politics of Asir Embadra are quite complicated.  Because either ruler can veto the decision of the other, all policies must be worked out between them.  The human royal family and the aludani elder council constantly compete with each other for positions in the Concordant household, the inner circle of officials and functionaries.  So far, this has yet to result in open fighting, but â,¬' as is the case with most political systems in Ralum â,¬' the rare poisoning has happened.  Still, for all its infighting and competition, the system has held the society of Asir Embadra together since the days of the Empire, and shows no signs of decay.

The current All-Father is Sesoda, an aludan, and his wife is Meidiroe the Black (called so for her long, raven-colored hair), the human â,¬Å"Zarasi.â,¬Â  Both are known for their willful and stormy dispositions, and though the Haven has been at times at a political impasse, they show enough willingness to work together and have so far been good stewards of the realm.  They have recently begun establishing contacts with the outside world that were dropped years ago, judging that the rapidly changing political situation of the Heartlands is no longer something they can watch passively.  They are somewhat hemmed in, however, by the revived Kingdom of the Two Crowns, and both the Royal Family and the Elder Council have expressed worry over the possible expansionist aims of the Narsuran King.

The royal family, the lineage of the first All-Father â,¬' Kusjdes Ash-Tree â,¬' is much larger than any similar families.  It is essentially a class of society on its own; hundreds legally claim his lineage, and it is not uncommon at all to meet several members in a single ordinary day (at least, in the larger towns).  Though they are accounted some minor rights above a normal human, they benefit chiefly by being more prestigious than the rest.  Some members, however â,¬' far removed from any chance of succession, and disinterested in the power grabs and infighting â,¬' have little to do with the Family, and live out their lives as normal citizens instead.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Legal]
The Concordant Haven operates under three legal systems; one governs humans, one governs aludani, and one governs offenses and regulations that occur between members of the two races.  The human code is virtually identical to the Code of Hemecham.  The Aludani administer themselves without any set laws, preferring the edicts and judgement of their elders.  The legal system that fills the gaps between these systems is a simple code that regulates minor offenses, along with a stipulation that higher offenses be taken before a â,¬Å"Seat Council,â,¬Â made up of equal members of each race, which decides ad hoc punishments and decrees in such cases.  The Council is appointed by the All-Father and All-Mother.

Visitors to the Haven will find legal repercussions quite different depending on who it is they offend or injure.  Attacking a man with a weapon will result in a heavy fine and a finger being cut off, while attacking an aludan in the same way will get you thrown in a village trash pit to stew for a few weeks.  The Seat Council usually only arbitrates disputes between natives of the Haven; foreigners are typically subject to the justice of the race whose member was wronged.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Religion]
Malechism, the worship of the Empireâ,¬,,¢s bloodlines, has virtually died out among the humans of the Haven.  Nearly all are followers of the Nymph Goddesses, introduced to the region by the Aludani.  Their faith is tremendously popular here, and it is rare to find a practitioner of another faith.  Human priests of the Goddesses have traveled from the Haven to the Heartlands for years to spread the word of the new deities, and at home their temples have tremendous influence on public life.  All are worshipped in the Haven, but Yilmira, Imrile, Talsirra, Pirmaea, and Alhanna are the most popular among humans.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Economy]
The isolation of Asir Embadra has not produced a trade-based economy.  While trade in foodstuffs and other resources between valleys is common, little travels outside the basin.  Recently, the Shadan in Cashuar have begun trading textiles, salt fish, parchment, and other such goods to the people of the Haven by the two dominant rivers, which the inhabitants of Asir Embadra barter for their grain and abundant tin deposits.  Asir Embadraâ,¬,,¢s tin supplies are vast and valuable â,¬' they are unique in that the tin lodes are by and large not mixed with arsenic, making the production of bronze much less toxic than normal.  Unfortunately, the high mountains prevent any meaningful trade with the Heartlands.

Asir Embadra is known also for the production of Tulo Root paste, a thick substance with an earthy mint flavor that produces local numbness and acts as a light stimulant.  The locals enjoy it quite often, though recently it has become quite fashionable among the elite of Cashuan society.  This forms an increasingly large part of Asir Embadraâ,¬,,¢s exports.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Magic]
The original aludan settlers of Asir Embadra came with a strong druidic tradition, and that tradition has remained among the Aludani.  Because it is viewed as central to Aludani social and cultural organization, however, the tradition has not been shared with the humans of the Haven, among whom druids remain somewhat uncommon (though some still feel themselves called to serve by the Nymph Goddesses).

The humans were the first to introduce arcane magic, in the form of a handful of Battle-Arcanists and Poets that traveled with the expeditionary forces of the Empire.  The humansâ,¬,,¢ superior aptitude for arcanism has given them a continued hold on the vocation of arcanist, but many aludani have found inspiration in the poetic tradition.

Redbinders are surprisingly not uncommon here, due to the esteemed status in which they are held by the aludani.  The humans of the Haven have become accustomed to living with them, and human redbinders â,¬' while they still may be shunned by their local communities â,¬' are often given some level of acceptance in broader human society within the Haven.  Aludani, certainly, have nothing against such individuals, viewing the â,¬Å"curseâ,¬Â of the redbinder as a blessing and a sign of a great destiny.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Culture and Food]
The isolated nature of Asir Embadra has led to the creation of a somewhat hybridized aludan-human culture distinct from that of the Heartlands humans or the aludani of the Ehar.  People of the Haven, whether human or aludan, are suspicious of outsiders but more open to alternative cultures and thought than most peoples of the Heartlands.  They dismiss the traditions of the Heartlands as irrelevant to their multiracial society, though the humans of the Haven still owe much of their culture and society to those same traditions.

