[center][h3][b][u]House Soneillon of the Island of Will, Rulers of Caerulmoste[/u][/b][/h3]
[img]http://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/da464d77-0416-4400-a2e5-501a0bec7031.png[/img]

[quote=House Motto][i]Parity in all things.[/i][/quote][/center]

[b][u]The Region of Calrumoste[/u][/b]
[hider=Geography]The land of Caerulmoste is a vast drainage basin in the landscape, with most of the terrain residing below sea-level. A series of estuaries and tidal marshes separate the basin proper from the ocean and as such all rivers, streams, and lakes in Caerulmoste consist of brackish water. A number of large, prominent bogs dotting the land segregate channels of flowing water from the ocean and bordering lands, rimmed by sinkhole formations and the presence of carsus topography. Water collects in a large body of water, lake Tunis, near the border that then drains into a cavern system. The cavern system, referred to as the Mottem Expanse, features a subterranean saltwater river that runs for hundreds of kilometers beneath the mainland.

Due to the widespread presence of aquifers and unstable peat-laden terrain every village, town, and city is built wherever there happens to be naturally occurring layers of non-soluble rock. A large number of settlements are exclusively built onto the sides of shallow cliffs; others are built in long, jagged lines; others still are arranged in chaotic starburst formations. Due to the limited number of these solid rock formations, no new settlements have been made in hundreds years and nearly each existing settlement has been present since before the formation of the kingdom, and even the old empire itself. 

The wildlife of Caerulmoste is heavily adapted to the high-salinity marine environment. There exists almost no woodland, with herbaceous plants dominating the landscapes and the sprawling interior bogs. Countless amphibian and reptile species thrive therein, with a smaller number of grazing mammals, and a tremendous number of bird species. The saltwater crocodile is Caerulmoste's apex predator, followed closely by the inexplicably malign dire turtle. 

The gross abundance of peat makes Caerulmoste one of the most fertile regions on the continent, as well as one of the largest producers of fuel. The widespread presence of aquifers and and the high groundwater content makes mining ventures extremely hazardous, and so the region produces little in the way of ores and metals. Similarly, while the region has incredibly high biodiversity there is a dearth of woodland, limiting the sources of lumber.

Due how specifically adapted most of the wildlife in Caerulmoste is to the high-salinity marine environment, most species including plantlife cannot flourish outside of Caerulmoste - nor can many species from outside the region survive within. The foremost consequence of the fact is that the region acts as a quarantine zone for outbreaks of plague - that which ravages the rest of the continent tends not to make it past the boundaries of Caerulmoste, since vector wildlife usually cannot enter the region. Vice-versa, plagues that break out within Caerulmoste tend not to spread beyond its own boundaries (disregarding the human factor in both cases).

Caerulmoste is periodically afflicted with seasonal hurricanes as well as the occasional tsunami. Rather than viewing these as disasters, the local populace have been harnessing both natural forces to their own benefit. Most crops are specifically grown at specific elevations so as to benefit from silt deposited by rising tides while still remaining just high enough to survive being waterlogged. Similarly, every settlement is built upon rock formations that segregate the flow of running water within the drainage basin (as previously described) and so tend not to be affected by the surging water levels despite existing below sea-level, as all flowing water in channeled to the lowest point of the drainage basin at Lake Tunis.

Other than the settlements, Carulmoste is noteworthy for its sophisticated system of canals. Originally made to assist with irrigation prior the the unification of Ardacia by Ardall the Conqueror, many of these canals were retrofitted in order to host water locks that could be used to relocate ships from the sea and through the many rivers of Caerulmoste to eventually reach the Mottem Expanse, and vice-versa. 

A land that has remained unchanged for millenia, Caerulmoste has been thoroughly mapped for centuries with no appreciable changes in topography. Its population has neither appreciably shrunk nor grown, and business and chaos both proceed apace at a regular schedule. While some would call the land and its inhabitants stagnant, others would prefer to call it stable.[/hider][hider=Indigenous Populace & Culture][u][b]Demonyms:[/b][/u] Caerulmostes (formal), [i]Bogken[/i] (common slang), [i]Halfwits[/i] (derogatory slur), [i]Saldered[/i] (archaic derogatory slur now considered informal address).
[b][u]Languages:[/u][/b] Damptongue (native), Common, Halfwit (creole of Damptongue and Common).
[b][u]Currency:[/u][/b] No official currency or mint (Freely mixes and uses currencies from neighboring regions).[hider=The People]The natives of Caerulmoste are a common people, not wholly different from those of the surrounding regions. The only peculiar trait common to them is the decreased sensitivity of their eyes and membranes to contact with saltwater, which allows them to see when diving in brackish waters without need for prolonged adjustment. This trait is recessive, only appearing infrequently in those with mixed parentage.[/hider][hider=Languages]With Caerulmoste being both desolate and its settlements solitary, the primary language is a ancient one known as 'Damptongue,' spoken by the bog-nomads of old and having survived to the present-day within the general populace. For the purposes of communicating with foreigners, a crude creole derogatorily referred to as 'Halfwit' by other peoples exists, which is largely a heavily simplified version of Common with altered grammatical rules wherein nouns, verbs, adjectives, and pronouns are freely mixed into single words or phrases. True Common is spoken by few, most of them being attaches to the royal family in some fashion.[/hider][hider=Structures and Architecture]Wholesale lumber is excruciatingly rare in Caerulmoste, and beyond trade and importation most of the natives are forced to make-do. Many homes are wrought from structures of [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe]reed and thatch covering and laced through dried clay and mud[/url], all of which are plentiful. A smaller number of structures are wrought from piled stones held together by mortar, while even fewer still are made or else carved into cliff-sides and natural caverns. Subterranean homesteads are also common, though are often susceptible to leakage and flooding and so are widely treated as temporary environs. Most dwellings are made personally and by hand wherever there is available solid ground, or else preexisting available dwellings are renovated (more of the latter since the last scant centimeters of available bedrock ran out centuries ago).[/hider][hider=Lifestyle]By and large, Caerulmoste culture is agricultural in nature. Peasants labor in fields, trap animals, fish, boil and purify water, and gather and process herbs. Most rendered goods consist of animal byproducts such as fur, leather, and tallow, followed by herbal remedies and pharmaceuticals. Raising livestock is generally unfeasible due to the large number of extremely aggressive predators including several species of massive birds of prey that either roam across or else dwell within the bogs that might otherwise be used for livestock. By and large, the populace is only a few steps ahead of basic subsistence living. People generally harvest and hunt enough food to live (most of the time), use barter and trade in most exchanges, with taxes largely being payed in foreign currencies or else by property, usual in the form of harvested foodstuffs.

