Celtricia, World of Factions-Setting Information V2.0

[LordVreeg]

Units of Measure

The Marcher Measure
The Marcher Measures are actually based on a set of measurements used by the Ancient Ambrettons, at the Wise Owl School of Magic.  It was called Vreegit Ieoe (Vreeg's Hand) mack in Ambrettus, and these measures actually travelled with David Cotney to David's Delvings, to Jerung Folica., Back to the White City with the Dilvish Merchants, and to Vicis Attripa with the White Owl migration, all before -4000 R.O.N..  Small wonder that Vreeg's Hand travelled from the Ambrettons to the City-State of Winter, which grew and changed into the mighty City of Stenron.

As Stenron is the capital of the Grey March, these units (which are well used through the whole Cradle Area) are called the Marcher Measures

Unit            Marcher Name     Equivalent Description
Finger          Telos           3 inches
Hand            Habos           2 telos      6 inches
twohand         Dovhab          4 telos       12 inches
arm             Ar              3 dovhab      3 feet
Running step    Dovar           6 dovhab    6 feet
short race      Tolkar         10 Dovar     60 feet
Long Race       Bankar         10 Tolkar    600 feet
field           Hester         2 Bankar     1800 feet, the plot given to a farmer in Orbi
Merchant field  Respiter       6 Bankar     5400 feet

[LordVreeg]

Social Life in Igbar

Once again, adding to the social Fabric of Igbar, my central play location.  This post and page deals directly with the social information all people share.

It is so hard to instill players with enough knowledge to really immerse.  But I am trying.

[LordVreeg]

Great, great in town session last night.
Social skills, and serious interplay.  The group has had the top floor of the Red Priest Inn rented for them for a Hwaak.
Red Priest inn

[LordVreeg]

The Hunters of the Shade
Verbrens solitary knights...

[LordVreeg]

Corobar's Iron Way...
this link includes allthe skills and EXPmods


Corobar's Iron Way-Igbar Page history last edited by LordVreeg
Guildschool Faction:
Area:Igbar

Name:Corobar's Iron Way
Affiliation with Larger: The main Chapter House is in Gastax, to the South and east of Argus.  All Chapter Houses are bonded to the Main House, and while they do not have a direct conduit save messenger, they are friendly enough with the Lawfule Triumverate to use their Bardic Broadcasting Channel if need be for contact.  
 
Membership style:Full Members only unless released by chapter Master.  Some few high-ranking members are allowed to split memberships later on if it is the interest of the Way.  It must also be understood that this Guild's purpose is to bond theior full members to noble houses in service, so every graduate is expected to have a split membership with a noble family and the Way of Service.
All members are taken in as apprentices, work under an established member as a journeyman, become a Bonded Warder after that, and after 10 years of service move up to Bonded Master.  A bonded master and a Chapter Master are acually equal, but in different capacities.  There are aslo three awarded positions, and a few operational positions within the guild.
 

% of starting membership: 22% Attrib bonus:HE (12/1) CH (13/2) soc (20/1)

Mission: To create educated, uniquely skilled warriors to grow with a house of nobility, to bring honor to the Way.
 
Size: 21 in Igbar, including Chapter Master, 4 apprentices, and 5 journeymen (11 are actually serving nobility in Igbar)
History: Corobar Sten Greanetsie was born in 785 RON, in Redde.  A Orkash/Klaxik halfbreed, he was shunned by the klaxik families of Redde, and baerly survived getting to adulthood on the plateau towns of that area.  He was fored to the grubbiest mining jobs and grew to an uncomplaining, hard-working soul, but one that expected no good of anyone.  His life made a turn when the mining guild he worked for sold his contract to another Guild, run by a cabal of House Wastri humans.  This group and their heavily socialized (Harou) ways confounded him, but he was even more suprised at the equality of treatment and respect they gave weveryone.  He responded well to this, and after a decade of hard work had moved himself up from Miner to shift leader to Supervisor to positions in the Guild and then major Domo of the guild.
He left and began, with Chruchan Vor Krupta, Klaxik knight of the Straight Way (Belial), the first chapter house dedicated to Way of Service.  This is a codified set of teachings that glorifies growth through service, to an absolute loyalty to a noble house and to growing that house and thereby growing the servant.
Chruchan and Corobar started the first chapter house in 841 RON, and by 844 there were members serving in noble Houses.
 The tenet of the Guild is a humble, harou-oriented service mentality, to grow by growing something bigger than yourself. The oath of loyalty to a noble house is absolute, and Corobar's disciples are a mixture of bodyguard, courtier, steward, and advisor.  They are decent combatents, but very strong tactitions.  There is also a large libary in every Chapter House, and prices on skill kits are generally 25% less than normal, due to the understanding of changing skill sets.  The most noble aspiration is to raise up a noble house through service.
 
