K is for Kryx, the Mad God-Emperor of Kryx

KRYX

Kryx is a god – a god of lesser stature, to be sure, but still a god. And unlike most gods of his potency, he takes direct, personal action in the mortal world. His ancient history and origins are unknown to all but himself and a few other gods. Kryx is not even his real name; it is a name he adopted long ago, when his real name became too dangerous, and he has kept it since. He is a super-genius, a master tactician, physically mighty, and amazingly skilled. He is seductive, languorous, impetuous, and brutal. He’s also completely insane and perhaps the most megalo-maniacal being in the Olden Realms.

His common form (which he cannot now abandon, due to the Weeping Wound), is that of a muscular male human form, varying in height from 7’ to at least 30’ tall (he is able to alter his height instantly, and is always the tallest being in sight, always). His skin is a dark reddish-brown with purplish-black overtones and whitish-gray highlights; he is dark by northern standards, light of skin by southern standards, and perhaps an ideal combination of all skin colors known to men. His eyes are shining liquid gold in an orb of pure, glowing white; those who see him close up swear that stars shine in his pupils. His hair is the same color as his body, though he usually maintains a clean pate, and seems not to keep any body hair other than eyebrows, save when he wishes to affect a spike beard in the style of the ancient Deshreti.

When he speaks, every person who hears him aloud hears him speaking perfectly in their own native tongue and dialect, unless he chooses otherwise. He can speak telepathically with anyone he can see. Those who hear his spoken voice and feel his voice in their mind are numbed by the combined power and the resonance it sets up in their consciousness. He is innately able to read emotions, but not minds.

When he chooses to wear clothing (he often does not, in his palace or when he stalks his city of Kryxophon), he usually wears a kilt in the Deshreti style, along with such jewelry as he finds worthy of gracing him at the moment. He wields a spear and a khopesh sword, both of unsurpassed quality and invariably magical (if merely of mortal enchantment). All his clothing, jewelry, and accoutrements grow or shrink as he does; when his items are handed to his bearers, they shrink to fit the bearer’s size.

He never wears armor. He has no need for it, as no mortal weapon, even the most potent magical device, cannot so much as bruise his skin, let alone break it. No mortal spell can touch him; in fact, he can pluck mortal spell energies sent his way out of midair and reshape and redirect them as he so chooses. He is a master of more spells than are known to men, and many that men have never even conceived.

What Kryx truly is, his origins, his deeds in the elder days, are unknown. Speculation is all sages have, as even the lore of the elves does not speak of him. It is assumed that he was a Dark Lord of the Elder South, perhaps in Deshret, or Manday, or even in the Far West. Whether he is a Fallen Titan, Elder God, Younger God, Demi-God, Ascended God, or Chaos God is unknown. He wields Chaos, but does not depend on it, and he seems to use it purely as a tool; he is not consumed by it, as were the Dark Lords of the North.

What is known about him is that sometime around 1350, Kryx was freed, or rather, awakened, as he writes in his Kryxonomicon, though anything from that tome must be taken with a large grain of salt. He was awakened from a long imprisonment somewhere in the depths of the Ormakh Mountains. He refers to his “refuge” and “cage” somewhere amidst the roots of the tallest peaks. There a group of men found him; who they were, why they were there, and how they had found him, even Kryx does not know. By their dress and speech, they seemed to have been hierophants, evil high priests, and archmagi, with their potent gathered henchmen. He blithely claims that, as they awakened him, he prepared to thank them for their service and grant them great power and prestige as his first slaves when they, ever so foolishly, sought to command him to their bidding. To command HIM! And so he blasted them all from existence with but a single word.

When he walked out of the Ormakh he found a world completely unlike that which he knew before he had gone to sleep/been trapped. He found the land changed, wholly new races of men (so he writes), strange beasts; nothing he recognized. But one thing he noticed, as he got far enough away from his “cage,” was something so very different, so very importantly different, that he stopped for a long moment to feel it, take it all in, and to savor it.

He did not feel the presence of the Elder Titans!

