From Aparsus

Contents 1 Aelferic 1.1 The History of the Aelferic in Aparsus 1.2 Southern Aelferic 1.2.1 Nyss 1.2.2 Pharosians 1.2.3 Riverlanders 1.2.4 Skyllians 1.2.5 Sirridar 1.2.6 The Southlanders 1.3 Northern Aelferic 1.3.1 Temeri 2 Irridonians 2.1 History of the Irridonians 2.2 Relations with Aelferic 2.3 Irridonian Races 2.3.1 Ssimyr 2.3.2 Areek 2.3.3 Kahep 2.3.4 Suuk 3 Uruk 3.1 The History of the Uruk 3.2 Uruk relationships with Aelferic 3.3 The Faith of the Uruk 4 The Beast Races 4.1 Goblins 4.2 Hobgoblins 4.3 Ogres 4.4 Trolls 4.4.1 Redskin Trolls 4.4.2 Swamp Trolls 4.4.3 Steelmane Trolls

[edit] Aelferic

[edit] The History of the Aelferic in Aparsus

The most common people of Aparsus are the Aelferic. In the Age of Myth, they arrived from a land far to the west, a place known only to their most ancient lore and traditions and bearing a thousand names. Over time, the Aelferic spread throughout Aparsus – sometimes as settlers exploring a strange land on what was then the edges of the great Empires of the Firstborn, sometimes as slaves to the Firstborn. In time, they began to develop into the early Aelferic cultures. Their ruins and cities can be found from time to time, though they were never so grand as the great mountain halls of the Dvarfelin Emperors or the stepped temples to the Demon Princes built by the Ngaht'Mahar. Caught between the warring Firstborn, the Aelferic were all but destroyed in the cataclysmic conflict that destroyed those prehistoric empires, and those that survived scattered across Aparsus.
The long, cold winter of the Great Age of Darkness that followed changed the Aelferic, scattering them into a dozen tribes as they wandered the icy wastes of their new home. Whatever path they took from their ancient homeland was lost to them, and so it was that they spent the long age of cold wandering Aparsus, hunting for their food in a land where no crops would grow.
As the Great Age of Darkness receded and life returned to Aparsus, the Aelferic tribes settled in their new lands. Time and circumstance wrought their changes on them, and the society of the Aelferic was all but forgotten, replaced by the new cultures forged by their descendants. The greatest of these arose in western Aparsus, where the changes wrought by the Great Age of Darkness had begun to take their toll, turning the once fertile land into a vast desert. There, descendants of the Aelferic now known as the Ancients built a mighty empire and ruled much of southern and western Aparsus for a time.
During this time other races arose for the first time. Some where the product of the changes wrought on the world by the power of psukhe. Others were remnants of the armies of the Dvarfelin, survivors from the last war that ushered in the Great Age of Darkness. New kingdoms arose amidst the ruins of the Firstborn Empires, Aelferic and otherwise, and like all kingdoms, they warred for a time and made peace, only to war again. In time, the Ancients rose to dominance, having studied closely the ancient lore of the Ngaht'Mahar, the snake-men of the South, and built an empire that spanned most of Aparsus. The Empire lasted only for a few generations before it was torn apart by internal strife and revolution.
When the dust settled, the Ancients were gone, and civilization once again receded from Aparsus. The Aelferic – most of whom would no longer recognize that ancient name – felt it most severely, and descended into the new Age of Darkness rapidly. The other races of Aparsus were luckier, but – reacting to what they saw as the savagery of the Aelferic – they retreated into aseclusion.
Now, the second age of darkness is coming to an end, and new kingdoms are rising from the ruins of old. The Aelferic peoples must once more tame the savage world of Aparsus and forge their destiny in their new home.

[edit] Southern Aelferic

[edit] Nyss

The Nyss rule the inland plains of southern Aparsus, though rule is - perhaps - too strong a term. The Nyssian tribes are scattered across their "domain" - small pockets of nomads bound together in tight-knit, insular clans led by a charismatic leader. The only over-arching government is the Cult of the Returning Lord, a theocratic government that rules from the "city" of Shrine, one of Nyss' two permanent settlements (the other being the trade city of Tents, near the Southlander city of Black Snake). Aside from the High Priests of the cult, Shrine is home to the old, the infirm and expectant mothers or those with small children, anyone that might be a weight on their clan.