The humans of Asir Embadra are used to wearing much heavier clothing than their relatives in the Heartlands.  They favor trousers, uncommon among Embadrans, as well as several layers of cloth and woolen tunics of different shades.  These are worn such that each layer pokes out from under the layer on top of it around the sleeves and waist, so that bands of shade and color are present all along the forearms and hips.  Womenâ,¬,,¢s fashion is similar, with multiple dresses stacked to give the same colorful borders.  More color is indicative of higher social standing.  There is but one sumptuary law in the Haven: no common human may wear green, as that is the color of the Royal Family, and reserved for their members.  It is usually easy to distinguish members of the Family in this way, though they will sometimes obscure their lineage simply by wearing no green.  Men and women both are known for their wool caps; in men, these are in the Narsuran style, while in women they are tall, peaked cones with tassels hanging by the cheeks.

Aludani of Asir Embadra often wear similar tunics, unlike their eastern brethren who go bare-chested or with hide wrappings up to the mid-chest.  They wear the â,¬Å"back-hangingsâ,¬Â traditional to the aludani, essentially blanket-like skirts that go from the front to back of the â,¬Å"horse sectionâ,¬Â of their bodies.  They rarely wear headgear, but do often braid or fork their facial hair, something not done by aludani outside the Haven.

Meat is an uncommon dish in Asir Embadra; aludani do not eat it, and humans only occasionally enjoy fowl or mutton.  Like Embadrans, humans of the Haven eat many dishes inside Simaj, circular pieces of soft flatbread, but have adopted a taste for Abirm (a fermented yogurt-like drink) from the Narsurans.  The Aludani eat largely in the traditional manner, with shared meals out of a single large pot, but have been adopting human simaj as well.  They have learned the art of beermaking from the humans and turned it into a hallowed art; aludan beer from the Haven is considered by those who know to be some of the best in Jadanar.  Humans and aludani alike use Tulo Root in cooking, humans especially in the preparation of meats.  As the leaves are inedible, Tulo tea is not possible, but humans have learned to use the root mash as a base to ferment a heady liquor with the numbing and stimulant properties of Tulo root.  This is a common drink among the humans of the Haven, who are reputed to handle their alcohol quite well.  After a day of work, it is common for the men of human communities to join in Tulo liquor drinking, accompanied by blessings to Alhanna.  Sometimes, the occasional aludan in the community will join them in this.

As good timber is rare in Asir Embadra, buildings are made out of stone or sod.  The humans of the Haven are accomplished workers in stone.  Some aludani live in the traditional fashion, with long huts made of interwoven branches, but more now live in stone-walled longhouses with branches forming only the roof, in a combination of human and aludan styles.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Cities and Towns]
Most humans and aludani live in small villages and farming communities, though humans are slightly more given to the urban life than their four-legged neighbors.  The largest town in Asir Embadra is actually two towns, Marar and Osjmeia, on opposite sides of the River Lotau.  The river is wide and has never been bridged, but the two keep in constant contact through a whole system of river barges.  Together, they form the main port at which the Shadan conduct their missions of trade and diplomacy in Asir Embadra.  The cities together have around eight thousand souls, perhaps five thousand of them human.

The oldest human town is Sessara, a slurred form of â,¬Å"Zaraâ,¬,,¢s might,â,¬Â once the main citadel of the Imperial Corps of Asir Embadra and the seat of the Spear-Court that ruled over the Thusmar.  The citadel itself was allowed to stand after the Pact of the Haven was enacted between the two races; the pact stipulated that all other fortifications in the land be dismantled as a gesture of human goodwill.  It now serves as the traditional court of the human Royal Family, and Sessara â,¬' though only boasting six thousand people, mostly humans â,¬' is a hotbed of familial intrigue.

The town of Olu, initially an aludan settlement, is the home of the Seat Council and the official residence of the All-Father and All-Mother, though they are elsewhere more often than not.  Though the town typically only has four or five thousand souls in the town proper, there are usually several thousand aludani camped around the town depending on the season.  During the meetings of the elder council of the Haven, the population of the area can surge to ten thousand or more, with aludani from all over the Haven coming to confer, discuss, argue, and learn.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Sites of Interest]
Skenkhiddarâ,¬,,¢s Lair â,¬' Not all of Asir Embadra is under the control of the Haven.  In the far north, the Ice Mountains have fallen under the influence of an undead Sarfeir known as Skenkhiddar.  The humans of the Haven call him â,¬Å"Manasâ,¬,,¢skeil,â,¬Â the cold and cruel one.  A Sarfeir sorcerer in service to some fearful power, Skenkhiddar was transformed into a lich, and has bound the long dead Sarfeir of the lost Marak-Feihera to his fell service.  From his citadel, called Skenkhiddarâ,¬,,¢s Lair or â,¬Å"the North Tower,â,¬Â his ghoul army raids and sacks settlements in the dead of night.  The Tower itself is an old border fort from the days of the Sarfeir Dominion, though it is now rumored that Manasâ,¬,,¢skeil is expanding it, digging a tunnel towards the buried realm of his mysterious underground lord.

Onyx Ring â,¬' The Onyx Ring is a strange and ancient relic from the dim ages of the Progenitors, long before the Spellwar.  This much has been divined by arcanists â,¬' but its purpose and power is still unclear.  Originally, it is believed the Ring was some kind of circular structure or one or more circular arrangements of standing stones, all made from what modern arcanists call â,¬Å"shade crystal,â,¬Â which seems to be virtually indestructible.  Nevertheless, the Ring was gravely damaged at some point; the stones were almost totally obliterated, leaving only a few overgrown pits where great stones once stood, and some remnant shards of whatever once stood.  It is reputed to hold great power - or at least, to have held it at some point - but none know how to tap it; the ruin represents a magic far older than arcanism.  The valley was once haunted by the minions of Skenkhiddar, but recently, a new threat has displaced them: a Bharim sorcerer, taken by the Madness, has taken control of the Ring and skulks there, dotting the valley with the bones of his victims.

