Fhaerlyn
WorldCourt
Serylia
Knordack
Glorap
Mishraedel
Dragons
The Fair Kingdom of Fhaerlyn (Back Up)
The kingdom of Fhaerlyn is the dominant kingdom on the map. It is a realm of lush forest and grassy plains, meaning much food production, allowing it
to support a large population. None of the other kingdoms have the
capacity to provide so much food, therefore cannot muster armies large enough to conquer it. However, each of the other kingdoms has its own
special characteristics that keep Fhaerlyn from expanding its borders. Therefore, rough peace exists between the five kingdoms, The king of
Fhaerlyn (need a name here) is content to stay put, and only goes to war when one of the others decides to try to take some of his farmland. Large,
well supported armies are mobilized, and the offenders are forced to flee.
As I'm sure you can see, there is a large forest (called the Great Forest for
now.. seems plain enough) that pretty much divides the land...on either side is grassland, farms as far as the eye can see. Some mining I'm
sure...but not much. Fhaerlyn has a pathetic ocean fleet in comparison to the Island Kingdom of
Serylia.. more on this later.
There are ports all up and down the Fhaerlyn coast, (I'll leave it up to others to come up with some good city names and locations, you can just
mark them on the map and send me a copy if you like, and I'll include them
in the original. As well, we will need to begin to put in major roadways...those will come as cities are located.)
Contrary to what I think might be the norm, Fhaerlyn can produce a fair number of magic users when needed. The king wisely knows the benefits of
balancing the soldiers in his armies with a number of capable sorcerers. Many of the larger cities have mage guilds as well. However, one will find
many people who are not generally exposed to magic to be skeptical, even fearful. The farmers in Fhaerlyn are not a very open-minded lot.
I believe the people of Fhaerlyn would have an organized religion similar to that of the traditional medieval church, with cathedrals and the
lot...but I'm sure there are nontraditional religions as well..
WorldCourt.(Back Up)
Just for Clarification, yes, there are three names used when referring to the actual place our inn rests. The first is WorldCourt. This is the name
that refers to the actual region that is controlled by the sentient animals, and resided over by the Spider Witches. Within its boundaries,
the King of Fhaerlyn has no power, the only laws are those of the caretakers. This, contrary to what one might assume, does not bother the
king much. Naturally, he would love to be in control of the power within The Court of Worlds, but he knows he cannot get it, and is wiser than to
waste his time trying.
(The king's father did not feel the same way, and decided to try and take WorldCourt
for his own. The small army he led in was systematically demolished by the defenders, and the then king was never seen again.
Another reason the current king doesn't mind much...he didn't like his father all that well, and was glad to be able to take the throne in his
absence. ;) )
The king of Fhaerlyn, therefore, has some measure of respect for the creatures of
WorldCourt..he doesn't bug them, and they don't bug him back. He hopes that if his kingdom were ever to need their aid in a war that
WorldCourt might help him out...but he has an idea they would stay right where they are, not minding a bit what happened to him.
Okay, name number two: The Court of Worlds. This is an ancient place of power buried deep within the granite caverns near the mouth of the Inland
River, (***need another name***) within the edge of the Great Forest. Many
legends tell of its creation, but I think perhaps its caretakers, The Spider Witches, are the only ones who really know. (this is my crafty way
of saying I have no idea.. haven't thought of it yet, but personally, I like
it better that nobody knows. :) ) It is within this place that the power that makes WorldCourt what it is
resides. It is a place of great natural beauty, the walls of the cavern having been worked into natural columns and
archways.. as if they naturally had come into being that way. Nature has found its way into the cavern
over time...a pure spring bubbles out of one wall, creating a gentle waterfall and a cleansing pool, and green vines wrap around the columns and
up the walls. (Credit for these must be given to Lin, this is her input
talking here...anyone else?)
The Court itself I see as a perfectly circular floor in the front of the cavern, raised a bit from the rest of the floor. It once was polished to a
shine, but perhaps it now has been worn by the centuries of feet upon it, so that only small patches still reflect the light. I see the coloring as
a simple grey of granite, though there are lines of rich color stroked
throughout.
