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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rystil Arden" data-source="post: 2124619" data-attributes="member: 29014">Update Part II: Pages 21-end with edits for wording choice (and a minor bit of conflict reconciling, see note) Culture: Eyros is a bustling empire despite its slight decline in recent years, and despite the lack of new conquests in recent centuries. Instead, the Sovereign Dominion has better solidified its grasp on previously-conquered territories through more extensive conscription into the Sovereign Legions, and in more recent decades the implementation and deployment of the Enforcer Masks to pacify unruly 'protectorates'. Within the official borders of the Sovereign Dominion of Eyros, the last Imperial Census 5 years ago determined approximately 12 million people in Eyros, 4-1/2 million of them citizens, and the other 7-1/2 million consisting of peasants, elven villeins, and dwarven serfs. Approximately 2-1/2 million citizens and 4 million commoners are children, however. Many adults achieved citizenship in recent decades from higher conscription in the Legions, which grants citizenry after a 10-year term of loyal service, and the recent lack of conquests has made conscription relatively safe.....On that matter, the Imperial Census indicated little over 60,000 of Eyros' 5,500,000 adults are currently serving in the Sovereign Legions, somewhat short of the normal 70,000 expected, due to a brief plague in Zhalccu province a few decades ago and several retirements. The Legions have been somewhat stagnant and declining in recent decades, for lack of sufficient funding and lack of any significant military campaigns in this time. The Second through Seventh Legions are each commanded by a Praetor from one of the Six Pillars, such that each Pillar controls a Legion. The First Legion is the Imperial Legion, serving the Grand Monarch and the Senators in defense of Eyrdeyn, but has declined to half its usual strength in recent years. The Imperial Legion is always led by a Praetor selected from amongst the Grand Monarch's immediate brethren, sistren, or cousins, those who were potential heirs of the same generation as the Grand Monarch. The Third Legion, led by House Vajar, and Seventh Legion, led by House Taljik, are at roughly 65% strength currently. The Second and Sixth Legions, led by Houses Zhal and Malarn, are likewise depleted but still close to 80% strength. Each Legion has a title by which its legionnaires call it, besides its numerical designation, such as the First Legion's title of Imperial Legion.Each Legion is supposed to consist of 10 cohorts, each of which consists itself of 10 centuries, at the best of times anyway, and each century normally enlists 100 soldiers. Typically, any given Eyrian Legion is composed of 4 warstrider-mounted cohorts drawn from the citizenry and aristocracy, plus 2 cohorts of footmen primarily drawn from the ranks of lesser nobles and citizens, and 4 cohorts of auxillaries formed entirely from non-citizens. Dwarves and elves cannot join the Legions, with the exception that House Kiron has recently been allowing its elves to become legionnaires in the Fourth Legion, which a Kiron Praetor commands. Due to their particular territories and wealth, Houses Malarn and Zhal employ larger numbers of warstrider cavalry, so their Sixth and Second Legions, respectively, typically each have 6 mounted cohorts, 2 footmen cohorts, and 2 auxillary cohorts.The Imperial Census also indicated, though for the Grand Monarch's eyes only, that there were approximately 2,200 elven Masks in service to the orc-blooded, 1,800 of which are the newer Enforcer Masks. The Grand Monarch also knows from the Imperial Census 5 years ago that there are approximately 1,300 gnomish necromancers in the Praes Thanatos, and somewhere upwards of 1,000 other known arcane practicioners in the Sovereignty, but most of these are of relatively minor power according to the Census and the Arcaneum.  Eyrdeyn itself, capitol of the Sovereign Dominion, was estimated at having over 100,000 people in residence, spread out over the city's mountain terraces upon Mt. Xark's southern half, as well as the surrounding foothills and plains. A very few humans, orcs, and half-orcs develop abilities very similar to those of the paladins. These individuals are not called to duty by any religion, however, but instead serve as loyal warriors and protectors of whichever House they hail from, as though their royal blood and faith in their family was itself empowering them. In all recorded history, these "Soldiers of the Blood" have only come from the Pillars, but unconfirmed urban legend constantly speaks of them coming from lesser Houses as well. The martial inclined monks of Eyros (I mean the ones who are the monks of the PHB) follow one central philosophy, that is derived from several sources and religious texts all over the world. They took from xalerian asceticism, elven mysticism and lizardmen connection to nature, shamanism and the good old orcs desire for fighting. The major influence were the techings from the lizardmen of Kohl´Tass, who contributed major parts of the philosophy and the martial art "Nature´s grasp". That technique became the foundation for the Dragon´s Way martial art practised by monks, today.The monk´s way of life was formulated by the first monk, a human named Khyatil, a 1000 years ago, who was the first to combine the original lizardmen teachings with other philosophies.  A sentient being is made up from many parts, blood, bones, muscles. organsetc.. It is the same with the world. The world is composed of many parts that all work closely together, so the world is like one being, too. There is a connection between evrything and people are able to use this connection. Mastering one´s mind and body is essential to enlightenment. If you are master of your own, you are able to use these connection between you and the other parts of the world and master your surroundings.  