'Aleasana is a land presently torn by a brutal civil war...'
The Past
The present conflict has its roots in an earlier war. A war fought with sound. Occasionally, some ancient artifacts from this long-forgotten war are found. Most are nonmagical or only faintly magical and constructed of strange materials. The best known example is a 20' pearlescent copper parabolic dish in the Eastern city of Lugan. Part of the dish seems to have been turned into a glass-like crystal and shattered long ago. If anyone has managed to get one of these artifacts to function, they're not telling...
When the Asani arrived in the land, they came with tools for an art that is now forgotten, a magic that wasn't magic. But its practitioners had been growing rarer in the old land, and with the disaster, they were almost gone. In the wars that were fought to conquer Aleasana, they at last vanished, leaving only the strange machines that they used in their practices. For centuries now, the Aleasani have tried to figure out how to use this technology, with little success.
Further, what success they have had has been terrible. It was the use of old Asani weapons that turned the War of Deadly Voices from a mere civil struggle into the tragedy it became. On those rare occasions a 'practioner' has figured out how to use a device, it's generally led to their death. Still, they go on, trying to capture the power they have lost...
In the far northeast, it is said there is a mountain called "Guardian of the North". A hole has been crudely cut straight through its peak, and when the northern wind blows, an eerie wail washes over the frozen lanscape.
Pure Old-Bloods have a longer life expectancy than normal humans and are known to live circa 250 years. oldbloods were considered adult when 20 years of age (relating to 15 standard PHB humans). Middle Aged Oldbloods are at 100 years old (35), old age begins with 175 (53). Old Bloods are cionsidered venerable when they are 220 (70). Death date is between 223 and and 280.
There are tales and rumours about Old Bloods living up to 500 years. These are called Astarin, the Sunchildren. They have shimmering hair, golden skin and blazing eyes like the sun, able to pierce the mind of lesser beings and see places far away.
No one today has ever seen one of these in the lands of Aleasana and they are commonly dismissed as faerie tales.
But the people on the other side of the olden sea know better.
Aleasana has a 364 day year with each day as long as a day on Earth.
Temples of Dar, or their remains, are found throughout Aleasana. A schism within church was blamed for the fracturing of the once great nation. Few these days openly practice the churches teachings.
For centuries, Bandesh-Thar served as the holy city of the Church of Dar, the ancient faith of the Asani people. Its lord was the Dominus, High Priest of the Church, and Protector of the Faith. But as the Aleasani lived among the Shay, the Dvergar, and other influences, the power of the Church waned, as Aleasani began to worship other forces. The attitude of the priests became increasingly militant, inflexible, and xenophobic. It was this that would create the tragedy of the War of Deadly Voices.
At the time of the Night of Woe, the Dominus of Bandesh-Thar was Gojerus Alsea, brother to the King. Gojerus was an embittered, tempermental man, who had joined the Church both out of piety, and because of his hatred and resentment for his brother. Gojerus had proven a brilliant theologian and excellent politician, and had easily risen to the top of the Church. However, his radical stances had soon made him a persona non grata at his brother's court--indeed, by the time of the Night of Woe, he was under a year-long ban, and could not attend court, or speak on it--a situation which had increased conflict between Church and State. When Gojerus heard of his brother's death, he immediately called up his holy guard, and marched on Cassant, expecting to be made king. However, once there, he found the city Gates shut on him. When he demanded the city be opened for him, the Lord Steward Rythin Valeris refused, stating that no man could be both King and Dominus--and that a murderer could not be either. (Rythin was referring to a rumor, perhaps true, that the Night of Woe had been engineered by Gojerus.) Angered by this percieved insolence, Gojerus had his troops attack the city, and in a pointed effort to purge the city of Elvish influences, had Cassant's gardens, statues, and decorations destroyed. The razing went on for twenty-five days, while Valeris's men held the castle, at which point allies arrived from Annit and Altania, and fought the Dominus's forces off, thus beginning the War of Deadly Voices.
Following the decade-long War of Deadly Voices, the various city-provinces of Aleasana did their best to heal their wounds, and settled into the nearly four century period generally known as the Interregnum. The War, while it had cost many lives, had ultimately settled nothing, and had ended because the damage done to all sides was so great that they had more or less lost their ability to wage it. And so Aleasani slowly settled into existence without a monarch.
In the beginning, most people were too preoccupied with rebuilding to particularly care or even really notice the lack. True, problems like bandits and raiders were being dealt with less quickly, but by and large, there was little change to the average person's life. Aleasana had always been a kingdom of very autonomous provinces, prone to feuding and infighting. With most cities preoccupied with the reconstruction, things more or less stayed the same. However, as the Aleasani returned to their former power, it gradually became apparent how profoundly different things were now. With no ruler over them to control things, the lords of each city-state found themself the near-absolute authority on policy within their borders. Roads that had once been free gained arm guards and expensive tolls. Historic trading partners now fought among themselves and closed their borders. In a few areas, (Dromas, for example) the hereditary rulers were diposed by radical elements, who then molded life to fit their vision of an ideal existence. It was a time of great change, dominated by constant minor conflicts.
For most, the idea of the king became one of incredible appeal. In the beginning, people remembered the better times during the Old Kingdom, and waited eagerly for their return. Eventually, the legend of what the Old Kingdom had been, exagerated and glossed over by later generations, gained a sort of unstoppable momentum. It had been a land at peace, a land with one law--a better land. Adding to this atmosphere was the initial belief that this was merely a temporary matter--that "within a summer or two" they were going to settle things and Aleasana would gain a new monarch. As the years past, this belief changed from an apparently comonsensical statement to a near-religious faith. A new King would arise. Aleasana would be united again. The petty wars would stop. This was not the end of the kingdom--it was the Interregnum. It was this attitude that fired Lord Steward Ralin Valeris of Cassant in his attempt for the throne. With typical elan, Ralin side-stepped what a horde of lawyers, religious figures, and nobles had argued over for centuries, and simply declared himself King, "in order to restore to Aleasana her former state of order and justice."
Ralin had of course, expected some opposition but the outpouring he recieved shocked even him. Altania, a traditional ally, declared his actions "unlawful, unwise, and unfit'. Dromas declared that it would view any attempt to 'reestablish that outmoded instrument of tyranny known as the Kingdom of Aleasana' with hostility. And most devastatingly, Dominus Kalthir Alsea declared he would fight against Ralin's "mad attempt for power" to his dying breath. Ralin had known Bandesh-Thar and the Darists would look askance at his bid, but he had been counting on Kalthir, a reasonable, kind-hearted man who'd used his reign as Dominus to further reconciliation with those powers the Church had harmed during the War, to hold the criticism back, and be willing to deal with Cassant. Instead, he met Ralin on the field. In the battle, that followed Kalthir died, and his daughter Majera took over the title. Majera was the opposite of her father--an "oldblood" like her mother Ancia, and her reaction was even more strident--she declared that not only would she oppose Valeris as king, but that she would fight to see the throne returned to the Alseas.
Soon, others entered the war, with a variety of goals, as the conflict spread. Soon the Interregnum was over, and the War of the Throne had begun...
Religion
Kitea is the aleasan goddess of war and music. Her common image is that of a young woman in plate with a spear in one hand and a lyre in the other. As can be expected her worship is quite popular. Her temples are homes to musicians as well as fierce warriors.
Her daughters, the muses are her army inspiring mortals to battle and creative new songs.
Dar is the god of mathematics, hierarchy, logic, laws and judgement. He is depicted as a completely symmetric entity, neither male or female. His doctrine is that everything has a place, that superiors have to be obeyed and inferiors have to be protected. Reason can solve everything.
In the lands beyond the Olden Sea he is also known as the jailor and god of exile, the guardian that keeps the insane and criminals away from orderly society.
If he would accept the current Dominus as his head priest is unknown. Majera believes that magic and fey violate the natural order and are outside any sane hierarchy and so must be purged.
