Judge Death
Regular
Mandalorian warrior
I am your Death!
Posts: 224
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Post by Judge Death on May 9, 2014 9:32:42 GMT
When will this be starting? Everything is more or less ready, i'm just making sure that cults and churches are balanced when it comes to everyday things like construction Awesome.
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Post by Nepty on May 9, 2014 14:15:39 GMT
(Other names of Volsungr north of the Arm)
Volsungr (universal)
Wolsungr (Dainmark, Farharlond, the White Shore)
Hlosungir (Icewood Vale)
Wolsungaz (Longardy)
Volga (Kveit Vus)
Valorir (Meewood)
Volgyre (Latun & Aelburh )
The Five Kingdoms of the Northlands
Dainmark
The largest of the five kingdoms, and often attributed to creating Volsungr. Dainmark is mostly filled with small-time jarls, lording in the high hills and in the fjords. It is a cold land, but it is not permanently snowy, of course. Instead it is rainy and green half the year, and snowbound the rest. The Dains build great longships on their islands and coastland and sail south to plunder the northern cost of the Arm. Their king leads them from the great fortress-city of Caer Cospa, the only city in the lands, and though there are few cities, the local lords can raise great armies if called upon, and have, as each man is by nature and trade, a warrior, even if he farms much of the year, no man is excpected to shirk. As such however, the women notably care for the children and the rest of their homes while the men are away during raiding season, and because of that, often have far greater freedom and places in society than other, more conservative mainland cultures, many also becoming Sheildsisters, who sail and fight just as well as the men. A Dain child is expected to be able to fight when he reaches the age of twelve, as that is the age of manhood among the hard northern societies. Dainmark’s king is King Vagar the Golden, and has a son, known as Haakon. The Dains are so well known that the name has become synonymous with northmen, and they fight with axes.
Farharlond
The Farhars, or Fairhairs are also sailors by nature almost identical to the Dains in culture, aside from the fact that they prefer swords and spears to Dainic axes, and also make a living as foresters and rivermen, sailing up and down the large Vorlan river to trade with the Kveit Vus and the Palemen. Their king is Hali, and his son’s name is Jord. They are often golden haired
The White Shore
The Vaiths are the westerlings, who live along the coast and the dense and frozen plains and low hills of the middle cost, also sea raiders by custom. Their king is Borg and his son’s name is Vyrthyr.
Longardy (Land of the Longbeards)
The Pale is an inland kingdom, and made of the western part of the mountains in the northlands. The Longbeards are sons of the forest by nature and use the mountain runs to travel throughout the northlands and often go abroad to serve as mercenaries, and in fact serve in the High King’s personal holy guard, known as the Skarsgard, which is made up solely of Palemen. Their king is Karlmagne, and his heir is his daughter, Svidi. They refer to Volsungr as “Wolsungaz” in their language. The Longbeards tie their hair into knots at the top of their heads and fight on land, with roundshields and broadshields, and prefer swords and spears, and their nobility rides horses.
Kveit Vus
The Kveit Vus reside in the eastern part of the northlands, particularly the frozen northern ice plains and tundras, and have a rather different flavor than the rest of the northmen, as instead of being sea raiders by culture, they nearly only eat meat, and are massive in stature, and hard-eyed, and in fact are made up of many tribes, some of which speak a different dialect than the rest of the northmen (though they all speak Norse just as well) They are noted for preferring longshields over the traditional northern roundshields and being proficient riders and archers, and their favored weapon are the spears, the kharkivs (see below) and the bows. Their king is Stanislaw, and his heir is his son, Slava.
The High King leads the theocracy of the five kingdoms as one realm, chosen by the various kings, he can legally be any man of good standing within the northlands, so long as he keeps to Volsungr and the ancestors and can be vouched for by at least two others. The High King is also technically High Preist, as the priesthood is incredibly powerful and is merged with the nobility.
