[hider=Grand Duchy of Muoarma]
[color=coral][h2][b][center]Grand Duchy of Muoarma[/center][/b][/h2][/color]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/KcSYcPht.jpg[/img]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eSYC7FFfRw
[img]https://i.imgur.com/uU0iq18t.png[/img]

[color=coral][b]=-=General Information=-=[/b][/color]
[list]
[*]Is a large kingdom on the continent of Weskas, on the coast of the Middle Sea
[*]Muoarma is a partially human nation, and partially elven, with a large but enslaved beastfolk minority
[*]It is an imperial and expansive civilization with a reputation of brutality and rapid conquest
[*]It speaks Muoaran and writes in both Muoaran and Old Elven
[*]A person known from Muoarma is a Muoarman
[*]They are a feudal nation, but has advanced and imperial policies and ideals.
[*]Their main religion is called Cesvaii, but local county faiths are tolerated within it’s pantheon
[*]While thought of as xenophobic by its neighbors, Muoarma is fairly picky about certain races and creeds.
[*]Population - 7,800,000
[*]Manpower - 156,000
[*]Wealth - Rich
[*]Espionage - Decent
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[color=coral][b]Races[/b][/color]
[hider=Races]
[color=coral]Muoazin (Human)[/color]
The Muoazin are a fair haired olive skinned people who dwell as the majority people of the Grand Duchy, being it’s primarily culture and ethnicity. The Muoazin are often called ‘Mutts’ by their neighbors, coming from a race of slaves which dwelled in the inner country of the Empire of Muha before being freed. The Muoazin are typically fair haired, often resembling a plethora of other human ethnicities. Muoazin are fairly well known to being arrogant, shrewd, and familial to fault.
[color=coral]Elkadan (Human)[/color]
The Elkadan, or People of the Elk Forests, were once a pale skinned nomadic group which wandered the northern forests of Weskas and were the primary driving force which founded the new kingdoms in the heartland of the former Muha empire. Elkadan are unnaturally tall, have deep black hair, and have round noses. Elkadan in the current age is more closer culturally to the Muoazin, but are primarily a rural people who have unkempt beards and live in small clans. Many Elkadan are a fairly honorable people, but are also considered unnaturally violent.
[color=coral]Olman (Human)[/color]
Olman are a southern Elkadan group which founded the city of Berler and who’s people had nearly become a super power in the region, often considered a mix of Muoazin and Elkadan. Olman are very pale skinned, but some do have a mix of olive and various hair colors. Olman are a simplistic people, known for being fairly practical in their thinking. Olman are despised in the Grand Duchy, often believed to be spies for the nation’s most hated rival.
[color=coral]Eldan (Elven)[/color]
The Eldan are elves of Muha who have lived and adopted to the Grand Duchy. Elves are familiar to pale humans, having long ears and extremely long life. Elves are also very gifted with magic, many of their sages and magi are some of the most gifted in the world and also the most studious. Eldan Elves are elves who had adopted to the human kingdoms of the region, adopting their culture and obediently follow them. Eldan are fairly equal in the Grand Duchy in all except politics, with the feudal monarchy reserved primarily for humans. While generally tolerated by humans of the Grand Duchy, they are hated as equals by the Muhan elves.
[color=coral]Muhan (Elven)[/color]
The Muhan elves are the last survivors of the Muha Imperium, being so enthralled by their dying traditions and old ways that most have become fanatics and overly arrogant. Muhan elves are known by others to be cruel, unreasonable, and even downright stupid, but yet skilled in many arts. Muhan elves are deeply xenophobic and hold grudges against all of humanity and most other races who had oppossed their empire, although most Muhan elves were never alive to see it and base much of their reasoning and idealism around stories and legends.
[color=coral]Okan (Beastfolk)[/color]
The Okan are an otter Beastfolk race which primarily dwell in Ok’va, but also dwell as a sizable slave population in the Grand Duchy. Okan are only slightly smaller than humans, but are nearly if not stronger than normal human beings. Okan are physically agile, capable of leaping and swimming at incredible speeds and are all natural born swimmers. Okan are, culturally, very creative and playful, and often are fairly shy towards others which is often seen as xenophobia.
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[color=coral][b]History[/b][/color]
[hider=History]
[color=coral]Final Fall of Muha, 2 2nd Age[/color]
Muha’s capital city of Muhakim was sacked two days after full capitulation to invading forces of various nations, and the elven Imperator had left the capital along with a vast horde of refugees before a combined force of Elkadan chieftains, kings, and Muoazin rebels sacked and pillaged the city. The elves fled to the besieged summer fortress in the mountains, while the Elkadan chieftains began to divy up the land amongst themselves. Early conflict between them and the Muoazin resulted in a large scale revolt against the Elkadan kings who drove the Muoazin into the coastal regions and ruins, where the ruined walls protected them from total slaughter, as the barbarian kings soon either began to settle the rich forests or warred amongst themselves. With the destruction of Muha’s final cities, the empire fully fell and was left in the hands of the Elkadans.
[color=coral]Elkadan Kingdoms, 55 - 233 2nd Age[/color]
For the next 200 years, various Elkadan kingdoms and duchies rose and fell with no clear ruler or unified government, often falling prey to invasion from other empires. However, the Elkadan chieftains began a program of hiring trained Muoazin soldiers from newly founded coastal cities to supply their armies with elite troops, who took after the organization of the fallen Muha Imperium. The Elkadans, if not being invaded by outside countries, were often invading each other. Large kingdoms only lasted till the king died, as Elkadan inheritance demanded equal shares for children, including lands. Coups, betrayals, and civil wars wracked the kingdoms constantly, giving time and power to coastal cities who had come to enjoy the protection of their violent neighbors.
[color=coral]Olman War of Aggression, 234 - 241 2nd Age[/color]
In the newly founded kingdom of Olma, a powerful ruler named Pelom the Bold united his province and began forging an army made primarily of new armored units and cavalry divisions, unique to the region. These new units were more lightly armored, but were divided more evenly amongst troops and did not crowd solely the higher nobles and elite knights. Olma launched a sudden and unprovoked attack on it’s neighbors, conquering them swiftly, and then turned north under it’s blood red banner to conquer the remaining Elkadan kingdoms. The war was long and torturous for the vastly numerical Elkadan kings who united briefly to overcome Olma, but were soundly defeated at the Battle of Makad Hill, where a huge division of armored Olman cavalry got behind the Elkadan flank and slaughtered the outnumbering Elkadans. Pelom celebrated his victory over these kings by enacting a series of regicides, beheading local rulers and placing their skulls on pikes outside his castle.