The Lords and the Cities
There are few nations per se; rather a collection of city-states and feuding warlords who can usually only hold on to rather small tracts of territory at a time. However, the "King" of Cassant has managed to get many of these warlords and city states to recognize his authority, and they operate as a somewhat unruly, yet relatively stable confederacy of mini-nations."
Aleasana is embroiled in a civil war where the king of Cassant battles for the true crown of the throne against numerous other city states.
The city of Cassant has a proud history as the kings of Cassant made their home here, especially during the cold winter months when the castle of King´s Spire (the name of the castle where the throne is located) was a hell of a place to live in.
After the disappearance of the royal family and the whole population of Black Spire in the Night of Woe 400 years ago, the duke of Cassant became the Lord Steward of Aleasana until the War of Deadly Voices broke out. Cassant was sacked during this time and lost its prime positon as the kingdom broke apart.
Cassant was a former Dvergar city and the influence of the cunning stonemasons can be seen till today. The city is wedged between two mountain flanks on a plateau that descends in a gentle slope down the valley. With two of three sides well protected, a thick wall of stone protects the third side, overlooking the fields and pastures of Cassant. A wide trench is situated befor the wall. Two gates open into the city from the wall, three other gates open into the city from three mountain roads meeting here. The eastern one of them is King´s Gate, guarding the King´s Street leading into the city. The King´s Way outside of the gate leads to King´s Spire Castle.
The other two gates are the High Gate and the Steel Gate. The High Gate is situated between the mountain flanks and guards the northern way. In front of the outside of the northern gate is a large chasm the dvergar bridged over with a sturdy stone bridge. The bridge can be destroyed via a mechanism in the gate house but the Cassanti would do this only as a last defense mechanism, as they can´t rebuild such a fine bridge.
The Steel Gate guards the western way which is actually a long tunnel. The tunnel widens into a large hall before the gate and the dvergar dug a large trnech there in front of the gate. The tunnel had a dvergar bridge, too, but this one and the gatehouse were destroyed in the War of Deadly Voices. A drawbridge now spans the trench.
The city itself looks quite grim. Buildings are built using the dark stone of the surrounding countryside, Cassanti prefer dark and grey colors and the humour of the inhabitants is rather dry. People say that the city was once much more beautiful with gardens and parks, painted houses and fine statues of the kings displayed in the city, but this days are long past.
The palace of the king stands near the wall of the western mountain. Built using marble, red and beige stone, the palace looks much more friendly than the rest of the city.
Behind the palace is the High Citadel, a huge fortress hewn from the stone of the mountain itself, with large caverns built by the former owners. Long battlements line the clifflike mountainside, where the royal guard looks out for trouble coming from the south and mighty enchanted catapults are stationed to crush the enemy. The citadel was never taken by an enemy during the reign of man and gave sanctuary to the population as the city was destroyed in the last war.
The eastern mountain a steep slope upwards but is not a cliff like his twin on the other side. On the slope of the mountain stands the Royal Academy of Wizardry, the last one remaining in the realm from the time of kings. The academy also uses caverns in the mountain side to house their laboratories. As these caverns are very sturdy, no amount of explosions have ever done anything more than shaking the walls and dusting the inhabitants.
The academy is built on terraces and has many towers, buildings, courtyards and small gardens on the terraces. Like the High Citadel the academy never fell to outside forces, due to the ancient wards placed on the institution.
One of Cassant's allies is the city Ghirad'ai, a few leagues south of Cassant and built halfway into the heart of the small mountain Ghirad's Hill (supposedly, it was shorter when the colonist Ghirad found the site). Ghirad'ai is chiefly a mining city, with vast mines producing copper and tin for the forging of bronze, one of Cassant's important resources. Ghirad'ai is governed by a distant descendant of its founder Ghirad, the merchant lord Tobas Korruda, an acquaintence of Cassant's ruler, Ralin Valeris, but he sided with Cassant primarily out of practical reasons. Ghirad'ai has no military of its own except for a small force of guards, and employs mercenaries when necessary (but fortunately, they have plenty in the coffers to pay for good, loyal mercenaries), often the same few mercenary bands.
The city-state of Annit and its lord, Morrig, are serving Cassant as a political prison. Here dissidents, criminals, and POWs of low-grade are sent, to be confined until "the regular machinery of justice is running once more." For most of them, this is a death sentence. Annit's conditions are infamously cruel and barbaric. Most prisoners are confined, naked, in an enclosed section of fields outside the city, where they live in holes dug into the ground, with blankets on top of them. They recieve a pitiful ration each day, and sometimes even this is not given. The prisoners are often beaten, tortured, and even killed by guards, sometimes for defiance of the rules, sometimes for information, and sometimes just for fun. Cassant's enemies have given Annit the nickname "The Living Hell".
The True Crown and the throne that goes with it - the Aleasani Seat - have not had a legitimate owner for centuries. Their origins are lost in time and they seem to be of ancient Shay design, however forged of cold iron. The current whereabouts of the True Crown are unknown. The Aleasani Seat is located in the middle of an imposing black castle on top of a mountain in Virgon, neighboring Cassant in central Aleasani. The Seat seems to grow straight out of the rock of the mountain, and cannot be dislodged by any means. The castle is rumored to be haunted - for the past 400 years, no claimant to the throne has been able to hold the castle for more than a year, or sit in the throne for more than a day. It stands empty and deserted now, not even rats or spiders scurrying through its black corridors. The ruler of Virgon, High General Alasa Kitama is a major contender for the throne. The city is a theocracy with the priests of Kitea in charge. A militant order dedicated to Kitea and the clergy of the church are the military forces of Virgon.
While Ralin Valeris, 'King' of Cassant is perhaps the most powerful of the various claiments to the throne of Aleasana, Dominus Majera Alsea of the City-State of Bandesh-Thar possesses the strongest claim and wields a might second to his. Majera, a scion of the royal house of old Asani, and a direct line descendent of Majerus Alsea, conqueror of the land and first king of Aleasana, is as pure-blooded a Aleasani as ever you will find. An imposingly tall woman, with pale blonde hair and sea-green eyes, Majera is commanding, well-spoken, and a masterful tactician. However, one thing has kept her from supremacy--her radical politics.
Majera is what is commonly called an "Oldblood". She believes in the purging of Aleasana culture of "degenerate foreign influence" and "vile unholy magic". A devout member of the church of Dar, she persecutes Dvergar, Shay, Half-Shay, Northeners, Bodai, and Juni as well as practioners of arcane magic, which she sees as pollution of the Asani way of life, and worshippers of foreign gods. Especially persecuted are sorcerers, or as they are known in the Dominus's lands, "feybloods". Every day, city-states that pledge loyalty to Majera typically execute about a dozen individuals for the crime of not fitting her definition of what is human. Such individuals are usually tortured into confessing other crimes as well, from plotting to assassinate the Dominus, to poisoning wells. Majera's loyal personal troops, the White Wolves, oversee many such executions, and are constantly investigating for further "infiltration".
The city of Bandesh-Thar lies to the south of Cassant, on the Eastern half of Aleasana. Like Cassant it is a former Dvergar city, though its construction favors sloping walls and rounded edges, a rather unique property in dwarven construction. The buildings of Bandesh-Thar are breathtaking in their loveliness, with the most lovely being the glittering Ruby Palace.
One of Bandesh-Thar's strongest military allies is the city-state Agreion, several leagues north and situated in a large crater, across which Agreion sprawls. This city-state has one of the few reliable sources of iron in Aleasana proper, very useful considering the Dominus' hatred of non-humans, and Agreion is populated entirely by humans who are distantly descended from the vassal families of Majera's noble bloodline. Agreion is a great swath of forges and soot-spewing furnaces, smelting their precious iron ore to make the finest steel weapons of Aleasana. Agreion's mines spread far, wide, and deep beneath the crater and beyond. The city is well-defended by a ring of ballistas and trebuchets lining the rim of the great crater, but in case of an overwhelming force, each siege-weapon crew has a stash of alchemist's fire to ruin their artillery, in the event a foe tries to point the siege machines at Agreion.