The number of byproducts produced through agricultural pursuits is broad but ultimately limited, and as such a large number of trade guilds exist centered wholly around the commercial aspects of a single substance. Most individuals are members of multiple guilds - a hunter by way of example is typically a member of the Meat, Fur, Leather, and Tallow Guilds, usually headed by auditors under the authority of the Royal Family. These guilds serve to determine supply and demand, ascertain and predict shortages and gluts, and to organize shipment and material logistics so as to maximize profit and efficiency. Most individuals trade products relevant to their trade in exchange for a promised percentage or take of the eventual sale, usually made between dedicated Guild representatives with other Guilds or else with foreign agents.

Because of the organization of the Guild system, embezzlement is nearly universal and also the primary cause of popular revolts - which crop up every other year or so and usually end with public lynchings, burnings, hangings, stonings, and the occasional live burial or exposure of prominent Guild members. While the Royal Family is nominally complicit in all illegal seizures (it is hard to lie to royal auditors unless they are properly incentivized to be gullible), they keep tabs on most of their business partners and toss them to the proverbial wolves on a staggered bi-annual cycle across each major settlement - often involving Priests of Eirtu, Questors, and Auditors in as dramatic as fashion a possible. As such, the Soneillons are immensely popular with the common man, seen as keen and ever-watchful sentinels looking out for the welfare of their peoples.

The average working family structure in Caerulmoste consists of two to three adults, occasionally married and also occasionally with either two husbands and/or wives (nobody is perfect). Most families are expected to have between six to eight children, half of whom do not live past infancy. The biggest cause of infant mortality is exposure - every member of a family, including the women, typically works from sunrise to sunset, leaving little time to care for one squalling child - let alone two or three. The second greatest cause of infant mortality is stillbirth, of which there are an abnormally high amount of in Caerulmoste specifically - even in the case of pregnancies with no significant complications (a problem which extends even to the royal family). Foreigners widely rumor that this is due to various curses or disfavor with the gods, though there is no substantiation one way or another. The third greatest cause of infant mortality is plague. Medicine in Caerulmoste is both commonplace and cheap due to its widespread manufacture, but when Balefever and Shineback roll through there is little that can save even a giant, let alone a child. After infancy however, the greatest cause of mortality becomes tied between homicide and being eaten by indigenous wildlife - with frequencies much lower than the mortality rate for infants.

Most individuals with their own homes own multiple sets of clothing, including clothing made for specific seasons. Most clothes are either handmade or else exchanged through barter, and clothing in general - included furred and heavy leather clothing - is cheap relative to what is sold in neighboring provinces. It is not uncommon for an individual to have clothes for every other day of the week (though it is not necessarily commonplace). The common garb is made of thin linen, necessary for quicker drying in the wet environs of bogs and wetlands. Heavy leather and occasionally even boiled leather are worn in heavier garments used by hunters and people working within areas with more wildlife in order to provide additional protection from aggressive predators. Furs are generally worn as formalwear for special occasions or else during free time, viewed as somewhat unnecessary as it takes longer to dry once soaked and provides little in the way of defense - though it is admittedly soft and luxurious. 

The use of animal bones as ornamentation is commonplace, as it is generally thought that rattling bones serve as a warning to predators - a theory taking inspiration from species of rattlesnakes native to the region. The posting and mounting of specific sets of bones is also used to denote profession and social status; Guild Representatives can be expected to decorate their doors with Owl skulls, hunters with Snake skulls, Physicians with Goat skulls, etcetera. Similar decoration via the use of personal items such as necklaces and rings are also used in order to indicate trade and status.

While more refined arts such as portraiture and music are rare in Caerulmoste, sculpting is commonplace and engaged in as a hobby by a significant portion of the populace taking advantage of the bountiful supply of clay present in the region. Few individuals make a full living from sculpting, though some gain patronage from foreigners while a fortunate few land a position in the small Sculptor's guild - which can only have so many members at a time due to decreased demand. However, ornamentation in the form of clay or mud statues seen on lawns or within dwellings is commonplace. Caerulmoste also used to be famous for its ornate and rich rugs and tapestries, but once it caught on how valuable they could be nearly everybody and their cousin began making their own to sell to foreigners. Nowadays, Caerulmoste carpets and rugs can be seen, sold on nearly every market street-corner throughout Ardacia - each one of questionable quality and even more questionable prices. The artform has become so omnipresent that no artisan in Caerulmoste regards it as a serious profession, and so no rugs or tapestries of any worthwhile merit are made anymore. Original pieces from the so-called Antiquary Period, numbering in the thousands but still relatively few and far between in addition to being masterfully crafted, can practically be bought and sold for a Prince's ransom.