The priesthood
Rankings:
When they first don the black robe, priests of Volsungr become Norn, or ascetic, for several months or several years, to teach them the meaning of man’s incessant want that drives them to war. Then they become seidr, and carry shield and sword with them and go into battle with the raiders on raids or in outright war. The next ranking is Seor, and they advise a jarl, bringing their expertise in battle and the knowledge of man. The fourth ranking is Skjre, and they join the silent covens in the forest where few know of their acts. The fifth and near final rank is Seer, whereupon they don the bone mask and are said to never die, and others whisper of northern rites involving carving a man’s heart out and making him undead, but whether this is true or not remains to be seen. What is known is that they conduct rites and rituals in the forests to commune directly with their god. The Seer Council, of ten of the eldest and most devout seers instruct and train the King of the Nordland in communing directly with Volsungr through animal sacrifice, and take the part of councilors. There is one seer from each of the five kingdoms.
Holidays
The Spring Feast (Springr Blōt) is done at mid-spring to herald the beginning of the raiding season by the Dains, the Farhars, and the Vaiths to usher in the beginning of the raiding season. A great many animals are butchered and eaten, and two warriors who volunteer from each jarldom fight one another to the death in a cleared dirt-floored arena, bare-chested and with axes, and the winner leads the raiding party that year (if the jarl does not lead, in which case the jarl does not call for the duel but instead sacrifices a fine horse or a slave)
The Midsummer Feast (Sunvr Blōt) is a feast in the middle of summer by all northlanders to bring about good harvest. A bull is sacrificed each year by each king, and delivered to the priests on the summer solstice.
The Fall Feast in the south is to herald the return of the raiders, but the Longards usually begin their long-range overland raiding about now, and their armies travel west overland to fight those in the far western lands and carry back plunder and slaves before winter comes.
The harvest feast is to herald the bringing in of the crops
The Festival of the Ancestors is a night just before the beginning of winter when the ancestors are thought to come down from Aesir and walk among the living, and thus many people wear animal skulls to blend in with the supposed ghosts, and hang their family shields over the doors and light candles around them to guide their ancestors to their own homes, where they burn the choicest food in the fire at midnight to feed them.
At the winter solstice sacrifice, five volunteers are chosen each year, one from each kingdom, and are sacrificed to Volsungr at the hill at the temple in the Whispering woods, Wunjotuz. Just before the winter solstice, Volsungr is said to come to earth as a man, hooded and cloaked, and travel around his country, and thus, from a week before the solstice to the end of winter, no one turns a visitor from their door, no matter how long he might wish to stay.
The feast of Winterdeath is a great household feast, in which each jarl invites every man in his hold to his hall and there is dancing and pine boughs decorate each door, and Volsungr is said, as he is on earth at this time, to travel to each house in a single night on his five-eyed horse, Veorfnir, and leave weaponry and shields and skins of wine, ale and good food for good boys and girls, and in return, the children often leave their boots outside their homes filled with carrots and apples for Veorfnir, his horse, and a pig spitted and cooked rare for Volsungr and the honored dead.
The planting festival: Before the raiding season is set to begin, and after winter, men work hard in the fields, planting swiftly so that they can still be free to go raiding come midspring, and as such, this is a studious time, with men and boys practicing war and planting as well, and one night is given over to sloth and raucous abandon, and the winter brandy is taken out of the frozen pits it is stored in over winter and everyone, from the toddlers to the whitebeards gets themselves roaring drunk.
The people
Farmers
Most northmen of coastal areas are farmers. They grow small crops, and keep herds of draft animals and livestock and tend to it all year round, but, by deific law, each farmer is also an accomplished warrior, father passing down the knowledge to son, and each man owning many axes for throwing, fighting and warring, bows and shields. Each family keeps its own shields, which they decorate with weaving patterns unique to their household, and the success of a warrior can often be found by seeing his homesword, a unique blade with gold wrought handles and gilt and silver draping the blade and, most importantly, the hilt, but for raiding abroad, iron hilts or axes serve.