There are two ways to reach the court itself. The first is the public passage which can be found from within the inn, consisting of a grandly
spiraling stair. ((Ever been to Meramec Caverns? ;) )) The second is a closely guarded secret of the caretakers, it passes through the (web-lined)
chambers above the cavern they claim as their home, directly into the ceiling of the Court. Thus, it isn't very accessible to the common public,
and the spiders happen to like it that way. Eating the ones who can fly up there takes enough of their time as it is.. ;)
And Finally, the Third name: The Spider Inn. This is the lifeblood of WorldCourt, the hub at which all the action happens. It is a large
complex, lots and lots of rooms to hold the many travelers who may be there at once. It is built directly above the Court itself, and therefore can
take advantage of its power to form the protective wards. Within the interior of the inn, any weapon used in anger immediately becomes stuck in
the air, and any harmful magic goes off with as much force as a packet of pop rocks. This is a convenient way to keep the peace, and save repair
costs for the owners.
The inn was built and is run by a number of partners... The Spider, Lenny, is one. He was responsible for the idea and the design, and now
operates as the bouncer/security for it. The barkeep and innkeeper (we have his name, but I've forgotten it, will ask Lin to remind me) along with
his family helps keep it running. His two daughters, Rose and Lynne, are the barmaids. The Spider's friend, a certain gecko, was responsible for
decorating the interior, and now works to maintain the building.
The Sea Kingdom of Serylia. (Back Up)
This is the most peaceful kingdom. It has no intention of going to war with anyone, and nobody has any intention
of going to war with it, because it has the monopoly on ocean trading. Serylia controls the seas, plain and simple. Every nation besides
Mishraedel depends on Serylian ships for most of its trade, and does not wish to risk losing it by doing something stupid. More on
Mishraedel later.
The people of Serylia worship the goddess of the waters, and rally under the banner of the lord of the storms when needed. Their servitude is
unquestioning, they depend upon their goddess to provide them with the bounty of the seas...to turn against her would be inviting certain ruin.
The priestesses are powerful in manipulating the weather and the elements of air and water, Fire and earth are their weakest abilities, but are by no
means a handicap.
The Frozen Kingdom of Knordack. (Back Up)
Knordack is seperated from Fhaerlyn by a chain of mountains known as something...I'll call them the eagle's crest
range for now. (if anyone has a better name...) An evergreen forest picks up at the northern base, makes its way over the top, and well into Knordack
itself. (that's the dark green on the map. But I'm sure you already got
that. ;) )
Thinking about weather patterns and seasons for a moment: Knordack is covered in snow nine months out of the year. However, when it is not, the
beauty of its mountains and valleys easily rivals Fhaerlyn.
Knordack has taken to farming a number of special crops that can withstand its extreme temperatures, and it supports a fair population. Its is second
largest, around 60% of Fhaerlyn.
The Knordacks tend to be a little more rugged in nature than their warm-weather counterparts to the north. I have in mind that they are more
like the Scottish, if the Fhaerlyn folk are the British.
I think the actual land area of Knordack is greater than that of Fhaerlyn, but much of it is made up of mountains and thick evergreen forests. For
this reason, the export of timber is the greatest part of their economy, every kingdom except
Mishraedel depends quite a lot on Knordack for their wood, none more than
Serylia, for its massive fleets of ships. (more on Mishraedel later.)
Mining is also a basis of the Knordack economy. Gemstones, gold, sulfur, ore, etc.. all are to be found within Knordack, if you did far enough
through the snow.
The actual Eagle's Crest mountains themselves are a terrible place. Traversing them is all but impossible in the middle of the Knordack winter,
and living in them, but for a few hidden valleys, is out of the question. Or so one would think. Due to their incredible sharpness and
inhospitality, it does make a wonderful hideout for someone who manages to find a pocket of good weather among the spires. There are rumors of small
city-states existing among them as well, but they have not yet been confirmed.
Many ports and cities lie on the eastern edge of Knordack, though very few of them remain open throughout the entire year due to the ice that covers
the bays.
Knordack holds no love for Fhaerlyn, often they feel looked down upon as simple. A favorite sport among them is joking about the various ways to
cause a soft farmer of Fhaerlyn to pee in his jockeys out of fright...but the jokes are never worth the month it can take to travel the mountains,
just to carry it out.