Due to the frequency of Grand Storms and the occasional flood or tsunami, the populace at large is accustomed to dealing with fluctuating water levels, even taking advantage of it in multiple ways. In some areas, the terrain has been sculpted over the course of centuries into ordered tiers in order to take advantage of floods and the silt deposits they bring with them. The most troubling disaster the populace encounters are strong tornadoes that can plague the large, flat expanse of bogs.

As reflected in the habit of exposing superfluous newborn children, Caerulmoste actually suffers from a shortage of livable space - despite having some of the most open-space clearings in Ardacia. Settlements can only safely be built upon solid and firm foundations in the form of non-soluable rock formations, nearly all of which were fully occupied centuries ago. Occasional vertical renovations of preexisting structures only take the populace so far, and as the years go on there are more and more listless individuals who are homeless due to an absence of stable land or empty dwellings to acquire. These individuals often travel to foreign lands in search of fortune, though their tales are often sad ones.[/hider][hider=Religion]Caerulmoste as a region, and the Soneillons as a family, have both had frequent if light spats of trouble with the Church of Eirtu - predominantly in the form of harboring heretics in the form of the Astronomers of Laevo Lighthouse, and being a staging ground for dangerous criminals in the form of rogue Questors and Mottem Madmen. The common people are generally distrustful of foreigners and missionaries in particular, as they have little in the way of property or material wealth to provide as tithes and tribute that they do not already pay in taxes - and Missionaries are very rarely satisfied with grains or other foodstuffs. 

Despite this distrust, the natives of Caerulmoste readily accept church doctrine as fact, much in the manner one typically acknowledges that the sky is blue - obvious, but nonessential to daily life. On occasion native Caerulmostes have been known to mount manhunts for sorcerers and heretics at the behest of the Church, though an unusually high number of both also tend to be particular members of merchant guilds guilty of embezzlement. The various merchant guilds and by extension the royal family both pay a handsome if not exorbitant tithe to the Church of Eirtu, predominantly consisting of foreign currencies.

The greatest point of tension between Caerulmoste and the Church of Eirtu would be the former's harboring of the astronomers of Laevo Lighthouse, whose very studies and alleged scientific discoveries contradict church doctrine in addition to being inherently blasphemous. The royal family acknowledges the inherently heretical nature of the Astronomers' order, but insist that they be permitted to operate at a base degree if only because [i]they are better at predicting the occurrence of ocean storms and floods than the Church is[/i]. The royal family permits the church of Eirtu to freely audit the Astronomer's Guild at-will, and also allows for the occasional purge - with the understanding that not [i]all[/i] of the Astronomers will be murdered and that not [i]all[/i] of their texts will be burnt, and that if a certain line is crossed that [i]there is going to be a problem[/i].[/hider][hider=Questor Order Secular]Due to the absence of 'true' nobility, combined with a grave lack of of most metals including iron, there exists no orders or companies of Knights. Instead, the Royal Family maintains the Questor Order Secular. Based in common-houses, orphans are taken in - usually those exposed near birth - and are raised and trained in a the manner of a Knight, with several critical distinctions. Firstly, a Questor is neither trained with nor provided with any form of armor, typically only given a single armament and not provided with a squire nor any other servants. Secondly, Questors are not considered nobility nor directly attached to the royal family, despite being funded by them. Thirdly, Questors are educated more in practical affairs as opposed to etiquette and history. A Questor might train for their entire childhood, be assigned to the local garrison or militia to act as a guardsman for several years, and then graduate to a Questor proper - the whole time, accumulating knowledge and practical experience in regards to the lives of other people and the affairs of a busy town or city. Questors are typically some of the best sword, spear, and axemen in Ardacia, and are experts in the seedy and shady underworld and inner workings of most urban communities. 

Questors, upon graduation, are usually sent out in trios to venture the land and vanquish evil and trouble wherever they may find it - often in the form of corrupt Guild Members, at the behest of the royal family. However, they also slay foul beasts, chase down and apprehend dangerous criminals and heretics, investigate peculiar events, and generally doing anything dangerous that needs doing. Moreover than simply doing this within the confines of Caerulmoste, Questor trios frequently leave the region to look for trouble elsewhere. 

Questors' subsist on a regular stipend supplied by the royal family (who can afford to be generous when they do not pay for plate armor and squires), who maintain a number of small outposts in every region that will permit as much where Questors may gather and collect wages. Naturally, as Questors tend to be overly family with the criminal underworld, and since they are only taught to be virtuous with so much rigor in conjunction with their generally dangerous lifestyles, a small number of Questors turn to crime. Questors-turned-brigands and highwaymen are an unfortunately reality in some regions. Of course, one cannot lead a double-life for long, and the royal family maintains handsome bounties on rogue Questors - who are typically hunted by their own kind.

Depending on the region, Questors are either reviled or held in the highest esteem possible. While an unfortunate few descend to become criminal scum, there are others such as the Legendary Questors Forthright Mannet, Fatebreaker Poe, and Graceful An, who have ascended to become folk heroes for their many valorous deeds.

The Questor Order Secular has common-houses in nearly every settlement in Caerulmoste, but their largest barracks and assembly dwells in the city of Perierat. While most Questors typically attend the academy at Perierat for a year or two, most will identify themselves as hailing from the settlement where they worked their first live militia shift. Questors claiming to hail from Iugulum tend to be treated with great suspicion due to its status as a den for the Mottem Madmen, who have swayed many Questors before. Questors hailing from the village of Vae, by contrast, are usually received with some measure of awe - as they tend to be tough as nails, quick-witted, and in contention for some of the most skilled warriors in the world.