For as he writes, for those that could feel, the Elder Titans had ever had a presence upon their creation, even from afar, unto the furthest corners of the world. But he did not feel them. The Elder Titans were gone. GONE! His mad laughter and quakes from his capering could be heard all the way in Nótixiphon, the great city on the shores of the Shining Bay. They should have realized it was a terrible omen…

The next day Kryx arrived, and by the end of the day maps were being changed to reflect the new name of the city, Kryxophon, and the new name of the bay, the Bay of Kryx. Paynims, orcs, gnolls, and ogres flocked to his side. The priests of the King of Hell and the Crimson God who did not convert on site were all blasted into atoms, had their still-beating hearts offered to him by his newly-converted priests, or were burned alive on great pyres (sometimes in combinations of two or all three). And from there he began to build his empire.

Fortunately for the peoples of the Olden Lands, Kryx is also very, very lazy. He hates expending his own energies on doing things like conquering cities and enslaving tribes. After all, that’s what followers are for! And so it took him and his followers almost 50 years to subdue and consolidate the former lands of Notixos. By 1450 he ruled all of Eosha, and by 1475 most of Deshret; he left the scraps in the wastes for the Crimson God, so that he could hear him fret, fume, and curse.

From there he and his vast armies, the likes of which had not been seen since the Elder Days, moved across the Purple Plains like a roving metropolis. Paynim tribes swarmed to his banner or fled into the Far West; the cities of the Paynim Coast opened their gates and offered him their fairest maidens and greatest treasures. The world, in short, was now coming to his door, and giving him everything he wanted.

As he crossed the River of Stars upon his royal barque at midnight he knew his time had finally come. The whole world was finally falling into his hands…

A to Z Trifecta Tuesday: Hoarfrost Coast, Howling Isles, and Hugelheim

HOARFROST COAST [HRIMKYSTEN]

Independent villages and small homesteads

Major Settlements: Rijmhavn [Rimeport] (pop. 12,600)

Humans: 450,000

Demi-humans: Doubtful

Humanoids: Counting the humanoids of the Hoarfrost Coast and Snjør, their numbers include at least Goblin-Men (150,000), Hobgoblins (90,000), Goblins (60,000), Bugbears (30,000), Half-Ogres (15,000), and Ogres (5,000)

Monsters: Frost giants are common, especially around their fastness Mount Frudd, the home of the Winter King. Polar bears, white dragons, and frost salamanders are also found around the mountain, though they are much rarer. Dire wolves, grizzly bears, and saber-tooth tigers often hunt out of the Icefang Forest to the north.

Languages: Common; North Gottish, East Gottish, Dredhiac, Ogrish, Giantish.

Resources: Furs, gems (sapphires), iron, ivory, slaves, wood (rare)

The Hoarfrost Coast is a land stuck between the devil and the deep-blue sea – the devil in this case being the Winter King, who dwells in a glacial palace atop Mount Frudd at the heart of the land of Snjør. There he has ruled since time immemorial, and thus the peoples of the Hoarfrost Coast live ever in his shadow. And since the White Worm arrived in Thulask half a century ago, things have only gotten worse, as the two frosty potentates, one born of Chaos, the other Cosmic, are utterly inimical enemies.

The native humans of the land are savage Gotha whose ancestors may never have been south of the River of Ice save to raid, pillage, and plunder. They are a grim and melancholy sort, given to great rage and terrible cruelty, for they and their culture have been forged in a cruel and savage land. Save for the port of Rijmhavn, which was founded centuries ago by southern traders, there are no cities to speak of, and even large towns are few and far between. Most denizens of this fog and cloud-shrouded land dwell in small villages and steadings along fjord and coast, fishing and hunting in order to keep flesh on bones, for the growing season is short and harsh; most go a-viking once the planting is done, leaving the tending of the small plots to younger boys, women, and thralls.

Their neighbors are even harsher and more brutal, for they often dwell cheek-and-jowl with goblin-men, goblinoids, and ogres. With the preponderance of humanoids, travel by land is actually more dangerous than travel by sea, and there are few trails between the settlements. And travel by sea is not at all easy, for it is home to merrow, scrags, and sahuagin, not to mention krakens and storm giants.

Rijmhavn is not a largish city merely because it is the only city in the region, nor only because it is the city farthest north, but because it is a city not of locals but of transplants. Most of the residents are Gotha from the Storm Coast or Elysians from Auriante. This is their trade center in the far north, and the major trade center for the Sea of Storms.

