| Cultures of Artheria Northlands General The Northlands are mostly populated by a large number of small towns, with cities scattered about near major rivers, mines, or in the center of a vast area of farmland. Its people are used to the ever-changing tides of war, and highly adaptable, as they must adjust to uite possibly changing who owns their town several times in a single life-time. Almost exactly once in each generation's youth, a great war will spring up, and then die down, with little having happened aside from lands having changed hands. Kingdom of Ashtar This was once a proud, noble kingdom, whose knights on horseback and armored infantry on foot were guided by the strictures of honor and of loyalty. In recent years, however, it has been corrupted, with its most elite knights possesed by Demons from outside the shell, and its leadership either having made deals with other such creatures, or similarly possesed. It has since, with the aid of Demonic power, begun a war to conquer all of the north under its banner. Most of the people with in it have no idea of the demons, and even among the cultists very few know of the demonic presence. Kingdom of Nargath The kingdom of Nargath is the largest of several northern kingdoms that have opposed Ashtar. Something unusual about their troops is that they almost universally use crossbow cavalrymen as their standard troops. They also have rather high taxes, but don't have very harsh laws, and are encouraging of new inventions.. that might cause more things to be bought, sold, and made, thus giving them more tax income. They are the oldest surviving kingdom, and the most stable, and are extremely non-prejudicial as far as race is concerned. Khai Empire The Khai Empire is founded by the spirit Khai, and currently controlls three former kingdoms. The warrior-cultists of Khai form the armed forces, and unlike the other kingdoms, Khai has been expanding slowly but constantly since its formation. The viciously suppress any religion but that of Khai, and take a dim view on Sorcery, but if your not a sorcerer, or a cultist of another religion, they are more than fair towards you. Rumors have spread that Khai will soon be able to take on an Avatar, and ascend into godhood; the only thing that might stop this would be if Khai suddenly started losing abruptly, or was forced to face off against the Ashtar kingdom. Free Cities Alliance The free cities alliance is made up of a union of small 'states', each made up of one city and the towns immediately around it. Elves, Humans, Orcs, and Dwarves all make up this alliance equally, however some states have racial biases. Notably, those states bordering the Tribal lands have vicious anti-Orc sentiments, and those bordering the western jungles have fierce anti-High Elf sentiments. Some of these states are made up almost entirely of one race, but for the most part, roughly half are human, and an even mix of the other races. The Tribes The Tribes are the free Orcish people, made up of some unknown number of 500-orc tribes, each of which has its own territorial range. Inside Tribal land lie very few cities, but very, very many small towns and villages. Certain small communities of elves and humans reside in Tribal land, but these have either made peace with the local Tribes, or are heavily fortified locations that shoot on sight any who approach. The Orcs here are both Barbaric and Nomadic, and some of the Tribes are made up of the less savage nomadic Trolls. Southlands General The Southlands are very lightly populated compared to the northlands, but are also more racially diverse. The lack of any major island chains to the south means that everyone there spends most of their life aboard massive, floating settlements made out of attached pieces of wood, or on ships. Many bands of roving pirates exist, of varying races, some of them self-sufficient and only raid for profit, others needing to raid for pue survival purposes. Entire kingdoms have been formed of pirates. Pirate Nations The Pirate Nations are a group of some 30 major pirate clans, each of whom has a fleet, a home base, and ships of its own, who ally together in order to battle the more organized military forces who might try to stop piracy. When they aren't allied together, they fight each other almost as viciously as they battle the military, but have a strict rule; no use of fire against each other, and no attacking the enemy's home. Pirate clans tend to have more mobile home platforms, which can be dragged away by the use of massive arrays of sails. Serkiil Kingdom The Serkiil Kingdom has united most of the civilized people of the south into a group of loosely organized provinces, under a single common ruler. It is led by Serkiil, the only Spirit commonly known to have obtained an avatar and ascended to god-hood, and Serkiil's blessings allow for much safer lives for the people of the sea. Serkiil's only true conflicts are with the wild Trolls who reside in the sea, scattered on wrecked ships and hiding on pockets of rock rising from the sea. The Pirates exist, but have never posed enough of a threat for Serkiil to try to wipe them out; the Trolls are a more present and dangerous problem. Eastlands General Living in the barren eastern desert