The Veiled Grove â,¬' One of the only groves of full-sized trees in Asir Embadra, the Veiled Grove is a stand of old and sprawling willow trees by the banks of the Kusjdes River.  The grove was always considered holy by the Aludani, and was chosen to be the location of the marriage ceremony of the rulers of the Haven.  The grove is kept by a circle of aludan druids and an oracle, a nymph called the Vision-Willow who gives prophecies to visitors.  The grove is otherwise unoccupied except during the Marriage, when aludani and humans surround the area in great pavilion tents, celebrating and praying before and after the ceremonies.

Tesfelâ,¬,,¢s Retreat â,¬' The Imperial General in command of the initial invasion of the High Home, Tesfel the Evenhanded, eventually retired his military command and chose to retire in the land he had won for the Malechus.  His men arranged to build him a home high in the mountains in the west of Asir Embadra, near the highest point of the very pass that bears his name, where the first Imperial expeditionary corps crossed into aludan territory.  Ã¢,¬Å"The Roost,â,¬Â as the soldiers liked to call it, is an impressive â,¬' if not huge â,¬' semi-fortified mansion in the clouds.  The rooms are partly dug into the rock, but despite this, the home is comfortable and well-furnished.  The Roost is now administered by the human royal family, and functions as a watchpost for the Concordant Haven, as well as a depot, inn, and tavern for travelers going over Tesfelâ,¬,,¢s Pass.[/spoiler]

Aya

Though now peripheral to the political and cultural nexus of the Heartlands, Aya was once the heart of Embadran civilization and power.  It was here that, according to legend, the first human ruler declared himself and his people free of the Shadan yoke; it was here that the first Embadran empire was founded, an achievement that would one day provide the foundation for a Grand Embadran Empire.  Now, Aya is a church-ruled tributary of Marmeira, but as empires rise and fall, Ayaâ,¬,,¢s time to lead may one day come again.

[spoiler=Nomenclature]
The people of Aya are known as Ayans; they almost totally pure-blooded Embadrans who have seen little comingling with the other nations of men.  Until the Years of Swift Arrows, having Ayan blood â,¬' specifically, the blood of the Malechid dynasty â,¬' was seen as a crucial component of any claim to leadership over the people of Embadra.  Many Ayans migrated west to Marmeira, Kaytium, Parzasa, and Alesira, as well as east to Tazria.  Most modern humans of Embadran ethnicity can claim Ayan blood, though few have any records proceeding back to the age of Malecha and the first free humans.

The Ayans speak High Ayan, a direct derivation of Shadan, from which Low Ayan (spoken chiefly in Kaytium and Marya) is in turn derived.  The High Ayan of Aya itself has maintained its own dialect to an astounding degree, and â,¬' unlike the High Ayan spoken in Marmeira â,¬' has changed little since earier days.  High Ayan in the Ayan dialect is considered by other Embadrans to have a â,¬Å"refinedâ,¬Â accent, despite the fact that Ayan peasants speak it along with Ayan noblemen.  Often, Embadran rulers, nobles, courtiers, and scholars will adopt an Ayan affectation to seem more noble, traditional, or well-educated.  Shadan is commonly heard in Aya, as Shadan, halflings, and humans from Balshiha and the Dominion proper are common visitors to this land.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Geography and Climate]
Aya is a roughly crescent shaped piece of land, centered around the Gulf of Demaphio, and surrounded on the outside by the towering peaks of the Embadran Mountains.  Only in the south is an easy land transit to foreign lands possible, where the Ayan plains merge with the wide Marmeiran countryside.  Ayaâ,¬,,¢s geography is defined by these features; in the north and east the land is a dense succession of small river valleys fed by mountain snowcaps.  To the south, Aya resembles the Marmeiran landscape â,¬' a very gently rolling plain, dotted occasionally with a copse of trees.  Though Ayaâ,¬,,¢s arable land is not vast, the constant rains and accessible rivers make the farmland it does possess uniquely productive all year round.

Aya has a moderate climate, kept that way by the nearby ocean, though the high mountains that nearly encircle the realm keep rainclouds from straying far.  Aya is thus well known for its rain, which can come at nearly any time of the year.  It is equally well known for the cloud cover that seems omnipresent in all but the southmost regions of the country.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Inhabitants]
Aya is populated predominantly by humans; few others have access to this relatively remote land.  Shadan and halflings are frequent visitors, however, and maintain homes and businesses in many Ayan port towns.  A Sarfeir or Saulzarel in Aya would be a wondrous (and perhaps fearsome) oddity.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=History]
Aya was a distinct â,¬' though considerably larger â,¬' land before the Manifest Ruin, a subject Zarate of the Dominion of Niirda.  Its original name has been lost.  Its primary fastness was not the citadel known as Cha-Aya, but in the wake of the Ruin, Cha-Aya had the distinction of being the only such citadel that was not either in ruins or underwater.  It took several decades before the humans of Cha-Aya were willing to admit that they had to appoint a new Zara despite the fact that the Shadan were nowhere to be found.  This new Zara was an older warrior named Kus.  When he died only a few years after his appointment, the Ayans chose a young warrior as the next Zara, called Malecha.

Only a few years into Malechaâ,¬,,¢s reign, the Shadan Legate Masheich arrived at Cha-Aya, sent by Thaua, the Dominate of Niirda.  Masheich was welcomed warmly by many â,¬' after all, the Shadan were the godlike creators of the humans, and their absence since the Ruin had caused much apprehension.  Malecha, however, saw things differently.  As the famed Ayan chronicler Mandan wrote in Deeds of the Malechids,

Quote from: Politics and PowerThough in theory Aya is ruled by Uneid, the High Priest of the Temple of Malecha Eternal, in practice he does the bidding of the Marmeiran Zara Basheilgashaf the Fair-Haired.  The priesthood is allowed considerable autonomy in local affairs, and administers commerce, law, and reconstruction without much Marmeiran interference.  The High Priest, however, is not allowed to keep a standing army, and plays no role in foreign affairs.  Relatively distant to the power centers of the Heartlands, Aya thus is a frequently overlooked borderland realm.  Even the Shadan do not keep an embassy in Aya, preferring to be closer to the center of real power in Marmeira.