The monk´s martial discipline, meditation, a strict diet and general asceticism is used to master the body and the mind.  Besides this philsophy the monks often follow different religous beliefs and incorporate them in a central philosophy. The different monasteries are sometimes at odds about certain interpretations and there is a yearly tournament in Eyrdeyn where monks of different monasteries compete and prove their point in best eyrian tradition. There is no central authority, each monastery is it´s own master.Example for incorporating religious beliefs into the monk´s way: The being Maia of the draconic legacy is often regarded as one of the primal souls of the world. The other sentient beings are tiny sparks of her as the world continues to grow. In death people return to the sacred lizards who are the memory of the world. The messengers are beings who achieved transcendence, beings in perfect harmony. Taufenacht is regarded as another primal soul of the world, the one being filled with all the dark desires and lusts. People also carry a small spark of him within them. A true master seeks to purge his soul of Taufenacht and tries to be part of Maia only.  The unifying theory is mainly propagated from the monastery in Jazed´Khal. They believe that the creator is this world being and that everyone and everything is part of the creator.  The Praes Thanatos watches the monasteries closely, but realized that the monasteries are not organized enough to be a greater threat. Nevertheless, the necromancers keep a close tab on the monk´s activities, families and other loved ones just in case.  They are also a major patron of one gnomish monastery and monks from this cloister often work as bodyguards for the Patriae Sicarii and the gnome senators, when undead are not suitable, but an unarmed servant doesn´t raise an eyebrow. These are known as the Cestii Thanatos.Monks are forbidden by imperial law to use normal weapons, because of security concerns. As most monks only show their skills in the tournaments, their fighting capabilities are not tested in war. This is an exception from imperial standard that all free beings are allowed to bear normal weapons, as the Senate felt uncomfortable, allowing an organized fighting force with their own fortress-monasteries to bear arms. To alleviate this they allowed the monks to have a selection of their own weapons, which the senate considers to be inferior. Most monks in Eyros don´t mind fighting when necessary. Other monks adhere to the teachings of Vana, a female gnome monk who lived 200 years ago. She postulated that violence against another person is wrong. As all people are part of the world being, violence against someone else is like self mutilation and sign of an unenlightened mind. Only self defense is a viable option. Her pupil Janys later postulated that fighting aggressors is allowed so to prevent further damage to the world.  The teachings of Vana are popular among a minority of the eyrian monks and in every monastery are a few monks who adhere to her teachings.  One monastery in the Taljik province incorporated Vanaism in their teachings and all monks there follow it.  Detractors point out that Vana had some valid points but think that she was part of a Praes Thanatos plan to weaken the martial prowess of the monks. Politics: Debate in the senate is often interrupted by duels. All requirements for a duel are fulfilled in the senate. A special circle is the dueling place where combatants meet. Xirian dal-Taljik ty-Mulcibe of the Draconic Legacy is the current High Priest of the High Chamber and one of the few priests able to cast spells from the 9th veil. He and his staff of priests takes care of the wounds of the senators.  Kyatha dal-Malarn ty-Zhal is the current Head Judge of Violent Debate. The Head Judge is the most accomplished duelist of the senate and the judge of duels.Rules for Duels are modified in the senate. The Head Judge is allowed to declare one duelist the winner before his opponent is unconscious, if he is clearly superior. If the senate disagrees the grand monarch or the speaker of the senate can declare one the victor. If only one of the dueling houses disagrees, they can challenge the head judge to a duel and nominate one of their own as duelist. As Kyatha has won all her challenges during her term as head judge, this is only done if one of the houses wants to teach one of their own senators a lesson.  The gnome senators are rarely challenged to a duel. It is considered bad manners and foolish to beat up a necromancer. If there is a point of debate the necromancers are expected to use their wits instead of their brawn. A Praes Thanatos senator got the right to nominate a champion in their stead but they consider it as option of last resort. All gnomish senators are proud of their debating skills and would rather back down than send in a champion. Only if the cause is important enough the Thanatos call in one of their Cestii bodyguards. Other rules may be agreed upon between two senators as well. These would include agreements that the challenge be determined by the first strike that hits, or to not attack certain body parts. These are often decided between generally friendly senators, who do not wish to risk their friendship over some point of protocol, for example. The Praes Thanatos are charged with the appointment of each of the six province's gnomish senators. Sometimes these senators are appointed from their own ranks, but are often drawn from the wealthy gnomish merchant houses. Currently there are three senators who are merchant house leaders (known as a Dom if male, Doma if female). The