Grand Califa Part II: Very Basic Gazetteer
Lands of Grand Califa
Long centuries ago, Califa was the centerpiece of the Empire of the Ancients, when mankind ruled the world through his powerful magics. Then the Change struck, and magic changed. Old gods died, and new ones arose. Demons walked the streets, and the wild lands fell to the elves, dwarves, and wild men. The great empire fell, and man had to re-learn how to use magic. Great heroes arose, wielding these powerful new magics, and great blades fused with arcane and divine energies. The demons and the darkness were cast back. New empires and kingdoms arose as civilization returned.
The greatest empire was Califa, the Star of the West, centered on the World City of Shanfan. The great priests and wizards of the world turned the city into a veritable paradise on earth. But even the Golden Age of Califa would not last, and the great age dimmed. Priest turned on wizard, lord turned on liege, and chaos arose again. Barbarians took the outermost lands. Schism struck at the Califan Temple, and ripped apart the priesthood — the Schismatic Temple arose, proclaiming the divinity of man and the infernal nature of non-humans. The Northern Heartlands burned as the mountain tribesmen invaded. The Southern Heartlands broke out in civil war, and continue to fight each other to this day. The Northern Borders declared their sovereignty as the Seven Kingdoms of Sonomah. The Southern Borders fell to the Schism, and the Divine Prophet declared a Crusade on all non-humans, and those who harbor them. The Imperial Heartland, defended by the Imperial Shield Knights and the Great Wizarding Wall, turned in on itself, to contemplate its navel and lose itself in its past glories.
Imperial Califa
The ancient heartland of the Empire of Grand Califa, Shanfan the Great, the World City, is dedicated to reliving the past. The Imperial Bureaucracy rules in the stead of the Sequestered Emperor. Nothing ever changes. Nothing is allowed to. At least, on paper — a thriving social/political/economic underworld competes with the daily reality. Outsiders believe that Imperial Califans are insane — in truth, it is the only way they can deal with their reality. In some Imperial cities, the difference is literally between night and day, as during the day, pure Imperial decorum is followed, while at night, debauchery and insanity are the rule of law. After a century of enforce madness, the old systems are collapsing, and the façade of control held by the Imperial Bureaucracy is crumbling. Heroes and villains can be found aplenty in the streets of Shanfan. The humans of Imperial Califa, and of the territories once ruled by Grand Califa, are a mixed race; it was said that there were 1,000 Tribes of Man in Califa, and that might be true, as during the long Dark Age before the rise of Grand Califa each tribe was separate and distinct from their neighbors; each city and town in the lands once held by Grand Califa was known for its own tribe and tribal customs. The modern common human culture, a mix of all the various tribes that arose during the Golden Age, is simply known as “Califan.” Califans are of median height, have dark brown to pink skin, and sandy, brown, or black hair, and can have any eye color. The other major tribes of the Imperial Territory include the Hahn, Mehika, Baloodim and Kuripim, Taghalo, and Parzi, plus representatives of the scores of minor cultures still extant throughout the region once ruled by Grand Califa.
The Warring States (a.k.a. The Dozen Imperial Duchies)
Each of the Grand Dukes of the Warring States considers himself the Savior of Califa and the Protector of the Empire. In fact, they rarely rule more of their own domain than their lords can control, as chaos is the true rule in the duchies. At one time a duke might get a foot up over his neighbor, but then other neighboring dukes will band together to take down the conqueror, and the status-quo will be enforced. Each baron and lord within a duchy also seeks to gain status and advance, to become the new duke and being a new dynasty. Civil wars within duchies are not at all uncommon. It is a good land for work if you are a mercenary, but a very poor land in which to be a peasant. 100 years of warfare have nearly destroyed the middle class and peasantry, but mercenaries and merchants from elsewhere can ply their wares to the nobility at an excellent rate.