Ayaâ,¬,,¢s sole influence comes from its religious position.  Pilgrimages to Aya are on the rise since a low point at the fall of the Empire, and the High Priest has authority over Malechist sects abroad, such as the Temple of the Conquerer of Nations, the Temple of the Crimsonhanded, and the Temple of the Uniter and Preserver.  This influence is limited because of the fractured nature of the post-Empire Heartlands.  The Malechist priests of Kaytium, for example, are bound to be more loyal to the Kaytine Zara Brensimar than a distant Ayan High Priest.  Still, the clergy of Aya uses this authority whenever possible, constantly looking for ways to aggrandize itself and insinuate its moral and political authority into foreign lands.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Legal]
Aya is fully devoted to the Code of Hemecham, which is taken as near holy scripture by the priesthood.  It survives in a totally unadultered form in Aya, and is carried out efficiently and effectively by the High Priest and his appointed constable-clergymen.  The High Priest prides himself on running an ordered, law-abiding state, and endeavors to make sure it remains so.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Religion]
Malechism is the only approved religion of Aya.  The Shadan are tolerated along with their devotion to Niiraun, but any human deviations from the faith of the Empire are ruthlessly extirpated.  Anaedans are especially hated; Aya is the only land in these â,¬Å"followers of the one true powerâ,¬Â are executed for their heresies.  Augeidhans are not treated as harshly, but face fines and expulsion if they are found practicing their faith.  Worship of the Nymph Goddesses is permitted graciously, so long as it is in addition to, rather than instead of, the state religion.  Religious tithes are required of all save the Shadan and their servants, whether they profess the faith or not.

As might be expected, Aya is structured in the image of the priesthood, and religious holidays and observances are public, widespread, impressive affairs.  Priests are present at all levels of government, administering secular and civil affairs as any other bureaucrats.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Economy]
Ayaâ,¬,,¢s economy is small, like its population, but in spite of Aicaiounâ,¬,,¢s ascendance it continues to play an important role in trade with Balshiha, Tazria, and the Dominate of Niirda.  The ability of the land to produce grain and other foodstuffs, while respectable, is far eclipsed by Siyan and Pharesaa, and thus the export economy relies on mineral trade.  The Embadran Mountains are plentiful sources of silver, tin, and lead.  Tinâ,¬,,¢s importance to bronzeworking has assured Ayaâ,¬,,¢s continued relevance the southern Heartlands.

Aya is agriculturally self-sufficient, and its imports are dominated by goods used by the priesthood â,¬' incense, cloth, spicewood, and gold.  Copper is also imported for domestic bronzeworking purposes.

Aya uses Imperial coin for large transactions, but as with most places in the Heartlands, coinage is used almost exclusively by merchants, priests, well-off adventurers, and others with means.  The coinage of the Dominion is seen, though uncommonly, and is accepted in most port towns.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Magic]
Philosophers are reasonably common in Aya, especially those affiliated with Malechism.  A Malechist sect of the Celestial Hierarchy exists here.  Arcanists are less common, though certainly some of the Shadan practice arcanism.  The exception to this is in Nestinasj, where arcanists are quite common.  Druids are forbidden to use their powers in Aya, save for ceremonial purposes in their own temples.

Redbinders are greatly feared and hated, even more so in Aya than in other Heartlands realms, but the Sacred Protectorate is loathe to do anything about it.  The powerful community of redbinders in Nestinasj would look dimly on any open persecution, and the Sacred Protectorate is afraid enough of their presence that Redbinders are typically "escorted" to Nestinasj and otherwise unmolested.  This does not stop the occasional superstitious peasant mob from indulging in persecutions of their own, but the High Priest routinely denies any connection with such riots.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Culture and Food]
Ayan culture is similar to that of the Marmeirans, though with Shadan and other eastern influences.  Embadran dress generally consists of a knee-length tunic, covered by an ankle-length wrap.  Embadrans favor certain color combinations deemed to be properly asthetic.  Some of these combinations are indicative of certain bloodlines, nations, and traditions; green is traditionally a color of nobility, and orange often represents western descent.  Women wear dresses; in Aya, they are in a very Shadan style, conservative and high-necked with spiralling stripes of dark color.  Peasants and workers usually wear a simple skullcap, while wealthy and upper-class men wear peaked felt caps.  Women do not typically cover their hair.

Embadran food generally is based around simaj, circular pieces of soft flatbread used to contain or complement other foods.  Mutton and fish are the most common meats in Ayan cuisine, though meat is only commonly consumed by the rich.  Ayan food is notoriously salty, and while other Embadrans may be used to similar food, other folk of the Heartlands are often put off.  The frequent rain in Ayaâ,¬,,¢s hilly highlands is perfect for growing lurei, a plant used for tea and seasoning throughout Embadra.  Lurei (pronounced loo-ray) tea is commonly consumed by all members of Embadran society, especially on colder, rainy days.

Ayan culture is defined by its age, and Embadrans travelling to Aya often view Ayan architecture and traditions to be rustic and quaintly old-fashioned; the more cosmopolitan realms of Marmeira, Parzasa, Kaytium, and Alesira have all undergone more rapid cultural change than Aya ever has, especially considering Ayaâ,¬,,¢s isolated nature even during the best years of the Grand Embadran Empire.