other three are politically savvy members of Praes Thanatos, one of which is a young Half-Gnome/Half-Dryad, the eldest daughter of the bloodwillow Dryad Sania. History: The history of Xaleris and Eyros is long and entangled. It was Xaleris's invasions at the height of its power that caused Eyrdeyn to unite with its sister cities to become an empire--it was to protect other lands from the Xal, initially, that Eyros troops were deployed in other nations. There have been numerous attempted invasions of Eyros by Xaleris and of Xaleris by Eyros over the long years, though these have been growing more and more infrequent as time goes on. The most recent one was over 70 years ago, when the ambitious half-orc general Salla Zul-Dagvar launched a secret expedition with over 2000 soldiers (mostly foreign mercenaries and discharged legionares) into Xaleris's Haza Dre (Spine of the Mother) Mountains. While his forces met with some success initially, ultimately their relatively small numbers were no match for the Xal's unrelenting attacks, and Xaleris's merciless climate. (Xaleris is swelteringly hot and dry, though the annual rainstorms are infamous for their ferocity.) Salla's legion was slaughtered to a man--Salla himself had earlier perished from a fever.  Salla's actions nearly led to a war between the two nations, which was only prevented when the Grand Monarch demonstrated that the general had acted on his own initiative, a story the Xal, hardly eager for conflict themselves, chose to accept. Though most believe this explanation, some are dubious. After all, they point out, isn't it strange that a general as skilled--even legendary--as Salla would undertake a lunatic invasion with so small a force, with no expectation of support? So the matter stands, still a matter of grumbling and theorizing after all these years... Religion: The followers (some use the term 'cult') of Hythates, legendary musician, mathematician, and magician, have long presented a problem to the Eyrian Senate. Brilliant, talented, masters of manipulating public opinion, as well as the other so-called Hythatian arts, Hythatians are both sought out as musicians, advisors, architects and loremasters, and feared as heretics, rabblerousers and dissidents. The reasons for this is their zealous adherance to Hythates's teachings, especially as regards the universe in general. Hythates was a Unifer, one of those who feel that Eyros is the creation of a Supreme Being outside of time. What made Hythates unique is that he felt that the Being created it by rules which can be divined by mortal men. All magical power, he felt, is the result of following these rules. Hythates's probing of these rules lead him to revolutionary conclusions in music, mathematics, and geometry, all of which he found to be connected. Later followers would discover uses for Hythatian learning in architecture, engineering, memorization, and planar science. Had this been the end of it, it wouldn't be a concern. However, Hythates mixed his findings in science with controversial religious teachings. He taught that all individuals were eternal, their spirits reborn endlessly into new bodies. He taught that all religions were in reality failures of faith, and distracted people from "the Source" as he called his Supreme Being, placing between men and the Source a wall that pretended to act as a bridge. He taught that governments were another distraction, and that an awakened individual would have no need of them, being fully accountable for their own actions. He taught that his followers had no need to submit to any authority that they did not feel worthy.  These teachings were somewhat less enthusiastically recieved by those in power then his scientific findings. However, for a horde of intelligent, iconoclastic young men and women, the Hythatian lore, as it was called, was recieved enthusiastically. For them it offered a reassuring, empowering new view of the universe, preferable to the doom and gloom of the Draconic Legacy and ancestor worship. The state found itself in a quandry--the services of the Hythatians were invaluable. The politics of the Hythatians were questionable. For many, the later trumped the former, and a vicious crackdown resulted. However, it was here that the Eyrian government made a miscalculation--the Hythatian movement were experts at dramatic presentment and emotional appeal, and were able to use the persecution to increase their popularity. Soon the Senate was facing riots and uprisings. It was then that the Grand Monarch Casca declared a conditional toleration of the movement, which has continued to this day. Many of the more reactionary members of the Senate still grumble about this, while some of the more prescient ones worry about the problems that might come in the future... Geography/Climate: Xaleris and the Eyrian continent (name) are loosely connected by a loose string of smaller islands and shallow, the Isles of Grief. This is the major invasion line for the both empire´s galleys and these isles are hotly contested. The name became common usage in the population because of the many soldiers who died there. Usually Invasion fleets are a combination of a small amount of warships and a large number of drafted merchant vessels who carry the vast amount of troops.  Even during invasion times both nations are loathe to invest in the navy as they consider it a waste of resources better spent for the ground army, that will fight the major part of the war.Xaleris purchased the help of several of the halfling pirates to gain total control of the isles of grief bhy cutting resupply to the Islands controlled by the Dominion of Eyros. The Xalerians think it is better to pay real sailors to prey on eyrian ships instead of investing heavily in a navy.  