Nyss have a reputation as being humourless and dour - the Cult of the Returning Lord encourages a sort of fatalism in its followers that pervades their interactions with others - but they are known for their, often blunt, honesty. It's said that if a Nyss is caught in a lie, his tongue will split of its own accord and leave him bleeding to death. Aside from their clan and their personal honor, the only thing most Nyss care about is their horse. Nyssian horses are the finest in all of the south, if not all of Aparsus, and young Nyss children compete with one another for the choicest young foals, with whom they develop a bond stronger than any friendship.

Unlike most southern Aelfric, Nyss tend to be tall and fair skinned. Their hair is dark, and both men and women favour short styles. They wear dark colours with little adornment or jewelry, priests of the Cult will dress in light blue clothes, however, and carry the Star of the Returning Lord on their breast.

[edit] Pharosians

The Pharosian Heartlands lie north of the Southlander cities of Red Gem and Coral, surrounded on two sides by the Mountains of the Broken Crowns to the south and west, the Cold Marshes to the north and the Stormwatch Sea to the east. Secluded in a land as close to idyllic as Aparsus knows, the Pharosians enjoy abundant rains, fertile soil and protection from the worst depredations of barbarians and beastmen.

As a result, the people of the Pharosian city-states are relatively peaceful, preferring diplomacy and politics over war and strife. They have a reputation with other Southern Aelferic as navigators, explorers, scholars and courtiers, a reputation that's not far from the truth. Pharosians value education and even have a lay university, in the city of Keseret in the north. Keseret is also home to the dominant Pharosian religion - the Church of Saint Alyss, or the Alyssian Church, founded by the great warrior-queen of Keseret, Alyss I.

There's a slight matriarchial bent in Pharosian society, owing largely to the influence of the Church of Saint Alyss. Men and women share equal rights in most cases, but Pharosian men often find a glass ceiling in polite society - most Pharosian political and military leaders are women. Instead, it's not uncommon for men, especially the children of noble or patrician families, to leave the Heartlands looking to make their fame and fortune in the world beyond the mountains.

Pharosians are olive-skinned and tend to be burly. Outside the city, they are shepherds, farmers and sailors, and even scholars grow up in those same backgrounds. Pharosians favour tunics and robes of bright colours - Pharosian culture especially favours blue, red and purple, the primary colours of the three Goddesses of the Alyssian faith. Pharosians can be described as moderately devout. The Church is an important part of life in the Heartlands, especially in the northern kingdoms, but many Pharosians have a "take it or leave it" attitude toward faith.

[edit] Riverlanders

The Great River Kardath marks, for many southerners in Aparsus, the end of civilization. Beyond lies the sword-lands, ghost-haunted deserts and black cities, vast plains under open skies, and the dark jungles of the far south. Still, along the southern banks of the Kardath have settled a race of hardy Aelferic known as the Riverlanders. Stout of body, they are true frontiersmen best by monsters, barbarians and beastmen.

Riverlanders are terse, sometimes crude, but welcoming to outsiders. There are small populations of Southlanders, Pharosians and even Nyss in the Riverlands, often exiles fleeing their past for a new future on the edges of civilization. The Riverlanders take them all in, for survival in the Kardath Vale requires every available hand. Most Riverlanders are farmers and fishermen, though a hardy few make their living as loggers in the southern eaves of the Greatwood despite the danger.

[edit] Skyllians

Over four hundred islands dot the Shining Sea, a sheltered outlet of the Stormwatch off the southern coast. Dozens of petty kingdoms dot these isles, many of which bear ruins of the Firstborn and the Ancients, and the people of these islands - the Skyllians - are born sailors. Most of them are more at home on a ship than they are on land and some - such as the men of the "city" of Sargasso - have never even set foot on dry land. They worship the gods of the sea - Rokuo, the god of the Stormwatch and the lord of hurricanes; Sharp-Tooth, the god of sharks and pirates; Bar'appa, the god of the six winds, and Gilded Ri, the goddess of luck and commerce, and they take their worship and superstitions seriously - such things can be life and death according to them.

Despite their superstition, the reputation of the Skyllians as skilled sailors is matched only by their reputation as shrewd merchants, and Skyllian traders travel throughout the Stormwatch and the Shining Sea in the pursuit of gold. This same pursuit of gold has led many Skyllians to become pirates and slavers, trading their humanity for coin delivered hand over fist. The Pharosians, especially, have suffered from Skyllian piracy for many years, and a few Pharosian city-states have a practice of burning any Skyllian ship that stays in port for more than three days - a grave insult to the Skyllians, for whom the ship is all but a living god.