HOWLING ISLES [YLANDEÖAR]

Independent tribes

Major Settlements: Jävlafjärd [Bay of the Damned] (pop. 3,300)

Humans: 150,000

Demi-humans: None

Humanoids: Half-Ogres (40,000), Ogres (10,000)

Monsters: Trolls and troldfolk infest the island thick as fleas on a dungeon hound. White dragons like to hunt on the main isle, though they generally lair on lesser isles in inaccessible areas. Frost giants live in the glacier-covered mountains. Frost wolves hunt the forests of the main isle while polar bears hunt along the northern coast and isles. The Unseelie are all too common, as they like to toy with trolls, ogres, and men. Entries to the Underworld are many, though they are known on the isle as “troll-pits” for a reason. The seas are filled with the usual beasts of the Sea of Storms; the north coast is a significant source of ivory from the large numbers of walrus and giant walrus that live thereupon.

Languages: Common; North Gottish, East Gottish, Ogrish, Trollish, Sídhuinn.

Resources: Copper, furs, gems (diamonds), ivory, silver, slaves

These islands are home to isolated tribes and clans of Gotha, descended from colonists from Thundigoth Isle. Were it not for the taking of slave concubines on raid and through trade, they would be as inbred as they are isolated, Many of the smaller clans are, and have been reduced to a feral, almost Stone Age form of society.

Most Gotha settlement is along the western coast and into the interior along fjords and rivers. Jävlafjärd is the only major settlement of note, the next largest being merely up-jumped villages with delusions of grandeur. Most of the men are gone all summer, away a-viking in the southern isles. The settlements also raid each other for food, slaves, and ivory, which are sold off-island for gold, iron, armor, and weapons.

The islands are regarded as the homeland of the troll and troldfolk races on the surface world; men and ogres alike are merely visitors, and must continually protect their holdings from the depredations of the native trolls. Though the Gotha rightly fear the trolls, they trade with them from time to time to get enchanted weapons and armor, or for other services, such as building stone buildings and walls. The diamonds traded from the island are found only in mines high in the Howling Peaks at the heart of the island. They are said to be the sun-stoned hearts of ancient trolls. Many young Gotha and no few ogres have lost their lives prospecting for diamonds in the mountains.

The citadel and walls of Jävlafjärd were said to have been built by the King of the Trolls centuries ago. King Haukr Skagisson of Jävlafjärd is said to still possess the ring of troll control that his ancestors used to force the trolls to build their citadel. They say that to sooth the ego of the troll king, his ancestors rewarded him with a king’s ransom in loot from the southern isles and the Storm Coast.

HUGELHEIM, UNITED CANTONS OF

His Highness, Günczel Grossensteine, Speaker of the People, Prince of Spiegelzee, Goblin-Punter (Good 7th level Sage Fighter/Illusionist/Thief)

Capital: Grosshügel [Grandhill] (pop. 36,000)

Humans: 20,000

Demi-humans: Gnomes (200,000), Halflings (20,000), Dwarves (10,000)

Humanoids: Few (many raiders)

Monsters: Few (some raiders from the Northern Wilds and the Gorge of Ogroth)

Languages: Common; Gnomish, Halfling, Dwarvish, Guidhel, West Gottish, North Gottish, East Gottish.

Resources: Electrum, gems (cairngorm, jasper, sapphires, topaz), silver

Hugelheim is the homeland of the gnomes. When first the gnomes arose long ago during the Golden Age of Avalondë, they were welcome in both elven and dwarven lands. Later, when the elves and the dwarves fell out during the Wars of Chaos, the gnomes sought to create their own homeland. Long had elves and dwarves shared the lands today known as Hugelheim; as both races retreated from it to find solace in their heartlands, the gnomes moved in and made it their own.

For the Hills of Hugelin are most appealing to elves and dwarves, and thus the gnomes felt right at home. The hills are rolling or craggy, tall of ridge and deep of dale, covered in rolling grasses, green meadows, and deep forests. The lands below are wholesome, with many natural cavern systems and ancient tunnels and halls dug by gnomes and before them, the dwarves. There are, of course, also entries to the Underworld, far too many by gnomish count, but such is the price to pay for the glory of the Glittering Halls of Hugelin.