The Questors typically receive one of three traditional weapons upon induction into the order - the geyser sword, the flensing spear, and the carving axe. All cast of solid wrought iron, the weapons are cheaply made, significantly heavier than other armaments, and possessing of unusual shapes making them difficult to use without extensive training - and all renown for their effectiveness against large, armored opponents (the intention being their capability to slay dire turtles - with hostile armored brigands being a bonus). Though these are the only weapons Questors are given and formally trained with, they are free to obtain weapons of their own choosing and to train with them - which many notable Questors have done. Questors are also free to wear armor and acquire the trappings expected of conventional knights - though they are expected to pay their own way in all regards.

Due to their training and the difficulty Questors have in acquiring new and expensive equipment, most choose to rely solely upon their extensive training and skill to see them through their struggles. The martial ability of the Questors is known as An'Casra, or the Way of Scales - emphasizing deflection, evasion, and the exploitation of an opponent's mass and leverage. They wield their unusual weapons as though they were lighter than dining utensils, and even fully armored knights might give pause when facing one on foot, let alone a trio of them.

The greatest failing of the Questors is their lack of any ranged weaponry and training with them, beyond what a scant handful of them have privately acquired over the years. Nearly every experienced fighter and scofflaw in the land knows that the easiest way to deal with an annoying Questor is to use a crossbow - or even a normal shortbow in a pinch. Even the fastest Questor in Ardacia cannot dodge an arrow or bolt fired from close range.[/hider][hider=Mottem Madmen]Mottem Madmen are not natives of Caerulmoste [i]per-se[/i], and many of them do not live in or have ever even been to Caerulmoste - but many of them are, do, and have. The Mottem Madmen are the brigands of the Mottem Expanse, gliding blindly across subterranean saltwater causeways in oreboats to harass mercantile and civilian traffic. They will also occasionally visit the surface via undiscovered cavern entrances, raiding and skirmishing whenever they feel they can get away with it. Traditionally opposed by the Questor Order Secular, though they by no means have a monopoly on hunting the scum down.

The Mottem Madmen have no true hierarchy or organization, but it is common knowledge that they own an undiscovered stronghold somewhere in the vicinity of Iugulum. Rumors speculate that the stronghold might just be a simple outpost to them, while the wilder ones state that it is as big as a city and is ruled by a Mad Pirate Lord. While dealing with them is never a pleasant affair, the strict customs and inspections at Iugulum and the Carulmoste Canals make dealing with them the only viable way of shipping and moving illicit cargo between the sea and the Mottem Expanse, as well as the surface.

Living and sailing in the darkness tends to leave them faintly unsettled - most of them will still accept 'protection' fees and can be bargained with, but suffer from chronic lapses in judgment - and loss of temper. Many who choose to sail through the expanse ensure that their affairs are in order before doing so.

While a dangerous lot, there are only so many of them - and their mortality rate is rather high, such that encountering them is rather rare even in the deepest reaches of the Mottem Expanse, making them more of a nuisance than a true threat.[/hider][/hider][hider=Notable Settlements][hider=The Island of Will]Situated in the center of a deep estuary directly bordering the sea, the Island of Will is an artificial island built up over the course of centuries, begun as a project by Ardall the Conquerer and continued even after they were overthrown. The island's dimensions are small, forcing extensive use of vertical architecture both above and below. The shores of the island are made up of millions of natural rocks as well as bricks, sealed over with multiple layers of caulk adhered to netting - the interior of the island is thus spongiform. Seawater still seeps underneath the foundations through sand, filling the lower portions of the interior during the rising tide and floods. For additional support, several anchoring foundry towers were built in a grid, which provided the basis for the city's subterranean network and towers.

The island proper consists of little more than walls surrounding a central citadel and barracks, with the royal palace itself occupying the upper floors of the keep. A vast subterranean complex and network of tunnels houses the various servants and laborers, who amongst their regular duties are forced to maintain the submerged chambers in order to ensure their own safety.

The waters of the estuary are deep relative to others of its kind but are still too shallow for proper ships to sail through, requiring smaller sailboats to reach from land. A series of docks, some of the longest in the continent, run a distance out from the island and into the ocean proper where a harbor for proper ships exists. 

The island is considered conventionally unassailable - the waterlogged terrain of the nearest shore is both too unstable for siege catapults, and too distant from the Island's walls for reliable hits. A vast line of chains, linked between watchtowers built up from the surface of the estuary, surrounds most of the island and prevents unauthorized approach by oreboat. The docks have a system of drawbridges and chokepoints, and collapsible sections that can entirely deter an army landing by boat from approaching the island proper.

...All of which is considerably pointless given that the Island could be hypothetically sieged with ease and that it is not large enough to serve as a tactically significant settlement, being incapable of hosting a large number of soldiers. It is thought that Ardall the Conquerer intended to hide his heirs away on the Island in order to protect them under strict supervision, but with his fall and the rule of the Soneillons it is used primarily to safeguard financial records and documents. While the Soneillons do treat the Island as their personal family residence, not even the Kings or Queens have deigned to spend significant amounts of time there. The Island of Will is essentially a massive vault safeguarding Caerulmoste's economy and foreign trade.[/hider][hider=Point Laevo]A cliffside city overlooking the sea, Point Laevo is home to the only true port in all of Caerulmoste. Boasting a number of mechanized lifts between the clifftop and the harbor, Point Laevo is easily one of the most crowded and busy settlements in the entire region. 