Drinking is frowned upon by many denizens of Aya, perhaps mimicking the notoriously abstemious culture of the Shadan.  Alcohol is usually found only in the homes of peasants, and the few taverns that exist are generally seedy and low-class.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Cities and Towns]
The oldest community in Aya, Chayan, takes its name from a colloquial slurring of Malechaâ,¬,,¢s citadel (Cha-Aya).  The town is long past the height of its influence and has long been eclipsed by Ayaâ,¬,,¢s more prosperous port cities.  Because it is the location of the Cha-Aya (for the most part, still standing) and the Temple of Malecha Eternal, however, Chayan remains inhabited, and an important town for its cultural, historical, and cultural history.  It is the official capital of the Sacred Protectorate, and the residence of the High Priest.

Ayaâ,¬,,¢s largest city is Teyal, a thriving port city that was sheltered from the worst effects of the Great Wave.  It was originally only one of three such cities, next to Agalein and Hurize, but both of these were annihilated by the Wave.  Teyal was Ayaâ,¬,,¢s de facto capital for a few years, between the destruction of Agalein (the old capital of the Thusmar) and the rise of the Sacred Protectorate in Chayan.  Teyal is the principal port of call for merchants coming to Aya, and has enjoyed unprecedented growth â,¬' unlike much of Aya, which has stagnated for years.

The largest inland settlement is Nestinasj, nestled in the upper reaches of Aya where the Embadran Mountains and the Shadowveil meet.  Nestinasj is an important location for Ayaâ,¬,,¢s farmers, especially lurei farmers, to barter and spend free time.  It would be otherwise nondescript save for its distinction as the oldest center of human Arcanism.  Riashe Ashfingers, third Zara of the Malechid dynasty, founded a school for arcanism here to bolster the arcane defense of his empire against the ever-dangerous Shadan remnants.  Demaphishaf the Fireblooded, founder (or re-founder) of the Neo-Malechid dynasty, declared Nestinasj to be a location where Redbinders would be allowed to come and live without persecution.  Though this was supposedly to study them, Demaphishaf himself was believed to be a Redbinder, and his motives may have been closer to his own heart.  Regardless, it has remained such a sancturay to this day; the city has never been conquered since those days.  It always eluded capture during the Shadan occupations, and even such anti-Redbinder rulers as Hemecham the Victorious shied away from â,¬Å"dealingâ,¬Â with Nestinasj.

Further east, the town of Esirul dominates one of the few passes over the Shadowveil into Abria.  The pass is not easy or terribly safe, but during times of danger on the seas the pass of Esirul is the only alternative for caravans to and from the Dominion of Niirda.  Only a few thousand live there now, but Abrian caravans and explorers heading to the northern Shadan domains often pass through this sleepy mountain town.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Sites of Interest]
Cha-Aya â,¬' The Citadel of Aya is an ancient structure, built during the Age of Progenitors by human labor as one of many garrison fortresses in this region.  It has been besieged many times in this age, and over the centuries the damage dealt to it has left it in a rather sorry state.  Though most of the citadel still stands, some floors have caved in and the exterior wall is almost gone from local recycling of the stone blocks.  Its use is limited to the occasional religious ceremony, as it is no longer in any shape to be used in a serious military function.

The Temple of Malecha Eternal â,¬' Hemecham the Victorious established one of the centers of Malechism, the state religion, in Chayan to commemorate the rule of Malecha and celebrate his divine bloodline.  The Temple was always the nomially holiest site of the Empire, though in practice the Malechusej paid greater respects to the Temple of the Uniter and Preserver in Kaytium, where the bloodline of Halkadrim and Hemecham was worshipped.  The Temple itself is a columned temple complex around a central stepped pyramid, upon which rests a silver-covered dome of Shadan craftsmanship.  Within its many buildings are located hosts of minor shrines, sacrificial altars, purifying baths, civil and ecclesiastical offices, treasuries, archives, and cloisters.  Under the central dome is the Dwelling of Manifest Subliminity, where only priests are allowed; supposedly, the ashes of Malecha and the rest of the Zaras of the early Malechid dynasty lie beneath the marble floor.  Nearly every Embadran Malechusej visited this room twice; once during the long coronation process, and once after his death, when his body was carried to each of the greater Temples before being cremated and coming to rest in a mausoleum built by the Malechus during his life.

The Gardens of Emla â,¬' The first Ausahchalid Zara, Aushachal Many-Talons, married a Balshihan noblewoman named Emla who had little desire to be in Aya, nor any love for Aushachal himself.  Their marriage is the topic of the Song of Sorrows, a Tazrian epic poem about Ausashalâ,¬,,¢s long and ultimately vain attempts to win the ladyâ,¬,,¢s heart.  Though it is not really known how accurate the Song actually is, the mist-shrouded gardens found in a northern valley of Aya are believed by many to be planted by Emla in remebrance of her homeland.  The garden is beautiful and expansive, though without any to tend it, the plants run wildly in every direction.  The garden is dotted with ancient statues, said to be gifts of fine Shadan craftsmanship from her husband in Chayan.  Though few travel here, those that do often bring back fantastic reports of a figure in the mist or the ghostly weeping, often attributed to a restless Emla who still wanders the gardens, mourning for her distant home.

Sanctum of the Art â,¬' The Sanctum, founded in Nestinasj by Zara Riashe Ashfingers, is the first known human school of arcanism.  The complex itself is large but not terribly impressive, being built for a very practical purpose â,¬' the training of arcanists for war.  Over time, as the neccessity of fighting the Shadan faded, the Sanctum became more holistically devoted to the study of Arcanism generally, and its students would later found similar schools throughout the Heartlands.  The Sanctum is still active today, specializing in evocation (in the spirit of its old purpose as a war academy) and research into arcane theory, facilitated by the redbinder presence in the city.  The Sanctum has kept the same rules since its inception, and those wishing to enter its halls in study or use its archives must first swear an oath of loyalty to Malecha Weaponbreaker, his house, and the freedom of humankind.[/spoiler]

Cosmology, Powers, and Scions

Iâ,¬,,¢m putting my work on the Heartlands on hold for a while to expound a little on the more universal aspects of Ralum and the powers-that-be.