In the millennia since the founding of their land, the gnomes have welcomed elves and dwarves, halflings and humans. While the elves stayed only for a time and then retreated to the Verdhulann with the arrival of the Elysians, the nearness of the homelands of the dwarves and halflings has meant that many remain family, friends, allies, and countrymen of the gnomes. The humans of the realm are descended primarily from Guidhel with strong Gotha influence; any men who were of Goodly sort were welcome to settle in the gnomish lands. By ancient treaty, the tribes of Mhoriedh are allowed to hunt, fish, and wander the hills, so long as they respect the gnomes and other residents, and the alliance has held strong for many centuries.

The gnomes are renowned throughout the Middle Lands as hard, if fair merchants and traders. Most trade along the Upper and Central Great Heart River in large river boats or barges, often hiring Mhoriedhel or Gottic mercenaries and river men. Some trade by land in small wagons or mule caravans. They are highly competitive with the Élyséenais merchants of the Septarchy, whom they consider upstart con-men and profiteers.

G is for Giantings and Gnomes, Gnolls and Goblins, Gotha and Guidhel

GIANTINGS [KULCHAKS]

Giantings are the rarest of the demi-human types. They are native to the Twilight Peaks, the Erdna Kizef Tors, and the lesser mountain ranges of Alspadia. Known as Kulchaks (plural, singular Kulchak) in their own tongue, giantings have tan or brown skin, brown or amber eyes, and straight light brown, brown, or black hair. They are very hirsute, with both males and females approaching the description of “furry.” Females do not usually have beards, though such is not unheard of. Other than their size and hair, large jaws and pronounced brow ridge, giantings look very human. Giantings stand 8’ tall on average and weigh 450 pounds. They can live to be 300 years of age.

Giantings loathe being compared to ogres; the two are completely different species, regardless of their similarity in size. Giantings live a rustic, pacifistic life in the forested hills and mountains of the West, and prefer natural surroundings to urban settings. They live in small homesteads, tend to wild gardens, and hunt and gather rather than farm or labor. They rarely use metal items, other than those for which they have traded, as they do not work metals. Giantings generally do not use magic, nor do they revere gods, but many possess psychic powers to a lesser or greater extent; those with greater powers gravitate to leadership of the community. They have no natural enemies, though due to proximity to the Land of Nhorr, they make special exceptions to their usual peaceful ways for orcs.

Kulchaks were sometimes captured for menageries or as slave labor in the days of the Elysian Empire and the subsequent Itlanian Empire, so small settlements of Kulchaks can be found throughout the continent. These are often isolated and hidden using the powers of their psychic leaders. Some of these settlements are made up entirely of crossbreeds.

Giantings are capable of interbreeding with humans, elves, and orcs, the result being a taller, stronger, often psychic and always more hirsute member of that race. Sadly, one in eight gianting crossbreeds are sterile mules, and there is a similar chance of the half-breed and any descendents developing dangerous, homicidal insanity.

GNOMES [HUGELÔR]

Gnomes are native to the Hills of Hugelin in the Middle Lands, east of Mhoriedh and north of Aurlandia. Known as Hugelôr (plural, singular Hugelo) in their own tongue, gnomes have light gray skin, blue, gray, green, or hazel eyes, and curly or wavy sandy blond, brown, or black hair. Males usually wear short beards; some females are capable of growing beards, or at least extensive sideburns. Their ears are elven, though rather than standing tall and firm they flop and droop a bit, and they have large, bulbous noses. Gnomes stand 3’6” on average and weigh 80 pounds. Gnomes can live to be more than 600 years old. Gnomes are not only an independent, stable race; they also result from the cross between a dwarf and an elf. Most gnomes welcome these cousins with open arms.

Hugelôr live in rugged forested hills, preferring to make their homes in natural caverns worked minimally to provide needed luxury and utility without destroying natural beauty. Their largest settlement is no bigger than a human town, and most are mere hamlets. They tend to small gardens and trade their gems, jewelry, and worked wood and metal items for needed grains and other foods. Gnomes prefer to use illusion magic, the better to shield their communities from the depredations of men and humanoids alike.

Hugelôr settlements are rare, save in Hugelheim, their native homeland. Elsewhere they live in the cities and towns of the big folk, safely behind stout walls. The exception to this is the Thornshire, where they can be found in numbers among their halfling cousins, scattered in hamlets and homesteads. Gnomes of Hugelheim are often merchants, traders, and moneychangers throughout the Middle Lands. They work well with other races, and do not have the greedy reputation of the dwarves, nor the lackadaisical reputation of the elves. They are known as fair traders, even if they drive a hard bargain.