[color=coral]Olma Commonwealth, 242 - 311 2nd Age[/color]
Olma had won it’s war, but suffered from internal strife and a hostile Muoazin presence who disliked the trade policies of Olma. Pelom’s son, Pelom II, forcefully married the wife of a powerful and dead Elkadan king and took her surname as his own, becoming Pelom Wiezzbaug II. The surviving Wiezzbaugs gladly invited their new king into their clan and kept peace in the realm, along with helping secure the coastal city support by flooding the cities with investment in return for accepting new trade taxation. Olma however suffered several new threats, primarily against rebellions and their horrible treatment of the local elves which caused resentment. The Olman monarchy, convinced the elves were trying to assassinate them and invite the surviving Muhan elves to enslave mankind, attempted a very unsuccessful pogrom which ended in driving many elves into northern communities and caused any good will gained in the years to suddenly deplete.
[color=coral]Wars of Humiliation, 312 - 377 2nd Age[/color]
Olma under King Pelom IV attempted to expand his realm by looking northward in 312, eyeing the nations of Ok’va, Anqualith, and the Elkadan Marches. Pelom had expected an easy victory in Ok’va, and in his confidence sent his generals to secure territory in the Marches. Okan warriors however refused to face Pelom’s armies in fair fights, constantly ambushing and skirmishing them at a safe distance. Pelom had been relieving himself when Okan skirmishers happened upon him and slew him, ending the campaign, and dooming both invading armies. Kelvad, Pelom’s successor, then tried to attack southward instead and invaded Muha, but was again defeated with a two prong attack from the two nations. Kelvad died of disease, and the main Olman army returned home, leaving the remaining territories to fend for itself as the Olmans figured out a succession crisis.
[color=coral]Sack of Souk Mar, 378 2nd Age[/color]
The main elven army regrouped in 378 and laid siege to the coastal city of Souk Mar for most of the year, launching flaming bitch and rotting carcass of equines into the city. The Muhan army, initially supported by disenfranchised Eldan elves, began to mistreat them and often willingly executed them for supposed trickery. The Eldan fled into the besieged city and help prepare the city’s defenses. Fearing a sizable Olman counter-attack from their failure to break the city, Imperator Kel’ba ordered an assault on the city which lasted for the remainder of the year, resulting in brutal urban fighting. After the main keep in the city was breached, the city’s inhabitants finally surrendered, and their homes looted by the Muhan army. The Imperator, angered by the insolence, ordered all the Eldan survivors dismembered, and half the human survivors drowned in the ocean. The remaining survivors were marched back to the Kingdom of Muha, and were forced to help in the construction of Eldar Muha, based around the site of Muhakin.
[color=coral]Olman Civil War, 379 - 401 2nd Age[/color]
The destruction of Souk Mar had dire ramifications, as many of the non-Olmans felt betrayed and abandoned, especially as the Olman garrisons returned after an insulting peace treaty which left the state financially devastated. Just as peace had returned, the state entered into a civil war when King Pelom V was killed by his own son Ricard Wiezzbaug, who ascended the throne, promising Olman nobility to restart a war of vengeance against Muha. Ricard’s uncle, Causbaun the Porked, a fat and dangerously cruel nobleman, grew outraged and began raising levies in the north country and began ransacking churches for money to pay for mercenaries to take the throne for himself. The civil war devastated the countryside, both sides using  Muoazin and Elkadan conscripts to kill one another. After a decisive battle at Gottisberg, Causbaun had won and ruled from a lavish estate in Aedeth Mar, where for the remainder of his life he would dedicate to hunting rebels and parts of his own family.
[color=coral]Kearig’s Rebellion, 402 - 422 2nd Age[/color]
One of the rebels Causbaun had not been able to catch was a former Mouazin captain named Kearig Pottsman, who fled to Ok’va along with other rebels and their families. With aid from Ok’va’s King and some funding from Muhan bankers, Kearig led a rebellion against the Wiezzbaugs. In his rebellion, Kearig led a huge army and began to defeat the Wiezzbaug armies, resulting in a domino effect of support from angry nobles and peasants alike, swelling his numbers more and more. Kearig, nearing total victory, was betrayed by Okan mercenaries who had fought on his side, seeking to weaken the lands further as their main goal, killing Kearig in his tent and fleeing in the night. The army did not however disperse as originally thought, nor did the Olmans come to reclaim their kingdom, and instead the main army marched to Aedeth Mar and founded an assembly of rulers of the ‘Inner Country’.
[color=coral]Kingdom of Maradium, 423 - 550 2nd Age[/color]
The assembly convened a year later with a candidate for a king named Markum Beausvus, the lord of Jentre and the last surviving member of his dynasty, with the hopes of a weak and indebted king who would act in their stead, but rather, Markum had proved to be a strong and capable ruler who expanded his family line, solved several huge food shortages, and led the rebuilding effort of Souk Mar. Taking up residence in the summer palace in Aedeth Mar, Markum founded Maradium and spent a lifetime perfecting a feasible new legal system to help manage his realm, and to reduce to civil discourse of the monarchies. Maradium under his care grew into a great power, but it also suffered from brutal corruption of it’s ruling caste in later rulers. This corruption was of throwing lavish feasts and parties for urban rulers, reducing rights of rural nobility, and defunding the military to fund failing trade ventures.
[color=coral]The Black Stain, 551 - 644 2nd Age[/color]
In the period following in the summer of 551, the cursed coronation of Kadus Beasuvus had caused ill omens after Kadus’s cornoation ceremony was interrupted by a stressful flyby of a passing dragon. Kadus, ultra pious and ultra worried, gave power to a group of powerful sorcerers and soothsayers to ‘remove’ the bad omens, leading to the Black Stained years, which saw huge declines due to oppression by religious laws, attacks from monstrous creatures on villages causing sudden pogroms on the Eldan, and further tensions between a new class of super superstitious city nobles and the powerful, and rich, rural nobles. The years cultivated in the death of Kadus and his heirs, convinced they were doomed, and would throw money onto suspicious sorcerers and magicians to remove their curse. Power struggles between competing mage guilds nearly destroyed entire cities, and soured trade in the nation for nearly 100 years.