The city of Val-Alen is a sacred site for the Shay of Aleasana. Val-Alen sits beneath Elitha's Spire, the tallest peak in Aleasana. Elitha's Spire is a gathering place for dragons. High on Elithas Spire amongst the eyries of the Dragons is a small green lake called the Pool of Mothers. Its water is icy cold and the Dragons sip from it when they gather.
Most unusually the lake has no known outlets and yet remains constant, the Dragons sumise that the water soaks the very rock of Elitha's spire feeding Inarellion Calshaen-Ahb and passing purified water to the streams and springs below. Within the mountain lies the sacred spring Sellessenril. The entrance is guarded by an ancient temple, sealed by ancient magics. No one without shay or faerie blood may enter. Elitha was the ancient monarch of the Rock from before the coming of the Aleasani and it is from her that Majera claims her right to the throne, just as she claims her right to rule from Majerus Alsea. Shay legend suggests that Elitha was Shay and took a human husband, something which Majera however vehemently denies. The present Duke of Val-Alen is Kail Illendus, who is using the city's importance to gain leverage in his efforts for the throne. Kail is also currying favor with the Shay and to a lesser extent the Dragons, in an effort to cement his position. While Kail is probably the most pro-Elf of the various factions, there is no denying that his stance is more the result of political opportunism then any real convictions, and some leaders among the Shay fear he may toss them over whenever they become inconvenient. The most sacred site in Val-Alen to Shay is the Inarellion Calshaen-Ahb, Great Tree of Sacred Ancestors, a vast tree twined about the mountain Elitha's Spire, whose massive roots curl about the mountain like rampant vines and support a large leafy crown atop the peak. Shay often walk atop the roots like paths in their pilgrimage, and the tree bears ancient Shay markings along its uppermost parts, each marking the name of a revered Shay ancestor who climbed the tree just before death. It is said that Shay feel their death looming a few months before their natural death.
The sacred city of Val-Alen is one of the greatest cities of Aleasane at the moment. This is a result of refugees fleeing there and a larger number of Shay who take up permanent residence. Refugees flee to Val-Alen because the presence of the dragons and the sacred spring which both Shay and Bodai revere, results in a city no one wants to mess with. There are also rumours that Val-Alen still possesses some ancient weapons from the last war.
Elitha´s Spire is a large but lonely mountain, standing proud with in the middle of a wide valley with the city sprawling below on all sides. Three old walls guard the city with a bustling tent-town sprawling outside. The outer wall surrounds the newest quarters, areas built for normal citizens. The grandfather of the current duke commissioned dvergar stonesmiths to build it.
The second ring is the residential area for the well off people. Most areas of the middle city are restricted for the common folk. The public areas in the middle ring are the temples, the council hall and several guild halls for the craftsmen and traders of the city. The middle city shows remnants of old shay architecture and holds a lot of parks and rare plants, prized for their healing properties.
The inner ring is the sacred precinct with the mountain, the tree, the temple of the spring of Sellessenril and some other buildings. This area is mostly shay in appearance with gardens, small canals and murals on the inner side of the ancient wall.
On the opposite side of the spring temple is the palace of the duke. The palace has its own walls that separate it from the rest of the inner area. Only important Shay gain the permit to wander the roots that run along the backside of the palace.
The refugees are the current problem of the city. There are thoughts to form new regiments for warfare or settle them in areas not currently in agricultural use. Duke Kail Ilendus ordered the passguards to restrict access for refugees at the moment but ghas not decided what to do with the people already there.
The city-state of Altania is ruled by Larisa, the High Enchantress of Altania. She and her arcanists represent a magocratic faction that hopes to use their arcane prowess to gain control of the crown. The reason that Altania has so many arcane casters in one place is that the vast majority of arcane casters from the old kingdom, being comparitively friendly and amicable with each other over the other factions (including most of the brawny, physically-focused warlords who started the civil-war), chose to side together in the conflict, creating a territory with vastly more wizards than are usual
In direct opposition to Altania, and to a lesser extent Cassant, is the large-but-lightly-populated city-state of Dromas, situated on one of the lower plateaus of mountainous Aleasana, near the lowlands of the valleys. Dromas' walls encompass a large plot of fertile land with an agrarian society, primarily humans and half-elves, who are ruled by the druid-monks of the Dromasi Council. The people of Dromas see arcane magic as an evil perversion of nature, and have given sanctuary to several fey creatures within their walls, allowing no iron to pass their gates. Thanks to its druids, Dromas' wall is literally grown out of the plateau's underlying rock and rises 20 feet into the air.
The mithral mines of the City-State Kallizar are hotly contested, as the military power of Kallizar controls one of the extremely rare sources of mithral ore, giving them quite an advantage over their competition who must use primarily bronze arms and armor.
The city-state of Volg is a large sprawl amidst the rocky northern highlands of Aleasana, often the first to be attacked whenever Northerner barbarians come down for raids in the autumn. Volg is ruled by margrave Olshek Travain, a stoic but battle-hardened man, who has maintained the original title his family line has held in the Northmark of Volg, back in the days of the old kingdom. This city-state is slightly unusual for its population of Dvergar, who make up roughly a third of the populus. They are accorded fair treatment and representation in the Northmark, and a Dvergar burgrave holds hereditary command of the northmost castle Kurtsburg.
Lord Nithus, ruler of the City-State of Cazar, is playing the various sides against each other while proffessing neutrality. While many of his intimates think he aspires to the throne himself, in truth, he is hoping to awaken an ancient being of destruction by magically chanelling the deaths the war is causing. The being Lord Nithus is trying to awaken is called Neroshimon, the sleeper, a fallen angel. He was bound ages ago with magic and cold iron in a vault far beneath the city of Cazar. He feeds upon fear and the fear of the dying is the sweetest to him. His dreams causes madness in mortals and Nithus has been infected. Even if Nithus awakens him, much of his power still lies in his sword, Armothal, which was hidden when he was first bound.
Of all the various warlords involved in the present troubles, few are as colorful as the former mercenary Broken Stone. A barbarian from the North, Broken Stone's path has led him from a simple sellsword serving in various armies to having become Lord of the City-State of Travask, and a major player in the war. He has also enfranchised numerous of his Northern kindred and mercenary comardes to support his rule, making Travask's nobility one of the most varied in all Aleasana. Though Broken Stone has chosen only competent men to support his rule, much of the city's old nobility rankles to serve such an upstart rabble. Only Broken Stone's cagy wits have kept him in power.
The Twin Cities of Karina are most unusual for they are a single city split in two locations. The Lower city sits at the base of the mountains overlooking the Bodai grasslands as such the lower city is the main trade access for Bodai textiles and salt from the southern desert. This city is dominated by merchants and governed by the Provost of the Merchants Guild
The upper city sits 3000 ft above the lower overlooking two stategic passes through the mountains. The upper city is the home of the ruling elite of the city known as the Council of Judges who determine law for the city below. The Upper city also features a number of libraries, temples, a university and a museum. The two cities are magically linked by the 'Gate of Judgement' a two-way portal constantly guarded access through an archway in the wall of each of the twin cities.
Kidnapping for ransom, Prostitution and slavery is quite common between the various city states and the nubile daughters of wealthy merchants are a common target. The most infamous of these kidnappers/slavers is the Vermillion Lotus Society obstensibly a guild-merchant engaged in Apothecary supplies, wines, spirits and Brothelkeeping and based in the 'wiked city' of Barizar.
Every 3 years, as part of the new year festivals, there is a great athletic competition in Hängende. There are many events, but the highlight for most people is the Great Climb. Competitors start on the Long Wharf and climb ropes attached to the Grand Balcony of the Mayor's palace two hundred feet above. The first to reach the balcony and take posession of the Mayor's Cup becomes mayor for the next 3 years.
Mayor is a largely ceremonial position as the city is actually run by a council of Dvergar elders.