Lost Califa
Lost Califa was, a hundred years ago, the great Northern Heartlands of the Empire, rich with farms and ranches and many great and wealthy cities. When the Schism and Civil War struck, the northern dukes, like their southern cousins, fell to infighting. Unfortunately for the northern peoples, the Seeyarah Mountain Tribes were, at the time, overburdened with young, bored, and hungry men after a several decades of good harvests and hunting. These young men were invited in as mercenaries by the warring dukes, and after the first campaigns, returned to their families with tales of the riches to be found in the duchies. Whole tribes then moved en-masse, and the already reduced forces of the north could not hold them back. The great barbarian horde was defeated at the Battle of Zakramentoh, but it took the combined arms of the Imperial Shields, the Southern Dukes, and the remaining Northern Dukes to do so… and the Northern Dukes died to a man, along with the great majority of their chivalry and their militias. The barbarians were flung back, but held the territories they had gained. Today, the Northern Heartland is a patchwork of barbarian tribes, micro-kingdoms and baronies, and wild wastelands and ruins. Zakramentoh, once the great capital city of the Northern Heartland, still lies in ruin as barbarian tribes squabble over the still-great loot to be found there.
The Seven Kingdoms of Sonomah (a.k.a. the Allied Kingdoms)
Disparagingly called the “Kingdom of Seven Fools” by the Magists of the Imperial Bureaucracy, the kingdoms of Sonomah are united against all opponents, but otherwise are a very diverse, though rarely divisive lot. The Allied Kingdoms are the most racially diverse realm of Grand Califa, with one kingdom ruled by elves and another ruled by dwarves — thus, it is the greatest enemy of the Theocracy of Man. Fortunately, the allied Barbary Elves have kept the navy of the Schismatics bottled up in the Great Channel (though they let traders pass through for extortionate fees). Thus, unless the Crusaders can go through the Empire, the Warring States, and the Lost Lands, Sonomah and the Allied Kingdoms are relatively safe, though spies and saboteurs are rife. And in the lands of once Grand Califa, it is the only region that is relatively safe, and mostly quiet. There are still mountain territories and forests wherein goblins and less pleasant things can be found, and there’s usually a small war going on between various grasping barons, and too, the odd necromancer or fiend-speaking priest might cause a ruckus, but otherwise, it’s a nice place to visit, and a good place to live. The position of High King and the alliance capital moves between the kingdoms every 10 years; currently it is held by the king of Humboldt, which is renowned for its racial diversity even in the Allied Kingdoms — most Califan human cultures and virtually every demi-human race are represented, plus giants, goblins, and even more esoteric races can be found walking the streets, as long as they act civilized. There is a strong contingent of halflings found in Humboldt, where they grow their famous special kind of pipeweed, the best known and most precious being Old Tooby.
The Theocracy of Man (a.k.a. The Kingdom of Schismatics)
The Theocracy is a holy kingdom, ruled by the Divine Prophet and policed by his Nephilim (most are just humans, but a few truly are half-celestials or aasimars). Unfortunately, though the faith and the people are, for the most part, good, they are, by most standards, severely misguided. The patron angels whose teachings led to the formation of the Theocracy are human centric and consider the demi-humans to be an abomination; their subjugation or extermination will, in their minds, redeem the Fall of Man and merge heaven and earth. The Schismatic faith puts humans above all other races, and relegates the goodly demi-human races to a subservient role at best, or more likely slavery or extermination; where other peoples might fear and hate goblinoids, orcs, and such humanoid races out of the evil they do, the Schismatics hate them for their very existence as a mockery of man. Most of the peoples of the Theocracy simply try to get along with their daily lives, but, in fear of the Inquisition, are sure to join in the nearly daily prayer sessions and weekly grand ceremonies. The Divine Prophet rules his twisted kingdom from the great Citadel of Angels, in the hills above the capital city of Ehlai. Though all humans are considered equal in the eyes of the angels, Califans and Parzi dominate the Council of Saints and the Priesthood, while the far more numerous Mehika, Baloodim, and Kuripim are relegated to lower-class positions and brute labor.