[spoiler=Cosmology]
The World of Ralum is a single plane; all the various Realms are physically accessible to one another, save the Ethereal Realms â,¬' the Whitewaste and the Great Mist.  As far as the mortal races are concerned, there is nothing beyond Ralum; once over the edge of the great disk, one is consumed by nothingness, or manifest madness, or perhaps great and monstrous creations of the most ancient deities.

Ralum can be used as part of a larger cosmology; the Shadan tale of the None and the creation of Ralum implies the existence of another being from â,¬Å"outside the worldâ,¬Â that first convinced the None to begin its work.  If this is done, it must be remembered that the magic of planeshifting would be utterly foreign to nearly every power; even the Scions are likely unaware of the presence of other planes.  The discovery of a whole multiverse beyond the bounds of Ralum would likely be revolutionary, and a very dangerous and difficult secret to keep.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=The Four Material Realms]
Ralum is divided into four distinct material Realms.  The â,¬Å"First Realmâ,¬Â refers to the side of the disk on which the continent of Jadanar (among others) is located, the focus of my work so far.  Because most mortals are unaware of any other realms, however, they may use â,¬Å"Ralumâ,¬Â or â,¬Å"the worldâ,¬Â to refer only to this Realm.  In the Age of the Progenitors, the First Realm was the Realm of Creation, where the Scions were created and where the Shadan Dominions flourished.

On the other side of the disk is the Second Realm.  This is where the great Bharim Empire was founded after the flight of their race from the Shadan.  Of it, little is known.  How did the Manifest Ruin affect them?  Is it still a Bharim land, or is everything dead, or did their Saulzarel slaves form their own Realm-wide empire?

Between them lies the Inner Realm, which has been detailed previously.  It is the only physical connection between the two; if there is a way to â,¬Å"cross overâ,¬Â by going off the edge of the disk and onto the other side, nobody seems to know it, and few would try.

The disk is surrounded by the fourth and final Realm, the Outer Realm.  The Outer Realm was originally a vast nothingness, but after the Dictum of Four the Glimmer Scions were exiled to this blank land, charged with watching over all of Ralum for their penance.  Their progeny, the celestial races, over the centuries constructed great hollow spheres of ether pulled from the Ethereal Plane.  Upon these â,¬Å"globesâ,¬Â are built the civilization of the celestials, a mighty and grim hierarchy that surveys the lower Realms with an eternal melancholy vigilance.  Unlike some heaven of eternal delights, the celestial realm of Ralum is a cold, quiet, somber place, awe-inspiring and beautiful â,¬' but without laughter or hope.  Mortals know little of this, however, though they can see the Outer Realm.  The sky to the average observer is not full of stars (â,¬Å"starsâ,¬Â to a mortal of Ralum refers to what we call shooting stars, objects â,¬' or beings â,¬' falling from the Outer Realm), but rather vast globes of translucent ether, ranging in size (but all of enormous proportions), drifting slowly through the night sky.  For comparison, the moon seen from earth would be thought an unusually small such globe.  These celestial spheres are big.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=The Ethereal Realms]
Two Realms exist that cannot usually be reached by any physical means, though portals are rumored to exist.  In the terms of normal D&D, they are â,¬Å"demiplanes,â,¬Â though that term is meaningless in a cosmology in which there are no planes.  They are closely analagous to the Plane of Shadow and the Ethereal Plane.  They are coexistent with the material Realms, and can be used by those with great knowledge and power to travel large distances quickly.

The Whitewaste is anything but white.  It is called this because Shadan creation myths say that the None originally lived here, just one more particle in a vast realm of endless, roiling, riotous, brilliant energy.  When the None created Ralum, it drained nearly all the energy from the Whitewaste to create its masterpice, turning the Whitewaste into a cold and dismal domain of shadows.  The Whitewaste now is much like the Plane of Shadow in traditional cosmology, only far more bleak and desolate (if that can be imagined).  It is not a reflection of the material Realms, even a warped one, though sometimes material things do â,¬Å"bleedâ,¬Â into the Whitewaste.

The Great Mist is Ralumâ,¬,,¢s ethereal plane, called by many names: the Realm of Ghosts, the Fog of Time, Cloudhome, and so on.  It is essentially the same as the Ethereal Plane of standard D&D cosmology.  Its origins are not mentioned in the Shadanâ,¬,,¢s creation myths.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Transitive Magic]
There exists a peculiar bar to certain spells operating in Ralum.  Teleportation effects cannot take one between Realms.  A person in the Inner Realm can teleport to anywhere within that Realm as per the spell, but a person who crosses into the First Realm can only teleport to places there.  Thus, the only known ways to cross from one side of the disk to the other involve either crossing the Inner Realm physically, using the Whitewaste or the Great Mist as transitive planes, or using a plane shift effect.

Plane Shift and equivalent spells function as conveyance between Realms, even the material Realms.  A caster on the First Realm could shift to a material Realm like the Second, or to one of the Ethereal Realms.  Either way, the caster has no control over where they end up.

Spells that access the Astral Plane (assuming you have not added in a greater cosmology that includes this plane) are either unavailable or must be suitably modified to make use of one of the Ethereal Realms.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Death and Renewal]
What happens to mortals when they die?  Unlike some other campaigns, the answer to this question is generally well known, for a variety of reasons.  Ralum recycles its spirits.  This process is known by the Shadan as the Eternal Law.

When the body dies, the soul is carried elsewhere â,¬' nobody is sure â,¬' where it is slowly cleansed of its memories, and eventually returned to a new body.  Different soul types are incompatible with each other; a human could not be reincarnated as an aludan, because one is a Shade soul and the other is a Spirit soul.  An aludan could be reincarnated as a tree, however, or a human as a rabbit or a Sarfeir.  There are four types of souls (Shade, Glimmer, Gloom, Spirit), each descended from a certain group of Scions.  All mortal races detailed so far, including the Progenitors, are Shade souls (with the exception of the Aludani, who are Spirit souls).