Farmers also often work together to build their longships, and no man truly captains a longship, for they are all equals, but one powerful jarl may command several ships, and powerful warriors often rise to jarlship and become great leaders.
Weaponry
Axes are the preferred weapon of the Dains and Farhars, as they can lock another weapon and tear it out of the enemy’s grip as well as parry with the hilt, and are more than enough to hack through near anything. They vary, from felling axes, to throwing axes, one handed war-axes to long-helved Dain axes capable of cleaving a horse’s head from its body with a single stroke in the hands of a skilled axeman.
Foresters
The longards are foresters by living, and live in fortified villages in the woods, often raiding one another throughout the year and banding together come warring season, and hunting the rest of the year, and drawing in crops in the harvest. Each man is expected to own his own shield, sword, axe or spear, and it is custom to fight bare-chested, or with only a mail byrnie, which may be prudent, and their massive hexagonal shields are protection enough. Upon reaching the age of fourteen, every man ties his hair into a topknot.
Hunters
The Kveit Vus are all hunters, for very little grows in the highest north, and as such, with a diet almost solely meat, they grow to huge sizes and are all killers by nature, favoring longshields and very heavy mail and helms. They all proficient with the bow, the spear and the curving sword used north of the mountains called a Karkhiv.
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Post by TheBrobotLol on May 10, 2014 4:08:23 GMT
Shar-Byatis, The osseous-realm, The marrow-woods Atab's realm is known as Shar-Byatis, and even among the domains of the Gods it is considered a strange one, divorsed from near all semblance of normality. In all directions it stretches on, as far as the eye can see, corpse-grey earth illuminated only by the dim glare of an eternally eclipsed sun. Like hairs from a diseased scalp, tall, sickly-coloured trees sprout up in great, grotesque forests from the pale ground, each strangely sinuous, swaying gently despite a complete absence of wind. In the rare few areas not covered by these near-endless forests, there are great swamps and marshland, fetid and devoted only to decay. Here, canabalistic tribes of servitor-races, mindless beings created by the passing thim and amusement of their mute God, butcher one another endlessly, leaving their dead to rot and decay.
It is at the very, tenebrous heart of the pale-forest though, that the Scion of Corruption himself dwells. Where the leafless corpse-trees pack in at their very densest, allowing not even the merest glimmer of sun an audience with the King of Rot, mute and still. There it is said he waits upon a great throne of carven, human bone, resplendent in the glow of his worship, ravenous for the needy prayer of the downtrodden, for the desperation of the sick. On his throne, he sees all that unfolds, far far below. There, in eternal black, attended by his court of babbling attendant-things, who whisper to him the secrets of eternity, he watches and manipulates, ever-so-subtely, the corrupt realm of man.
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Mothot-sauab, Grandson of Decay
Of the Gods, Atab is not well known for direct or clear communication with his worshipers. Though his following is indeed large, there are comparitively few great figures who act under his name, rare are the heroes, the prophets, who give praise to Atab, and only in times of utmost need does he choose to form a messenger to interact directly. There is one figure though, one remembered with great reverence by the followers of Atab, who served his master better then any other.A once lowly man who's name and history have been lost to the depths of time, replaced with the title of 'Mothot-sauab', or 'Lord of Cinders'. The legends say the long ago, having seen the secret and terrible fate of all life in a fateful dream, he was converted overnight to the Faith of Decay. Within mere moons he had traveled to many villages, spreading the word and turning thousands to the Rot God's devout service with his silver tongue and fiery words.
Once he had amassed his legion, Sauab suddenly let them loose upon any neighbouring settlements that had refused to follow the true Faith. Many thousands were slaughtered in a violent crusade of fire and death, the populations of entire villages were sacrificed on great pyres, their screams said to reach the ears of Atab himself, who whispered down commands all the while to his chosen leader. All who would not bow down were heretics, not worthy of existance. For several weeks it continued, leaving a trail of disease, death and flame in their wake.