Within Hangende a cult has arisen which seeks to purge Aleasana of the accursed human invaders, the Cult known as the Iron Hammer are working to cast down all the human cities, force the Shay back into the Faegrim and claim the Throne for their own. Their leader the enigmatic Harlfort Hammerfist claims to have found some anceint artifact in a deep cavern beneath Elitha's Spire and a means of awakening the ancient Astani Art and its strange machines... Recently Hangende and others along the eastern coast have reported attacks by 'water monsters' on ships and coastal settlements. These atacks are increasing and becoming more and more vicious, in particular it seems to have a particular hatred for Urukh.
Most recently a creature was slain in the Langerfjord as it attempted to scale the cliffs giving access to Hangende and although it is yet unindentified by the Drveger the creature is in fact an Asani-Toron...
Recently, an ambitious new "horselord" has arisen among the Bodai, one Sergis Sahn. Sergis, an accomplished military leader has dreams of uniting the various warring tribes of Bodai and leading them like a scouring wave across Aleasana. He is trying to use the recent excursions of the Juni as an excuse to consolidate power. Sergis Sahn is aided and advised by a shadowy shaman known as Kohemet. Kohemet is rumored to be involved in dark magics, but little about him is actually known. Even his race is the subject of speculation, but given Sergis Sahn's beliefs it seems unlikel Kohemet is anything but Bodai. It is whispered that Kohemet once spent years lost at the heart of the Southern Desert, the Sun's Anvil where even the Juni do not go. Then with fearful glances some claim that he found something there or indeed that something found him. At this point silence usually descends upon the speakers, but it is known that Kohemet walked out of the desert then and that the Juni fear him as much as the Bodai do...
The Underworld
Perhaps the most bizarre claimant to the throne is Nara, an alu-fiend- and the daughter of the last king by his first marriage, to a succubus who had seduced the king in disguise in an attempt to engineer some hellish plan. She was discovered, and forced to flee, leaving the half-breed behind. She was declared no longer legitimate and all record of her existence was purged, though the king was unwilling to order her death, so Nara was cast into the streets. Taken in by the thief's guild, she rapidly rose in position, first to the top of the city's guild, and then consolidating other cities' unsavory elements into her increasingly vast criminal empire, which she has ruled ever since.
The so-called Hell Queen of Rogues is quietly working behind the scenes with her vast network to come out on top. Though she lacks the army of the public wouldbe rulers, she has accomplished quite a large amount, mostly using well placed words, blackmail, coercion, and knives in the dark. It is even more unnerving when one considers how few know, or even suspect her existence.
While Aleasana is rife with political maneuvering, and warfare to claim the throne for a unified kingdom, the land has its share of cults, arms merchants, anarchists, rebels, and revolutionaries who all seek to prevent reunification, and would rather see Aleasana further divided.
The Bleak Ascension is one of the smaller of these groups, a semi-secret network of individuals working together to try and find divine ascension through necromantic means. Their desire for personal ascension is a factor in their utter refusal to associate with, let alone by influenced or ruled by, the Odraani Imperium. Bleakists of the Ascension seek to dominate others and rule over the living as undead overlords, but they always plan for the long-term and seek means of self-preservation first and foremost, as they can't very well lord over anything if they're dead in a few mere decades or centuries. They use the undead as tools to secure their own personal ascension and acquire their own domains. Bleakists are lead by the Bleak Archons, a very small but (they hope) gradually-growing council of liches, vampire lords, spectres, and wights, but as of yet the Bleakists have not found any consistent, reliable means of transformation into powerful undead retaining their original minds and souls. None wish to be dominated by their fellows, but are willing to serve in a limited fashion until they have their own domains and subjects. The Bleak Archons still seek ascension to higher, grander, more deific forms of undeath, but have at least their immortality for now, allowing them to plan without worrying that their time will run out.
Another small group opposed to Aleasana is Revolutionist Concordat, a large band of anarchs, rebels, and revolutionaries who control a small group of towns and villages near eastern Aleasana. The Concordat desires nothing but the collapse of Aleasana's government systems, with most of the members desiring free cities ruled by the people, and other members simply wishing for anarchy or revenge against the Aleasani rulers. The Revolutionists are active in many small cells across the country, but many focus on "liberating" more territories around the Concordat proper. The Concordat is affiliated with the city-state of Dromas and its rogue Druid Council. The ideals of Dromas call for an end to "the outmoded aristocrat-based system" and the creation of a new government based on 'natural law'.
Presently, Concordat-controlled areas are rather frightening places--there are constant 'citizen reviews' which seek to root out 'counter-revolutionary thinking' and 'aristocratic sympathies'. Council members tend to scheme against each other, trying to prove that their opponents are 'pro-aristocracy'.
One of the larger organizations trying to bring down Aleasana is the Black Orrery, a widespread and highly-secretive cult that works mostly through individuals and tiny cells. Members of the Black Orrery become pieces of an infernal machine, a vast network of inhuman monstrosities disturbingly similar to their once-humanoid identities. They integrate ghastly and reprehensible grafts of necrotic, fiendish, and chaositech into their bodies, leaving them barely recognizable and irredeemably diabolical. The Black Orrery seeks nothing less sinister than to align the outer planes, through annual rituals and vile deeds that often require precise placement of cultists in specific locations and positions, for the ultimate goal of cutting off the celestial realms and leaving wide-open a path for their lords, the inscrutable machine-fiends, who will overrun the world and tear everything down, setting up hell in the mortal world.
Another, equally sinister and even larger, less secretive foe is the Nihilus Solution, a scattered cult that seeks the utter destruction and annihilation of the world, for the purpose of everything being re-created in a more perfect form, preferably by Nihilus cultists ascended to divinity by the act of destroying and absorbing the essence of the world. Many in Nihilus are devotees of destroyer gods and spirits, and as a whole the cult just wants everything eliminated, with the faithful believing that their deities will recreate the world, not cultists of the Solution.
The other major faction in the underworld of Aleasana's fractured kingdom is the Nightshade Cabal, extremely secretive (as in, "speak of us openly and find a poisoned dagger sprouting from your back before the day is through, because we'll know") but somewhat less sinister than the others, merely working to maintain the divided, warring state of Aleasana much as it is today, and as it was in the War of Deadly Voices. The Nightshade Cabal is chiefly composed of death merchants, who sell weaponry, siege equipment, ammunition, armor, foodstuffs, and other military supplies to the factions of Aleasana. A few other members of Nightshade, the elite of the organization, are assassins who seek to perpetuate the wars in Aleasana, knowing well the dearth of profits that can be earned in wartime assassination, arms dealing, logistics control, and political manipulation. The Cabal also contains a sizeable number of infiltrators, spies, and thieves who observe Aleasani politicking and back-room deals and the like, and to steal or copy important documents or other items, which includes blackmail and bribery material on occasion. A few cabalists are thugs, enforcers, mages, or priests, with cabalist mages often focusing on divination, abjuration, and illusion, and cabalist priests often dedicated to deities of death, warfare, strife, or greed. The Nightshade Cabal also maintains some formidable mercenary companies, soldiers of fortune who are either oblivious to the Cabal's other activities (knowing their employers by some false moniker or a merchant cartel "front"), or held on a short leash in the case of those initiated into the Cabal's true face. These mercenaries are often used by Aleasana's factions to balance the power in battles, generally with a Cabal factor or faceman coordinating the contract (and manipulating the desired faction into purchasing the contract, based on what will better promote and maintain continual, profitable Nightshade business). Strangely enough, to ensure the security of their livelyhood and indeed their own lives, the Nightshade Cabal works simultaneously to prevent invasions or wars with the non-human groups outside Aleasana proper, because they can't have non-humans overrunning the shattered kingdom and incidentally wiping out the Cabal or its lucrative business with the Aleasani factions.