[color=coral]2nd Olman War of Aggression, 645 - 691 2nd Age[/color]
After a particularly bad harvest, the Olman king, Xakadvod Weizzbaug, The Wretched and Dreaded, invaded Maradium with a host of nearly 80,000 men, dwarfing the Maradium army at the time. Xakadvod faced off against the weak king, Tenad Beasuvus, who failed miserably to turn the tide against the invader. As Tenad fled to Muha, his army fell into the hands of Duke Baurad Penosbaug, who led the army more in his own name then the King’s. Baurad defeated the Olman army at the legendary Battle of the Three Bridges, luring heavier Olman cavalry and armored units into a marsh with three creek bridges, and used a number of Okan mercenaries and engineers to weaken the advance of the armored Olman army, pushing them and their king onto the bridges, and then pushing burning pitch to light them on fire. The Olman king died of his wound fleeing the marsh, and the duke invited the king back into the country once the Olman army retreated back into their own country.
[color=coral]The Inward Burn, 692 - 711 2nd Age[/color]
Tenad returned to his country both old and frail, and installed a bastard son before he died, never being able to bear a child with his wife. The Bastard, Joasvus Beasuvus, promoted the duke Baurad Penosbaug to be the head of the army, the seasoned general lead a near genocidal campaign against the Olman. Baurad sacked the city of Gottisberg, and burned its countryside, and then forced the county of Tannis to surrender after presenting the charred remains of Gottisberg’s leaders and honored men at the gates of Pratsberg. Joasvus, pleased by the outcome, continued to reward the duke who died of old age on his campaign, he army returning home only after his son ordered the disbandment of Olman churches and taking their treasures with them. For this act, Joasvus was not pleased, and ordered the treasures returned. When Feubaun Penosbaug refused, Joasvus charged the duke with treason and he was placed in the dungeons below Aedeth Mar with the aid of the Okan mercenaries who had once fought on his father’s side.
[color=coral]Coup of the Grand Duke, 712 2nd Age[/color]
In the early spring of of 712, a rogue Eldan thief and bandit helped break Feubaun out of the dungeon, and fled to his home where he planned a large scale revolt against the king. However, instead, he was greeted by a large number of angry merchant guilds and other rural nobles who were infuriated by Joasvus’s increased superstitious policies. With the aid of these groups, Feubaun and his supporters launched a surprise attack in the capital to kill Joasvus and his family, and had nearly succeeded.  Joasvus had escaped with the Okan mercenaries who aided him before, but once Feubaun had caught up with them, the mercenaries abandoned them and supposedly swam out to sea and back to their own homeland. Feubaun and his army caught up with a ragtag militia and the king’s royal guard, and crushed them on the road. Joasvus was personally executed by Feubaun and his family was banished to Muha where their fates have remained unknown.
[color=coral]Grand Council of Dukes, 713 - 722 2nd Age[/color]
After the coup, Feubaun took his retinue back to the capital and called a large gathering of nobles and forged a council of dukes, building his own noble republic and assembly which gave huge voting rights to the rural nobles, and curtailed the urban ones. The city nobility attempted their own coup, but this very move had been a plan of Feubaun who had many of the families arrested and ‘banished’ to Muha, a cruel punishment where the ‘Grand’ Duke had elven slavers round up the banished refugees and dragged to New Muha’s quarries and mines, a fact which became a widely known fate of those banished. Feubaun used his power to mold his own oligarchy, placing his own family as a top contender due to his reputation and the popularity of his father. Feubaun in his last years built the title of Grand Duke, and increased rights for the elves which he gave court positions to, but also spent much of career in frothing hatred of the Okan and mercenaries.
[color=coral]Centralization and Progress, 723 - 766 2nd Age[/color]
After Feubaun stepped down in 722 as Grand Duke, the oligarchy often appeared in the lap of the Penosbaug family, which throughout the years began to build new trade, cultural, and economic policies to improve industry, education, and reform the old system. The Kingdom of Maradium lost meaning in it’s title, and most began to call their nation the Grand Duchy of Muoarma. Under the reign of Zengheir Penosbaug, the very religion of the country was greatly reformed and new institutions of education and medicine was set up, but at this time, so was the instuition of slavery. Various elven slavers from Muha, feeling cheated by their own country, helped run Eldan slaving guilds in the coastal cities of Aedeth Mar and Souk Mar.. Zengheir helped fund these guilds, and promoted the practice after a trip to Muha and witnessing gladiators in New Muha’s arena.
[color=coral]Conquest of Edgk, 767 - 788 2nd Age[/color]
Hungry for conquest and slaves, the seemingly savage and stagnant lands of Ok’va seemed ripe for the Grand Duchy, which without warning launched an invasion of Edgk. While vastly superior in numbers, the conquest of the county was long, brutal, and demoralizing. The Okan refused to fight on fair and open battlefields, going behind enemy lines to launch raids and were merciless to their enemy. The favored terror tactic of tying Muoarman soldiers to trees and letting biting insects slowly devour them to draw out the invader’s armies which caused terror and ire from the invading forces. Eventually, the Muoarman army broke into Quask (now Nousk Mar) and captured the city after a many year long siege. Rather then just capture the city, the irate commanders instead angrily shackled the entire population and marched them to the capital as slaves and set up forts. Seeing there being no point to keep Edgk with its population gone, the monarch of Ok’va signed a peace treaty with Muoarmans who were not eager to continue their march towards Cousberg.
[color=coral]Ducal Coup, 789 - 822 2nd Age[/color]
The war for Edgk was costly both in manpower and in money, which forced the elder Grand Duke, Nussborg Penosbaug, to enact new sweeping taxation laws to make up for the losses. Despite having sold an entire city’s population into slavery, the government owed huge debts to various guilds and soldiers for years to come. Not wishing to pay these debts and stirred by the fears of having their estates confiscated, the nobles launched a sudden coup against Nussborg. Fighting broke out in the assembly, but the Grand Duke was surprisingly saved by a young Okan bodyguard and slave who had recently bought. The slave rushed the Grand Duke and his advisers, fighting a brutal stairclimb to a guard tower, until the would be assassins surrendered, but not before the Okan had died from countless wounds. Nussborg, brought charges against the assassins and would since continue a new tradition of giving all Penosbaug slave bodyguards.