But knowing that soon, a sizeable force could be assembled to combat the fanatical horde, Mothot-sauab proclaimed that their Lord had permitted the honour of joining the grand cycle ahead of their time. Within hours, the entire crusade force had set upon itself with rampant abandon, men and women gleefully falling onto the blades of their fellows, the thousands dead left to rot. The last to fall, Sauab himself, offered up a quick prayer to Atab, before falling upon his own, bloodied mace. They had left a burning mark on the world, entire swathes of land were depopulated. Their mark would not heal for much, much longer. As of Sauab himself, many claim he ascended, whereas other claim he was rewarded as any other was, with the honour of decay.
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Post by admiral9 on May 10, 2014 10:43:34 GMT
The church of Sophazia:
the church is an ancient one; it had been established to worship Sophazia and ask for her guidance in the eternal quest for knowledge. The majority of the churches nowadays appear in the form of universities, the priestesses teach the advanced knowledge and wisdom gathered to the masses and worship Sophazia through rituals here, this place also serves as a recruitment ground for future members of the priesthood, for only can one join the ranks if they show that they possess great wisdom themselves and are capable of critical thinking. Sophazia is also known as a kind and caring god and hence orphans are often accepted into the churches. The priesthood of Sophazia:
The priesthood is a simple one, although strictly matriarchal. The high priestess called the Aelia, with the leaders of the churches, universities and orphanages being called principles and the common priesthood simply priestesses. The priestesses wear white robes, representing their pure and unsullied wisdom, they take places in society as caretakers of orphans, professors at universities and religious people in the churches, hence you only can get recruited if you show that you possess great wisdom in a certain field, for example: if one is has great knowledge in the field of agriculture she would be send to a border village to aid the villagers in setting up their farms efficiently or a priestess has knowledge of architecture so she would be send to supervise the construction of great works and new temples. The means that most priestesses in their early years travel allot to where they are needed, when they grow older and they choose a place to settle down they will fill the roles of caretakers of orphans, teachers or as actual priestesses, The average priesthood is often advised to stay celibate as they travel around allot in their early years. fc03.deviantart.net/images/i/2003/13/a/b/High_Priestesses.jpgThe general way priestesses often dress. A priestess can become a principal when she masters multiple fields, this gets decided by the principal of the closest city who although responsibility wise is more important doesn’t hold a higher rank, they are as their name suggests the leaders of the institutions and so usually have a group varying from 4 to 100 priestesses under their command, Principles as they often stay in in town are no longer advised to stay celibate and so family lines have often been created that all become priestesses. sword-girls.info/data/swordgirls/images/cards/priestess-c5fb.jpgA principal, the clothing is quite similar to the priestesses but they aren't forced to cover their face in a veil. Then the high priestess, the one that is currently called the Aelia. Who is the high ruler of the entire church and who gets chosen by the messenger of Sophazia, Ceridwen. She rules from the great cathedral in the capital and oversees the operation of the church as well as negotiating with the government. fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/275/3/0/dragon_priestess_by_neodragon55-d2zwb8o.jpgThe current high priestess Ceridwen; messenger of Sophazia:
There once was an age where knowledge was shunned and the worshippers of Sophazia were burned on the stake, books were burned on bonfires and all that followed her were declared a witch, her power was dwindling and both she and the world were risking falling into an age of regression where they would never advance. She knew she would have to do something lest her power would shrink too much It was then that she created Ceridwen, she was a lamia, half human half snake, She was to go and spread learning once more and to enlighten the world, she visited the western part of the world where the largest amount of burning and knowledge was concentrated she approached the largest city in the western part where a council of priests ruled the world, calling all other gods false gods, she stood in front of the main gate asking for entry to the city, the guards in their ignorance could only identify her as a monster and so ran inside the city where arches started to bombard her, such mortal weapons could of course not hurt a messenger of a god so she stood there In front of the gate asking each person seeking entry into the town the same riddle, "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?" All those that answered incorrectly devoured for they were not the once she was looking for. On the sixth day of the sixth week of the sixth month there once more was a traveler who arrived at the gates, and Ceridwen repeated the riddle, Only this time to be surprised as the traveler had the answer; "They are day and night" she said. The lamia smiled as she had found the one destined to lead the church back to glory, there was a simple point of contact, a handshake but through that the knowledge needed to return the world on the path to enlightenment was vested in the traveller and she was told to use this wisdom and Sophazia’s guidance to reestablish the church. 30 years later the church of Sophazia had reappeared slowly spreading knowledge once more and putting a stop the misinformed witch hunts the people had been performing. img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130329182352/valkyriecrusade/images/5/5c/Lamia.pngCeridwen, She is said to often look with pity in her eyes for humanity has so much more to learn and most only throw the chances away in favor of going to war, this is one of the reasons why she often is said to disdain males.