House Malarn as the major seafaring House and main target would like to do the same and tries currently to negoatiate a deal with several of the more bloodthirsty and unscrupulous of the halflings. As all halflings hate or at least dislike Eyros, the chances of success are slim. This idea is considered top secret as it would outrage the other Pillars. The First City's highest three terraces are entirely covered by the Grand Imperial Fortress of Eyrdeyn, a sprawling, many-layered palace of magnificent scale and beauty, built upon over the 3,000-year reign of Eyros by successive Grand Monarchs to be impregnable The Grand Imperial Fortress of Eyrdeyn is built in such a way that archers upon the walls and parapets could see and fire upon anyone within the courtyards and paths of Eyrdeyn's highest five tiers. This Fortress is always fully staffed with members of the Imperial Legion, which directly serves the Grand Monarch and the Senate.Each of the Six Pillars maintains its own Imperial Fortress in their provincial capitols, such as the Imperial Palace of Malarn-ka. These Fortresses are reserved for members of the Imperial Legion, Praes Thanatos, Masks, Arcaneum, and the Grand Monarch, used in the manner of summer homes, where each Grand Monarch spends a summer in each of the Imperial Fortresses outside Eyrdeyn. Each Grand Monarch also tends to spend a bit more time in the Imperial Fortresses of their parent Pillars. Oobrack is a large village ten miles inside the official Eastern boundaries of Eyros and about 30 miles south of the Blue Mountains. If one were to dig up the houses and dust off the streets, you would find the ground is the floor of an ancient stone border fortress of the Elven Knighthood, the Elpatha Sifela. Around the outline of the village, where it is debated in every generation whether or not to build a wall, are buried the shattered remains of Elven monuments to the dead.Because of this ancient legacy, the Headman of the village has a small basement. In the corners are the shattered pieces of an Elven Monolith that once stood on the site of his home. There are the remains of Silverlight script on many of these pieces, and on the night of the Winter Solstice they glow with a pale blue light.  Several of these pieces have been gathered together and built into a small shrine in the basement, growing for the last twenty years. No one is sure who started it, but the village headman is also the head of a small cult worshipping the glowing rocks. They particularly ask for protection, since historically the village has had a hard time of it, what with the lack of walls. This cult operates mostly as a failsafe to please whatever forces might be about, their worship is done in tandem with the Draconic Legacy. Many of the little rituals of their cult are actually suggestions of a young man who the village has been grooming to be sent to the nearest city for a clerical education. House Vajar controls the northernmost territory of the Sovereignty, Korvaj Province, a mixed territory of forests and plains around the Kohoal River and its tributaries. Vajar's provincial capitol is Tol-Vajar, built on the banks of the Kohoal many leagues northeast of Mhur, amidst some light woodland. While Mhur is led by the Iron League in most matters, the real power in Mhur is the city's numerous, long-standing, and powerful guilds and work unions, who can force the city's work to a grinding halt if they don't like what the Iron League or the Grand Monarch of Eyros has to say. The Eyrian military has on rare occasions entered Mhur to quell riots and force the laborers back to work, but usually lets the Iron League work things out, and the people of Mhur know from past experience that they're best off not provoking the military to come in and settle disputes with mass violence. Most members of the Iron League are drawn from the leading councils and such in Mhur's guilds, which has reduced the friction in recent centuries, though occasionally a dwarven or elven guild holds a strike because of their slavish treatment.Other Races: Around 8% of the population of Eyros are Gnomes, and only small fraction of them( though very influential) are Praes Thanatos. They are capable merchants and great craftsmen, techicians, alchemists and engineers, largely eliminating Dwarfes from those businesses after their presecution began, which is one of the reasons for emnity between Dwarfes and Gnomes. Of six Gnomish senators three are Thanatos representatives, and three descend from Gnomish merchant houses. Gnomes also trade in magic items, created by Praes Thanatos necromancers (Rystil's edit: Praes Thanatos members are one-and-all defined as necromancers by earlier posts, whatever their actual specialisation in D&D game mechanics) who are particularly skilled in Enchantment and Transmutation, the vast majority of which are sold to Pillars and military.  One of the reasons for Mhur`s instability is due to Gnomish attempts to eliminate Dwarven guilds from the city`s industry, but majority of human and many orcish merchants oppose this attempt, since they don`t perceive the loosely organised and politically impotent Dwarves as a threat. Gnomish Merchant Houses are most firmly allied with houses Zhal( sharing their emnity of elves and Dwarves), and Malarn( since they adopted a few Gnomes into their House and Gnomish engineers/ Praes Thanatos wizards are providing help with the Malarn fleet, which is joint effort of House Malarn and Gnomish merchants to ensure sea trade and oppose Halfing Buccaneers. The maritime technology of the halflings is far beyond that of other nations and yet it is eqaully constrained by the small size of their home islands, scarcity of resources and needs of raftbased living. This need for small, light and fast watercraft has been solved by the halfling use of outrigger and double-hull 'catamarans'.These craft can be easily manouvered (the crab-claw on smaller craft can be controlled by a single person if required), they are extremely quick being able to run rings around the larger ships of Eyros and the outriggers provide great stability even in rough water. Recently Darrenback has introduced the innovation of a double outrigger a craft with seemingly magical capability as it virtually flies across the water with the hull bearly skimming the surface...Darrenbacks Double Outrigger 'Soarwing'<img src="http://www.wharram.com/images/000023.