[color=coral]Goblin Invasion, 822 - 841[/color]
The Dradark, after conquering the some northern realms, began invading into Ok’va and Muoarma. While Dradark were able to push towards the Okan cities better than previous attempts had, the invaders had also fell victim to Okan tactics and were ultimately pushed back, forcing the invaders to attack Muoarma instead, seeing better rewards. Nussborg Pensobaug and his son Baold led the northern army against the horde, and were able to catch them off guard while they tried to march through Gaszbam. In the Battle of Buadum Hill, the Muoarman cavalry led by Baold was able to reach around the flanks of the hobogoblin host and wreak havoc on the flank, the Dradark army fled into Edgk where they suffered another more crushing defeat. During the campaign, rumor had gone around that the ruling family of Gaszbam had invited and even allied with the hobogoblins and secured passes for their army in return for continued rule in their own lands, and rumor which caused great spite from the Penosbaugs who suspected they had a hand in the attempted Coup.
[color=coral]The Great Dynastic Purge, 841 - 899 2nd Age[/color]
Nussborg stepped down in 823, but secretly ordered his heir, the young and ambitious Baold Penosbaug to sweep into the assembly and dismantle it, along with all the noble families who participated in the coup. Baold took office and began subtle changes, but then ramped up a sudden number of treason charges against the families who opposed his own. Hundreds were rounded up and were ‘removed’, while many others faced beheading and hanging. Entire families simply disappeared and their estates seized, and this wealth was used to fund and bribe further purges. This slaughter did not end till the last of Gazban’s ruling family was dragged from their estates and killed by mercenaries. Once satisfied, the Penosbaug family ruled uncontested for years, but did little more than enforce inane rules and laws to keep their power unchecked (and to occasionally gorge themselves on the nation’s riches).
[color=coral]The Lull, 900 - 988 2nd Age[/color]
When the last Penosbaug rival was removed, it was said a Lull entered the land for the next 80 or so years, where little was done. This stagnation left several huge crises to bubble, such as a growing slave rebellion crises which led to Okan bandits prowling the countryside in droves, an urban housing crises as useless and untaxed Penosbaug estates pushed out craftsmen and guilds, and a nobility which had a complete lack of talent or ambition which feared the eternal ire of the Penosbaugs. In this time, the Lull allowed the three major enemies of the large nation to find common ground, with an alliance between Muha and Ok’va forming, and Olman’s nobles passing abolition laws to promote the Okan banditry in the hopes it will spawn rebellion. These issues came to a head under Grand Duke Kaisal Pensobaug who preferred to live his life hunting rabbits then ruling his land. His incompetence had allowed his cousin and wife Marsha Pensobaug to assume much of the command of state and become an efficient ruler in her husband’s absence.
[color=coral]Rise of the Grand Duchess, 989 - Present 2nd Age[/color]
When Kaisal died, Marsha hurried her sons into a secret meeting and threatened their deaths if they did not obey her direct wishes. When her elder son and heir refused, his Okan bodyguard and slave stepped out of the room and did not return. Seeing his mother’s influence, he relented and agreed to hand over the country to her. Marsha set upon effective but cruel reforms to bring the Grand Duchy into a new age. She began a policy of executing the families of Okan slaves who turned to banditry, offering amnesty if they returned to bondage. She sold decaying Penosbaug estates to rich merchants and guilds, and bought up their old shacks, using the money to renovate these lands into new estates and then reselling them to new buyers. Marsha’s most famous reform till the present was removing many elder families and loyalties from positions of power, and electing a new adviser board along with promoting a talent scout school in order to give her advice which she cherished. Yet, her goals of reforming the government and her undying ambition to conquer the coalition’s realms had put her neighbors and allies alike on edge, with fears a new war will break out at any time.
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[color=coral][b]Culture[/b][/color]
[hider=Culture]
[color=coral]Appearance[/color]
Muoarmans are a fairly romantic people who prefer to dress lavishly and wealthy, giving off an appearance at least of great importance, a trait which existed even during the reign of the Elkadan kings. Due to the kingdom’s decent trade accords, access to red dye helped forge the nation’s love for the color, where peasants often wear wool or linen cloths is often dyed red or some familiar darker shade. Embroidered on the cloths of richly garbed nobles and those of some status are the symbols of the Muoarman flag, such as the yellow moon and red checkered design. Muoarman lavishness often flexes their power and wealth as compared to their neighbors, contributing to their continued arrogance.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/IV02NTQs.jpg[/img]
[color=coral]Craftsmanship[/color]
Muoarman craftsmanship takes after two designs; weapons and armor of the Elkadan and the building styles of the Muhan. Muoarman armor takes after the Elkadan conquerors, being mostly heavy plated armor and a heavy emphasis on protection rather than mobility. Muoarman craftsmanship had often been considered to be moderate or poor compared to other smithing styles, which is often why weapons and armor merchants find such good business in the Grand Duchy. However, the opposite is true for building, which takes after a mix of feudal Elkadan architecture of stone and wood, mixed with the brick and marble decadence of the old elven empire. Muoarman structures are considered sturdy, beautiful, and comfortable. . .for the urban cities. The same is not said for the straw and wooden huts which make up it’s peasant villages and hamlets.
[color=coral]Traditions[/color]
Muoarman traditions depend one the family’s ancestry than anything else, but universally, marriages are considered both religious and political ceremonies which are considered a moral virtue of the people. Married couples are thrown lavish feasts and the families trade gifts between one another rather then give large dowries, although more political marriages do grant much larger gifts than others. Elkadan Muoarmans do not believe boys become men till they killed, and often take their children hunting or into war. Elkadan believe that men who kill their first man are blessed by the gods with long life, and thus many Elkadan villagers tend to be the first to join the army. Muoarmans fear undeath, and fear graveyards, which is why the typical Muoarman funeral tends to be done with cremation or are buried in special crypts known as Vaugbaurow, which are large underground mausoleums with very open corridors and stone crypts. Graveyards do exist, but are mostly of elven design.