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Judge Death
Regular
Mandalorian warrior
I am your Death!
Posts: 224
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Post by Judge Death on May 10, 2014 11:44:18 GMT
The Whisperer/ The Liar/ The Shadow High Council of Torga
The Council of Torga are the Three most noted members of Torga's cult and held in the highest honors thats is when Torga will begin to communicate with these chosen become members of the Torga Council and each one is given their perpuse in the cult.
The Whisperer The Whisperer is chosen from the Priestess's of Torga, only the most beautiful but most devoted are chosen to become the The Whisperer, that is when Torga whisperers to her and relays his commands to the young woman and for her to lead the Cult. Being the Whisperer is the highest honor of the Cult, any woman that turns this offer away would be murdered in her sleep.
The current Whisperer is Lady Myra Teroes who is only 18 but has guided all with her feminime charms and devine assisstence. She wheres a robe made of red silk and embroded with silver, her face is covered by her robe but her black hair can be seen.
The Lair The Lair is chosen from the greatest Lairs and silver tounges in the cult but only those that have out done themselves from the rest: Lying to a whole city, Convincing a Tribe to join the Cult or talking their out of any situation, in doing any of these acts will get Torga's attention and progress higher into the cult. Once the Man can Lair and be believed by anybody he will hear faint lies being whispered to him and thats is when he will be placed in the Council as: The Liar. He will give his teaching onto young members of the cult so that one day when he is gone a new Lair will take his place.
The current Lair is Brother Ori Koren who is the oldest member of the Council being 79 and nobody has been able to 'Out lie' him. Many have attempted but each have failed, nobody can tell if Brother Ori is speaking Truth or Lies anymore and some think Torga has gifted him the the God's Silver Tounge. The story has been twisted so many times that not even a shred of truth is remembered in how Ori become the Lair.
He wears a silver silk robe but his head is uncovered allowing young discipols to view his face.
The Shadow The Shadow is Chosen from the greatest Assassin or Thief of the cult who has never been caught or ever seen by any apart from their master, Torga himself. Once Selected The Shadow makes their way to the Council to become accepted and fill the final spot in the council, they fill the spot as Master of Shadows and Trains the Assassins of the Cult for any situation.
The current Shadow is Master Rigger nobody knows what is true age are or what his looks like only that he is the Shadow and that he will teach them his knowledge. The only mortals who have seen his true face are the two other members of the Council and they know better then to reveal the Shadows true identity.
Master Rigger is best know for his cruel training, if a assassins is to fail a test, Rigger will kill them on the spot for even a small failure such as leaving a footprint in some dirt is a great failure in Rigger's eyes.
The Shadow is covered in Black Robes with a skull mask covering his face and black plated armour on his chest, legs and arms.