During the reign of Ardall the Conquerer, he commissioned the rennovation of an ancient church to the forgotten and defuct god Khammek, adding a lighthouse atop it in order to help guide ships through the treacherous estuaries and into canals where they could eventually be guided to the Mottem Expanse, and vice-versa. Due to the frequent complication of ocean storms and floods, Ardall also had an observatory constructed atop the lighthouse in the hopes that learned scholars could study the tides and the sky in order to find a way to predict the frequencies and patterns of such disasters. Ardall's hopes were rewarded in this regard, and the city that would become known as Point Laevo sprung up around the converted temple. These days the Lighthouse's base, still appearing as a church, is host to a small university of the sciences where mathematics, medicine, history, and astronomy are taught. 

The city as a whole was built over time in order to redirect light, as the Laevo Astronomers quickly discovered that light saturation from both the settlement and the lighthouse itself made it unduely difficult to observe the movements of the stars. The buildings are arranged in a series of overhangs, archways, porticos, and other sheltered structures - and where the ground cannot truly be covered by buldings, large drapes, hangings, and even tents are erected. The city is often described as being claustrophobic, due to just how little of it is actually exposed to the sky. 

Although most commericial traffic makes uses of the mechanized lifts that go up and down the cliffside between the settlement and harbor, the city is famous for its giant spiral staircase, painstakingly carved within the cliff interior all the way down to a sea cavern at its base. The staircase has two smoothed causeways to the side, wide enough to roll heavy cargo up and down via the use of log rollers if necessary. At the bottom of the staircase is the harbor office, as well as an interior courtyard that hosts a shrine to the moon gods adjacent to a deep tidal pool. Many rumors and tales abound of a secret underwater passage within the tidal pool, though many children and fools alike have dived in only to return to the surface disappointed.

Laevo Lighthouse itself possesses a conical lantern-hood across its top, in order to reduce light from the lighthouse beacom from spilling upwards where it might hinder the Astronomers of the observatory built into the top of the tower. The Observatory and the upper sections of the tower are considered to belong wholly to the Guild of Astronomy, and so all scholars wishing to learn Astronomy are segregated therein specifically - a habit formed primarily to reduce the number of incidental casualties during raids by officials from the Church of Eirtu. The Observatory itself is host to all manner of curious mechanisms, and the worst kept secret in the city is the number of Heretical Tomes describing the 'true' nature of the moons present therein. The Lighthouse serves its original function of aiding ships sailing around the estuaries of Caerulmoste, assisting them in safely finding the entryways to coastal canals granting access to the winding river-ways eventually leading to Lake Tunis.

Point Laevo is a center of higher learning within Caerulmoste. Many young people flock here in order to study mathematics, medicine, and history - and it shows in that a significant number of Royal Auditors were trained at Laevo Lighthouse. Although not the largest or most impressive university in Ardacia, it is nonetheless a respected institution...or at least would be if a quarter of its faculty and students were not semi-regularly subjected to inquiries and accusations of heresy.[/hider][hider=Iugulum]Iugulum is a city built on the shores of Lake Tunis, partially built above ground with a section built within the Mottem Expanse. Serving as the biggest hub port of trade for the subterranean network, all boats and land shipments have to go through Iugulum if they want to reach the sea or head into the dark. A thorough and meticulous staff of Auditors and Questors inhabits Iugulum, ever-watchful for Mottem Madmen and smugglers.

Most of the city is above-ground, built along the exterior shore of Lake Tunis with its back to the mountain range the drainage basin empties into. A series of watchtowers built up from the lake bottom with chains linked between them bar passage to those unwilling to submit to port inspections, while an impressive fortification blocks the only land route into the interior shores of the Expanse. Ringing Lake Tunis at every river-head is an artificial canal, each leading to winding river-ways eventually heading out to sea - and more Auditors keen to ply their trade. Via this single bottle-neck between the Expanse and the Ocean, Caerulmoste holds a partial monopoly on all trade dependent upon the Expanse.

The interior section of the city is significantly smaller and less-populated than the exterior, containing several shipping warehouses, its own port, a number of inns and a small market plus residential district. An air of unease pervades the place, and always are the militia and Questors stationed there on the lookout for the flickering wisp-lanterns of Expanse Madmen who might come by river or through the twisting caverns connecting to the shoreline.

Rumors tell of a stronghold occupied by the Mottem Madmen that is relatively near to Iugulum, perhaps down some twisting unexplored passage or another that has yet to be charted - though others whisper that the stronghold is a series of secret chambers below the city, while the most obsessed claim that the city itself harbors the fiends.

Whatever the truth, there are always shady figures with emptied eyes around the city and Lake Tunis, willing to arrange deals to cirvumvent the obscene inspections and audits - shifting illicit cargo overland to avoid the canals or else hauling it underwater, attached to the underside of oar-boats in order to fool inspectors. While dangerous and risky, their methods are some of the only reliable means of moving illegal goods through Iugulum.

The city itself is a cultural stew-pot relative to the rest of the region, containing a bit of culture and peoples from the surrounding regions and those connected to the city by the Expanse trade route.[/hider][hider=Perierat]The city of Perierat is the oldest settlement in Caerulmoste, hosting the largest populace and serving as the home to the largest commom-house and barracks for Questors in the region. Three centuries ago, the region-wide issue of exposing children began to escalate out of control. With the Church of Eirtur breathing down their necks and half the native population starting to riot in protest against those who were abandoning their children in the streets, the Soneillons set out to fix the problem by establishing the equivalent of a foster-care system. Taking note that the chances of adoption even from outside of Caerulmoste were slim to none and that the region would not be able to properly sustain generational influxes of unskilled, untrained adolescents, the ever-practical royal family devised a plan to turn the surge of abandoned children to their use: They began a system to indoctrinate abandoned children into the ranks of a military order equivalent to that of Knights, something which the Soneillon family had been lacking since their ascendancy. Lacking the proper funds to truly train and equip such a large number of individuals with armor, weapons, and the trappings of nobility, the Soneillons opted to mold their child soldiers into low-maintenance warriors. While the original intention was to turn the young fighters into common cannon fodder, it was decided that the best had to be made out of their care given that each abandoned child would necessarily be spending the rest of their lives in service to Caerulmoste. Thus, the Questor Order Secular was born - the company of elite warriors, unarmored and unsophisticated - but perfect for policing urban and rural areas, tracking down common criminals and vicious wildlife alike with an efficiency unmatched by any knight. In only a few decades, every city began to swell with Questor Trios - and the city of Perierat served as their center of influence.

