Creative Exercise--Aleasana

[Arkhandus]

A contribution:

Armothal, the lost sword of the great demon Neroshimon, contains a majority of the demon's power within and uses it to capture the souls of anyone slain by the blade. These souls empower Armothal, and it is said that the demon-blade can slay anything short of a god. With enough souls, it may even be capable of that eventually. In the hands of Neroshimon, the sword's full power is unleashed; in the hands of any other, the sword's power seems diminished, for whatever reason. Armothal is intelligent, imbued with a fragment of Neroshimon's own twisted, destructive mind, and seeks to trick or convince its bearer to carry it towards Neroshimon, if anyone besides Neroshimon should ever handle the blade. Armothal can sense the direction towards Neroshimon, but at present the iron prison of Neroshimon hides him even from Armothal. The sword craves death for everyone except Neroshimon, and if it does not believe its bearer will carry it to Neroshimon, Armothal will seek to deceive the wielder into getting themselves into a deadly situation, expecting that it will eventually be picked up by someone gullible or convenient enough.

 

[Sarellion]

Contribution:

Altania´s sorcerers are not prohibited by laws to climb to the highest positions in Altanian society. Still there is some kind of glass ceiling preventing them to be evenly presented in the council of nine and the academy. Academy positions are granted based on knowledge and spellcasting capabilities and many sorcerers aren´t scholars and so have to excel in capabilities. Currently there are two sorcerers being members of the council of nine, Anara of the school of evocation which has a high percentage of sorcerers in its ranks and Finaron the Illusionist.

Most sorcerers tend to be in the employ of the diplomatic service or the Azure Guard. There is a minority of sorcerers who lobby for a separate seat for sorcerers on the council as they are annoyed that they have to join a specialist school despite being not specialised. Detractors point out that every spellcaster has some kind of preference in his spell selection and that a sorcerers seat would advantage sorcerers unfairly.

 

[Rhialto]

It's one post between contributions now.

Originally Posted by Rhialto
It has also resulted in the quiet split in their culture between the scholarly, aristocratic "High Dwarves", and the hard-working, militant "Deep Dwarves". Ironically, both of these two groups hold each other in high regard, and view their mutual efforts as necessary to the continued existence of the dwarven nation.

Originally Posted by Conaill
The Z.G.B. (Zwergerkraft Grundwerken Broderschaft) specializes in any kind of large-scale underground engineering projects[...] A particularly gruff and unfriendly lot, these deep dwarves speak an ancient dialect unintelligible to most, and are shunned by the surface dwarves.

For non-dwarves that have only dealt with the deep dwarves through the ZGB, it is often a surprise that high dwarves do not view all their subterrarean kin with the same disdain they treat that mining group. But experts realize that the ZGB's willingness to work for anyone violates the trust betweeen the two allied cultures, and irritates the often xenophobic high dwarves as well as threatening the wealth their alliance with their deep dwarf kin grants them.

Other reasons exist of course--the aristocratic high dwarves naturally dislike a company made of outcasts, and by some reports, criminals--and all Dvergar are afraid that the ZGB might unleash something dangerous with their heedless digging, and their willingness to use experimental methods (the group's famed "Black Dragon" device, for example) causes many to worry the ZGB may produce a deadly accident down below...

((There. That's one little niggle sorted out.))

 

[Sarellion]

Kyron Annar, the head lich of Altania´s school of necromancy is currently the eldest member of the council member of the council of nine and is also the longest time on the council comared to the other members. His origin is shrouded in mystery. Kyron is a no nonsense undead whose focus in life is magical research. Day to day affairs of the faculty are managed by Magister Delar, another lich with an odd sense of black humour who likes to do unexpected things. Both cranky bones have a strange working relationship despite their very different personalities. Most of the time both don´t bother each other.