The Others
These city-states are comprised mostly of humans. The Bodai, a short race popularly called "halflings" by the Aleasani, and the Juni, a similar race popularly called Pygmies or Gnomes, are among the aboriginal inhabitants of the land who the Aleasani displaced when they arrived here. Others include the Shey, popularly known as elves, to whom only a few cities remain (among them Karina) but who have managed to treat with the humans, and the Dvergar, or dwarves, a grim race of warriors and wizards who have remained hostile, even as their strength dwindles. There are also the Northeners, another race of men, to whom the sophisticated Aleasani feel even less kinship then they do for the Shey. Finally, there are the Urukh, the mysterious, brutish race to which the Black Fist Brotherhood belongs.*
The dwarves, gnomes, elves, and halflings of the land have more or less absolved themselves from the conflict, though there are the occasional mercenaries...
And among those mercenaries are the feared and reviled Storm Crows. The Crows are a Dwarvish mercenary company led by Kulrick Ironclaw, whose might in battle is matched only by his arcane prowess.
Another prominent mercenary group in Aleasana is the Black Fist Brotherhood, an exclusive organization of Urukh monks and rogues who serve as shock troops, assassins, and blockade runners for anyone who will pay their price. The Black Fist Brotherhood believes in an almost religious philosophy called the Way of the Black Road, a quasi-mystical regimen of physical and mental training based on the Five Pillars of Truth, which shall guide the faithful and determined to the Ultimate Truth. By their attitudes and activities, though, something about the Universal Truths they follow seems to make battle and warfare important to them.
Black Brothers will not say anything more than this regarding their philosophy, as they are oath-sworn to protect the secrets of the Universal Truths and pass them on only to the initiated. They consequently take only very young half-orcs into their order (age 3 and younger), so Black Brothers are tightly adherant to their oaths. Black Fist Brothers normally wear loose-fitting, cowled black robes that cover all but their hands, feet, and (sometimes) face. They wrap gray strips of cloth around their hands and feet for padding of sorts. Some wear tight, camouflaged nightsuits when out on a mission, to better hide their silhouette when sneaking about.
The Black Fist Brotherhood dislikes magic, looking down on it as a crutch used by only those who are too craven and weak-willed to use the power of their own body effectively. Black Brothers are particularly good at dispatching spellcasters, because they enjoy showing the cravens just how flawed their reliance on magic is. Members of the Black Fist Brotherhood view their own fantastic abilities as the simple advancement of their physical prowess to metaphysical levels of perfection.
Ironically, for many years, Dominus Majera Alsea was the principal employer of the Black Fist Brotherhood--however, as her policies have grown more stringent and severe, they have left her banners. The order's local head, Five Doves on the Wing, gave the Brotherhood's reasons as such--"The Way of Heaven is the Pillar of Earth--the Way of Earth is the Pillar of Heaven. If both Ways are followed, stability is achieved, and all is well. Loyalty the just leader--is this not the Way of Heaven? But if the leader follows not the Way of Heaven, the Earth grows unstable. Confusion abounds. If the Way of Earth is disordered, Heaven falters, and all begins to fail. For that reason, we cannot support you."
Although not a requirement for membership in the Black Fist Brotherhood, many of them come from a large Imperial nation far to the Southwest that is peopled almost entirely by half-orcs that have bred true for so long that they had almost forgotten about the existence of humans and orcs as their ancient forebears. The Brotherhood, while also a highly profitable mercenary organization, also secretly serves as the advance guard and scouting forces of this Empire, perhaps as a prelude to invasion.
However, observers more knowledgable about Ur-Sai, the empire of the Urukhs, doubt this is the case. The culture of Ur-Sai is reclusive and mystical, placing great value in stability, and the unchanging nature of the Empire. Urukhs have been known to state that Ur-Sai is eternal--that it has seen the foundings of all nations, and will see the fall of all nations. While a few ambitious generals dream of wars of expansion, for the Court in general the work of the army is making sure the borders of Ur-Sai never change. The more restless youths join the Black Fist Brotherhood, quenching their desire for new experiences by sending them beyond the Empire's borders, and calming them by emersing them in the Brotherhood's deep philosophy of order, obligations, and the nature of the universe. For centuries, the Brotherhood has sold its services in Aleasana, while reporting back to the Court as to what occurs there. These days, the Court seems very concerned about Aleasana's steady slide into greater and greater chaos.
Dvergar legends hold that the Urukhs are the crossbred offspring of a mysterious race of "demons" that marched in the armies of a mythical evil figure they call "the Lordling" and the "Tall People" another aboriginal group of Aleasana. Both the "demons" and the Tall People were wiped out in the war, leaving only their children, the Urukhs. The Urukhs' have their own version of their origin, though they don't tell it to outsiders.
The Shay, if the stories are true, came to Aleasana from the West, exiled by their kin for some mysterious reason. The Shay speak little on this subject, while the Dvergar speak a great deal on it, as it was largely their excuse for their enslavement of the elven people. Still, the truth remains obscure. According to Shay legends, in their past they fought wars not only with Duergar, but with a deformed evil race known as the Formor. Formori came in many types, but all were cruel, heartless, and destructive. While the stories insist that the Shay won, they're rather vague about what happened to the Formor afterwards...
The Shay are reguarded as uncanny warriors know for wielding magic as well as bronze. arcane archers, spell swords, and eldritch knights are all common amoung the elves, but the most feared is the Order of Ghost Warriors. The Ghost Warriors focus their magical training on enhancing their stealth and are well known for their use of poison. While some claim they are dishonorable, they argue that a warriors honor come from success, however achieved.
Some of the Shay in Aleasana are recent arrivals, coming in secret from across the ocean. No one knows that they are foreigners, using strange magics to learn the language.
There is a secret cult of Shay wizards and druids, called The Grey Seers, whose primary goals are premised on the survival and prosperity of the race. This somewhat translates to on-going undertakings to undermine the city of undeads to the south at every possible opportunity and to sustain the division among the human cities while allowing the Shay as a race to gain a foothold sufficient to establish themselves as a power to be reckoned with. The Grey Seers have a clearly defined 100-year strategy that involve decisive actions and missions to fulfill these objectives.
The nomadic and cannibalistic tribes of the Juni are beginning to move out of the Sun's Anvil Desert and into the southern grasslands. Rumor has it that some unknown threat from the deep desert is pushing them out of their normal range. While the Juni are reported to be cannibalistic, the reality is perhaps not as sinister as the rumors portend. Juni (gnomes) have a long and proud oral history. Their culture is steeped in mysticism and tradition. One of their beliefs is that eating from the remains of an elder Juni will impart on one the wisdom and knowledge of that elder and all those who passed before him. While the Juni do not otherwise eat humanoid flesh, they do not dispel the rumors when confronted... so the rumors persist. "At least that's what some of the bleeding-heart humans claim, who probably have never seen a horde of Juni tear into a Bodai settlement on their warponies, indiscriminately massacring men, women and children in their sleep, and rending the still-warm flesh with their sharp, pointy teeth..."
Recently, Val-Alen has hosted a young Juni shaman named Ikontet, who paints a different picture of the Juni invasion and the Bodai response.
According to Ikontet, when the Juni first arrived in the grasslands, they thought they had discovered paradise. "Never in his life had my father seen so much green," he explained in halting Aleasani. Food was abundant, and many among the Juni thought they might never have to suffer want again.
However, things soon changed when the Bodai found them. At first the Juni had little fear--they had traded with the Bodai for generations, and were certain that moving closer would only strengthen their relationship. However, they soon found out otherwise. "When my father spoke to the Bodai chief, they told us, they said we could not live here. They said that this land was theirs, and it had been given to them, and they alone could settle on it, and if we settled on it, they would kill us." The discussion became heated, and then one of the Bodai grew angry and stabbed Ikontet's father to death. Before the Juni could even react, the Bodai were launching arrows at the tribes' warriors, and rounding up the youths and women. "They took us into slavery. We are the Juni--we have no such thing. In the Great Sand--life is hard. When you meet another tribe--you celebrate, and you trade, and everyone leaves, as friends. Sometimes, there are fights, but they are short, because if we all spent our time killing each other, and taking each other prisoner, we would all die. The Bodai--they are not like this. When one Bodai meets another Bodai, they do not say 'Come friend--share my food'--they say 'Who are you? Are you as strong as I am? Give me what you have!' Then they fight, and sometimes, they kill each other, and other times, one takes the other, to use as a servent. We--we were not expecting this. We did not understand that you could own another person. We still do not understand."