 
Current leader: Chapter Master Treneti Worcester, Wastrian Human male.  50 years old, newly joined to the Church of the Hosting

Current situation: The Istari families of Igbar and their power in this burgeoning city make Treneti's job easy, there are more old families looking for housecarls, major domos, and stewards than there are avaialble members of this guild.  The oath involved in the Way of Service has never been broken near Igbar, so it is nearly taken for granted.  
The Unicorn side of the Sheerings have 2 Bonded Warders, and the Vissippee, Winfire, and Sceding Tree Merchant Houses each have one.  Tarquin Malignous (Grey March human male) works as the head of Vigor Sheering's House.
 

[LordVreeg]

The Tower

Here is the Link to the Tower.  This includes all the skill charts.  Please note that within this, there are a few skills that are different between the Aeromancers and the Ethermages.

Area:Igbar
Name:The Tower
Affiliation with Larger: The Tower is an independent group, descended from the 'Tower of AIr' in Lestchian, Orbi.  They are loosely allied with many of the travelling and shipbuilding guilds in town.

Membership style: Collegiate and fraternal.  Faculty members and students and journeymen.
There are 2 major groups within the tower, Aeromancers (flight group) and The EtherMages (weather magi).

 
% of starting membership: 30% Attrib bonus: IN (12/1) WI (13/2)

Mission: The tower exists to study air and weather magic.  They are a known commodity for all seagoing vessels, being able to summon wind elementals and to change weather patterns.  The tower does not normally involve themselves with the different merchant groups, though each guild tries to make exclusive deals with them.  

 
Size: 116, including partial members, staff, students, and journeymen

History: The Tower has a pretty pedestrian beginning.  In Orbi, the Tower of Air (Lestchian) is an ancient guild.  A Weatherwitch from Orbi, in 540 RON, came down through the golden ship road (the Tarn Bay) and realized Igbar had no organized ship-mages.  His name was Domo Herik, a human.  He started the Tower in the top floor of an inn in the Collar, and took his first apprentices that year.
Since then, The Tower has moved forward and grown slowly.  They took over the Kabin Keep in Coth's Bay in 815 RON.  
There are ferries on the Kabin Isle tat make 4 trips daily from the mainland.  SInce Kabin Isle is only 400 yards off shore, the tower is always in view, and the AerMaesters can actually make the trip without the ferry.

[LordVreeg]

Here is the page on the Celtricia Wiki

Cuisine in the Cradle Lands
One of the easiest ways to distill what is specific and unique to a culture is to observe their habits around the dining room and kitchen.  Cooking and the feeding of the family are some of the earliest cultural transmitters.

The Cradle area of Celtricia has over ten thousand years of civilization to draw from; and many of the cuisines that the current inhabitants of a land think were brought from far away might have actually originated under their feet and traveled thousands of years and miles, only to return, disguised.

Currently, if one were to go study at Hostem's Hpospitality, in Igbar, one would learn that the main sources of cuisine are classified under Harou/Wastrian, Omish, Blue, Lap, and Ogril.

Harou/Wastrian cooking is derived from the Harou culture, originating from the far eastern land of Gwynell.  Dominated by small, pearl pasta and lentils, this food is nutritious.  It heavily involves fish and pounded meats.  
As is easily learned from the Harou tea services, dinner in the full, traditional Harou form is stylized and full or rules and interdiction.

Omish cooking, coming from the lands of Om to the south.  Fresh game and wild bird are used plentifully here, as are Hassarice in numerous forms.  Red and White Greddle, a spice with a nutty-earthy taste, is used in many dishes, as well.  

Blue is the term used for the simple, thick, and satisfying food found in the Bright Lands, Orbi, and up in the Grey March.  Thick Breads, porridges,  stews and cow meat are staples here, as is chorm.