Gnomes can interbreed with humans, dwarves, elves, and halflings. The cross between a dwarf and gnome or an elf and gnome is always a gnome; the cross between a gnome and a human or halfling results in a halfling of the Hairfoot variety. Humanoid crossings are dealt with under humanoids.

GNOLLS [HYAHAHRA]

Gnolls are a race native to the Yasdunn Jungles, the Eoshan Plains, and the Thunder Plains of the South. Known as Hyahahra (plural and singular) in their own tongue, gnolls have dark greenish to yellow skin, the color of gangrenous flesh, covered in thick fur. Fur color ranges from brownish-red to tan-yellow, with white, brown, and tan mixed in throughout. Most packs and tribes are also marked by a mix of stripes (northern tribes) and spots (southern tribes) though due to interbreeding only the most isolated packs possess a single, recognizable pattern of stripes or spots, and those of the Yasdunn are thoroughly mixed.

Hyahahra otherwise resemble man-shaped hyenas with malformed forepaws possessed of a semi-opposable thumb. Gnoll heads greatly favor the form of their hyena cousins, with large sagittal crests (often accentuated with a Mohawk-trimmed hairstyle), long tooth-filled snouts, and heavy jaw structure. They possess the great crushing jaws of their hyena cousins. Eyes are round, black, and glisten; at night they glow red when they reflect torch or moonlight. Ears are large and often quite long and pointed. Gnolls are tall at 7’ feet and usually slim weighing only 240 pounds, though their light frame possesses a surprisingly mighty strength. Gnolls can live to be about 90 years of age.

Hyahahra originated in the South in the early days of Men. Manday legend holds that gnolls are descended from the spawn of evil witches and hyenas, and as that association continues to this day there is little reason to disbelieve the old tales. They remain primarily a race of the south, though large numbers settled in Kryx and have there found employ in the legions of the God-Emperor, and some bands still remain in the North, descended from slaves brought thence during the Elysian and Itlanian Empires.

Gnolls are the most primitive of the sentient races. They possess no true culture, merely instinct and enough cunning to adapt and adopt the cultural implements and trappings of other humanoid cultures. They possess no physical culture of their own; that is, they do not manufacture any form of cultural instrument, implement, or tool. They are even incapable of the manufacture of simple stone tools; they are cunning enough to adapt the use of tools, especially weapons, but do not have the cultural capability to make or even repair such items. They are scavengers thus, not only of food, but also of tools.

Gnolls, being descended in part from humans, can crossbreed back with humans, as well as goblin-men, half-elves, half-ogres, and half-orcs. The result is invariably a gnole, and is superior of intellect and far more mannish in form than the gnoll type. Gnoles, like other half-breed races, breed true. Though typically smaller and weaker than gnolls, due to their greater intelligence these gnoles usually end up ruling gnoll bands, while the larger southern tribes led by clans of gnoles tend to be quite successful and powerful in their region. Gnolls cannot crossbreed with other races, including the goblinoid races.

GOBLINS [GASHÛN]

Goblins are a goblinoid race native to the mountains and hills of the Middle Lands, the Morghluidh Mountains being their greatest conquest. Known as Gashûn (plural, singular Gashah) in their own tongue, goblins have mottled brown, tan, and gray skin. Eyes are pink to red. Hair is dull black and straight, and in some places as thick as fur; goblins are quite hirsute, moreso than dwarves but not nearly as furry as bugbears. Features are man-like, though with a small cranium for their size, a large pronounced jaw, thick brow ridges, and deep-set eyes. Ears are largish, with most goblins readily described as “jug-eared,” and no few are flop-eared. The mouth is wide, protuberant, and filled with sharp teeth. The nose is squashed and flat. Goblins stand 4’ tall and weigh 100 pounds. Goblins can live to 60 years of age.

Gashûn are descended from wild hobgoblins, degenerated remnants of the original goblinoid race bred in the vats of the dark lord Moerdreth long ages ago. Rather than slaying those creations he felt too weak to serve, he simply released them to the wild, unleashing them without thought against the elves and dwarves of the day. Much to their later despair, the elves and dwarves did not hunt the pitiful creatures down, and in the ages since the goblins have grown to become a dangerous pest.

