Creative Exercise: The Sovereign Dominion of Eyros

Every year at midwinter there is a meteor shower. The main form of astrology is the interpretation of the paths of meteors. In Eyrian astrology the important factor is the location rather than the date of birth, as a reading of the sky visable from that spot will tell the fortunes of the following year.

Getting a little Mhur posting

Phineas Crow said:

Looks like I got some reading to do to catch up, until then I'll post something neutral:

One of the great river Kohoal’s major tributaries is the Zedak river. Before reaching the Kohoal, the Zedak river passes through a deep, narrow ravine known as the Vale of Ur. For as long as could be remembered there have been stories and legends of the cursed vale and the horrid things that lurk within its shadowy confines.

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The forge city of Mhur sits atop a geological hot-spot. Many of Mhur's finest forges are heated not by coal, but by bubbling magma. The geothermal steam-baths of Mhur are also famed throughout the empire as the most powerful cleansing in the empire...and after a day working in the Mhuri forges, that's about what it takes to get clean.
Terminology note:
Mhuri is "of or relating to the city of Mhur"
Mhuran is "an inhabitant of the city of Mhur"

ajanders said:

The forge city of Mhur sits atop a geological hot-spot. Many of Mhur's finest forges are heated not by coal, but by bubbling magma. The geothermal steam-baths of Mhur are also famed throughout the empire as the most powerful cleansing in the empire...and after a day working in the Mhuri forges, that's about what it takes to get clean.
Terminology note:
Mhuri is "of or relating to the city of Mhur"
Mhuran is "an inhabitant of the city of Mhur"

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Not to seem a nitpicker, but Lincoln's post should probably be Eyrian astrology. Now onto mine (finally, hurray!). Oh, I apologise for the length, but I was waiting on this for a long time:

Taufenacht the Tempter and the Ancient Intelligence known as The Twelve are one and the same. This many-voiced psionic menace is connected to a terrible but beautiful jewel known as the Cerebrum Ruby, which was discovered by the dwarves of what is now Eyros 5000 years ago, during the reign of the elves on the surface, and the dwarves in the caverns. The following related secret is known only by the dwarf responsible for heading the effort to contain the illithids, and she will only pass this shameful fact onto one successor before passing to her grave: 4500 years ago, Taogrim, king of the dwarves, was engaged to the renowned psion Urtha, but then Taogrim met a beautiful elven princess named Aelyna and fell madly in love. The day before the wedding, jealous Urtha returned to her duty of guarding the Cerebrum Ruby, where she fell prey to its psionic suggestions, and, using its power, she consumed Aelyna's brain, relishing the exotic taste, and dumping the body into a monster den. Using fragments of Aelyna's personality, she was able to seduce the bereaved Taogrim, and the two dwarves were married the next year. But on her wedding night, as Urtha closed her eyes to kiss her new husband, she heard a strangled gurgling sound. She opened her eyes to see, to her horror, that her soft ruby lips had become a tentacled maw, involuntarily sucking the brain out of her beloved. Disgusted at what she had become, Urtha ran away with the Cerebrum Ruby to the deepest reaches of the caverns, and she and her unborn twins became the first illithids (note: all this replaces the crazy new 3.x idea that illithids are like aliens from the movie Aliens).

Rystil Arden said:

Not to seem a nitpicker, but Lincoln's post should probably be Eyrian astrology. Now onto mine (finally, hurray!). Oh, I apologise for the length, but I was waiting on this for a long time:

And now I skip a lot just to save space.

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Nearly a millenia ago, royal trappings (or crown jewels, whatever you want to call them) vanished. These included the Royal Sash, Royal Sword, and Royal Ring. The vault guards unanimously claimed that during the night, they drove off a pale, beautiful Human woman, who glowed faintly as though lit from behind by a pale, violet light. They were both executed for failure of their duties.

The Sash is a broad belt of silver and gold links, studded with gems of all colors. It is worn diagonally across the body from left shoulder to right hip.

The Sword is an elaborate short sword, with a small round guard, and a total length of about two feet. It is studded with gems on the hilt and guard, and the handle wrapped with fine lizard skin, and silver wire. The blade itself is bright steel, but embossed with golden images from Eyros history down the length of the blade. It comes with a lizard skin belt and scabbard, both also studded with gems.