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Post by Nepty on May 10, 2014 18:51:49 GMT
(Veorfnir: Volsungr's steed, said to half a horse's body and a wolf's head, with two eyes on either side and another in the middle. His hooves leave burning marks behind them)
Chains of the Divine (some stuff I wrote about gods)
"To the first god, man said "come and join us" and gave to him a scythe, that he might reap the living, and a crown that he might rule the dead.
To the second god, man said "come and join us" and gave to her a cloth, that she might blind the world, and set her out to bring the night.
To the third god, men said "come and join us" and gave to her a bow, that she might slay the beasts of the forest, and set her out to rule the wild places
To the fourth god, men said "come and join us" and gave to him a rat, that he might spread his plague, and sow misery and despair in the world of men.
To the fifth god, men said "Come and join us," and gave to him an great axe, that he might bring fire and war, and never again let peace be upon Lorestir.
To the sixth god, men said "come and join us" and gave to her a quill that she might write and record, and set her out to bring wisdom.
To the seventh god, men said "come and join us," and gave to him a great whip, that he might punish the evildoers of the land.
To the seventh god, men said, "come and join us," and gave to him a great set of scales, that he might judge all men equally, and set him out to decree justice.
To the eighth god, men said "come and join us," and gave to him a hammer, that he might break the shackles of oppression, and set him out to give freedom to Lorestir.
To the ninth god, men said "come and join us," and gave to her a brush, that she might paint the beautiful things, and set her out to give inspiration.
To the tenth god, men said "come and join us," and gave to him a black tongue, that he might lie, and set him out to bring untruths to Lorestir.
The End Times
(the following is just for fun, don't take this as a 'nepty is trying to destroy the world,' thing, it's just my rendition of the four horsemen of lorestir.)
Some religions believe that one day, the world will end, and all herald this coming with the following
"It shall be known that there shall be four riders, each upon a different steed. The first rider, he will be lies, and wear naught but black tatters, but tell all that meet him that they are silk and ermine, and his brown horse shall be tongueless and eyeless and it's hooves shall bleed and he will steal the truths out of men's mouths and drive them to hatred and at his passing, brothers will lay with sisters, and sons shall slay their fathers, and he shall be named Lies.
And it shall be known that the second rider, he will spread corruption and decay upon the world of men, and wear nothing but weeping sores, and his grey horse, it shall be skeletal and grim, and it's bones shall rub through it's own hide, and he will cast a pall over the land, and at his passing, the crops will wither, and the skies grow dark, and He shall be named Corruption
And it shall be known that the third rider, he will bring war and strife all throughout the world, and he will wear armor of such great make that no man could lift it, but will move with ease, and his black steed shall be massive, and it's muscles corded, and it shall have five eyes set into it's skull, and at his passing the fields will burn, and great armies will slaughter one another with wild abandon, and no longer will there be mercy among men, and He shall be named War.
And it shall be known that the fourth rider, he will bring death to the world, and all shall end, and he shall wear robes of night, and his white horse shall be all bones, and at his passing, men in their burning cities, and the beasts in the dead field, and the insects in the scorched earth shall all die and pass unto the kingdom of He who shall be named Death."
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Post by TheBrobotLol on May 10, 2014 22:51:59 GMT
The Tome of Culmination: Said to be written by the hands of Mothot-sauab, the chosen of Atab, the words whispered to his ears by the Lord of Decay, the Tome is a colossal collection of prophecies, histories, and tales of the future of Lorestir. It lists stories from the creation of the physical plane, to the end time, heralded by the four blessed daemons, bringers of doom. The final chapter, entitled 'Terminus', described this end-time. An excerpt.
And lo, I stood firmly upon the sands of the sea, my faith resolute, and glimpsed a beast rise up out of the waters there. From its titanic body and scaled shoulders I saw three heads, and upon each was a silvered crown, glinting with the corpse-fires of death. The first face was that of a pallid infant, the next a haggard man, and the last was that of a corpse, flesh sloughing off in great strips. The first beast had come, and he was the beginning, middle and end, the eternal cycle, the son of Atab. Men wept as they bore witness, and rotted to scum under its malign gaze. Milk was soured, crops were lost, and many a child born had upon them the mark of corruption. The first beast had no words of wisdom to give to mankind, nor demands of servitude, for blight was its sole message and design.