Though they are not completely savage as are the bugbears, neither are they as advanced in society and technology as the hobgoblins. They rarely build their own lairs, preferring to take over ruins of other races, or living in natural caves. They are very fond of taking dwarven mines and enslaving captured dwarves, and are thus the most hated of the goblinoids by that race.

Goblins can crossbreed with all other races save the giantings, gnolls, or ogres. The spawn of a goblin and a human, orc, elf, or bugbear is a hobgoblin; the spawn of a goblin and a dwarf, gnome, halfling, or hobgoblin is a goblin.

GOTHA

The human Gotha people have pale pink to ruddy skin tones; they tend to freckle rather than tan. Eye color is green, blue, indigo, or violet. Hair color ranges from tawny brown and sandy blonde to gold and platinum white and is straight to curly. The Gotha peoples of the Thundigoth Isles are very hirsute. Height is medium to tall, with a medium to muscular build. Skeletal structure is heavy, with pronounced brow ridges, cheeks, and jutting jaw, though not remotely as severe as that among the goblinoids.

The tribes of Thundigoth, the smallholders and townsmen of the Storm Coast, and various noble houses of the Middle Lands and Bagaudia remain true to the classic type. The Thundigoth tribes are renowned for their craggy features, each clan and tribe often typifying a specific form (jutting chin, large nose, beetle brow, etc). Commoners of the Middle Lands are heavily mixed with the old Guidhel/Elysian base, moreso among the Élyséenais of the hills of the Septarchy and less so among the Gottish on the plains of Gyrax. Many upper-class families of the Olden Empire, Itlania, and Alspadia are marked by the pale skin, light hair, and blue or violet eyes of the old Gotha reavers, who first served and then assimilated or were assimilated into the local noble houses.

The Gotha peoples of the Storm Coast are preyed upon by the slavers of the Olden Empire and the Eoshan city-states, and thus Gotha slaves and their descendents can be found quite far from their kindred tribes.

GUIDHEL

The human Guidhel people have brown skin, favoring the lighter tones ranging from a light pale khaki or bronze to darker chestnut and sienna. Eye color is usually green, hazel, or amber, with gold being rare and of note. Hair is dark brown, ranging near umber and taupe, and usually curly or wavy. Height and build fall within the full range of the human norms.

The Guidhel once ranged from the Storm Coast west to Twilight Mountains, and from the isles of the Serene Sea and the River of Stars in the south to the Utter Aeries in the north. Since those days nearer the dawn of men, the Elysians invaded from the south, the Gotha from the east, the Mhordlakhy from the west, and various tribes and bands of Kartaghans, Deshreti, and even Manday have made their way north.

As such there remain no truly pure groups of Guidhel, though the Witch-Folk of Mhoriedh are perhaps the purest, they or the savage tribes of the Northern Wilds. Even with the many migrations and long centuries of assimilation, the Guidhel type still predominates among the common folk of Aurlandia, Gyrax, and to a lesser extent Gregorius and the Septarchy.

The Guidhel form is common too in Alspadia, especially among the common folk, while a strange if pleasing admixture of Mhordlakhy, Guidhel, and Gotha is found in Bagaudia. There, the wormy pale skin of the Mhordlakhy is tempered by the bronze of the Guidhel and the ruddy pink of the Gotha into a shimmering snow white, with the raven black hair of the Mhordlakhy or the platinum blonde of the Gotha and the amber eyes of the Guidhel. It is no great wonder that the slave-takers of Itlania and Alspadia range across the Mountains of Blood to steal Bagaudian maidens.

F is, um... sorta like E, and E is for Elysion

I haven't really anything in the Olden Lands that starts with an F... huh. So here's a double-helping of E...