The Ring is a simple, yet large signet ring with the seal of Eyros dominant. On the sides of the band are large diamonds, with sapphires ringing the seal itself.

There were lesser objects in the vault as well, but they were not historically significant. Those were left alone.

Also. Shouldn't Zhalccu now be called Zhal-ka, to bring it into line with Jakar's post #159?

Zhalccu is the province ruled by House Zhal. It's not a city. On a related note, should we name the home cities of each House after the House itself, as was done with Taljik? Or might each House choose their own name for their particular home city? Is Mhur going to be some House's home city? Also, should all the orc-blooded Houses control the same side of the Dominion's territory (i.e. the northern half or the western half or whatnot) while the human-blooded Hosues control the other side, or no?

domino said:

Nearly a millenia ago, royal trappings (or crown jewels, whatever you want to call them) vanished. These included the Royal Sash, Royal Sword, and Royal Ring. The vault guards unanimously claimed that during the night, they drove off a pale, beautiful Human woman, who glowed faintly as though lit from behind by a pale, violet light. They were both executed for failure of their duties.

The Sash is a broad belt of silver and gold links, studded with gems of all colors. It is worn diagonally across the body from left shoulder to right hip.

The Sword is an elaborate short sword, with a small round guard, and a total length of about two feet. It is studded with gems on the hilt and guard, and the handle wrapped with fine lizard skin, and silver wire. The blade itself is bright steel, but embossed with golden images from Eyros history down the length of the blade. It comes with a lizard skin belt and scabbard, both also studded with gems.

The Ring is a simple, yet large signet ring with the seal of Eyros dominant. On the sides of the band are large diamonds, with sapphires ringing the seal itself.

There were lesser objects in the vault as well, but they were not historically significant. Those were left alone.

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Shocker lizards are favored pets in Eyros, and have become largely domesticated the same way as dogs and cats in other cultures. Domestic dogs and cats are unheard of in Eyros, but foreign ambassadors sometimes bring such strange, weak little pets on their visits to Eyrdeyn, which amuses the Pillars as a sign of how weak the foreign powers are, to domesticate such mild and feeble beasts. Wealthy Eyrian cities tend to suffer occasional, but mild, freak thunderstorms due to the presence of many shocker lizard pets in the city. This is a boon in drought seasons, but too infrequent to be much help then.

Shocker lizards are called dhazi (singular dhaz) in Eyros, the old orcish name for the critters, and Eyrians show off their pride and skill in lizard-taming by finding the biggest and most beautiful dhazi to make their pets. However, they are difficult to tame in adulthood, so an Eyrian must find their ideal pet when it is a hatchling and raise it themselves. Eyrians who manage to raise a particularly large and exquisite shocker lizard are considered to have a good eye for spotting potential and beauty, having spotted the difficult signs of such in a mere hatchling.

Privelaged Eyrian children (as the poor ones can't afford a pet shocker lizard) enjoy racing their dhazi, while older Eyrians enjoy taking their pets on hunting trips. The orc-blooded House of Taljik likes to make capturing a wild dhaz hatchling into a rite of passage to adulthood for their children, training the youths to be cunning, sneaky, or just plain fast as they try to steal a hatchling from a nest guarded by many adult dhazi. They see this rite of passage as a point of pride showing their prowess and strength to the larger Houses.

Unknown to the world, a sect of human sorcerers known as the Caretakers of Ur have, for ages untold, stood guard over the Vale of Ur. Within the vale, they believe, is the key to unbelievable power and it is their duty to make sure that power is never found. Caretaker legend tell that should the secret of Ur ever be unlocked a terrible age of darkness will fall upon the world.

Arkhandus said:

Zhalccu is the province ruled by House Zhal. It's not a city. On a related note, should we name the home cities of each House after the House itself, as was done with Taljik? Or might each House choose their own name for their particular home city? Is Mhur going to be some House's home city? Also, should all the orc-blooded Houses control the same side of the Dominion's territory (i.e. the northern half or the western half or whatnot) while the human-blooded Hosues control the other side, or no?

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I think the easiest way to explain Mhur's name is to have it predate the current houses/government.

Phineas Crow said:

I think the easiest way to explain Mhur's name is to have it predate the current houses/government.

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Sounds good. I hope I did not stuff anything up with the -ka thing.