[color=coral]Family[/color]
Muoarman families, especially rich ones, tend to have their own traditions and customs. The Penosbaug family for instance rewards their children with life long Okam slaves who are trained as gladiators and used as bodyguards, as an example. These traditions often set part a Muoarman from others, often their family customs and traditions tend to either be strange, cruel, or simply odd. Muoazin are the only exception to this rule, as universally, their families are extremely close knit and are brutally fanatic to keeping their bloodlines alive. It isn’t uncommon for entire sections of the family of a Muoazin family to be wiped out solely to supposedly help preserve the lineage, as Muoazin tend to believe that if a bloodline is wiped out, it will also destroy the souls of their ancestors.
[color=coral]Law[/color]
Muoarman law prides itself not on it’s legalism, but its practicality and modernization as compared to others. Each town holds a 7 local judges, elected by popular vote of the peasantry, to settle disputes and hold trials for criminals. The judges are under strict rules of the monarchy, and can bring charges against other nobles. Nobles who feel their monarch has done something illegal can bring a suit against the monarchy, but not charges beyond an excessive fine can be used as punishment. The system is protected as ‘A Guild of Law’, which operates outside monarch restrictions, but realistically tends to be in their pocket due to their universally low pay. Every year, a chosen group of city representatives meet in the capital to discuss the payment of guards, investigators, and legal fees for lawyers to change them at their leisure to help keep the country’s status quo. Most punishments are fines, although crueller punishments such as forced labor and banishment are not unheard of. One of the more cruller punishments is known as ‘The Walk’, where victims are forced to push a grain wheel until they drop dead of exhaustion.
[color=coral]Rights[/color]
Rights, like in many feudal countries, are very limited in Muoarma, although they are perhaps more enforced in Muoarma than anywhere else as well. Women have some limited rights, but are afforded better care as nobility. Non-humans have a strange plethora of rights, often depending entirely on the race. Okan are automatically enslaved on sight and are not allowed freedom, but yet tend to have better care and rights then even in their own country. Eldan elves are fairly equal in the army, and their women are allowed to serve as equals in all crafts and armed force, but are not allowed positions of governance nor ‘hold political opinions’. Muoarman homosexuals are oddly tolerated, but only within the cities, and are considered more of a circus quirk than anything else. The only thing Muoarmans despise more than the Okan, Olmans, and Muhans are atheists primarily believing they are immoral, evil, and on equal par with murderers.
[color=coral]Entertainment[/color]
There is said that no man lacks entertainment in Muoarma, and this is certainly a fact. Muoarma, from it’s countrysides to its urban streets is clamored with fairs and recreational activities. Most large cities have large arenas where gladiators and knights alike fight for glory and story, although most are non-fatal. Stages for plays often draw large crowds, with added additions of large taverns and brothels which line many darker streets. Outside the city, jousting tournaments and fairs are often a pretty common sight. The industry of art also find a place in Muoarma, along with a huge host of museums, dance rooms, and lavish private affairs. While seemingly expensive, and it certainly is, this entertainment industry has attracted merchants and craftsmen and became part and parcel for the region’s untouched underbelly.
[color=coral]Slavery[/color]
Slavery became prominent after it was reintroduced by the elves, and it’s guilds in Muoarma became dominated by locals who had gotten their hands on large numbers of Okam slaves. Officially, only Beastfolk are slaves in Muoarma, although this law is flimsy and can expand at any time. Slaves are a large part of the economy, being commonplace especially in mining, forestry, and within the household. Okam slaves are branded and are given either rope or iron collars on their necks, primarily more to identify them rather then humiliate them. Slaves perform various tasks, and are surprisingly well treated compared to the peasantry in most other countries. Most slaves often face lashings for disobedience and those who commit more heinous crimes are sentenced to brutal labor in the quarries.
[color=coral]Phycology[/color]
Muoarmans are considered overly arrogant and difficult to work with, most viewing others with contempt for their supposed barbarism and cruelty while overlooking their own. Due to this, Muoarmans have a rare spark of pride in their country and people, but it is clearly only because their county contributes more than others. Muoarman politicians and leaders on the other hand are a different breed, viewing their nation as more of a tool for their own gain, and having no qualms in sacrificing said tools for wealth and glory. Any notion of kindness is rare, but appreciated, and often it is the Okam slaves and Elkadan clans who still live in the deep forests who show any sign of humility it seems. Muoarmans are also considered a spoiled and meek people by their enemies, not use to the cruelty of war nor willing to accept the consequences of it.
[color=coral]Education[/color]
Education grew to great importance in the early 700s, and remained in the care of the cities of Aedeth Mar and Souk Mar. While the most common form of education is still apprenticeship, a lot of money flows into the University of Aedeth Mar, and the Soukian Academy. These universities are huge leaders into utility research, historical recording, and governmental philosophy. While the University of Aedeth Mar often is idealistic and reaches for progress, a favored academy of the Penosbaugs, most nobles prefer the prestigious Soukian Academy which churns out a more conservative curriculum. Religious studies and universities are, oddly enough, frowned on in Muoarma, and is often reserved solely for theological schools. Religious study is often considered cringey due to religious insistence on the study of the monstrous world and promotion of secular things to drive away many popular superstitions.
[color=coral]Cuisine[/color]
The Muoarman diet is often very dependent between the cities and the country. With good trade relationships in the cities and ports, the urban Muoarman have a lot of access to sweets, breads, and meats from other lands in Eae’t which are often well enjoyed by both commoner and noble. Country cooking takes on old Elkadan or elven recipes, with a primary dependence on pork, beef, and salad. Beers and ales are fairly common in the Muoarman diet, a tradition which survived the Elkadans, which is served more often than milk or water among peasants. The Muoarman often look down on soups, fish, and shellfish and often feed it to prisoners, slaves, and lower castes.
[color=coral]Pets[/color]
There is a famed saying in Muoarma was that the Elkadan destroyed Muha with axes, shields, and dogs. Muoarman dog breeds come in various sizes and are well loved by their owners, and most households often own one or two for both company and for utility. The Muoarman Great Hound are large dogs, often being in the heraldry of elder Elkadan nobles. Other races like the Elves prefer more comfortable animals such as cats, squirrels, and possums. Okan on the other hands have a natural affinity towards rats, otters, seals, and giant dragonflies called Magufauma which roam around their native marshland. While slaves are not allowed pets, many enslaved Okam fishermen keep a herd of otters for fur, food, and train them to help them fish.