Then from the midst of the darkened skies and bloated clouds, came shrieking the second beast, moving gracefully over the sickly land. All baleful eyes and gibbering maws it was, borne aloft by vast draconic wings, and its wings, betwixt the sun and the earth, blotted out all light, and man cried out in fear for all he knew was darkness. But the second beast called out to the men below 'Do not fear me, but love me and worship me, for in my graciousness I shall undo the darkness I have wrought, in return for thine praise and following.' And before me I saw one-fourth of all men bow down to the beast, and when the others refused, they were set upon by the faithful, and much blood was spilled in the name of the beast of lies.
As brother slew brother, and strong killed weak, a third beast came then from the largest of funeral pyres, towering and indomitable, it strode forth, each footfall a great tremor. Wreathed in flame it was, of charred bone and vengeful spirit, murderous of purpose. Wordless, it set upon the warring men, each sweep of its unrelenting blade toppling tower and mountain alike. When then fully one-forth of the remaining disloyal men had been slain, it called out 'I am slaughter, and in my embrace there is honour and glory. Follow me and my brethren, and you shall have immortality and thy harvests will be fullsome.' Then as before, fully one-forth of the unfaithful were turned to the beast's cause and there was much bloodshed.
With tears of boundless joy I gazed out upon the remnants of the once-fertile land, now barren and scorched, and saw with exaltation what was yet to come. Now, nary a trace of peace remained upon the land, what was thine labours for, oh false prophets, for thy followers are scattered like chaff and thy works are ashes, and thy faithful have seen thou power wither and wilt. And on the chill wind then I saw a lone figure coming from the wastes where once there had been life, a walking idol of ruination. Tall he was, and upon his form was a set of impossibly ornate, ebon armour, engraved with the names of all who had fallen and would ever fall. But those who saw him babbled and fled, for he bore no head, a bloodied stump in its place, and around its vacant neck there was the hangman's noose. With his merciless morningstar, he began to set about those few unfaithful who remained, the very earth stained crimson with the lifeblood of man.
When only the merest remnant of the unfaithful remained, did the mouthless figure finally speak. 'Look upon thine land, heretics, and weep. Thine land is decay, thine skies are lightless, and thine homes are ash. My followers are Legion and you are few. I am a welcoming God, I shall offer thou a worthy end.' And upon the final syllable, did tear themselves from the earth itself, an endless throng of the once-dead, returned to bring the remaining to the abode of Death. Alongside the faithful, the horde bore down upon their foes in the final battle of Lorestir, after which would remain none to draw breath. The four beasts then withdrew to whenceforth they had come, leaving only silence, and darkness, and dust.