According to Ikontet, he and his fellow captives were beaten and abused by the Bodai, and forced to perform menial tasks. Finally, he escaped, and after a month on the run, found another tribe of Juni, and joined them, warning them of the Bodai's actions. "I told them they could not trust the Bodai. I told them in the Great Sand, the Bodai wore a friendly mask, but when they reached the grasslands, they took it off, and they were demons." Ikontet says he has become a leader in the Juni struggle against the Bodai, though he still hopes for a peaceful resolution. "If they wish to fight, we will fight. We will ruin things so that they will fall to the smallest child of the smallest man. But if they want to be friends, we will be friends. We will stand with them until the last darkness falls."
Bodai traders insist that Ikontet is a liar. Many however feel his story shows every sign of being true. But most of the people of Val Alen couldn´t care less about the story of a small savage who is at best only eating his own elders instead of every one else. Also in this times of war most humans are interested more in their own survival than in the tales of a little funny looking guy. It´s nice entertainment for a night though.
Most people also side with the Bodai. Nearly everyone agrees that they wouldn´t like a bunch of cannibals intruding in their territory, too.
Juni society is highly decentralised and is characterised by small family based mobs of 10 - 30 individuals. These mobs are nomadic wandering over vast territories eeking out what living they can and visiting particular sacred sites which include sacred stones, oasis, hunting areas and other sites of significance.
Juni wandering is recorded in elaborate song-maps remembered by the Juni bards and celebrated in song and dance. Juni beleif is that nothing exists outside these Song-Maps and that each place is continuously sung into being by recitation of the Song-Map. When something is encountered for the first time (and thus is not part of the Song-Map) it is considered a Dream until it is sung into being, Juni also beleive that should the Song-Map ever stop being sung the world will disintergrate.
When Juni mobs meet the first part of the ritual of encounter is to recite the Song-Map of each Mob, if two Song-Maps share common sites of significance then kinship between the two mobs is recognised and freindly social interaction begins, the more common sites shared the closer the kinship recognised.
Other Juni myth tells of the ancient Dragon-King who once lived wrapped around the Sun Anvil and who first sang the World into being and who had the Juni spring up from the sand with his children the Lizards at their side. It is for this reason that Juni are able to speak to reptiles including the large Setu (Monitor Lizards) which they sometimes ride over the Desert sands .
The Juni age-bands also deserve comment. All Juni males upon passing childhood are intiated into a mystery cult which cut across Mobs and bind all members of a recognised Kinship area. These Cults each teach different skills useful to Juni life. Some teach magic, others the secret nature and its spirits and others the skill of warriors.
One obscure Cult which has suddenly risen to prominence in the new expansion into the Bodai grasslands is the Cult of the Sand Tiger. This Cult teaches the Secret of the Blood Frenzy where a Juni can gain increase strength and endurance by tearing the flesh and drinking the blood of his enemies.
Ikontet is a member of the Cult of Dreaming Dragon--apparently a group of some signifigance--and while he doesn't exactly approve of the Cult of the Sand Tiger's methods, he does seem to condone them. "Blood for blood, death for death," he stated when a Bodai trader irately argued that such a group proved the evil of the Juni. "You have woken the Dragon. Now feel his claws."
Shay loremasters maintain that the Bodai and Juni were actually a single people who were displaced from Aleasana proper ages ago. Those who settled in the grasslands became sundered from those who ventured into the deep desert. This idea is met with derision by both the Bodai and Juni who point out that their people cannot even intermarry and do not share a common tongue.
The Shay are not forthcoming with an explanation.
The grasslands are home to the Bodai, a nomadic, herding people famed for their horsemanship and ferocity. They produce the finest woolens known on their portable looms.
The Dai River, from which the Bodai (children of Dai) take their name, flows from the mountains of Aleasana and winds south into the Sun's Anvil Desert before turning east into the Olden Sea. Each Bodai clan executes a massive circuit in its wanderings. This circuit eventually brings each clan back to the Dai river, usually every 5 to 10 years. This is a time of great ritual significance for the Bodai, for only in the Dai may adolescents undergo Kandalana, the rites of rebirth through which they become adults. Regardless of his age, a Bodai who has not taken Kandalana cannot marry or own property. The Dai river is also home to a powerful Water Naga Scorcerer named Shrangea Dai-Khan whom the Bodai consider to be the guardian spirit of the river, and often leave offerings at the sites he is known to frequent. Shrangea who is accompanied by a gaggle of nixie companions, enjoys the status and offerings left for him and so extends his protection to the Bodai.
The Naga has some sort of subterannean access to the Spring of Sellessenril (which he visits once a year) and is known to the Lizard folk also. What his motives or relationship to the Dragons are is unknown. (Some say faeries and naga are distantly related.) The sacred Spring of Sellessenril is one of the Dai River's sources, and Bodai believe that their people were long ago born from the Spring and shall one day return to the Dai, as their spirits do upon death according to Bodai legend. The Shay's ancient sealing of the sacred Spring has long been a matter of contention between them and the Bodai, who can only visit the Dai River itself but not one of its sacred sources. The other sources of the Dai River remain important sites to the Bodai, as each Bodai child is traditionally bathed in a source of the Dai at least once within their first 10 years. After this ritual bathing, the Bodai child takes the name of that source spring as their own middle name, giving them the right to begin apprenticeship in Bodai magic or warrior traditions.
The major water source of the Dai river is the Dajani lake in the Jar highlands. The lake is surrounded by mountains and glaciers who feed the massive lake. There is a constant Bodai settlement that guards the lake, in case the Shay or anyone else want to claim the lake for themselves.
The settlement has a fortress in the middle, the Jan´Dahan. An order of Bodai paladins guards the fortress and the surrounding lands.
Besides Dajani Lake and Sellessenril Spring, another, lesser source for the mighty Dai River is the small group of hot springs called Okajda Tarym Cal by the Bodai. These hot springs are scattered across a wide ridge on the southern face of Mount Tarym, slightly northwest of Dajani Lake. The small stretch of the Bolshe Rapids flows from Okajda Tarym Cal into the Dai River, southwest of Dajani.
One of the ways the Bodai measure status is by the ownership of their fierce, hardy ponies. An individual who owns his own pony is a "Bodai'sha"--a true adult. These individuals are a surprisingly small portion of the population and constitute a sort of savage Bodai 'knighthood'. They ride with the fierce Bodai war parties, and are allowed to seize whatever spoils their horse can carry. An individual who owns enough ponies to give his immediate family mounts is a "Bodai'kasha". These individuals may lead their families into battle, and speak at clan meetings. An individual who owns enough ponies to give mounts to his immediate and his extended family is called a "Bodai'kasha'kai"--they recieve the same rights as a kasha, but their opinions carry more weight, and they are generally powerful war leaders. An individual who owns enough ponies to give mounts to his extended family, AND twenty or more individuals to whom he is not related is called a "Bodai'sa". These individuals tend to lead the smaller Bodai hordes, and are generals, and statesmen. An individual who owns enough ponies to give mounts to his extended family, AND one hundred or more individuals to whom he is not related is called a "Bodai'sahn". These are the monarchs of Bodai society. Sergis Sahn is one such individual.
Next, we must consider those who do not or cannot own their own mounts. A man who does not own his own pony, but must ride his mounts his family provides is called a "Bodai'ne". This is not a dishonorable position, but it also not a particularly honorable one--many young men in it are hungry to prove themselves, and be awarded their own pony. An individual who must rely on the charity of strangers for a pony is called a "Bodai'sora"--this is a shameful position, generally occupied by criminals and cripples, and any healthy individual who is in this state is viewed with disgust. Sora are often not allowed to ride into battle. A completely different individual is a "Bodai'lho", a warrior who has sworn loyalty to a Sa or Sahn and now rides his lord's mounts into battle. Lhos compromise an elite fighting corps in any Sa's forces, and are honored and exulted--especially when they are individuals who give up a Sha, Kasha, or Kasha'kai position to do so.