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Halfling Pirates at New Haven<img src="http://www.aloha.net/~vaka/images/vaka2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Halfling Unarmed Combat training (New Haven)<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="http://www.fscclub.com/history/images/sonntag-polynesia.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Halflings mark their status by tattooing themselves with a wide variety of symbols, a habit that is unique among the people of Eyros. Many halfling "captains" are covered almost head-to-foot in such markings--such individuals are deferred to with almost superstitious loyalty by their kinsmen. While Eryosian rumor insists that each tattoo stands for a kill in battle, experts agree this a crude understanding of the system, where each brand in fact represents an accomplishment, a virtue--and in rare cases, a fault or a crime. Non-halflings whisper that some tattoos give their bearers magical abilities--halflings, when ask, raise their eyebrows mysteriously, then turn away, smiling smugly. Darrenback has only one known tattoo on the back of his right hand. When halflings see it, they seem to stare openmouthed then flinch if Darrenback notices them.  It is rare to find heavily tattooed halfings in his presence.  Darrenback's tatoo, in addition to its weighty symbolism, is enspelled with a minor dweamour, the halfling bard spell Enlarge Self, which lasts for hours instead of minutes. He, like other halflings familiar with the magic, uses it to masquerade as a human, as a halfling under the effect of this spell is virtually indistinguishable from a human. Additionally, Darrenback's use of this spell makes his romance with Felra even more likely to elicit scandalous whispers were it to leak out. Other Nations: The Xal Emperors are drawn from the Cult of the Fools, ascetics who learn to deny worldly distractions by focussing body and mind. When they appear in public these monks wear brightly coloured clothes adorned with feathers and streamers. Singing and yelling in a strange language they act the role of madmen and children engaging in energetic dancing, acrobatics and buffonry throughout the streets. Nonetheless they are greatly respected for their wisdom and ability. It is known that the play the fool in order not to be seen as a threat to the Emperor whom the serve and whom one of them will eventually replace.Often accompanying the Cult of Fools on these outings is the similiar Order of Jugglers, merrymakers whose impressive tricks and acrobatics are a common sight on the streets of Xaleris. The Jugglers are a mendicant order who train their bodies and minds to perform elaborate stunts, gaining what little money they can call their own by performing them for onlookers. They invaribly defer to the Fools when they around, and will often act as servants and factotems for the monks.  Of course, both groups have another side that is certaily less innocent then their public faces. When the Cult of Fools are not performing or studying their ascetic disciplines, they act as the Immortal Emperors magistrates and enforcers, investigating the affairs of nobles and priests to make sure that everything is following the Emperor's will, and settling disputes and legal matters. Their authority in such matters is absolute, and they may only answer to the Emperor himself.  As for the Jugglers, they act as the Emperor's spies, sabateurs, and in the senior branches of the Order, his assassins.The process by which the Beloved Predecessors acquire Lichhood is a carefully guarded secret amongst the cult and involves a number of rituals taught only to the Immortal Emperor1. The First step is a change of diet whereby for a 1000 day period the emperor must only nuts and seeds that can be found in the forests surrounding the Royal Enclosure whilst continuing his daily training regime. 2. In the second stage, the Emperor must eat a small amount of bark and roots from pine treesfor another 1000 day period. He must also drink a special tea made from the sap of the urushi tree. 3. The last step of the process is to be entombed alive in a stone room just big enough for a man to sit in for a final 1000 day period. One of the Imperial Holdings on the Western Border of Xaleris is Ventis. Ventis has historically had a dualistic religion in which the ancestors of all good men were collectively responsible for good in the world. The original power of darkness, known simply as the Darkness, predates the forces of good in the universe. To them, the rulers (and most of the people) of Xaleris has long since given up their souls in service to the Darkness.  Ventis has hills practically riddled with silver deposits. Most of their spellcasters keep a low profile, as historically they contrived a way to convert Venti silver into deadly weapons capable of standing against the steel of their foes... or cast a light even into the Darkness.There is one port nominally in Ventis, through which Nistadeen has begun a quiet trade to help the quietly growing Rebel Army centered in the Venti Hills. They have even noticed with some surprise some slight resemblence between their faiths.  