The Questor Order Secular boomed in Perierat more as a consequence of it being the largest city and having the highest rate of infant abandonment than any other reason, and the trend has continued to this day - only with children intentionally left on the doorsteps of the Order Common House rather than in the middle of the street. The city walls brim with Questor trainees serving time as guardsmen and militia in order to gain experience, and every day groups and caravans carrying Questor trios leave the city heading to other regions.

The Questor Order Secular's largest common-house and training ground is a massive keep, with multiple floors dedicated to barracks and living space alone. Its training yards and classrooms are spread out across more than three kilometers, and serves as the largest center of industry in Caerulmoste. The greatest forges in the region exist therein, with what precious little iron Caerulmoste trades for going there in order to forge the famous An'Casra weapons used by almost every Questor. By association, numerous workshops also work to develop modern mechanisms and craftwork for the peoples of Caerulmoste and its neighbors - being one of the only centers of proper industry in the whole of the land.

The city itself is otherwise remarkable for being the hub of trade in Caerulmoste - being relatively near the border of the region with two rivers running adjacent to its limits, it receives a steady stream of foot and boat traffic.[/hider][hider=Vae]Unlike the vast majority of settlements in Caerulmoste, the small town of Vae has existed for only two-hundred years. While the bedrock the town is built upon was always known of, the area it resided in was considered to be cursed, with good reason. Situated in the middle of a bog with a spongiform network of sinkholes and caverns throughout and bordering a sea-borne estuary, the region crawls with every vicious predatory known to Caerulmoste - which teem and breed beyond counting in the darkness beneath the earth. Even today, one can hardly walk a scant kilometer without at least spotting the hump-backed shell of a dire turtle jutting from a pool of brackish water. 

The town is entirely surrounded by two sets of stone walls, intended solely to deter the encroachment of aggressive bog predators, unafraid of humans and settlements. Even this is not enough, as giant birds of prey are known to frequently dive-bomb residents of the town if they do not travel in numbers. The militia maintains a policy of non-liability for anybody who sets foot outside the town gates. Some of the most talented amongst the Questors - or sometimes just the troublemakers or those with a deathwish - arrive at the town to form hunting parties, heading out into the bogs and caves to hone and steel themselves into proper warriors.

To make matters even more incredulous, Vae is the center of the rumored curse of Caerulmoste, and nearly even one in three infants in the town are stillborn. For centuries, nobody wanted or dared to venture into the region due to the danger and the foreboding sense of dread that hung in the air.

However, two centuries ago the Astronomers of Laevo Lighthouse made an interesting discovery while experimenting with the Pitchblende Staff - the use of Pitchblende in their devices and mechanisms could be used to increase the accuracy of their storm and flood predictions. Further use of the staff also confirmed that the largest deposit of Pitchblende in Caerulmoste that was within sufficient proximity to a solid rock formation - lae directly within the cursed bog.

Thus, the town was built, and a ways from it began one of the only mines in all of Caerulmoste - intended to mine all the Pitchblende the Astronomers needed. Unable to build proper fortifications out by the mine due to the unstable terrain, a constant rotating shift of militia and Questors was needed to safeguard the miners and the mine's supply train - as well as to patrol the interior of the mines, wherein all manner of great and terrible creatures reside. As if that were not enough, the mine is always in constant danger of flooding whenever the miners run across an aquifer or neighboring cavern system the surveyors had missed. All for the chance to mine and handle a mineral more toxic than mercury.

Unsurprisingly, Vae boasts the highest adult mortality rate in all of Caerulmoste - nearly all deaths being attributed to attacks by indigenous wildlife or else mining accidents.

The town itself contains several shipping warehouses and workshops where raw Pitchblende is cut down into smaller chunks before being shipped to Point Laevo, as well as where the vast amount of various animal byproducts from hunts and skirmishes are stored while a dedicated permanent workforce races to reduce and preserve as much of it as possible before rot sets in.

While many point to the large death tolls and the impractical nature of the mining venture as signs of wasted effort, the Royal Auditors have long since confirmed that the Astronomers - while supplied with sufficient Pitchblende - have increased the accuracy of their predictions by more than 40%, saving hundreds if not thousands of lives with every ocean storm and flood - while also increasing the degree of preparation time available, increasing crop yield significantly while reducing property damage. With more lives being saved and with increased overall profit, the Auditors have maintained that the end results are worth the relatively small losses from the mines and skirmishes with the wildlife.[/hider][/hider][hider=Notable Figures][hider=Chief Astronomy Rinias Gehn]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Astronomer Iikka Guiomar]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Auditor Lornal Rechas]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Roden Husch, Questor Trainee]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=The Legendary Trio]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Blackguard Kuro]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Overseer Merrias Tonam]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Headmaster Tiendiade Kerras]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=The Breathless Queen]Work in Progress.[/hider][/hider][hider=Imports & Exports][b][u]Imports:[/u][/b]
-Common Metals
-Precious Metals
-Gemstones
-Basic Currency
-Lumber
-Stone
-Weapons and Armor
-Dairy Products

[b][u]Exports:[/u][/b]
-Grains and Cereals
-Herbs and Spices
-Meats
-Seafood
-Leathers
-Bones
-Furs
-Tailored Clothing
-Really Shitty Rugs and Tapestries
-Medicinals
-Fuel

[hider=Anomalies]This is a list of [i]highly specific[/i] and possibly arbitrary items that Caerulmoste would import/export, which would in all likelihood not be traded in bulk.