Inheritance laws among the Bodai are, interestingly enough, practically non-existent. While an individual may leave their ponies to a son or daughter--or for that matter a sibling, a niece, or a favored war leader--that heir must demonstrate sufficient power, magnetism and force to make those wishes come true--otherwise the mounts will be seized by everyone trying to reach a higher status. This often results in a period of intraclan violence when a leader dies, followed by the group splintering into several smaller clans. The larger the clan, the more violent such quarrels tend to be. When the famed Bodai warlord Ossa Sahn of the Red Hand Horde perished, her sons, daughters, and warlords fought amongst themselves for a month to determine the distribution of her ponies--they were only stopped by a massed attack by several of the clan's enemies, who wiped out the Red Hand Horde to a man.
As fierce as the Bodai warriors are, lately they seeme to be ill-matched against the Juni's use of sand magic - turning once lush grazing lands into treacherous sand traps for the Bodai's ponies. The Juni warponies (which only vaguely look like ponies but are more closely related to the abundant sand lizards) seem to have no problem with such terrain.
Dvergar society is famed for its scholarship. All Dvergar cities include a library wherein the writings of generations of Dvergar wizards and sages are preserved. While one can find out virtually any piece of information that you want in them, the fact remains that most Dvergar are obsessive and secretive, and naturally the works of generation upon generation of them is both extensive, and insanely difficult to search through, assuming you can even gain access to the library. Which is highly unlikely.
Drveger lore tells of the Rhyaltor, a bogeyman from deep underground that constantly knocks on the walls of the Drveger tunnels and bumps hidden things into view - sometimes these might be a boon, but most often they are a curse and a horror....
The Z.G.B. (Zwergerkraft Grundwerken Broderschaft) specializes in any kind of large-scale underground engineering projects, wheter it is a tunnel through a mountain chain, rerouting an underground river, or undermining a wall during a siege (sometimes in competetion against a second Z.G.B. team hired to protect the same wall). A particularly gruff and unfriendly lot, these deep dwarves speak an ancient dialect unintelligible to most, and are shunned by the surface dwarves. Their contracts are ironclad, and always include perpetual right of acces to the tunnels, and mineral rights to any deposits along its length. Breach of contract is met with clinically precise retribution.
It is said the Z.G.B. uses - besides their own considerable muscle power - strange magicks, as well as fearsome underground beasts. Rumor has it they have enslaved a black dragon, which "eats rocks, spews black smoke out of one nostril, and white smoke out the other".
The Land, and Its Neighbors
Aleasana is very mountainous with the city states occupying the narrow valleys between the high mountain divides. These mountains can be inhospitable and wracked by snowstorms however it also means the valleys are well watered and temperatures warmn in summer though icy cold in winter. Control of the mountain passes often means control of Aleasana.
Because of the high mountains and harsh climate, population levels are lower on the whole in Aleasana--cities have 30% fewer people than more fertile regions would, making each each man's skill count for more, and keeping city size under control, thus Aleana's lack of metropolises.
Old-timers claim that, back when they were young, the mountains were not as tall as they are now. There were more passes and easier travel, when Aleasana was a single nation.
Aleasana's Southern border is the Sun's Anvil Desert. Rumors abound of what lies beyond, but nobody has ever ventured there and come back alive. Between the mountains and the desert lies a strip of arid grasslands. The 'Anvil' from which the Suns Anvil Desert takes its name is a monadnock (a vast Rock) standing 1200 feet high and and 6 miles wide. The Anvil is pitch black in colour and yet glows with a bright red aura as the sun sets behind it. The peneplain around the Rock is harsh and windswept and notable for its surface of fused glass that extends out for about 12 miles around the Anvil and for the broken rings of tall rocky spires the dot the area.
Beyond the glass ring the desert proper reaaserts itself flowing north to the grasslands of the Bodai and south and west towards the land of the Urukh...
Heading South from the Grasslands the Dai river does not reach the sea, instead it gouges ot a deep gorge through the desert before it spends itself in a delta area that the Juni call the Glistening Hand. The gorge and the delta are a sacred place of the Juni and the most fertile area in the desert with thick groves of olive, coconut palm and papyrus, while crocodiles, dire platypus and other beasts lurk in the many streams.
The Blade of Yadasai, a rocky peninsula, juts out from the western shore of the Sun's Anvil Desert. This thin, hard piece of land extends beyond mortal sight, but on a clear enough day one can faintly see the rock known simply as The Hilt. The Blade of Yadasai is actually a land bridge connecting the western shore of the Sun's Anvil Desert to another land mass. This is the homeland of the Urukh. But, as noted elsewhere, the Urukh are notoriously intolerant of change. And that includes foreigners wandering into their realm. The Hilt is a massive fortress built into a naturally occuring promontory at the far end of the blade of Yadasai. None may enter the Urukh lands on foot without traveling through the Hilt Fortress. And none are allowed to pass within unless they have a very good reason. For centuries, the Black Fist Brotherhood had its members walk through the Blade and the Sun Anvil desert until they reached what is now Aleasana. However, as the demand for their services grew, this was seen as inefficient, and so now most members arrive by boat, after a grueling training period. To this day, "walking the desert" is a saying among the Brotherhood and Urukhs in general that means to undertake a difficult task in order to prove one's worth.
On the far Northern border, the mountains blend into a frozen wasteland of ice and stone. In the far North, millenia of genetic isolation have taken their toll on a few of the most remote communities. Inherited deformities abound, as well as madness. It is said that some of these pitiful creatures have developed strange powers, beyond the realm of both nature or magic. The visibly deformed are shunned and feared among the other Northern barbarian tribes, and may even be hunted and put to death on sight. Among the northern barbarians, youngsters of marriageable age are sent out - sometimes naked - to survive on their own wits, and brave the high passes to trek to neighboring tribes. Their status in the tribe receiving them will be determined by how far they have traveled, and their harrowing stories of survival told around the campfire (under the baleful eye of the local cleric and a Zone of Truth, if need be). The resulting network of intermarriages cements the northern barbarians more than any other people in Aleasana, although their geographical fragmentation keeps them from forming a united front.
On the East and West, Aleasana is flanked by two large oceans.
The eastern ocean is known to most as the Olden Sea, as most of Aleasana's peoples sailed here centuries or millenia ago from the east when their homeland was ravaged (by what, few know). The Aleasani displaced many lesser peoples when they arrived, forcing some northward into the tundra and south into the desert, most of whom have not been seen or heard from for quite a while. The vast Olden Archipelago fills part of the Olden Sea southeast of the Aleasana mountains.
The Eastern coast is notable for its long and narrow fjords where the sea cuts into the mountains leaving sheer cliffs with tumbling waterfalls, falling stones, overhanging forests and a spectacular rugged grandeur. The sheer cliffs make landfall difficult however there are a couple of suitable areas and it was in the eastern Fjords that people first landed. At the head of the Langerfjord which cuts furthest into the mountains is the Dverger city of Hängende (Вися Город in Drueger text) called the hanging city because of the way some of its buildings extend out from the cliffsides over the water, it is here that humans first set foot on Aleasana rock.
The Olden Archipelago is neatly split into three sovereign entities. The closest to Aleasana is the Principality of Maralan. The islands in this part of the chain tend to be larger, but agriculture is limited due to the rocky terrain. The people here tend to be herders and their woolen goods are renowned throughout Aleasana. They trade their goods for much of their food supply, and the war between the various factions of Aleasana has hurt the people of Maralan greatly. Grain is currently being rationed and the people are starting to eat their prized sheep with a bit more regularity than is good for their economy.
SOuth east of the Principality of Maralan are a series of barren atolls some a mere few feet above water whilst others have been pushed up on high sheer cliffs of coral and stone, the largest and highest of these is Karkora seat of the Karkora Magister.