The actual process of reincarnation is totally unknown.  Where do souls go?  Are there some souls, because of â,¬Å"enlightenmentâ,¬Â or their great wickedness, who are not reincarnated?  Why are mortal souls reincarnated?  There are no good answers to these questions.  What is known is that the process of â,¬Å"scrubbingâ,¬Â memories puts a certain statute of limitations on attempts to raise the dead.  Every month that passes, about 10% of the soulsâ,¬,,¢ past memories are lost, until after about 10 months it remembers nothing.  Someone raised from the dead after at least a month will have some amount of memory loss.  If they have been raised before the loss of all their memory (they have at least 10% left) this can be regained with a heal spell; if it is all gone, only a wish or miracle will restore their memory.

After some indeterminate number of years â,¬' apparently sometimes as short as one, other times several â,¬' the soul will be reincarnated in another body.  Nobody is sure how a new body is selected; some say that a good life will be rewarded with a higher form, while others say it is random, and still others say it is all according to some greater plan.  Attempts to resurrect people once they have been reincarnated automatically fail.  It is possible to resurrect someone regardless by slaying them in their current form and resurrecting them using some trace of their old form, but they will still lack all of their memories from their old life.

How is all this known?  The Niiraunshein speaks about the process of reincarnation, and the Bharim apparently taught the principle to their creations, the Saulzarel.  The best research, however, is magic.  About one in every 1,000 mortals remembers their previous life (a fairly significant proportion); for some reason, the process of cleansing the memory does not always work perfectly.  They only retain 10-90% of their memories, but the phenomenon is well-known enough to be commonly accepted, and in fact the average mortal is more shocked by an albino than a â,¬Å"recaller.â,¬Â  A wish or miracle will also restore oneâ,¬,,¢s memories from a previous life in full, though this is only an option to the most powerful arcanists and philosophers.  Such magic, for all its power, seems to be unable to go back any farther than one lifetime.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=The None]
There is one creator.  It is called many things by many beings; the names for the Great Creator are far too many to list here.  It is male to some, female to others; some account it as evil, some as good.  Some believe it is active in the world and walks among us, and some say it does not even know of the existence of mortals.  The Shadan call it the None, and this is the term we shall use here.

Virtually nothing is known of the None.  The Niiraunshein states that the None created Ralum out of the contents of the Whitewaste, in order to prove to another deific being that it was unique; by its logic, only that which created could truly be unique.  It populated the new world with the Scions, but found that it could not communicate with these lesser spirits.  Some intermediary was necessary, so it created the Arbiter, its manifestation within the material world, a fusing of material energy and the â,¬Å"divine nothingnessâ,¬Â of the None.  The Arbiter served as the Noneâ,¬,,¢s representative to mortals for ages, though it seldom interfered in their affairs after the Dictum of Four.

When the Unspeakable (a Bharim artifact weapon of tremendous power) was activated in desperation at the end of the Spellwar, it began going amok and destroying everything.  Nations were obliterated and whole continents sunk beneath the waves.  To destroy it and spare creation, the Arbiter sacrificed himself and utterly annihilated it.  Much damage had already been done, however, and that great upheaval is what is now known as the Manifest Ruin.  The Arbiter was never seen again, and since the Ruin there has been no contact with the None.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Scions]
The Scions were the original creations of the None, crafted to populate Ralum.  They were incorporeal spirits, but still made of ether or some other nebulous form.  At their creation, there were 32, 8 for each type of soul.  Led by their Firsts, they pondered what they were to do with their new existence, until the Arbiter was created to communicate a purpose to them.  The None was disappointed with their actions, however â,¬' perhaps expecting them to share in his own perfection â,¬' and as punishment for their unsatisfying nature, they were confined to material forms.  The Glimmers were the most damned of all, being sentenced to watch over the rest in the distant Outer Realm.

Scions are beings of tremendous power; they are still bound in matter, however (though most have ways of changing their forms).  Most keep themselves safely away from mortals, though some have known habitations upon Ralum or within the Inner Realm.  The Glimmer Scions, for their part, live exclusively in the celestial spheres.

Scions are not â,¬Å"godsâ,¬Â in the traditional D&D sense.  They cannot grant spells and have no portfolios.  There is no Scion of death, law, merchants, luck, or seafarers.  Scions, like mortals, have their own goals, desires, and vendettas, and are not paragons of any alignment â,¬' they can change as easily as mortals can.  The only sense in which a Scion can grant spells is to transform certain mortals into conduits for arcane energy; these mortals are known as Sorcerers.  The magic of a Sorcerer, however, does not actually originate from the Scion; the Scion simply maintains the link between the Sorcerer and the source of magic, whatever that might be.  Thus, like a D&D deity, a Scion can cut off all spells to a servant that displeases it.

Most Scions are not worshipped; the exception is Niiraun, the Lord of Grey, and God of the Shadan.  The Shadan revere him as a deity, partially because he was able in the distant past to banish the remaining Shade Scions into the Inner Realm (Thispus was killed by Niiraun, Tacha had long since manifested as an Archsoul and been banished, Ivreesha and Pagraha had departed with their followers, the proto-Bharim, and Tenaildin was away.  It is said that when she returned, she was so stricken with grief for her banished friends, that she walked into the sea and never returned).  These Scions are now known as the Ven, the Forgotten Lords, and their very mention by Shadan is considered heretical.

Scions have many names; the ones referred to here are their names as per the Niiraunshein, which coincide with the names found on the Cliffs of Junduo in Taun.  Scions apparently have genders, as they generally seem to appear exclusively as either female or male.  There are believed to befour males and four females of each type.  With some, like the Spirit Scions, even the most knowledgable sages arenâ,¬,,¢t quite sure which ones are which gender, as they are virtually never encountered by mortals.

