Creative Exercise: The Sovereign Dominion of Eyros

[Rystil Arden]

Just a random post to let everyone know that the current Grand Monarch who is almost ready to abdicate is House Zhal on the orc side because she/he isn't Vajar or Taljik. So if someone details the Grand Monarch, keep that in mind.

 

[Andor]

If anyone has read The Vor Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold, there's a set up very similar to this that works out. Each member of the nobility gets a number of armsmen, but it's a very small number, and restricted by law. The King, however, is the only one who gets an army.

I have a sudden urge to play a hyperactive gnome marshal. Now if only I can talk my GM into letting me have a werewolf cohort.

-Wanders off singing 'Vorloupulous' Cooks'

 

[Mouseferatu]

The current Grand Monarch, Ezlan Zul-Dagvar dal-Zhal ty-Mulcibe, has recently been grumbling to all who will listen that he made a mistake in declaring Vajar the next Presumptive. Nobody knows why, but current belief is that he has some personal dislike (or even serious concern) over Felra Raj-Tinar. He has not expressed what these may be, and everyone else believes Felra to be a perfect choice. Ezlan had made no effort to rescind his declaration making Vajar the Presumptive Pillar, because he knows that with so well-respected an heir, and so close to the end of his reign, he couldn't possibly acquire the votes necessary to uphold such a decision.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Just a random post to let everyone know that the current Grand Monarch who is almost ready to abdicate is House Zhal on the orc side because she/he isn't Vajar or Taljik. So if someone details the Grand Monarch, keep that in mind.

Done.

BTW, I realized that I left out Felra's maternal/human-side Pillar when detailing her in the summary. If someone wants to dictate that as part of their next contribution, that would be great. If not, I'll do it my next time around.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

The orc-blood house that held the throne at the time of the War of the Crumbled Pillar was the fallen House of Garren. It was thought their entire blood-line was obliterated, but one member survives. Ramu Erkon Dal-Garren, the eight year old playmate of the elven Mask Alivia, was spared the fate of the rest of his family. The Imperial Mask cast a Binding spell on the boy, which placed him in the emerald of a pendant that Alivia wears to this day.

 

[Abisashi]

Comments

As most gems and crystals in Eyros appear to be either linked to principles of ultimate evil, psionic terrorists, or have nasty side affects on their bearers, the jewelry of Eyros is usually worked metals, bone, or enamel/cloisonne.
Gems are decidedly unlucky in Eyros. Powerful, but unlucky.

Don't forget about the crown jewels, which had a whole MESS of jewels and gems on them. And weren't until now, considered unlucky.

In fact, I don't think the majority of people know about the psionic problems with the ruby, or the aging effects of the crown. It hasn't been mentioned, to my knowledge, at least.

Even if jewels aren't considered unlucky, jewelry could still be rarely made of jewels and gems. In this setting, gems seem quite important to magic and psionics, and it seems likely that these would be hoarded.

 

[domino]

Even if jewels aren't considered unlucky, jewelry could still be rarely made of jewels and gems. In this setting, gems seem quite important to magic and psionics, and it seems likely that these would be hoarded.

Fair enough. I was just mentioning things I thought were relevant.

 

[Rystil Arden]

The orc-blood house that held the throne at the time of the War of the Crumbled Pillar was the fallen House of Garren. It was thought their entire blood-line was obliterated, but one member survives. Ramu Erkon Dal-Garren, the eight year old playmate of the elven Mask Alivia, was spared the fate of the rest of his family. The Imperial Mask cast a Binding spell on the boy, which placed him in the emerald of a pendant that Alivia wears to this day.

Galldrian Vindros is the Archduke of Ghalfaen. Despite the fact that he is forced to submit to Eyrian hegemony and has been humiliated by the blackmail of the oily Herewald, Galldrian secretly hopes to expand the power of Ghalfaen by collecting secrets and using political leverage. Having heard of the disgrace of Kalis Ny'Dal-Malarn, Galldrian has been making overtures to gain the service of the respected historian, but all attempts have failed so far. Galldrian's current aide-de-camp is a Hobgoblin Monk named Chargros, green-sash intermediate master of the famed Hobgoblin Order of the Clawed Fist, who secretly styles himself Chargros Dal-Vajar and hopes to one day rule Eyros, thanks to his ability to trace his lineage back to the founders of House Vajar.