Lap foods are eastern coastal and island cuisines, heavy on fish and steamed chorm, but with subtle use of fruits and fruit sauces.  Lapern is also a great source of Kafee, and many current chef-scholars think it might be the origin point, though old Vicorian texts to talk about the liquid, as well.
Ogril foods are a newer branch, foods derived from the unacculturated Ogrillite tribal groups.  Thick meat stews, use of tubers and Heddle (a very spicy pepper) make this a fun and useful influence.  The Ogril love to cook over open flame and many eateries take advantage of this in the evenings.

[LordVreeg]

Currently, there is a thread about religion in settings.
Instead if derailing it with Celtricia stuff, I thought I'd make a post about some of the Philosophical and Religious ideas of the Cradle Area of Celtricia.  I'm not sure if this will get any responses, but that thread has made me think of this, and how a well-realized cosmology, history and hisatory of faith, and understanding of religions in a setting really helps the players get into the game and into character.

Though ancient History is full of the doings and positions of the Celestial Planars and their minions, there is next to no direct contact between these beings and those that live on the Waking Dream.  However, this does not mean that faith in Celtricia is completely based on the unknown.  Magic and the use of Void-borne power sources, as well as much necromantic ability and it's limits work within bounds that fit the cosmology as laid out by most faiths.  So while there is a large element of unknowability and interpretation of mortals in each faith; much of the cosmology is heavily agreed upon (though written from differfent standpoints) and is supported by the use of magic today. [note=divine?] Guildschool does not have divine magic, it has many types and power sources, but no typical dichotomy here.[/note]

[ooc=quote]"And as with any institution run by mortals yet fueled by the passion of belief, players in Celtricia find sects, cults, and power-bases in a state of growth, change, or upheaval, as often as in a stable state.  In Argus, the Vernadalian worship takes the form of the Church of the Serpent Queen, while in Igbar the Serpent Queen cult has been banished and repudiated, replaced by the Church of the Green Mother.  The different foci and different morality systems of these related groups creates a conflict more bitter than a typical rival. "[/ooc]

In other words, there is only one real overarching belief system in Celtricia; but because of the ambiguity and lack of direct contact, there are thousands of splintered faiths based on different interpretations and viewpoints.   I am going to go into the Index and pull out terms that deal with religion in Celtricia, and the movements and thoughts currently used in the history of the game.  I am not going to list individual faiths, planars, or saints, or anything else, just a few terms that give the flavor of the Faith in Celtricia.

[ooc=From the Celtrician Index ]
Accords of Presence (Term)
•The ancient Planar agreement for all the Planars to leave the 'Waking Dream' and not interfere with it directly.
•The chronological delineator that ended the Age of Legends

Alementary (term)
•Alementism (Historical Term) Vicorian philosophical belief that gained traction later.
•Philosophical belief that the original eight Celestial Planars are the only True Gods and that the later planars are angels.

Avuntic (term)
•Religious and philosophical term for a materialistic bent, as opposed to a fatalistic one.  Avuntic faiths celebrate living and existing in the now as opposed to those that see the time in the waking dream as part of a longer cycle.  Avuntists do not believe in any continuation but a complete reprocessing of the spririt after the trip to the Well of Death.

Celestial Planar (term)
•The Celestial Planars describe the most powerful of the Void Travellers, the Gods of the Waking Dream. These beings embody and through their existence define cerrtain traits and chtracteristics.

Concerted (term)
•Religious term from Om that began use back in -600RON, spread North by about -100RON.
•Religious continuum describing the leve of conflict among planars.  A truly Concerted faith believes that the planars are acting out parts but all work towards the same goal behind the scenes, A totally unconcerted faith believes in heavy conflict between the Planar agencies.

Eminentism (term)
•The belief and philosophy that Oronath and Thanatos have no direct influence or concern over the Waking Dream. While currently this belief is considred fundamental, it has not always been this way.
•Eminentism (Historical Term, opposition) The Belief of the Dark one of the Venolvians was based on the concern and activity of Thanatos.

Godstraat (term)
•Marcher term meaning the Street of the Planars. Originally coined for the huge street of many temples in Storied Stenron, now most cities boast an area known as the Godstraat.

Hogunett (term)
•Celebration of judgement and gift giving in the middle of the winter Goesi, a Holiday.
•Also, the term is often used to desribe a good and wise judgement, as a derivation of the holiday.