Saint Lusair has had a vision (or so she called it), Ventis is the next realm to spread the faith. Lately Eyros, and the world in general has seen--if not a flood, a steady trickle of young Xal leaving their homes to spend time abroad. Most who do this do it to escape Xaleris's stultifying atmosphere, and dolorous, inflexible religious customs. Many of these young people have come to doubt the Xal's faith in the Mother, noting foreign priests do just as well worshiping different powers, and even those who don't are filled with a sense of confinement in their native land. Thus they come to kick up their heels and make their pathways. For many, their time abroad is a dream, a time to drink of a freedom they would otherwise never experience.From an Eyrian perspective, of course, it is a political nightmare. The Xal are foreigners, unfamiliar with Eyrian law and custom, and thus bound to cause trouble--however, those that arrive are usually high enough in Xal society that simply kicking them out would cause a great deal of bad feelings. Worse, quite a few are sorcerers, whose rather casual attitude towards their powers is a great contrast to Eyros's tight regulation of arcane casters, a fact that sends the Praes Thanatos and the Arcaneum into fits. They continue to suggest radical, unrealistic solutions to the "Xal problem" and launch into epic speeches where they mention "the Herewald situation" as demonstrations of what happens when Xal sorcerers are tolerated. Many Senators have taken to napping during these speeches, as very rarely does any new material come up.  Of course, there is another aspect to the Xal expatriates that has people worried--some are spies and agents of the Immortal Emperor, there to gather information and destablize things in Eyros. Presently, the largest number of agents have been sent not by the present Emperor, but by his Beloved Predecessors Onyx Turtle, Amber Locust, and Silver Hound to locate and take care of the present Emperor's missing sister, who they believe to be hiding somewhere in the Dominion. For many centuries the nation of Saagersberg has been governed by an odd collection of community-elected grafen, currently four landgrafen, two markgrafen, an altgraf, a wildgraf, and two burggrafen, each of which manages a township. Each township is a collection of various small communities such as towns and hamlets, since Saagersberg has few true cities. While the solar Conquers Twice commands the nation, each graf handles the lesser matters of his or her towns and villages. Each township also has a militia commander titled herzog, as Saagersberg hasn't bothered with forming a true military since the old tyrant-barons were deposed by Conquers Twice. The nation of Fyza is on the landmass of Xaleris. Its marshy shores and the mazelike canyons on its landward borders have given it the defenses necessary to be the first to break away from the Old Empire. 200 years ago, the inability of Xaleris to effectively get troops to an area not worth magical punnishment led to the local governers becoming the next thing to prisoners in their own homes. These people were essentially under the orders of local counselors selected by the Fyzars, whose suggestions were ignored at there peril. The Cult of Fools was systematically murdered or chased out of Fyza 80 years ago. For the last ten years, Fyza has been free.Over the last century, quiet observers from Fyza have made their way to New Haven and out into the world, to see it through the ideas of a future sovereign nation. In the last few years, official representatives have been sent to New Haven to set up an embassy for official talks with other countries. The Fyzars are extremely paranoid about letting any foreigners onto their lands. As a result of their presence, Eyros has sent a representative to New Haven for the first time. This individual is being actively ignored by the halflings, and is trying to determine what it would take to secure Fyza as an invasion point into Xaleris.  Fyza is a culture of fishermen and woodworkers. They have a strong warrior tradition that they've been slowly reviving- it involves lots of standing still and eye-reading followed by brutal attacks. They have a very quiet, mercurial sense of humor- they might chuckle lightly, go dead serious and threaten your life, and seeing you understand, laugh once again at your reactions. They do not hold grudges, but have a tendency to assume power always corrupts. The distant hordelands of O'hoa'ti'neumas are swarming with the O'hoa'ti tribes, human barbarians dedicated to lives of chaotic hedonism and violence, ruled by their bloodpriests and the supposed gods they serve. Bloodpriests range from scheming bloodmagi to rampaging bloodspell zealots, and they claim to serve the will of the Hungry Gods from the Burning Heart in Sky's Jealous Embrace, apparently sun-gods known in O'hoa'ti legend as previously the Joyous Gods. O'hoa'ti bloodpriests teach their kin and disciples to fight for the Hungry Gods and feed them blood to preserve their lives, until the day all worthy O'hoa'ti warriors can stand beside them and fight the Greedy Gods, to take back the Burning Heart from Cold Lord Sky and restore it as Life's Radiant Heart, "reforming the original paradise". A strange religion, given the O'hoa'ti ways of life, which consist primarily of rampant hedonism and even more rampant killing.Folk of other lands are quite certain, however, that in actuality the O'hoa'ti's supposed gods are actually demonic patrons, who grant the bloodpriests magic in exchange for blood sacrifices and much more vile acts, unwitting (though not exactly unwilling) minions of demonic lords who wish to spread strife and evil in the world. O'hoa'ti hold cannibalistic and masochistic rites during the several 'holy days' of their religion, though some continue these practices throughout the year. Though many O'hoa'ti are vile and offensive, some are merely hedonistic