[color=coral]Arts[/color]
Arts are a fairly popular subject amongst the nobility, and many younger boys and girls often are introduced to Muoarma’s art scene by parents and by the vast number of art shows hosted by the nobility. Paintings, stage plays, and statues are considered high culture, mostly because the Muhan elves also considered these things high culture and over a thousand years ago, most had trained the slaves of their heartland in the artistic arts. Many art guilds still descend from artist workshops of the old empire, although few will ever acknowledge this fact. While critics of other nations often remark Muoarma art as unremarkable or even ‘realistically bland’, the Muoarman art is very much treasured by elven curators from Muha and by nobles in Olma.
[color=coral]Elven Culture[/color]
Elves in the region of Muoarma are a very down to earth people, and their long lives often gives them a unique perspective. Elves are deeply caring for the world, but they also are extremely conservative to a fault, any change they see is something that has to be quelled if at all possible. Elves a fairly civilized people, often abstaining from violence if at all possible, and will often avoid conflict. Elven communities are known to spend lifetimes perfecting a single craft very well, making it known that most elves will ultimately master any art they get their hands on. Elven arrogance and snideness is also very infamous, and most elves are fairly private about their affairs. Due to this privacy, many peasants often hold elves with suspicion, and are often the victims of pogroms.
[color=coral]Okan Culture[/color]
Okan are considered a barbarian people, and while tamed by the lash into the Muoarman culture in the Grand Duchy, most hold beliefs and cultural practices which many frown upon. The least controversial of their cultural traditions are requirements to swim, where fathers and mothers help their pups to swim till they master it. Okan marriages are fairly lavish and fun affairs, but often, Okan males can often just ‘pick up’ their women and marry without dowry or reason, provided there isn’t a major clan dispute. Okan honor their dead by cremation, but older and traditional clans will place the body of elders in puddles and marshes, and drink the grey water after a month in their honor before burying them in a deeper puddle. While not seen in Muoarma, Okan religious rites are said to be bloody and vile, only done by fanatics in their deep marshlands.
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[color=coral][b]Military[/b][/color]
[hider=Military]
[color=coral]Recruitment[/color]
Every province in the Grand Duchy has a number of trusted elite military men who administer census data on able bodied men to their local leaders, and when war is declared, these able bodied men are gathered up and marched to a provincial capital where the higher authority divides them up into his army between soldiers, laborers, and support. This system, while it often sounds great, is not always very effective, and often ripe with corruption. Elder councils tend to send false information via bribed captains to keep working villagers at home, forcing rival villages to take their place in war. Slaves are also bought from coastal guilds to become camp laborers and supply wagon drivers in order to further fill up army ranks. Dukes and their captains tend to spend the fall months training peasants and offering others into professional armies such as the Uesbergan, but the most valued asset of the army of elven scouts, rangers, and war sages.
[color=coral]Organization[/color]
Armies of the Grand Duchy are divided amongst 4 standing forces, the 10 Levy Regiments which is the primary part of the Ducal Army, 5 regiments of the Uesbergan, 3 wagons of the Engineering Corp, and 15 wagons of the Support Corp. Each county divides up their army into a singular ‘legion’ this way, and primarily works under a singular command unit of elite infantry led by a Duke, who in turn answer to the Grand Duke. The primary purpose behind this organization isn’t often to divide up numbers, but to prevent generals from overloading their forces with too many levies, supplies, or regiments. Unique ‘legions’ are often hooked onto each legion, such as mercenaries, naval support, and auxiliaries. Garrisons are often established with a singular army guarding over a single province, often led by injured or lesser captains.
[color=coral]Muoarman Ducal Army[/color]
The Ducal Army is the main driving force and supporting levies of Muoarma, primarily made up of peasant soldiers who were trained yearly. Most soldiers are supplied by their local leaders with weapons, even though most will often have their own weapons such as spears and bows. Muoarmans are fickle about peasants wielding swords, so most are peasant weapons are shorter falchions purposefully dulled, which often has become a joke amongst the Muoarman armies. The Ducal army does provide all soldiers with iron caps, padded cloth armor, and stitched in symbols upon their clothing to identify their province. The Ducal army is primarily used on the flank and for skirmishing, dulling an enemy up before the Uesbergan are sent in.
[color=coral]Muoarman Uesbergan[/color]
The Usebergan are the main ‘vanguard’ of the Grand Duchy, salaried soldiers which are trained and armed with the best equipment. Most soldiers are granted high pay, year long stays in their barracks, and free food. In return, most soldiers remain Uesbergan for the remainder of their lives, often forgoing any prospect of leaving the army. Uesbergan soldiers are heavily armored and act as a partial heavy infantry and heavy cavalry division, many trained almost daily to hone their skills. Uesbergan in peace times sometimes are allowed to return home with heavy pensions, with the idea that they will produce children who will become new members of the Uesbergan. Uesbergan are well known for their bravery and loyalty, but also their expenses. While it is required at minimum to keep at least 5 armies with Uesbergan per county, it isn’t uncommon to only have these armies at 1/10th strength.
[color=coral]Muoarman Knights[/color]
Knights have a complicated history in the Grand Duchy, and for a long time were considered a barbarian gesture. Olma uses knights, and their effectiveness on the battlefield terrified the Muoarmans, who consider warrior nobles to be a purely a barbarian notion, as their own Uesbergan riders stand as much a chance. Knights of Muoarma are often nobles themselves, or the sons of the nobles, who train to become captains of the Uesbergan. Muoarman knights often act more as officers, trained more in commanding their units then actual fighting, which is why their appearance on the battlefield often comes in shining richly garment, which ironically does more to break morale rather then reinforce it.
[color=coral]Muoarman Engineering Corp[/color]
The Muoarmans learned from wars with Olma that siege weapons can be the difference between defeat or victory, and often each county has their own guild of engineers who personally serve the army. The Engineering Corp produce catapults, bastilla, trebuchets, flaming ammo, and conduct tunneling efforts. Muoarman armies are infamous for their swift building of these machines, and the small horde of skilled Okan slaves and apprentices that come along in their wagons. The engineering corp, while crucial in sieges, are also not very popular. Many siege guilds are infamous for their extreme expenses, often charging huge sums of coin for their services and secrecy, and often soldiers blame the Corps and their greed for any siege failures.