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Post by Lord Harrab on May 11, 2014 0:25:14 GMT
The Nations of Lorestir NPC Nations. The Elven HeartlandsThe Elf Homelands occupy a peninsula just south of the Sea of Theobia, heavily covered with jungles and often wracked by storms from the west, the Elves are fiercely protective of their lands. They believe they are the oldest race on Lorestir and the first to grow to sentience under the care of a God that has passed from memory. as a result they have no central faith and are awaiting their god's return with calm patience, The Elves are known to allow faiths to establish open Cults within their borders, but only for as long as it takes to determine if the God the cult serves is the one that birthed them, and if decided that it is a false faith, they expel the members of the cult forcefully from their lands. The elves are in conflict with the savage northmen who worship war, but refuse to allow themselves to be drawn into prolonged battles with the humans, as they know that will only serve to fuel their master. Instead, the Elves use magic and hit and run strikes to cripple any large formations of Northmen near their borders and end any war before it starts. The Dark Keep of the Vampire CountessLittle is know of the Dark Lands South of the Blackstone Mountains, except that it is the Land of Undead. Once as prosperous dwarven homeland, it fell to dark magics centuries ago and none who have entered that realm has returned alive. Word spread of a human woman feeding upon the survivors and using her Dark magic to reforge the Dwarf halls into a twisted nightmare citadel of black rock that twists and writhes as if alive itself. The Dwarven waycastles on their borders sealed themselves and their guards replaced with untiring undead minions. The dwarven war-machines are kept in fully functional order, however, as many a mountain king has discovered, keen to try and steal the mythical dwarven treasures presumably still languishing in their vaults only to die and join the ranks of the Border Guard No-one knows who this woman is, why she attacked the dwarves or how she was able to collapse their entire empire in one night. Fortuitously for the neighboring nation, she seems to have no interest in expanding further and in the centuries since has remained behind the Black Walls of her dead land, seeing no-one, admitting no-one, but also threatening no-one that respects her borders. The Pirate IslesConsisting of a Single city who's leadership changes almost weekly and a single island with little in the way of natural resources, the name "Pirate Isles" is a bit misleading, what is true however, is that the island is home to the largest of slavers, raiders, thieves and murders even gathered in one place that didn't instantly burn down from the ale fumes and cursing. The Pirate Isles are a loose alliance of several Pirate Kings and Queens, gathered together for mutual protection against the organized navies of their neighbors and officially recognized as a world power despite their tendency to betray, attack or simply irritate other nations with their random attacks and raids. The Kings and Queen do have one redeeming trait, pay them a large sum annually and they will see that none of their minions attack the nation in question and if any do, that they are caught, killed and the stolen effects return in almost as good a condition. Probably. Their City and main base is known as Bamor, mockingly called the "Jewel of Thellmde" after the Lord who used to rule before the Pirates took over. As a result of its masters' frequent theft and raids, it is a place where many artifacts and tomes can be found, mercenaries hired or information obtained, but visitors are advised to bring soldiers as bodyguards or better yet, a firebomb. The Citadel of the Daemon LordThere is a lonely keep in desolate lands where evil dwells. Once a Minor holding of a small nation of Humans who, by trading and allying with both the Elven Nation to the North and the Pirate Isles to the south, managed to develop faster than their rivals and become a power in the region. That ended when their King made a pact with the Seven Hells. When his beloved wife fell ill to an incurable sickness, his prayers fell upon deaf or uncaring gods and with his rivals using his inaction to seize his lands, the King turned to the one power that would answer all pleas, for a price. They would cure his wife, and grant them both immortality, but that immortality would come at the blood price of ten people a day, drained slowly of every drop of blood into a fiery pit that now occupies most of his throne room, from which the flames of Hell can be seen by those unfortunate or insane enough to look. Now the Castle is a forsaken place, only visited by slavers willing to barter with the Daemon Lord and the mad who try to worship him as a dark god. But he cares not for devotion of lower men, instead his very insistence is focused towards performing the required price, for while they cured his wife as promised, she will not awaken and only lives by the dark power of the Pact. So he constantly acquires more slaves for the ritual, buying his wife more time day by day, enslaved as he is to the mocking laughter of Hell
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Post by TheBrobotLol on May 11, 2014 1:14:07 GMT
Hm, there's not much actual landmass left on the map, just some thin strips of territory between factions. Given that there really isn't any sizeable land, or anywhere near enough land to have something as large as the northern nations, can I take a long strip of land as opposed to large lump? Even then it'll be risky bordering on multiple things.
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Post by Lord Harrab on May 11, 2014 2:28:35 GMT
Map of Nations
Red= Nate
Brown= Warork
Black= Jack
Blue= Admiral
Yellow=Warrender
White: Various NPCS
@brobot: You went Cult Correct? Cults don't get nations, instead their followers are hidden within the nations of others
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