[edit] Sirridar

The land of Sirridar, according to legend, was once attached to Aparsus - a penninsula jutting out into the Stormwatch - until the Firstborn tore it from the mainland during their last great war. The Aelferic of Sirridar can trace their lineage back to the first cities before the Great Age of Darkness, having settled there during the age of the Firstborn. They are a proud people - proud of their heritage, and proud of the empire that they've forged on Sirridar, an empire that they want to expand.

The Sirridari Empire rules the homeland from which it takes its name, as well as colonies along the Walking Marshes of the southern Aparsian Coast, butting up against the Southlander cities at the edge of the marshes, and Sirridari Legion forts are a common sight across the marshy coast of the Shining Sea. Sirridar value discipline above all else, and are an unapologetic martial society. They practice an ancient faith, a faith they claim is the true faith of the Aelferic, though no one knows for sure, and worship a singular deity known as Gran Wyrdweaver, the god of time, fate and death.

[edit] The Southlanders

The term "Southlander" refers to any Aelferic whose origin is in the lands of southeast Aparsus, along the Shining Sea and the southern coast of the Ocean Stormhold. Most of the Southland's largest cities lie along the coast, with the central plains region occupied primarily by scattered tribes of nomadic horse-men known as the Nyss. Though few things can be said that apply universally to the cultures and peoples of the Southlands, there are some common threads.

Southlanders are, for the most part, heavily urban. Most of the land between cities is taken up by farming estates run by noble families that claim (rightly or not) lineage back to the Ancients. These nobles tend to keep their noses out of life in the cities, and the rest of the Southlanders thank them for it. Southlanders really have very little use for religion, but they love to gamble, and it's often said that they see religion of any kind as just trying to pick the winning horse in the race.

Southlanders tend to be wiry and slight of build, with dark skin and dark, curly hair. Fashion can vary from city to city, but thanks to their proclivity for ocean-going endeavor, they tend to prefer clothes that will be functional aboardship. Most Southlander cities are run by Oligarchs, a group of merchant-princes that keep power as long as they keep the gold rolling in, and it's said that you can tell a Southlander Oligarch by the fact that the gold trim on his hat weighs more than he does. Southlanders laugh at this, since they didn't know there was enough gold in the world for it.

[edit] Northern Aelferic

[edit] Temeri

Lying between the Sea of Khef and the Stormwatch Sea, south of the Broken Bay and north of the Cold Marshes lies a land that juts out into the water like an accusing finger, crooked and gnarled. This land, known as the Bleak Coast, is home to the Temeri, an isolated, dour people who dwell in the shadow of some of the most brutal fighting ever perpetrated during the long fall of the Firstborn. Plagued by demons, war machines, Vrylokos and Changing Ones, the Temeri dwell in fortified villages and walled towns, rarely entertaining visits from outsiders. Their kings rule with an iron hand, and they are zealous, dogged enemies of sorcery and anything that smells to them of the demon taint.

[edit] Irridonians

[edit] History of the Irridonians

The Jungles of Irridon lie south of the desert Anakh, in the domain of the Firstborn species known as the Naght'Mahar ("walking nightmare" in the Ancient Tongue, commonly called Naga by modern Aelferic). The Irridonians originated there as well, some time during the Great Age of Darkness, and were first brought north by the Ancients, who kept them as slaves.

The collapse of the Empire of the Ancients left the Irridonians free, but only a handful of them chose to return to their ancient homelands. The majority of those who remained settled in the swamps of the east, in the areas now known as the Southland and along the Great River, mingling with early Aelferic cultures there. Others remainded amidst the ruins of the eastern empire in the desert Anakh, where they took up the life of nomads and wanderers.

[edit] Relations with Aelferic

Reptillian in nature, Irridonians share many traits with the Naght'mahar, and though scholars of both species have been unable to determine if there is a link between the Firstborn and the Irridonians, many Aelferic believe that link to be present. As a result, Irridonians are sometimes called "inheritors". This perception of the Irridonians as descendants of the Naga has led to some strife with the Aelferic, who still remember the Naga as nightmarish, blood-drinking monsters who worshipped the Demon Princes and worked magic with the hearts of their ancestors.

To make matters worse, Irridonians are cold-blooded and, as a result, have an intense physiological need for to sleep through midday. They are at least partially nocturnal as a result, but many Aelferic view them as lazy, or as potential thieves due to their night-time habits.