The mountains act as a deterrent in this way...Either kingdom would love to own the riches of the other, but knows that the eagle's crest mountains
dividing a unified kingdom would be too much of a nuisance, and a breakdown would eventually occur to set things back exactly the way they
are now. So they tolerate each other, barely, make jokes at each others expense, and sometimes teeter at the edge of war, though everyone knows
that if the end of the world were to come, they would fight at each other's backs like brothers. Maybe.
The Marsh Kingdom of Glorap.(Back Up)
How does one describe Glorap? Glorap is an interesting place. It has the oldest history of any of the kingdoms, for it used to be the center of an
ancient empire before the cataclysm destroyed it and caused the ground to fall. As it lies now, Glorap is in the lowlands, and tends to collect a lot
of water from the two mountain ranges bordering it. (I don't know what is on the west side...that is up for discussion.)
Don't get a totally terrible picture in your head, however...there are spots within Glorap that are quite beautiful. Just...not many of them. ;) There
are also a great number of ruined cities around, half sunk into one marsh or another.. Most of these have been claimed as campgrounds or meeting places for
various cults.
--which, on a side note, reminds me that I forgot to discuss the religion of
Knordack. The Knordish do not have a religion that is a part of the state, like in
Fhaerlyn. Near the large cities you will find a common religion, one that worships the same
deity as that of Fhaerlyn. (but they worship better than those soft-skinned Fhaerlyns
any day!). However, when you look further out, into the frozen wastes, most Knordacks seem a bit atheistic, relying on
themselves to get them through the bad cards the weather seems often to deal them.--
Back to Glorap. There is a capital of Glorap.. I'm sure of it. Which city it is is another story entirely, for it seems to an outsider that Glorap lacks
any cohesion other than they all live in the same swamp. (its not that bad, really.) Glorap is a whole collection of city-states that co-exist because
neither has anything any of the others want. Usually. Sometimes, one city will get
a hold of something that another city wants, and then small wars break out.
To outsiders, it often seems as if nothing is accomplished by these wars, and as if they are merely a form of sport.
Glorap is a very strange place, both in animal and vegetation. You will find odd things here that you will never find anywhere else in the world, which is,
oddly enough, the chief product of the Glorapean economy: Odd stuff. Wizards, sorcerers, witches and collectors love the stuff. Nothing makes a
truly terrific potion for curing arthritis than a petal from a Glorapean
kujt-flower.
Many of said witches and sorcerers (and necromancers too) like to live in Glorap for this very reason, and tend to migrate toward whatever city-state
supports their needs best. This means that each city-state usually ends up with a high concentration of one type of character...which usually leads to a
like-minded city-state...which in turn leads to small wars with other city-states that don't see things the same way as you do.
So, for various reasons, Glorap has never been threatened by another kingdom. The largest of which is the fact that it isn't very pretty for the most part,
and the smell isn't that great either. But, not apart from that is the abnormally high concentration of magic users who tend to flatten any advancing
armies before they can get a shot off.
There are three port cities on the south-west edge of the great inland lake that are held by Glorap, through which it does a large amount of its trade
(through Serylian shipping, of course) with the rest of the kingdoms. Except Mishraedel. (more on them later. *evil laugh*)
There is no common religion in Glorap...there are too many to count, depending on which city-state you happen to be in at the time. There are roads to
travel by, but it is also a good idea to take along a boat, you never know when the road might end up leading you right into the middle of a deep swamp.
The Desert Kingdom of Mishraedel. (Back Up)
This is not a land to take a vacation in, I'll tell you that right now. The dragon's spine mountains are fully as nasty as the eagle's crest range, but rather than holding in all the precipitation (like the eagle's crest mts.), the dragon's spine instead holds it all out. The annual rainfall can be counted in the number of tears someone cries when they find out they DID book a vacation here.