[b][u]Imports:[/u][/b]
-Original rugs and tapestries from the Antiquary Period. Any number of small-time tapestry and rug 'artisans' would kill to be able to study some of the famous works of the past.
-Educational texts. The Questor Order Secular has a large number of juveniles to educate and a perpetual shortage of reading material.
-Mathematical texts. The Royal Auditors are always keeping an eye out for these, both for their benefit and that of their students.
-Heretical Texts. The Astronomers of Laevo Lighthouse will pay handsomely for particularly esoteric manuscripts...and for discretion.
-High Quality Mirrors. One would think the Astronomers would want high quality lens instead, but their ways are curious to say the least.
-Slaves. Specifically, the Mottem Madmen are interested in procuring individuals born on any numbered day of the year that has twelve as a factor. Or so the rumors go...
-Foreign financial documents. The Royal Family and their armies of Auditors slaver over commercial and economic data of any kind, but they will likely be fairly stingy unless offered something with intriguing implications.
-Questor Weapons. They have to buy all the iron used to make them, and it is easier just to buy them back rather than forge new ones if they happen to be looted from somebody's corpse - no questions asked, though they will likely remember your face.

[b][u]Exports:[/u][/b]
-Pearls. Anybody else who lives near the coast probably has them too, but unlike those a lot of these are grown in rivers and streams - making for unique variants.
-Financial data. The Royal Family and their Auditors have been collecting and infering financial data and its implications in neighboring regions for some time now. Who knows what sort of dirt they might have found in the books?
-Risky Astronomers. They know things. Heretical things, but useful nonetheless. An offer of asylum alone might be a sufficient offer...
-Pitchblende. What possible use could anybody have with this worthless, toxic mineral?
-Questors. While nominally employed by the Royal Family, the Questors have no true obligations to Caerulmoste - and some of them can be rather talented.
-Mottem Madmen. The crazed blackguards who ride throughout the Mottem Expanse, terrorizing Ardacia from undiscovered cavern entrances. They tend to be unhinged more often than not, but may occasionally be bargained with.[/hider]
[/hider][b][u]The Ruling House[/u][/b][hider=House Soneillon]During the revolt that led to Ardall the Conquerer's fall, the region of Caerulmoste played virtually no part in the skirmishes and battles that took place. The indigenous peasantry were more conservative in their ways, and the imperial knights and guardsmen stationed there - some of the most feeble and unimpressive individuals in the service to the emperor - remained at their posts rather than turning upon the regional governor, Duke Chorsen. The absence of any major fortresses or barracks, along with the region's faint strategic value and the hazardous terrain, garnered little in the way of interest by neighboring rebellion forces.

Upon learning the rest of the empire had dissolved and that Emperor Ardall had been slain, Duke Chorsen declared himself emperor and sent out orders to the settlements of the region to mobilize for war. His messengers never returned, and one by one his followers abandoned the Island of Will as supplies dwindled without relief shipments to sustain them. When men were sent to forage for supplies, they too never returned - and so Duke Chorsen, in his final days, became furtive and paranoid, convinced that enemy agents were waging an unseen siege upon the Island. Eventually, the whole of the island was emptied save for the Duke himself. 

Throughout Caerulmoste, life carried on much as it had even in the absence of a governing lord. The settlements continued to trade with one another and neighboring regions. Taxes continued to be collected, stored in local strongholds, and spent. The only thing that truly changed was the assignment of new guards and militia within the settlements; who were informally appointed by the remaining guards.

Several times, neighboring regions attempted to annex smaller settlements near the border of the drainage basin, or else the Church of Eirtu would attempt to appoint a new regional governor - only to be met with the response that the region of Caerulmoste was still ruled by the venerable Duke Chorsen, and that all affairs of the region were in order.

Decades later, a committee was formed in order to regulate the activities of a merchant's guild that had gotten too greedy. In order to consolidate themselves, the financial committee moved its headquarters into the now abandoned Island of Will, from which they began to audit the finances of the entire region. A few more decades later, every position in the committee was occupied by the members of a single family - the Soneillons. Deciding to do away with the pretense that they did not [i]de facto[/i] rule Caerulmoste, they announced that Duke Chorsen had finally passed away and declared their patriarch King of Caerulmoste. His most sensible eminence King Raros, first of his line, ascended the throne and continued to manage the region much as the committee had for the last several decades - and all in Caerulmoste agreed that this was a most acceptable arrangement.

Since those days, the Soneillons have maintained a loose practice of regal behavior. The royal chambers in the Keep of Will are infamous for being the worst royal residences in all of Ardacia. The members of the family regularly commingle - in every sense of the word - with the indigenous peasantry. Perhaps the most shocking of their behaviors though is the occasional, willing forfeiture of tenure by standing kings who view governing the region as an [i]annoyance[/i], usually passing the crown on to whomever seems best suited to the job within the family.