[edit] Irridonian Races

[edit] Ssimyr

The Ssimyr dwell in the Southlands and along the River Kardath, mingling with the Aelferic of the region and sharing their culture. Of all the Irridonian races, Ssimyr are the most common, and the most accepted by their Aelferic neighbours, for they share the culture of the River Tribes and the Southlanders and were instrumental in the growth of those societies. Ssimyr are easily recognizable for their slender bodies and tall stature, as well as bright crests and face scales, long mouths and thick, ridged tails.

[edit] Areek

The Areek are those Irridonians who returned to their homeland, sailing across the Shining Sea to settle on the Uidri Penninsula in the Jungles of Irridon. Though smaller and considerably less numerous than the other Irridonian races, the Areek consider themselves "purebloods", who seek a return to the pre-enslavement culture of ancient Irridonia. They worship the Totema and are ruled by their shamen-kings, powerful sorcerers said to be descended from the gods themselves.

[edit] Kahep

The Kahep remained behind in the desert Anakh, where they lurk to this day among the ruined cities of the Ancients. Their faith is in the Ancient sun god Yperos, who they claim charged the first of them with the task of guarding some secret treasure of the Ancients from the rest of the mortal world. Golden-scaled, with faces like snakes and hooded heads, they know many of the secret ways of the desert Anakh, and often lurk in villages along the edge of the desert, offering their services as guides to those who want to seek their fortune in the sands.

[edit] Suuk

The Suuk are sometimes called "Cold Marsh Goblins" by the Pharosians, their nearest neighbours. Most don't even consider them Irridonians, though they claim descent from an exiled tribe of Irridonian slaves, saying that they were driven from their homeland by their brothers, who usurped their right to rule over the Irridonian people. Life in the Cold Marshes has changed the Suuk, whose scales are a dull gray-green. They are squat, misshapen creatures and some even have patches of black and gray fur mixed with their scales. The Suuk are bitter enemies of pretty much everyone, and raided along northern Pharosia for many years, until the Demonbinder drove them back into the Cold Marsh and killed their last Goblin King.

[edit] Uruk

[edit] The History of the Uruk

In the language of the Dvarfelin, Uruk means "slave", and slaves the Uruk were. Originally a tribe of particularly fierce beast-people living on the northern shores of the Sea of Khef, their homelands were near the Dvarfelin kingdoms, and the Dwarves quickly saw how useful their neighbours could be. Using their magic and advanced sciences, they "uplifted" the Uruk, granting them access to many Dwarven secrets in exchange for their servitude.

Across the history of the Firstborn Empires, the Uruk served the Dvarfelin as shock troops and elite guardians, but were essentially slaves. When the Great Age of Darkness settled in, those that survived the final conflagration of the War fled south to their homelands, but not without carrying with them some of the most fundamental secrets of their Dwarven masters.

Throughout the Great Age of Darkness, the Uruk re-settled their homeland, only to be enslaved again by the Ancients when they sent their Legions north to seize the Sea of Khef. In time, the Uruk became full citizens of the Ancients' Empire, but very few of them chose to leave their homeland. When the Empire collapsed, the Uruk were its staunchest defenders, but even they broke in the end, and fled north to once more return to their dominion on the Sea of Khef.

In the current age, the Uruk have little need for the Aelferic, preferring to stay in their gray stone cities on the Sea of Khef and, occasionally, trade with the Riverlanders or perhaps wander out to see the world for a few years. Those rare Uruk in human lands are usually merchants, mercenaries or adventurers, and rarely settle in one place long - the only Uruk community of any size outside the Sea Plains of the north is in Lund. Instead, the majority of the Uruk content themselves with living out their lives by the sea, where fending off goblin tribes and exploring the secrets of their Dwarven masters keeps them well-occupied.

[edit] Uruk relationships with Aelferic

The Uruk deal little with the Aelferic in the current age, and the Aelferic typically like it that way. Uruk make Aelferic uncomfortable, naturally, whether it be because they were once the enforcers of the Firstborn, or simply because of their warlike and sometimes brutal natures. Aelferic use terms like "Bluntnose" as a derogatory for Uruk, but rarely in earshot.

For their part, the Uruk hold no ill will toward the Aelferic or anyone else. Ultimate pragmatists, they want nothing more than to ensure that they will survive, and have no problem selling their adamant and truesilver arms and armour to the Aelferic, who treat such rare items as coveted heirlooms.