 

[domino]

I have a sudden urge to play a hyperactive gnome marshal. Now if only I can talk my GM into letting me have a werewolf cohort.

-Wanders off singing 'Vorloupulous' Cooks'

Hah! I love it. Strength as the dump stat. Con as the second minus. All mental stats as high as possible. Leadership. Diplomacy up the wazoo! (there's an epic status with NPCs even better than friendly called Fanatic.)

But, for my contribution.

Hearkening back to their marshal roots, nearly all noble men carry a short sword, about two feet long total. Even those with no need or even aptitude for swordsmanship carry one as a symbol of their status. Wealthy or powerful commoners can also be found carrying one, as a symbol of their power, but also for practical means of self defense.

As it is issued to all military personnel, many noble men simply hang onto their sword after their term of service is ended.

 

[Abisashi]

Contribution #4

Hearkening back to their marshal roots, nearly all noble men carry a short sword, about two feet long total. Even those with no need or even aptitude for swordsmanship carry one as a symbol of their status. Wealthy or powerful commoners can also be found carrying one, as a symbol of their power, but also for practical means of self defense.

As it is issued to all military personnel, many noble men simply hang onto their sword after their term of service is ended.

Post faster people, the wait is killing me!


My contribution will be a racial summary; the material here is mostly repeated, but I make some inferences and minor additions that I'll count as a contribution. I'm trying to help make the compilation more readable. If I missed something, point it out and I'll edit it in.

Elves

Elves in Eyros are regarded as second-class citizens. Although not as hated as the dwarves, stories of the ancient oppression by the elves are told to all the children in the empire. Elves have a very difficult time rising in station. The exception to this is in the lands of house Kiron, where elves are often taken as consorts by the Pillar family and all the pillar masks have been freed.

Many elves, especially those in the lands of Pillar Kiron, worship the sun or the positive energy plane.

Some elves are masks, so called because there is always a noble* behind them. Masks are held in the mental state of a child, though the binding's clever construction still allows them to be powerful wizards. There are several types of binding oaths, which are sworn by elven children who will become masks when they are but ten years old**. Most of the oaths sworn are one of the following:

Pillar Oath - the elven child swears to obey the members of the house, and when it does not contradict this, to protect them with his or her life. The actual oath is slightly more complicated. Each house is allowed 30 pillar masks; exceeding this is seen as an attempt to sieze control over the empire.

Imperial Oaths - this oath is similar to the House Oath, except that the child swears to serve whoever is emperor and the imperial family. There are several imperial oaths, and which one is sworn depends on what the child's intended job is. At any time, there are 149 imperial masks (Alivia is incorectly counted as an imperial mask; see below.)

Guardian Oath - elven children who swear this oath do not serve any of the houses or the emperor, but instead protect the empire from external harm. Although they are in the care of the houses, tampering with them is strictly forbidden. Guardian masks are rarely created anymore, but were instrumental in the preservation of the empire during the War of the Crumbled Pillar. There are abut 40 of them left.

Primal Oath - The wording of this oath is long lost, and only three masks are bound by it; Alivia, Jal-qwuin, and Tellas. Alivia is believed to be under an imperial oath, Jal-qwuin's oath is unknown, and Tellas herself is unknown; the emperor believes her to be sworn under the imperial oath. Aside from the primal masks themselves, only Thanatos knows of the existance of the primal oath, though Kalis Ny'Dal-Malarn proposed its existance in the footnote of a rather technical paper.

There are other oaths as well.



*I believe we no longer are limiting masks to just half-orcs, though that appears to have been the intent in the original post.
**Being longer lived, I'm assuming that a ten-year-old elf is around 5-8 in the human or orc mantal range.