[color=coral]Muoarman Navy[/color]
The Great Red and Black Fleet lives on a port near Souk Mar, primarily made of war galleys with iron tipped rams. Muoarman ships are large and primarily used for coastal combat, since they have no real piracy issues in recent or previous history. The fleet often has a lackluster history, only ever being used twice against the Muhan elves, and lost both times. Most nobles consider it a dishonor to be sent into the navy, sailors dread unfulfilling careers, and slaves sent to man the decks of the ships live in miserable conditions. Muoarman often rewards contracts to mercenary ships and privateers to protect trade fleets getting close to their waters, much to the eternal spite of the Great Red and Black Fleet.
[color=coral]Knights of the White Rose[/color]
The Grand Duke holds an elite core of knights in white plate male known as the Knights of the White Rose, the traditional imperial guard of the Grand Duchy, made up primarily of knights, veterans, and champions of some kind. They are housed in the luxurious households surrounding the main grand ducal manor and act as their formal bodyguards on campaigns and conflicts. The Knights of the White Rose take their name and badge from an urban legend, believing that the first codes of chivalry were granted to their founder by a witch with a white rose. While often thought to be chivalrous and honorable, the knights are more infamous by Muoarma’s neighbors as cruel, vile, and traitorous at times.
[/hider]

[color=coral][b]Government[/b][/color]
[hider=Government]
[color=coral]Imperial Ducal Regency[/color]
Officially, by state law, the Grand Duchy is in a permanent state of regency, a kingdom without a king. To compensate for this, the Grand Duchy instead promotes amongst the members of allied dukes and province chiefs a singular leader to lead the nation, but realistically often ends up in the hands of a single family. While feudal by most standards, most kingdoms would look at the Grand Duchy’s representative oligarchy with confusion. The state is run more like a centralized imperial empire then it does a loose coalition of independent counties. While at a lower level the counties of Muoarma are more reasonable and autonomous, the higher elite are often in a constant struggle with the Grand Duke over power.
[list]
[*][color=tomato][b]Grand Duke[/b][/color] - Officially the highest political office in the land, the Duke of Dukes. The Grand Duke is a title anyone who is of the main ducal families can achieve, so long as they are voted in by popular vote after the death of the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke has formal powers to declare war, make laws, and present important issues before an assembly. While the Grand Duke has great power in the country, it is often supposedly curtailed by a powerful caste of local rulers and guilds.
[*][color=tomato][b]Consul[/b][/color] - The Consul is an elected position amongst the dukes and Grand Duke, essentially made to organize the armies of the Grand Duchy, enact emergency measures, and act in the will of the Grand Duke. The government only allows two Consuls, and is a very respected office. Consulships last only four years, but members can run again infinitely.
[*][color=tomato][b]Duke[/b][/color] - A duke is a local lord of a province in the Grand Duchy, essentially the richest, most armed, and official ruler in the regional capital. All dukes are represented in the assembly, and have the rights to vote on the next Grand Duke amongst their families.
[*][color=tomato][b]Baron[/b][/color] - Barons are local nobles, primarily rural nobility who control large estates and who administer the peasantry, train armies, and provide sons to the army. Barons live on single plots of land with their families, ruling over the locals as regional lords.
[*][color=tomato][b]Mayor[/b][/color] - Mayors are elected members of a town or city for an office very similar in power to that of a Baron, serving a sentence of 4 years with infinite possibilities of renewal. Mayors collect taxes of the city and surrounding lands, along with administering laws and organizing the city.
[*][color=tomato][b]Priest[/b][/color] - Priests are a heavily protected caste under the monarchy, but not for obvious reasons. Priests are not normally big in Muoarman politics, and in fact, most avoid it. In return for their silence in matters of state and their large estates open to taxation, priests have nigh invulnerable legal power, capable of performing their own laws by religious rites and allowed full power over specific religious matters outside of Muoarman law.
[*][color=tomato][b]Judge[/b][/color] - Judges are a group of elected peers who perform legal rites for towns, serving usually lifelong careers. Judges often have legal rites which outperform their monarchal counterparts and handle most affairs, including most affairs with legal cases against nobles. Judges rule over different legal districts based on towns and cities.
[*][color=tomato][b]Elder[/b][/color] - The town elders are the old and wise men of the village, who often also rule over the village in a Baron’s name. Elders often act as couriers of legal doctrine, and as enforcers of it, being charged with keeping census data of their villages and settling more local disputes.
[*][color=tomato][b]Captain[/b][/color] - An officer under a leader of sorts, typically a baron or duke. They are charged as marshals with special authority on a local level.
[*][color=tomato][b]Guard[/b][/color] - Armed town soldiers who have legal authority to arrest, capture, or execute. They primarily act as extensions of the law, protecting provinces on a local level and being commanded by Judges or Captains directly.
[*][color=tomato][b]Commoner[/b][/color] - Commoners are freemen of Muoarma, ranging from merchants to farmers. Their own way to increase in station is either joining the guard, being recognized as a noble or priest, living to an old age to become an elder, or being elected as a judge.
[*][color=tomato][b]Peasant[/b][/color] - Peasants are bond laborers, bound by their lineage to a plot of land which they farm and provide taxes on in return for protection. Peasants have few rights and fewer prospects.
[*][color=tomato][b]Slave[/b][/color] - A sentient being owned by another, with no rights. Muoarman slaves officially have no rights, but by certain codes of conduct, random slayings and unnecessary brutality is looked down upon greatly.
[/list]
[color=coral]Assembly of Dukes[/color]
Every winter, near the beginning of the new year, all the dukes of Muoarma and their barons appear in Aedeth Mar to debate issues facing the nations, putting forth debates and demanding policies of the Grand Duke. The assembly, if it universally disagrees with the Grand Duke on one matter, can take a vote to make a new law regardless of the Grand Duke’s permission, and cannot be repealed for 3 years. The Assembly also meets to vote on who the next Grand Duke will be, although the system is rigged for only a Penosbaug can be elected. However, the dukes can select amongst the Penosbaugs to see who their new Grand Duke could be. Assembly politics is often extremely vicious and brutal, especially when it comes to Consul elections.