Scions are thought to be immortal, but obscure histories report a few that have apparently been slain.  It is unknown what the truth of the matter is.  An appendix follows this post, containing the names of all Scions.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Archsouls]
To those mortals who know of them, the Archsouls are embodiments of all that is grotesque, villainous, and terrifying.  They are the self-appointed outcasts of creation who seek nothing more than to destroy that which gave them birth.  They have rejected the Dictum of Four and the Eternal Law, and make war upon the None and all his creation with all their strength and drive.

Not all the Scions accepted the Noneâ,¬,,¢s decree that they be henceforth banished into material forms (the Dictum of Four).  The Niiraunshein states that the four Firsts, the rulers of the four groups of Scions, conspired to rebel against their creator.  Together, Tacha, Enesul, Heshon, and Naesa, the most powerful of their kind, manifested as Archsouls and attempted to overthrow the Arbiter (the Noneâ,¬,,¢s manifestation in Ralum) and their fellow Scions.  They were defeated, and fled into the Inner Realm.

An Archsoul is a being which has found a way to break â,¬' or at least loosen â,¬' the bonds of reality upon itself.  Gravity, physics, time â,¬' these are all part of the material cage that confines normal beings.  Archsouls batter against this cage, seeking to tear themselves free from the Dictum of Four by pure force of will.  The process yields tremendous power, but is also terribly taxing on a material being â,¬' all Archsouls are known to be terribly insane, their minds warped beyond sense and reason, their bodies polluted and twisted to horrible forms.  They inhabit the shadowy line between existence and nonexistence, with their minds nearly disconnected from their bodies.

Archsouls are twisted, unimaginably hateful creatures that loathe everything, including themselves. They hate all life not because it has slighted them, but because all life is a reminder of the Dictum of Four, and all life was created by that which they hate most: the None, the creator of Ralum. Since the None, however, seems to be impervious to any attempt to harm or even confront it, the Archsouls attempt to cause it grief in the best way they know how: destroying its creation. To reduce the world to nothingness would mean the ultimate failure of the Noneâ,¬,,¢s â,¬Å"projectâ,¬Â that is Ralum.

The original Archsouls have multiplied since their first manifestation.  A few Scions have since joined them.  Occasionally a mortal creature joins their ranks, seemingly inadvertently; perhaps the Archsouls touched them with madness, or perhaps they stumbled upon some terrible secret.  Regardless, when an Archsoul manifests, it means certain doom for their former communities.  Archsouls go quickly insane, and do not appear to be capable of death.  They merely reform elsewhere when â,¬Å"slain.â,¬Â  There are rumors of some mad individuals who willingly seek out the power of the Archsouls, giving themselves to the insane domination of the Four Firsts for the mere taste of escaping reality.

While few mortals know of the Archsouls as such, the names of the Firsts are commonly known names that are anethema to most mortals.  Saying the name of an Archsoul is believed in many societies to bring the wrath of the Firsts upon the speaker; they are alluded to by other names (â,¬Å"Timewraithâ,¬Â is a common one for Tacha, First among Shades).  Balshihans are known to exclaim â,¬Å"Names of the Firsts!â,¬Â as a particularly crude and blasphemous curse.  Even those who use these expressions, however, seldom have any idea that the Firsts are called â,¬Å"Archsouls,â,¬Â or what exactly an Archsoul is.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Axiomites]
The Arbiter created certain â,¬Å"creatures,â,¬Â for lack of a better word, to aid him in finding and correcting breaches of the Eternal Law and the Dictum of Four.  They were created rather late in his existence, leading some to believe he knew of the coming of his own death; others believe that Ralum, in the throes of the Spellwar, had simply grown too chaotic for one being (even a divine being) to deal with personally.

It is uncertain whether Axiomites are actually â,¬Å"alive.â,¬Â  They do not have souls, and are thus not bound by the laws they are charged with enforcing.  They range from the least â,¬' Watchers, little ethereal orbs that seek out transgressors â,¬' to the four mighty Hounds of the Arbiter, mysterious beings of Scion-like power that are said to be charged with the destruction of the greater Archsouls.  Their names, handed down in the Niiraunshein, are all palindromes and nearly unpronouncable: Aundnua, Ktimsusmitk, Jahahaj, and Csennannesc.  Most are known by other, more easily remembered names in local folklore.  Axiomites are feared as malevolent ghosts by many mortals, but they are profoundly disinterested with mortal life, existing only to find those who transgress upon the Noneâ,¬,,¢s laws: Undead, souls trapped in constructs or magical prisons, those who have been raised from the dead prematurely, and Archsouls and their minions.  They seem to have some sense of scale, and seldom bother lesser undead or those who are raised from the dead on a single occasion.  The more one tampers with life and unlife, however, the more likely one is to attract their attention; their â,¬Å"attentionsâ,¬Â are one of the reasons greater undead, like liches and vampires, are so rare.[/spoiler]

[spoiler=The Scion List]

The following is a list of all the Scions by type; the Firsts are listed, well, first.  Those in bold have manifested as Archsouls, those in italics are non-Archsouls known to live in or have been banished to the Inner Realm, and those in (parenthesis) are believed to be dead.

I. Shade Scions
- Tacha
- Chalethus
- Shilda
- Tenaildin
- Niiraun
- (Thispus)
- Ivreesha
- Pagraha

II. Spirit Scions
- Enesul
- Trasibus
- Felmai
- Parikatir
- Baua
- Seishal
- Menaia
- (Asul)

III. Glimmer Scions
- Naesa
- Zirrah
- Pratelhamine
- Bahirassa
- Ispar
- Evracha
- Aedun
- Demarigus

IV. Gloom Scions
- Heshon
- Nebaubrigal
- Thagus
- Maccrab
- Selbe
- Ebredun
- Aolthear
- Vezalgremar

[/spoiler]