[edit] The Faith of the Uruk

The Uruk have never really spread from their homeland, and so most of them still practice the religion that was practiced by their forebearers, a form of ancestor worship. Uruk children learn the deeds of their fathers and ancestors at their mother's teat, and grow knowing that they are part of an ancient tradition that has survived, thrived and excelled through all hardship since long before the Aelferic tribes were even dreamed into being. Every Uruk carries with him talismans made from the grave goods and corpses of his ancestors, and prays to them nightly for guidance and strength. This ancestor worship extends even into construction projects and, when possible, new buildings, ships and even weapons and armour contain within them a token of an older creation that has served its owner well - a ship might bear a mast or figurehead from a famous warship, and every Uruk sword (save the handful they sell to the Aelferic) bears a splinter of metal shaved from the sword of its bearer's father.

[edit] The Beast Races

The Beast Races mostly dwell in the Great Forest, wedged between the Mountains of the Broken Crown, the Nyssian Plains, the Broken Coast, the Inner Sea and the Great River, an island of green dominating the northland. Most people consider travel through the Great Forest foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst thanks to the presence of barbarian remnants of Two Bears' once-mighty army, monsters of every conceivable description and, of course, the Beast Races - savage, or nearly so, creatures possessed of great cunning and intelligence and vicious natures. There are numerous Beast Races in existence, the most common are listed below.

[edit] Goblins

Gobbos, Greenskins, Warts, there are a dozen names for the squat, black-green creatures commonly known as Goblins, and none of them are flattering. Most civilized people, their distant relatives the Uruk (who hate all of the Beast Races with a burning passion instilled by Dvarfelin indoctrination) included, consider goblins to be something along the line of extremely dangerous rats with armour and swords, and goblins fulfill that stereotype to the tee - spreading disease and misery wherever they happen to end up, and breeding like rabbits in heat. Just cunning enough to use weapons and armour, the goblins herd vermin into makeshift pens and litter their lairs with crude traps, making them a nuisance that usually requires the attention of trained warriors to clear.

A common theory among scholars is that goblins are the ancestors of all the modern Beast Races - including the Uruk. This is a theory that few scholars will actually expound upon within earshot of the Uruk, for the results are predictable and extremely painful.

[edit] Hobgoblins

More rare than Goblins, "whiteskins" - or hobgoblins - are considerably more dangerous for their organization and ability to make effective use of the weapons and armour they loot. Hobgoblins seem singularly unconcerned with making anything for themselves, and prefer to steal it from nearby communities. The Hobgoblin bands in the Great Forest are, perhaps, the most well organized, and seem to be in possession of extremely fine weapons and armours, which most folk theorize are looted from the Ilfwyn Ruins there.

[edit] Ogres

Ogres are enormous, cannibalistic monsters; thankfully rare; who often occupy ruins or take over isolated farmsteads for their homes. Ogres rarely band together in groups larger than three or four, which most of those that would fight them are thankful for, given their brutality and great strength. Very occasionally, an Ogre with the gift of sorcery will rise up and band the local ogres into a warband - the most famous of these being Two Bears, who bound ogres, hobgoblins and human barbarians into a single army and rampaged across eastern Aparsus for many years before being slain by Alyss Demonbinder.

[edit] Trolls

Though similar in many ways to the Beast Races, Trolls are unique. Their unique nature comes from their connection to the Gremayrkyn, the spirits that fuel the power of sorcery. Trolls appear to be descended from elementals, those Gremayrkyn who became bound into a place, and who then interbred with Aelferic, giving birth to the first Trolls. Though this is not a wide-spread event, even in the ancient days, there are still a number of breeds of trolls, whose natures are determined by their elemental ancestry.

[edit] Redskin Trolls

Redskin Trolls are easily recognizable by the brilliant scarlet skin from which they get their name. They are terrible foes, capable of flying into bitter rages in the heat of battle and breathing fire. In the days of the Ancients, Aelferic attempted to tame Redskin trolls with mixed success, and the blackened ruins of their failures are often still haunted by the descendants of those erstwhile slaves.

[edit] Swamp Trolls

Swamp Trolls are a common danger in the Southlands and, indeed, all along Aparsus' swampy southeastern coast. In their natural environment, they are hard to see and difficult to track, appearing to be enormous mounds of decaying plant matter, until they move. Swamp Trolls have a notable weakness to fire, but are capable of incredible feats of regeneration, making many mundane weapons ineffectual.

[edit] Steelmane Trolls

Steelmane Trolls lurk throughout the Mountains of the Broken Crown, but rarely venture from their homes, for they are creatures of iron and stone, and have little need for the troubles of the outside world. In battle, however, Steelmane trolls are nearly invincible. Their tough hides of stone and iron turn aside all but the most powerful blows, while their fists are more than capable of crumpling even heavy armour.