Seeyarah Mountain Tribes
These tribesmen have been barbaric and free since long before even the Golden Age of Grand Califa; the only ruins found in the Great World Mountains are from the time before the Change (many wizards and their adventuring companions seek the secrets of ancient magics in these ruins, often dying, tortured by the Seeyarah, who hold the ruins to be taboo). Only the lowest valleys and glens of the tribes were ever held by the Empire, and then never for long. The tribes subsist mostly through hunting and gathering, with some agriculture in the more fertile lowlands and valleys. Raiding is a popular pastime and business; the greatest enemies of the Seeyarah are the Cui UiNoomah tribes over the mountains, with whom they have feuded since time immemorial. The Seeyarah barbarians are very pale skinned, have blue or green eyes, and blond or red hair. Metal armor is rare, as the tribes are fairly primitive, disdaining metalworking technology, though when exposed to the lethality of a good steel weapon, most warriors don’t mind the tales of the priests. Weapons are either bought or stolen, or made from local stone and wood. The only metal worked regularly is silver, which is sacred, and found in small mines throughout the region, though there are several large mines in the south. The Seeyarah tribes are druidic, and have a sacred town on the shores of the Sacred Lake in the Valley of Tahoh. This sacred lake is shared with the shamans of the Noomah; spilling blood in the valley is taboo to both peoples, and the druids and shamans are quick to anger at any sign of trouble.
Mohavee and the Noomah Tribes
The lands east of the Great World Mountains are mostly desert and scrub. In the south and west is the great Mohavee, a wasteland where mostly monsters roam, though small, independent, sometimes mixed clans of Noomah and Seeyarah also survive there, alternately trading and warring with the mercenaries at caravanserais or petty lords in exile. The two great Noomah confederations, the Cui UiNoomah and the Agh AiNoomah, rule the deserts, plains, and mountains for hundreds of miles, though there is little enough to rule. The tribes are mostly hunters and gatherers, with river and lake fishing being important both economically and spiritually. Some tribes eke out an existence ranching, usually sheep or giant sheep, while others try their hands at agriculture in the more fertile, watered plains. The Cui UiNoomah must deal with regular inroads from the Kingdom of Ignorance and Malheim, while the Agh AiNoomah must deal with slave raids from the Kingdom of Sin. The Cui UiNoomah share a border and a holy valley with the Seeyarah tribes, while the Agh AiNoomah hold the Glowing Lands, a wasteland in their southern reaches, as holy; unfortunately, these lands border on the territory held by the Kingdom of Sin, and much Noomah blood has been spilt defending their sacred grounds. When other tribes are not causing trouble, the two Noomah confederations often take to raiding each other.
Major Human Languages: Califan Trade Speak (Common), Barbary (Theocracy), Boontling*, Hahn, Mehika, Napah, Noomah*, Parzi, Seeyarah*, Shanfan, Shazta, Siszkyoo, Sonomah, Taghalo, Valspeak*, Wakeen, Yahrbik (Baloodim, Kuripim, and related peoples), Zakramentoh.
* Barbarian tongue with no written form
Religion: Grand Califa was known as the Land of 10,000 Gods, and so it remains. The Grand Patriarch of the Imperial Temple is advised by the Council of Eight, the Archbishops of the duchies remaining under Imperial control. Together the nine determine the worthiness of newly discovered gods, and if they are considered truly divine (whatever their alignment or nature) they are added to the Divine Rolls and priests are assigned to provide regular prayers and rituals for the newly approved deity. The gods, it is believed, are organized in a Divine Bureaucracy, just as the Empire is on earth, and so each god is assigned his place in the scheme of things. Some temples focus on one or a few gods, others are more broadly encompassing; most focus on the goodly and orderly gods, figuring the other gods will get more than enough worship from the oddballs that prefer them. The Imperial Temple is lawful and neutral in overall outlook. Major gods in the bureaucratic pantheon include Shang-Ti (Divine Emperor), Zeus (Storms and Lightning), Boccob (Magic), Anubis, Isis, and Osiris (Death), Quetzalcoatl (Justice), Kuan Yin (Mercy and Healing), Nephthys (Wealth), Thoth (Knowledge and Wisdom), Aphrodite (Beauty and Passion), Poseidon (Ocean and Water), Heironeous (War and Chivalry), and Pelor (the Sun).
Coinage: Califan standard coins are the Woolong (1 cp), Calyen (1 sp), Domar (1 gp), and Dahler (1 pp). Coins from the Empire of Mehiko are not uncommon in the region: Centavo (1 cp), Real (1 sp), Peso (1 gp), and Escudo (1 pp).