and competitive, such as the O'hoa'ti gladiator champion D'achao the Bronze. Even the Mo'ahhi and Nientese humans, who occasionally ally with the hordes, doubt the O'hoa'ti religion and believe the barbarians are truly demon-worshippers. Not that they seem to have any particular problem with that, so far as foreigners (including the O'hoa'ti) can tell. NPCs: Riiisa Falyn, a friendly street acrobat of Eyrdeyn who is known for her love of children and furry animals (in contrast to most Eyrians, who prefer dhazi), has a terrible secret. Not only is she not Eyrian and not only is she a Xal expatriate, but she is also a member of the Cult of Fools and elder sister to the Jade Jaguar (thus, Riisa Falyn may not be her real name at all). Unwilling to undergo the process of lichdom like her brother after her, Riisa fled her country to avoid her fate, leaving the line of succession to the current emperor. Now she dearly hopes to avoid discovery by either her own people or the Eyrians, both of whom would execute her if they recognised her for what she reallt was. Jbelli Imalh is a Goblin Blue who preaches a corrupted beleif in the 'Old Lords' - apparently elemental forces of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Three years ago whilst exploring the caves beneath {Northern mountains} she discovered a clutch of four leathery eggs in a subterranean pool. She has been trying to nurture these eggs and hatch whatever maybe inside (which she beleives to be a sign of his Elemental Lords)With the four eggs as a sign of favour she has started to gather a formidable following of goblins, lycanthorpes and other creatures of the north - for what purpose few can tell but it promises to be terrible indeed... Each of these eggs radiates heat at a different temperature. It is not a great differential, and the hottest is not hot enough to cause pain, nor is the coldest colder than lukewarm. But there is a easily discernable difference between the temperatures.  These four eggs hold the spirits of 4 of the original Twelve (the stone circle). The leader and founder of the Wraithman Deathskulls, Garthar Deathskull, is huge halfing that can almost equal grown human in size. He has reputation of a terrible warrior, unmatched in his rage , with tatoos covering his entire body, some of them carved deeply in flesh. Garthar`s men delight in violence, drinking from the skulls of their victims( some even say they drink their blood), and there are gossips of much darker practices, including ritual torture.It is rumored that Demons from hell fight alongside Deathskulls, as there is a statue at the prow of Garthar`s capital ship, Crimson Wave, resembling an image of great Demon with many arms, each wielding diffrent weapon which some Sages speculate to be an aspect of Fiendish Lord of Battle and Bloodshed, The Bladed Tyrant, Cururultar. There are many rumors about halfing sorcecer who never shows his face, that is almost always at the side of Deathskull. Despite those rumors, or maybe attracted by them, many young halfings join Deathskulls, for there is never shortage of loot and battle when fighting on Garthar`s side, and some delight in the dread that Wraithskulls inspire. Animals: The Gundabah beasts (the Ankylosaurs mentioned aboved) are Xaleris's big beasts of war, crewed by archers and lancers in an armored battle station on the back of the creature. these walking fortresses are supported by infantry and archers. In the last centuries Xaleris population of these large lizards decreased but a new breeding program promises to strengthen the backbone of Xaleris´s army again.  Most of Xaleris neighbours also use Gundabahs in their armies.  As Xaleris is unable to ship them, their army is missing an important part of their forces and unable to use certain tactics. This may be one important reason that Xaleris army fared so poorly when fighting on Eyrian turf and likewise for Eyros without their warstriders. Each Gundabah in Xaleris' army is mounted with a 10-foot-high, 10-foot-wide, 30-foot-long armored howdah of wood with thin sheets of bronze plating, which serves also to be a distraction to enemy soldiers as sunlight reflects glaringly off the tall bronze walls. The howdah battle platform is entered outside of battle by detaching the front armor-plates and rolling down a ladder, which takes 2 minutes if there are two men working on each level; the upper and lower levels are opened separately; however, this can only be done from the inside, a feature that prevents enemy soldiers from trying to get in. This special howdah has a 3-foot-tall opening around the middle, through which the ranseur-wielding lancers watch the battlefield and strike at nearby enemies. Six such lancers stand in this lower portion of the howdah, and each carries a scimitar and light crossbow for secondary weapons, when the enemy is too close or too far to strike with ranseurs.On the howdah's small upper level, hardly 4 feet tall and cramped due to the bronze-plating roof, has only a 1-foot-tall gap around its top, through which six soldiers with repeating heavy crossbows fire away. The soldiers on the upper level of the howdah battle platform sit or crouch most of the time while protected by the bronze sheeting, but can easily see and fire from their crouching positions when desired, and it gives them a commanding view of the battlefield. They can even fire straight down at enemies by the base of the howdah's Gundabah, though it exposes the crossbowmen significantly. For such occasions, they carry a small supply of acid flasks to drop on enemies getting too close, which hardly exposes the howdah riders at all.  