Nobody likes Mishraedel, but this is not a bad thing, because this is exactly how Mishraedels like it. A people who are loner's by nature, they have few major cities, save the capitol, and generally move from place to place in large camps. Their aptly named tent-cities move so much that they can be set up fully in one evening, and then inexplicably not be there anymore when
the sun comes up in the morning. (hence the saying: "a Mishraedel's tent goes up and down faster than an umbrella." However, this saying isn't very widely used, because, as we all know, umbrellas haven't been invented yet…so you just get a lot of blank stares if you try this saying at a Fhaerlyn party.
(another saying when describing a Mishraedel tent-city is: "What's the point?" This saying is much more popular, because everybody is hoping you know the answer. Which of course, you don't.)
Ahem…anyway.
Mishraedel's native population is made up of leathery, grey-skinned humanoids, with hot golden eyes. Their bodies are thin and wirey..quite frightening looking if you happen to see one naked.
It is interesting to note that the size of a Mishraedel's eyes falls into one of two categories. Most you see during the day have very beady, intense eyes, allowing them to exist easily in the bright sunlight, but there are others
who have rather large eyes, allowing them to see wonderfully in the dark, yet does not allow them out in the blinding light of the day. The many who have eyes sized in the middle usually adopt a variety of protective eyewear or
headgear to allow them to endure the bright daylight. So, in effect, there are almost two races of the same species, one that lives at night, and one at day.
(this of course leads to much fighting, the night creatures often preying on the camps of the day creatures, and the day creatures taking perverse pleasure whenever they happen to find the burrow of a large-eyed night creature, and can take advantage of his blindness in daylight.
However, it also leads to great alliances in time of battle, for an army made up of half night and half day
Mishraedels can carry on the battle around the clock without any handicap whatsoever.)
Mishraedels are quite strong for their size, and not to be taken lightly, even when unarmed. The tips of their fingers are razor sharp, and their wirey bodies can take an enourmous amount of damage before one with cease in its attack.
On top of this, it seems that the entire population has some form or another of innate magic, usually used in trickery and illusion during battle. Though most of it is of little power compared to the sorcerers of the other kingdoms, the Mishraedel are quite good in the manipulation of their power, and you may find the occasional cultist leader who can stand toe to toe with anything the other kingdoms can throw at him/her. (it is quite difficult, by the way, to tell a male of this species from a female. My advice is don't bother, just stab.)
There is a religion in Mishraedel, but not of the friendly kind. Most of it stems around worshiping demonic powers, and crafting enchantments to aid them in their futile battles with each other and the other kingdoms.
The Mishraedel are a constant thorn to each of the other kingdoms, save perhaps the Knordack, who are glad of the distance seperating them.
Tribes of the Mishraedel constantly attack across the border of Glorap, and are eventually repelled. So too do they make their way down into Fhaerlyn, even troubling WorldCourt now and again.
Serylia is constantly defending their ships against Mishraedel pirates. Mishraedel are quite intelligent when they want to be, and have captured and converted a good number of Serylian ships for their own use.
The one thing that saves the other kingdoms from full scale war is the basic foundation of the Mishraedel culture. They can never agree on anything to a large extent for any period of time. It will always be many wandering tribes, and never a unified whole.
The sixth kingdom is that of the dragons. It has a name, but man can't pronounce it, and I certainly can't spell it on this keyboard, for it is in the language of the
dragonkind.
The kingdom of dragons is located between Fhaerlyn and Mishraedel, deep beneath the Dragon's Spine mountains. I don't have much to say about it, because, unlike the rest of the kingdoms, I have never been there, so I'm going entirely off of rumors and the like.
Entrances to the underground kingdom are inaccessible to anyone without wings, for they lie hidden within the craggy face of Dragon Cliffs. (I'm not sure how they got their name). From what I am told, tunnels run downward into the very bowels of the earth where it is quite wonderfully warm, and well suited to the majority of dragon's taste for ambient temperature. Inside the dragon city, you will find piles of gold and gemstones, as well as a large number of enchanted weapons that have been taken off a large number of failed dragonslayers. There is a king of dragons, of course, though I think his name is kept secret..nobody outside of dragonkind knows it.
The dragons keep pretty much to themselves, though there are the ones who like to terrorize the populace of the kingdoms. There are other dragons that
the ones who live here, as well. But this is where they go when they want to celebrate New Years.