The Soneillons are generally well-regarded for their founding and support of the Questor Order Secular, the company of Questors who venture Ardacia to challenge adversity and the malicious. Likewise though, most of Ardacia's nobility have distanced themselves politically from the Soneillons due to their occasional clashes with the Church of Eirtu.[/hider][hider=Prominent House Members][hider=King Theris Soneillon]One of the youngest Kings in the history of Caerulmoste, Theris ascended to the throne when the ruling Queen Alchalchlea retired their tenure as ruler three years ago. King Theris is notable for his brief apprenticeship with the Astronomers of Laevo Lighthouse prior to their ascension, with many suspecting that he was sent to them with the intention of discovering the true nature of the irregularities with the Guild of Astronomer's fiances. Being so young at a mere twenty-one years of age, he is a largely unknown figure even within his own court - and was only chosen as king due to his adequate ability with mathematics and his meticulous record-keeping. He is credited with developing the proof for an equation (named Arkantos' congruence) used in the realm of statistics that acts as a time-saving 'shortcut' in highly specific circumstances - forgoing the need for more intensive and lengthy calculations that would otherwise be needed. This was the primary citation of his merit and is largely responsible for him being made King of Caerulmoste. 

For the last three years, he has spent a particular amount of attention not only to the finances of settlements with Caerulmoste, but also within neighboring regions. His records in this regard have largely been assembled by inference, but in some specific cases a number of auditors have been dispatched to procure precise data - stirring up no small amount of commotion in the process. His relationship with the Church of Eirtu is somewhat strained simply due to his association with the Astronomers of Laevo in addition to the longstanding unease between the two bodies.[/hider][hider=Chief Auditor Mountebank Soneillon, Adviser to the King]Mountebank Soneillon has been Chief Auditor of Caerulmoste for more than three decades, being the third oldest living member of House Soneillon. They were the first nominal choice for King to replace Queen Alchalchlea, but his candidacy was ultimately dismissed due to his acceptance of bribes from Guild Members in the past far beyond what was necessary and sensible. Famous for his immaculate visual memory, he can recite lists of incomes and expenditures for every Guild in every settlement of Caerulmoste.[/hider][hider=Lady Alchalchlea Soneillon, former Queen]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Alethea Soneillon, Calculator]Work in Progress.[/hider][hider=Auditor Sarapis Soneillon][/hider][/hider][hider=The Pitchblende Staff][b][u]Record of Phano Soneillon, adviser to King Raros Soneillon, first of his Line.
[/u][/b]

This document is intended to serve as a permanent record of detail concerning the Regalia of Office of the Ruler of the region of Calrumoste - for consideration and consultation of whomever it may concern.

It is known by many that for a time, the late Ardall the Conquerer kept within his service a sorcerer of some merit and skill, though the very reckoning of his ken be blasphemy. Ardall eventually figured this basic piece of common sense out and had the sorcerer executed - confiscating his many devices and personal effects, many of which were secured away upon the Island of Will.

Most of these foul items were seized and destroyed by flame; in particular a number of malign texts as well as a number of perturbing and profane icons, totems, and artifacts. However, a small, select number of these items were deemed harmless and indeed crafted with benign function if not intent. All but one of these items were remitted to the custody of the blessed Church of Eirtu, but as our newly ascended House lacked anything in the form of regalia - the good and proper King Raros Soneillon, first of his line, deemed it most fitting to secure the item in question as the regalia of his line.

The item is a staff, measuring nearly a meter and a half in length. It is rendered of cold iron, embossed with gold and with filigree of electrum, with many curious designs depicting the many phases of the moons above, rendered in pearl and ammolite. The head of the staff is encased in a solid sphere of lead, upon which is mounted a curious crystalline structure to which I was forced to consult another amongst my house to learn was a Dodecahedron in shape. The mineral is known by few as that of Pitchblende, carved and shaped by unnatural forces as the cut is known to not occur naturally amongst Pitchblende.

The staff functions much in the manner of a dowsing rod, though with perfect accuracy. Those who deign to wield the staff become immediately aware, as though struck by divine epiphany, of every deposit of the mineral Pitchblende within many kilometers (mayhaps surveyors speculate the range is twelve though there be no fine way to affirm this).

Though this discovery was initially frowned upon as unfavorable - as it is known that Pitchblende is a most ominous mineral, striking illness and fatigue amongst those who handle it worse than is seen even amongst those who work with mercury. However, this soon turned a fortunate finding when the very function was used to discover several new, uncharted cavern systems and sinkholes - as well as identify areas within the Mottem Expanse that were unsafe to excavate. Although admittedly of minor assistance, this same function proved iteself most useful again as the Astronomers of Laevo Lighthouse did affirm that the use of Pitchblende could be used to assay the frequency and occurrence of Grand Storms.

Having wielded the staff myself briefly, I will now describe the precise sensation of the heightened perception it does bestow.

Firstly, one becomes specifically aware of a number of small and large masses that exist without their vision, such as one might know a large building is around a corner or behind a wall though they cannot see it. Secondly, they become specifically aware of the exact orientation of direction by which these masses reside, much as one might assay in which direction a child's marble or perhaps an egg has rolled when fallen beneath a table. Thirdly, they become aware of their approximate spatial relationship with the aforementioned masses, capable of determining the rough distance between themselves and each mass much as a hunter might be able to guess the distance between themselves in the wilds and the nearest town or village.

The masses of Pitchblende thus perceived do appear to be few and far between, existing largely in small clumps but occasionally also found as large, flat beds beneath the earth - when wielding the staff, these are clearly discerned as distant points and sheets, much as one might discern the general shape of a distant and unclear object.

For the purposes of safety and security, the staff should never be wielded by any save a member of the royal family, preferably accompanied by another member - though it is understood that the staff should prove most useful in the hands of a foreman.

At the time of this writing, the number of true mines within Caerulmoste might possibly be counted on both hands - and there is little expectation that this situation might change in the near or distant future. Barring particular need for the staff, such as discovery of a bed or clump of pitchblende within the region, it has been determined that it is to be kept securely upon the Island of Will.[/hider]