[@OppositionJ] Here you go! Sorry for the wait!


[b]The Black Glacier of Lanostre[/b]

Centuries ago, primitive Lanostran explorers came across a strange shelf of black ice rising up from the snow. Not knowing what lay beneath their feet, they began to dig. After many long decades they fully unearthed the mysterious object, and to their surprise, the tip of the object ended up being just that, the tip. What lay entombed within the ice was something unlike the resurrected human world had ever seen.

A monstrous black object, humming with an unknown crimson ether, lay alien on the earth. This dark arcane glacier, which stretched for miles across the frozen Lanostran sea and into the bowels of the ancient earth itself, didn't so much as suffer a scratch when struck with their most powerful weapons. Its dark visage across the western horizon of Lanoste would cause it to become a staying monolith throughout the history of the warrior nation, a sight as familiar as home to every child born on the Lanostran subcontinent.

The Black Glacier, as it would be known for the ensuing centuries, would pulse with its red ether like a beating heart, and the machine-like hum of its breathing could be heard from miles away on  the Lanostran mainland. Its purpose and origin were unknown to the warrior people until many generations later when a corps of T'saraen scientists, upon hearing word of the strange alien-like monolith, braved the journey to Lanostre and crossed the stretch of frozen ocean (which would become known as the Wounded Sea after the bloody war between Varya and Lanostre several hundred years later) on primitive steam ships in order to glimpse the monstrous colossus with their own eyes.

Upon reaching the Lanostre border and being confronted by the Lanostran guard, the T'saraen science corps immediately dropped their weapons, threw themselves at the feet of the guards, and begged for an audience with the Lady of the Trident, claiming that they were there to uncover the secrets of the Glacier. In an instant, The Lady appeared before them and judged them true. Leading them to the black glacier, she bid them to study it and learn.

"Study and learn".

Those three words alone, spoken to them by the Lady herself, became their life's creed. The T'saraen scientists, swearing an oath to "get the job done by any means necessary and uncover the secrets of the Glacier", denounced their homeland, swore off all their lands, titles and research grants, and became honorary Lanostrans.  And so it became that a small scientific enclave was founded on the Land of the Trident, and research on the Black Glacier proceeded with the help of native Lanostrans.

The ordeal to uncover the truths behind the Glacier would last several generations, with the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those original ten T'saraen scientists taking up the task. Finally, after decades of work and sacrifice, the descendants of the Original Ten published their findings in a formal report to the Lady.

In truth, the black glacier first existed as a comparatively small shard of the Frost Titan that broke away during its apocalyptic battle with the Fire Titan. Unlike the 12 Remnants who would later become the Broken Pantheon, when this "shard" fell to the world, it didn't adopt a living, moving form but was instead entombed within the earth, where it remained for eons. Most fascinating of all, the Glacier possessed a sort of half-sentience, and its own breathing and the pulsing of the red ether that cascaded across its glassy black expanse like a beating heart were the key to understanding its language. Through the long decades of research and study, the Ten and their descendants were able to decipher its "speech", and as a result, were able to accomplish something truly miraculous. They were able to communicate with a piece of the Ice Titan that wasn't an actual part of the Broken Pantheon.

What they learned from it however, filled them with a dark dread.

Filled with power but without the means to use it, the shard had lived in silent solitude for countless ages, watching by as the dead world around it froze and was in turn resurrected, with no purpose but to seethe with rage at its imprisoned state. It continuously spoke one word to the science corps.


"Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate."

Upon hearing this, the Lady smirked. 

She appeared before the Glacier, and spoke these words to it.

"You are naught but a speck upon the world, a splinter of our Father's might. You will act as you resemble, an iron anvil to forge my people into the weapons they needs become."

With that, The Goddess Lanostre placed her gauntlet-ed hand on the mirrored black surface of the Glacier. 

"I can feel your malice, little one. Stoke your hatred. Unchain your wrath upon my people. They will fight back and sharpen their steel against you."

A brilliant emerald glow then flashed from her palm, resonating across the monstrous expanse of the Glacier in calm ripples of jade light.

"Tis' my Will."

The Goddess then disappeared, leaving the shard alone once more.

From then on, to this present day, the Queendom of Lanostre has been beset by periodic invasions of strange magical beings. These strange, inhuman entities, known as "demons" by the Lanostrans, were first pitifully weak, taking the form of small imp-like creatures. But as the decades have marched on, they have become steadily stronger and more vicious and cunning. 

It has become a Lanostran tradition for children to slay one of these demons as a rite of passage, and though not many are successful upon their first encounter with a demon, those that are victorious are christened with the title "R'heon" (Lanostran for "demon hunter") and are then branded with a unique tattoo to mark their triumph.

After Lanostre's annexation by Varya, imperial Inquisitors have toyed with the idea of subjugating demons for use as soldiers, but this experiment has not been widely successful. In order to truly enslave a demon and be able to summon it to serve at will, an Inquisitor's ether pool must be extremely deep and their skill in its manipulation must be greater than normal as well. Because of this, "summoners" are nigh unheard of the Church, with only one Inquisitor, the legendary Mother al Sayed, having mastered the skill.

Still, the ability to summon demonic thralls is highly appealing to the Church, and thus the Red Seminary has introduced the Demon Pilgrimage to its curriculum. On the tenth year of training, young pupils who have shown the potential for having exceedingly great ether pools are given the choice to go on a harrowing journey to the Black Glacier, where they attempt to enslave a demon. Though they may bring three trusted companions along with them, the act of subjugating the demon must fall to the would-be summoner alone. Since the practice was introduced fifteen years ago by Mother al Sayed, no more than three pupils out of hundreds have successfully managed to capture a demon, and many more have perished in the attempt.