 

[Arkhandus]

The small, elite mercenary platoon called Heretic's Claw is a rigidly-disciplined group of Isslen exiles, sorcerers all. Many are as proficient with tooth, claw, and falchion as they are with sorcery, though elven Ghost Warriors sneer at any mention of these mercenaries, claiming that Heretic's Claws are pale imitations of Ghost Warriors. They utilize near-perfect teamwork, surrounding and trapping enemy units while other members of the platoon keep the enemy pinned down with area spells. Summoning outsiders to assist in these tactics is common. Then the meat grinder begins, and the sorcery-favoring teammates employ more precise attack spells in support. Isslen of Heretic's Claw tend to be good at flanking enemies and striking vital spots, though they are curiously honorable to some extent; they refuse to use ambush, traps, or sneaking for advantage in combat, and they always give the opponent a chance to yield and surrender all gear rather than face bloody defeat at the hand of Heretic's Claw. These mercenaries seem to be more indifferent towards non-Isslen than others of their kind, and indeed, other Isslen consider Heretic's Claw to be a band of traitorous heathen.

 

[Agent Oracle]

Uh, guys? this thread is over a year old... why is it suddenly being ressurected?

 

[Arkhandus]

Why not? It's not like it's a thread topic that becomes outdated, meaningless, worthless, or uninteresting just from a little time passing. And technically, it only became largely-inactive half a year ago. Adding to it only really makes it more useful to those who may want to use the setting.

 

[Arkhandus]

I feel a need to bump this. *twitch*

 

[Rhialto]

High General Alasa Kitama, head of the Church of Kithea, and ruler of the city of Virgon heads one of the smallest factions in the War, controlling only Virgon and a few neighboring towns. Despite this, Kitama is considered a major presence for several reasons--she is the youngest contender for the throne, she controls the ancient Seat of Kings, where the Rite of Ascension was held to mark the begining of each monarch's reign, she has never lost a battle, and she views herself as the prophet and mouthpiece of her goddess. Of course, one can argue that many priests and religious figures hold a view along those lines--but Alasa's is particularly fervant variation. She literally believes that Kithea talks to her and gives her guidance in the war. While some people chuckle about the "Little General" and her faith, truth be told, most find her beliefs somewhat unnerving. After all, even Dominus Majera Alsea, a woman of fervant and utter faith who holds that all her actions are the will of Dar does not consider herself to be in direct communication with her diety. The existence of someone even more zealous than her gives most people pause. But those who Kitama feel her critics do her wrong. She is a modest and pleasant young woman, who just happens to feel she is her diety's chosen delegate.

Alasa Kitama was a foundling, given to the Sisters of Mercy and Strength, one of the many religious sororities dedicated to Kithea. Raised by the Temple, the child showed both remarkable faith and an apitude for theology. At the age of 12, she was ordained, and by 16, she was head of her enclave. Then the War began, and High General Selene Feirell perished in battle. Suddenly, the Church of Kithea found itself having to choose a new leader, immediately, and wanting one with the strength of will capable of navigating the thorny situation that was in front of them. Even worse, the past 600 years had the Church placed increasingly under the thumb of Dar's Faith, and had resulted in a church leadership dominated by nonentities. While Alasa was hardly anyone's expected choice, ultimately her charisma, intelligence and faith raised her head and shoulders above her rivals. After a week of debate, she became the new High General of the Faith by a unanimous vote.

Upon assuming office, Alasa declared the goddess Kithea had visited her in a dream, and given her a divine mandate to end the war. She then sent notices to all the various factions in the war, explaining that the gods themselves had empowered her to sort through the succession matter, and that for the good of the nation, they should all step down, cease their fighting, and let her and the Church of Kithea run Aleasana while they pieced together who was really the ruler.

Fortunately for her, most of the factions initially ignored her claim--however, Bandesh-Thar did not, and sent a small army to "put the Faith of Kithea back on the road of the righteous". But the White Wolves underestimated General Kitama, who bested the superior force through brilliant tactics, and even managed to seize a small fortress that Bandesh-Thar kept nearby its erstwhile ally. This was followed by the siezings of other minor freeholds and fortresses as Virgon sought to create a strong border to protect it as it continued its mission to bring peace to Aleasana.

In the years since then, it has remained a small but potent force, and an increasingly irritating thorn in the sides of Bandesh-Thar and Cassant. Many suspect that eventually High General's "lucky streak" will end and that will be it for Virgon--but for the time being the Chosen of Kithea is one to be watched.

 

[Rhialto]

Bump, I say, bump.