The Atolls under the authority of the Karkora Magister are inhabited by two races the Karkora proper are a tall savage people of bestial nature (called Gnolls by the Shay) who survive by raiding the other islands. It is the small size and general aridity of their islands and resultant small populations that keep the Karkora from becoming a major threat. Each atoll might contain but a single mob of 30 Karkora, and many of the smaller atolls are too small and waterless for any habitation at all.
The second race living in the many caves that riddle the cliffs of the upraised coral islands are the winged Kenku whom the Karkora honour as spirits and who offer their own scorceress skills to the Magister.
The Magister himself is an ancient Karkora druid. He has attempted in the past to raise the low atolls higher and to bring them rain but even though his power is great the sea always reclaims its own
The Aleasani were much larger when they left the old lands, practically giants to the eyes of the Juni, Shay, Dvergar, and Urukh they displaced. Over time they shrank admidst the mountains of Aleasana, with little food to survive on after they destroyed the old civilizations there. The final and furthest stretch of the Olden Archipelago, stretching east of Karkora and a bit northward, is the storm-wracked, semi-tropical island chain of Old Asani. When the Aleasani fled their homeland ages ago, the first land they came upon after their long wandering at sea was the islands they would call Asani, and many Aleasani thought to settle there.
But the Asani islands were too few for all the Aleasani to colonize, and some thought they were not yet far enough from their homeland to be safe, so they sailed on and passed amidst the rest of the greater achipelago. Many more were driven to flee westward when the Curse of the Asani fell upon the colonists of the easternmost islands, and the volcanos awoke to ravage the people in their anger, destroying much of the colonies. Those who did not flee simply did not have any ships left intact, and weathered the Curse, until the Asani islands calmed.
These survivors managed to eke out a decent but unpredictable living on the Asani islands, and they became known themselves as Asani. The Asani changed over the years as the aftermath of the Curse took its toll, and now they are a stranger folk than their western cousins. The Asani's leaders are the Asani-Morok, called ogre magi by the people of Maralan, who lead other Asani in pirating and shore-raiding. The common land-based Asani are called Asani-Gorn, ogres to the folk of Maralan, and their more common brethren are the aquatic Asani-Toron called merrow by Maralan folk. The people of the Asani islands in the Olden Archipelago still consider themselves to be true Aleasani, despite their descent into more crude and simplistic lifestyle, and regardless of their physical disfigurement. Asani live primarily in caves on the islands, and the numerous Asani-Toron live throughout the underwater warrens of Asani.
The loss of the Urukhs' aid has Majera looking to the support of the twisted, degenerate Asani--a move she may eventually regret...
Whereas the Eastern coast of Aleasana is rocky and rather inhospitable, in the West the mountains descend down into a dense forest, which gradually turns into a marsh, and then breaks up into an infinite number of islands. This is Faegrim, the realm of the Fae. No accurate maps exist, and it is said that the geography keeps changing day by day. All manner of fey abound, and although most are not openly hostile to intruders, they do prefer to be left alone, and can have a truly vicious sense of humor. Beware of Fae hospitality, because nothing is ever given for free. You are expected to know the rules, but none will explain them (and who knows they won't have changed the next day).
At the southern edge of the Faegrim where the marsh turns to the grassland home of the Bodai live the Isslen, commonly known as lizardfolk. Their raids often strike deep into Bodai and Fae territory, but they quickly recede back to the swamps with their loot. Neither the Bodai nor the Fae have made any large scale efforts to attack the lizardfolk as it is commonly believed that they live under the protection of dragons. This is likely untrue, but the rumors persist nonetheless. The Isslen perform the raids to hide that they are also searching for a rare crystal that can be found in and around Aleasana. These crystals hold religious significance in the Isslen's matriarchal society. The Isslen Matriarch constructs her nest from the Crystals which she then warms by her own body. The energy from the crytals suffuses the eggs giving strength and ability to the young (or so the Isslen beleive).
Indeed the Matriarchs have been looking for the True Crystal that will allow her hatchlings to transform into a new breed of Dragons, so far none have succeeded.
The rogue Odraani Imperium is a small nation along the mid-western edges of Aleasana, bordering the Faegrim, constantly under threat of attack by Fey and Aleasani. Odraani was founded long ago by Aleasani expatriates who had been ostracized because of their practicing necromancy, and shortly after the founding its ruler, the Imperator Kimaj Ni'Taal, attained lichdom. Kimaj has long since built up his small nation into a formidible military power, albeit much weaker than the combined forces of the Aleasani. The Odraani military is comprised primarily of undead, but they also have a small population of Shay who have been perverted to the Odraani ways and serve as assassins or spies. Despite it's reputation, the Odraani Imperium contains a surprising number of Neutral and even Good-aligned undead, and overall could perhaps best be described as Lawful Neutral. Undead are granted the same rights as the living, and wander the streets with impunity.
Although the Fey typically stay out of mortal affairs in Aleasana, they consider undead an abomination, and there have been frequent but unorganized conflicts along the Odraani border.
Iron is rare in Aleasana, and has anti-magical properties. Ownership of iron items requires a permit in Altania, whereas the king of Cassant has just discovered the existance of a rich lode of iron ore from a dwarven tribe he conquered, and is planning to enslave the tribe to mine it for him.
(Assume all weapon and armor stats are for bronze items. Iron items are treated as Cold Iron, and grant a +1 bonus to damage inflicted on spellcasters and any non-Human or non-Dvergar intelligent races. Any spellcaster, non-Human or non-Dvergar wielding an iron item is Sickened (-2 on attack, saves, damage, skills and ability checks).
Many people believe that all human spellcasters had a non human ancestor somewhere in their ancestry as iron sickens all non humans and all spellcasters.
Another theory is that it was a gift by the faerie to humans, so they would stop using iron against them in a mythical war long ago.
According to the Dvergar, all iron comes from the blood of their grim, grey god Koschei the Deathless, a gift to his children as he was driven away from the land by the other gods. While this does explain why dwarves are unaffected by iron's special qualities, it does nothing to explain human's resistance to the metal...
A major hot spot of the war are the iron mines of Amerah. Ownership changes often and violently between the neighbouring city states.
Dragons
The Dragons of Aeasana form their own society seperate from other races with their own laws and customs. Little is known of their rulers except that they are called The Council of Elements. The dragons are holding themselves aloof from the current conflict, and claim to be forbidden from contracting as mercenaries although it is know they have done this in the past. Dragons are feared because the death of a dragon is often met with organized and ruthless reprisals, other times the Dragons have investigated and declared the death just. No non-dragon knows what criteria they use to judge...
The Dragon Bishnagar has recently established a trade in protection of valuable goods (including Iron and gold) with many merchants and city-states placing their valuables in his care in return for a Dragon-Marked Credit Note (discounted by 10%, the tithe claimed by the Dragon as payment)
These 'Drakemarks' have become tradable and many transactions between city-states, and other welathy organisations are facilitated through the exchange of Drakemarks rather than hard currency. While this would seem to invite forgery, the problem has not yet become significant. One forgery has been found, but it was traced back to an unscrupulous merchant. As best the authorities can tell, the perpetrator was rather messily eaten several hours before their arrival. Forging Drake-Marks proves rather difficult to perfect, since the dragon uses a special Arcane Mark on each Drake-Mark with the special condition that it glows red when exposed to moonlight. For this reason, trade of Drake-Marks is more likely to occur at night than in the day, to better avoid forgeries. However, the moonlight-induced glow was only very recently made known, as the dragon did not appreciate learning that people had tried forging copies of its goods.
The dragon Alshoon claimed the rulership of the city of Kendra at the beginning of the civil war. He was forced to step down, after the council of elements declared this a major violation of the draconic laws.
Some scholars uncovered hints that there was a small faction conflict in the dragon society about changing the policy of non-involvement into other races affairs and actually ruling them.
As it seems the conservative isolationists won. What exactly happened and how the conflict was resolved is open to wild speculations and rumours.
If Bishnager´s drake marks are also a violation is unknown, the dragon himself declared that he is acting within established customs and the council declared his transactions valid.