Lining the walls of the howdah's first and second floors is a large number of bolt cases for the crossbows, with the upper level containing many of the special bolt-packs used for repeating crossbows instead. Outside the howdah, large straps of thick leather lash the harness onto the Gundabah's back, reinforced with crude iron chains; these double as a defense against enemies cutting away straps.Gundabah battle platforms have proven extremely effective and key components in the Xals' previous conquests on land, and the Gundabah beasts seem unhindered by their special howdahs and riders. The only tactics usually successful against these mobile battle platforms has been either mages blasting between the gaps, and soldiers launching or throwing acid or alchemists' fire through the gaps, since the riders cannot easily get out without usually two minutes of work. Special extra-large caltrops and similar impediments have proven mildly useful against the Gundabahs themselves, as have covered spike pits, but the riders usually manage to steer or sweep aside such obstacles; the triple prongs of ranseurs are good obstacle-clearers. A humorous tale sometimes told by Xals is that once, a group of crazy goblins fought the Gundabah platforms by crawling underneath the beasts, stabbing at their soft underbellies, but most goblins died when the beasts collapsed on them. While the Gundabah howdah is the most radical element of the Xaleris military, for many, the defining characteristic of the Xal's forces is its infantry, the infamous Xal phalanx. A massive wall of heavily armored, shielded spearbearing troops, going sixteen men deep at times, for centuries the phalanx was the undenied dominator of the military field. It wasn't until the famed generals Casca Dal'Abdern, Tullus Ar'Berren, and Eryn "Ruby-Eye" Hyst crushed the Xal at Allas Point through the clever use of calvalry, artillery, and flanking maneuvers that its mythic reputation dwindled. As their wars continued, the Xals' refusal to adjust to a more mobile troop, as well as the increasing difficulties of coming up with enough men to form a viable phalanx, saw the steady decline of Xaleris as adventurous military power.  Back at Xaleris proper, however, the Phalanx remained a formidable opponent, especially when added to another consideration--for generations the priestly Order of the Tomb has handled the funeral rights of every dead Xal and slave. Even now they can raise such a force of undead so quickly even the Praes Thanatos is hard-pressed to deal with them--and some say, a little envious... The gundabah howdah's can be broken up into 11 pieces, enabling twelve men and some ropes to set it up in the course of half an hour.  This is often done in extended forays of Gundabah units away from their homes.  The original Gundabah place was along a rocky enscarpment. Long ago, one of the Lich-Kings of Xaleris went mad, searching for something that is said to have never existed. He dug deep stone furrows out of the walls of the enscarpment, and down into the earth.  The Gundabah's were trained to climb into these tunnels, allowing a group of twelve to attach the howdah's in a matter of minutes. The Gundabah's are big enough to climb out readily.  Since that time, most Gundabah (bases?) have a number of ramped pits that make the howdah placement easier.  The original site has taken on a historical importance, and is used as a Gundabah training and breeding center. For speedy travel, not many means of transportation can beat the Quickstriders, lean velociraptor-like dinosaurs built for speed, which have a movement rate of 90, rather than 60. Using Quickstriders, the postal service can deliver a message from Eyrdeyn to Malarn-ka in under two days if the situation is ideal (see the postal service post for more details on how this works). The Ngaraf is another herd animal of Eyros and greatly prized for the silky wool that it bears and which is used to make Eyros silk cloth. The Ngaraf stands about 3 ft at the shoulder supported on six thick legs each ending in a claw, a shorter set of chelae are set by the head and used for feeding, digging and defense. The mouth is small and adapted for tearing vegetation and two smooth eyes sit mounted on short eyestalks.The Ngaraf grows its silk during the cooler months of the year and it is harvested in spring. The silk comes naturally in colours ranging from a light lavender through white and even lime and pinks are known to occur depending on diet and region. A Breed feed exclusively on the leaves and bark of Bloodwillow has recently been developed and produce a distinctive reddish tint to their silk. The silk can also be dyed for a variety of other colours. Another larger species of Ngaraf (the Ngaraf Bullock) is known but doesnot produce silk though it is sometimes kept for food or as beasts of burden. Plot Points: The Grand Monarch's capitol (palace? fortress? I'm blanking at the moment) has a great chamber called the Hall of Predecessors. In it stand stone statues of all the prior Grand Monarchs. Unknown to anyone but the Grand Monarch and his closest advisors, one of the oldest of the statues is actually an advanced and fully sentient/awakened stone golem. In ancient days, the golem served as a protector of the Grand Monarch. It has not, however, moved from its spot in several generations, and none know if it's even capable of movement any longer. It does, however, still speak, and its long existance has made it one of the Monarch's most trusted advisors on historical and political matters (although its knowledge of current events is somewhat limited). Disguised as traders, or diplomats, the military of Eyros has recently started sending in teams of spies or soldiers to neighboring countries. They are tasked with observing the tactics and state of readiness of their foreign counterparts. Whether it is a precursor to invasion, or simply information gathering for a warning of an attack against Eyros, only the Legionary HQ knows.</blockquote>

Verification