Migration of the Spirit (term)
•The description to the travel and process of life energy from the Void (starting at the Well of Life) to the Waking Dream and the struggle back to the Void (to the Well of Death).

Se~oudoxic (term)
•Religious term for a faith or person who venerates saints.
•Se~oudoxical faiths go through cycles of popularity, currently on the rise

Shriving (term)
•The act of communing with a spirit or soul of a deceased creature and removing many or all bounds the Waking Dream has on it, allowing it to start the journer through the Void to the Well of Death. (c.f., Migration of the Spirit)

Song Of Creation (Term)
•The Historical/religeous story that describes the creation of the universe, which can change drastically from text to text.

Stations, the (term)
•The Stations are the slightly smaller places/power sources in the Void.  The inhabitiants of the House of Fire migrated to the Third Station when the House of Fire was destroyed.  The House of Air migrated to the Second Station for the same reason. For that reason those spell sources can fluctuate a bit more

Void, the (term)
•The Void is the interminable place that containes the Houses, the Stations, and the Waking Dream.

VoidBlind (term)
•Term used to describe those who cannot touch the sources of power in the Void (the houses and stations). 95% of the population is VoidBlind.[spoiler=Nom] Like the term 'hardcast', VoidBlind is a term that came from Nomadic and the SIG players....funny how that works.[/spoiler]
Waking Dream (term)
•The Term to describe the Celtrician planet and environs, as opposed to the Void and the Void-borne Houses and Stations.  

Weterlouse (term)
•The term comes from the Hobyt language, and means 'Brothers of the Faith'. It is used to describe very active members of a parish who are not part of the Clergy.[/ooc]



Now, a lot of these have their their own pages of full information, most importantly the text page for the Song of Creation.  But no term really gives the underlying feel of religion and the affects of faith in religion like the Migration of the Spirit.  So I am going to take the time to cast "Wall of Text" and reprint that page here.

[ooc=Migration of the Spirit]

Death, an end to one Journey and the Hopeful Beginning of Another


Even in an existence with a somewhat unified cosmology, the fear of death can be strong, and history is full of myths describing the lengths people have gone to avoid the final end. Couple this with the tangible evidence of the soul and the horrors that can be inflicted on it, by way of undead which walk the Waking Dream, and a reader might get some insight into the particular fear of death and dying alone that lies beneath the surface.

The term "Migration of the Spirit" normally is used to describe the passage of the spirit of a deceased person from the Waking Dream to the Well of Death. It is the returning of the energy spent in the Well of Life to the Void, and of the eventual return of this soul back to the Waking Dream. Different faiths use different legends and perspectives to describe this event, but this passage is described almost universally.  And another phenomena that is universally described is the difficulty a spirit has in making this journey.  Some faiths or legends talk about the power of unfinished labors or relationships, some speak of the hold of collected memories or unnatoned sins, but the evidence of necromancy and the manifestations of bound spirits is obvious to the most cultured cityfolk.

For the personality of a person in Celtricia, this manifests as a fear of dying unshriven. For without the shriving magics, the soul of a creature can be tied to the Waking Dream for decades or centuries.  To die and become the toy of some careless, nefarious necromancer is the not-so secret fear of anyone with intelligence in the Waking Dream, except for a few death worshippers.

Shriving magics are literally magics which can protect a soul from other necromancy, and can aslo speed the journey into the Void to the Well of Death.

This is obviously a reincarnation mechanic, and one that is supported by the ability of some mentalist spells to actually unlock fragmented former life memories. Couple this with the ability of unscrupulous Necromancers to use the spirit wrongly, and this gives you the proper feel of the Migration of the Spirit.  Necromancers can shrive spirits and calm or learn from spirits, but some necromancers also use their powers to enslave these earthbound spirits.

Because of all of this, coupled with this very common and strong cultural fear of undeath is a very large population of undead creatures and undeath, as undead servants can last for centuries or even longer, as well as areas where the large amount of unshriven souls have found twisted, elongated, life hating existences.   Ancient batlegrounds, tribal feuds, barrow-lands, all of these can literally be over-run with dozens or even hundreds of souls unable to leave the Waking Dream finding vessels to continue.    Which makes the shriving priests an important position for most faiths, and the need to deal with undead a serious issue for any population and one of the reasons that in Celtricia, there are no small, isolated population centers. [/ooc]