forces you to be tough. Elves tend not to fare well here, but the humans who have adapted themselves to the area do quite well, and Dwarves, with their incredible toughness, rarely have problems. The survival-oriented society means that people have less leisure time to study things that aren't survival-related, and while there are many cults scattered about the deserts, none of them are powerful enough to truly pose a threat. Technologists Living in a vaulted city in the deep desert, where few others would care to tread, the Technologists live in a technological paradise, with pumps carrying a constant supply of water from streams deep beneath the desert, and carefully run factories producing, while at a laboriously slow rate, the gunpowder used in the fire-arms the Technologist Warriors wield. Dedicated to but one spirit, who is not truly a spirit at all, that of technology, these people believe that, despite how weak it seems now compared to magic, the works of humanity can someday make even the gods themselves bow down. The Nomads The Nomads of the desert wander from Oasis to Oasis, never staying long enough to make the water begin to draw low. They vary in race heavily, but generally all those members of a nomadic camp will be of the same race. Many of the Nomads are in fact Technologists, who patroll in large groups accross the vast deserts, seeking out and destroying monsters or enemy forces that might pose a threat to the great city of steel. Desert Raiders The desert raiders are much smaller nomadic camps that, instead of subsiting on desert plants and oasis, try to live by stealing from the Technologists and other nomads. They also, on occaision, venture into the lands to the north and raid villages. Raiders are generally of the same race in each raiding camp, but if someone of a different race can prove their worth, any extra hand with a blade is welcome. Westlands General The westlands are the domain of the elves, the rich, dark, green forests hiding many things from the other races. Unlike other parts of the world, the Westlands seem to have a steady, unchanging presence, with borderlines of nations remaining the same even over elven generations. While open conflict is rare, none of the nations here are particularly happy about the others, and small, scattered conflicts occur constantly. Arithdarkart (Dark Elves) The Dark Elves were cast away to the far south of the great jungle, because their clans leaders undertook the vile transgression of slaying the heads of the Kingdom of the Light's royal family. But the Dark Elves.. and the Dwarves.. see it differently. the Arithdarkart kingdom, founded by the banishment of the Dark Elves, is an intensely lawful kingdom, where a man's word is good until he dies, and if it isn't good, he will be executed. The law is an absolute, and any breakings of it are dealt with harshly. Lawbreakers are generally either executed, or labeled 'Oathbreaker' and tatooed, and many prefer to be executed; Oathbreaker is the most foul insult in the Dark Elf language, and to rape, beat, or torture an Oathbreaker is a crime with no punishment but an affirming nod from those who watch. Tribal People (Forest Elves) The elven tribes are those elves who remain true to their fey nature. Instead of becoming organised and forming kingdoms, the Forest elves remains as simple tribes, with the leaders being simply the most in-tune with nature of a given tribe. They have no organization, and their thoughts can at times be truly alien; they feel no prejudice, nor hate, nor fear of any of the other races, for the most part, and openly discourage such things as being of the 'lesser' elves who are 'becoming more human with each passing moment'. Kingdom of the Light (Light Elves) The Kingdom of the Light is the primary kingdom of the 'Light Elves' as they, and other races, call them. Elves of the Light are, for the most part, of a chaotic nature; their organization, while rigid, is something the light elves freely disobey for a whim. A Light Elf considers an oath or a vow to be purposeless, and will do things solely based on what appears the best course of action at the moment, with complete disregard for what was said in the past. Enforcement of laws is very selective in the kingdom of the Light; a member of the royal family might never be punished for something that would have a commoner executed, even though the law is written to apply to all. The Legion (War-kin Orcs) The great Legion is made up of the War-Kin Orcs, and is firmly nestled between the great mountain and the lands of the elves. The Legion is a highly militaristic and organized society, and they view it as their destiny to conquer all of the westlands. All who live there, even the rare non-orcs who decide to stay, must learn to wield weapons, and be trained fiercely. The Legion will, once every twenty years, almost like clockwork, launch a massive invasion of the surrounding elven nations. Each time, they get a bit further, and destroy a few more elven settlements, before again being pushed back by the elves. They make steady progress, and each subsequent army is larger and better equipped than the last; eventually, through determination and constant effort, it is believed they will defeat the elves. |