ELYSION [GREAT KINGDOM OF THE ELYSIANS]

His Royal Majesty, Megakles VII, Great King of the Elysians, Lord of the Viridian Throne; Grand Prince of Elysion; Suzerain of Itlania, High Lord of Alspadia, Eosha, Notixos, and the Northern Reaches; Protector of Deshret; Grand Admiral of the Inner Seas and Outer Ocean; Archon of the Thunder Peaks; etc, etc… (Evil 0-level Normal Man)

Capital: Vasilopolis [City of the King] (pop. 60,000)

Humans: 16,000,000 (includes Auriante, Austellia, Tarraconia, Velanto, and Vóreioskórea)

Demi-humans: Few

Humanoids: Some (goblinoids and ogres in the Starcrag Peaks)

Monsters: Some, mostly in ancient underground ruins, in royal menageries, guarding the towers of wizards, or kept as assassins or muscle. The Storm Giants in the Thunder Peaks are considered holy, as are the sylvan creatures of the Immerwood.

Languages: Itlanic; Elysian, Itlanic, Élyséenais, Thysian, Common, East Gottish, Kartaghan.

Resources: Copper, gems (diamonds, opals), silk, silver, wood (rare)

This history of the Elysians and their coming to this continent, the founding of their many kingdoms, the foundation of the Empire of Elysion and its growth, rot, and final Doom, are all dealt with in detail elsewhere in this work. Following the Dark Age, the heartlands of Elysion collapsed into more than a hundred petty, squabbling cities, towns, and citadels, all menaced by tribes of Gotha and Kartaghans, humanoids and monsters. Here a lord, there a count, one a prince, the other a king. For long centuries no one power arose, and truly potent states were few, far between, and rarely lasted more than a few generations.

The Rekindling in Itlania and the growth of the Kingdom of Itlanis, together with the unifying myths and legends of the Golden Kingdom and the efforts of the clerics of the God of Law, slowly and in fits and spurts, dragged old Elysion back into civilization. But it took the conquests of the new Itlanian Empire to bring together the squabbling lords of Elysion. By the time the Itlanians had reached the Great Heart River, seven (mostly) united principalities stood between the Great Heart and the Sunrise Sea. Their united armies swarmed the streets of Vasilopolis and in unison told the Itlanian Emperor, “no further!” War was averted, the Itlanian Empire reached then its greatest extent, and the seven principalities were left alone.

Following the collapse of the Itlanian Empire, the various Elysian princes first sought to go their own ways. Further internecine wars, the continual break-ups and reconfigurations of the principalities, migrations of barbarians, and corsair attacks convinced Prince Orion of Vóreioskórea that Elysion needed to be unified once again. He thus initiated the 30-year War of the Princes that unified old Elysion under a single banner. When the dust settled, he created a new kingdom, the Great Kingdom of the Elysians, and crowned himself with the regnal name of Megakles while wearing the Royal Green, for he was wise enough to know that any who tried to claim the old Imperial Purple would die a horrible death.

This long rule stabilized the kingdom, as did his creation of the electoral college of princes, used to determine the next king. To firmly center the kingdom on old Vasilopolis, and to purposefully weaken the position of the king in regards to the other princes, he carved out the Royal Domains during his Great Realignment. This gave the king, who must forgo all claims to the throne and lands of his former principality, enough personal power, without combining the might of the sovereign with the personal power of the principality.

And so far, the balance of powers created by Megakles I, “The Great,” has held. It has helped much that the kingdom Orion built was purposefully well-defined by riverine and sea borders, the defenses of which are in the hands of marcher lords appointed directly by the sovereign. Open conflicts between the principalities have been limited, and of these, few have ever come to blows, as tactical considerations, being restricted, allowed the combatants to end their conflicts diplomatically. The arts of the assassin, however, have thrived, especially in the last century.

With no major threats to the peace, and no grand schemes of conquest (such as the Gottic Empires’ ill-fated crusades), the princes of the realm have turned decadent, dissipated, and debauched. A few have sought aggrandizement otherwise, such as the Prince of Auriante and the growth of his trade network among the isles of the Sunrise Sea, or the similar and competing efforts on the part of the princes of Austellia and Tarraconia in the Serene Sea. Most princes simply feast, engage in debauched rites, enjoy decadent pleasantries, or engage in classic tournaments or set-piece battles for amusement. A few plot, especially with the less-than-great “greatness” of Megakles VII on the throne.

As yet the Great Plague and the Saracen and Paynim hordes from the West have made few inroads into the Great Kingdom. Should it and/or they reach its shores, likely through Tarraconia, Austellia, Velanto, or Vóreioskórea, the weak, dissipated, and debauched realm may once again feel the sting of disaster and desolation.