[color=coral]The Council of Merit[/color]
A very recent addition to the government, the Council of Merit is an assembly of councillors from all walks of life who inform the Grand Duke on matters of state, science, religion, and economics. Various members come from all walks of life, from slaves to foreign princes, prominent philosophers to madmen. Each member has 2 apprentices and is awarded with a household and a small number of servants in the capital if their advice provides results. The Council’s advisory board has no formal power, but it’s incredible diversity and expenses had become a thing of legendary awe and controversy.
[color=coral]Foreigner Enclaves[/color]
In order to encourage trade and earn money from it, the coastal ports and cities of Muoarma build special enclaves for merchants and their families known as the Foreigner Enclaves, which are reserved for foreigners of high stature such as merchants and nobility. These enclaves are untouched politically, but the state charges exorbitant rent for the merchants to make sales and live in the enclaves. These enclaves, primarily immune from pogroms due to special guards placed to protect them, are often sources of spite amongst locals who view the diplomatic immunity of the foreigners to be intolerable. However, these enclaves encourage merchants and rich refugees to settle the inner cities, paying huge rents to the coastal rulers.
[color=coral]Ballroom Politics[/color]
Parties are part and parcel of life for nobles of the land, and a lot of deals and schemes are made manifest during recreation. It isn’t unheard of alliances and treaties being signed into being during weddings, funerals, and festivals. These politics have a simple added benefit, that more unpopular treaties tend to be ignored by the populace during vibrant parties and celebrations, a fact very much exploited by the Grand Dukes of the past. However, these political games also add to an extreme stress of the nobles, making everything a political game which causes true recreation a rare commodity. Nobles partake so much in political games in their celebrations that often, most nobles tend to become sour and deranged from the ceaseless praddling of politics.
[color=coral]Rural vs Urban Divide[/color]
Rural and Urban nobles universally have hated each other in Muoarma, being a racial issue as well as a class issue. Urban nobles tended to be poor but enthusiastic populists who value free trade, economics, and were primarily Muoazin. Rural nobles were often descendants of Elkadan nobles with lineages which surpassed beyond even the start of the Muha Imperium, and rule over vast estates run by peasants and slaves, who valued conquest, war, and expansion. Urban and Rural nobles fight very often in politics, so much so that they often openly insult and berate each other in public. While Dukes are supposedly above these squabbles, most are descended from the old Rural nobility but have come to favor urban nobles more as they moved into the palaces of the city.
[color=coral]Guild Influence[/color]
The many great guilds of Muoarma are said to be the nation’s greatest boon, and darkest curse. Many guilds are skilled and rich in Muoarma, practically ruling the country’s economic ties with an iron fist. These powerful guilds however are also deeply corrupt and extremely legalistic, often being known to flood the nation with bribes to keep ‘dangerous laws’ from interfering in their profits. The guilds only major threat has been more liberal religious institutions who view them with contempt. Guilds often tend to be also highly political, influencing political factions in order to get their way whenever they can.
[color=coral]Minor Titles[/color]
[list]
[*][b]Court Organizer[/b] - The organizer and official courier of a court, primarily a son of a prestigious nobleman who will not get much inheritance and invites famed figures to the court to increase a noble’s prestige
[*][b]Marshal of Arms[/b] - A captain of captains, essentially charged with training not only the personal retinue of the nobleman but also the nobleman’s sons, keeping the armory stocked, and organizing the protection for the nobility.
[*][b]Marshal of Taxation[/b] - A tax official who primarily is in charge of collecting taxes, distributing important economic advice, and making sure the realm is economically healthy.
[*][b]Marshal of Information[/b] - A spymaster in all but name, a person charged with letters and keeping tabs on important events and people, along with commanding spies.
[*][b]Marshal of the Faith[/b] - A court chaplain and missionary, who performs religious rites and keeps the religious health of the nobles afloat.
[*][b]Defender of the Realm[/b] - A prestigious title granted to commanders, especially in hard times, given informal command to reform the army at their leisure in the defense of the Grand Duchy.
[*][b]Champion of the Realm[/b] - A rewarding title granted to those perform great services to Muoarma, and earn the great respect of its people. Can be called upon to lead diplomatic or war missions as essentially the mascot of the Grand Duchy’s armies.
[*][b]Imperator[/b] - If generals and consuls perform very well on the battlefield, soldiers tend to grant the title of Imperator upon their generals as a sign of great respect. This title comes from the olden elven title, and who’s formal meaning has since been lost. Imperator is a great honor for most, and often their returns from war are celebrated with huge festivals.
[*][b]Fool of the Realm[/b] - Those who displease the Grand Duke or their court, especially by humiliating task, are branded as Fools of the Realm. This brand tends to sometimes be physical, made in mocking ceremonies, especially that of captured and disgraced traitors, who are paraded through the streets and forced to perform and beg for the crowd’s forgiveness.
[*][b]Enemy of the Realm[/b] - Those who are hated the most by the Muoarmans are declared enemies of the realm, hated for all time essentially. Very few have undergone this treatment, and fewer survived it.
[/list]
[/hider]

[color=coral][b]Religion[/b][/color]
[hider=Religion]
[color=coral]Cesvaii[/color]
Cesvaii is an old religion which was brought over by the Elkadan which mixed with the Muhan pantheon to create a reformed and civilized faith. The religion revolves around the worship of 5 arch gods and their sub gods, each worshipped together or in local cults. Cesvaii is the state religion, but holds separate power from the monarchy. Any and all members of the Grand Duchy formally worship at the Cesvaii temples, but often the religion tolerate other faiths to a certain degree. Most priests believe the gods of other religions are either misrepresented as their own gods, or are demonic entities and fallen angels which trick others into worshipping them.
[color=coral]Gods[/color]
[list]
[*][color=coral]Huyii[/color] - Male god depicted as a conquering Elkadan king, wielding a greatsword. God of kings, fields, summer, conquest, prosperity, glory, honor, law, and mid-day dinners. Is believed that if Huyii is favored, he appears amongst the lines of soldiers, and if disfavored will appear amongst enemies.
[*][color=coral]Marii[/color] - Male god of war, blood, and anger. Primarily a war god with hundreds of supposed domains, often depicted as a barbarian king wielding two great axes. Is believed to be constantly warring with the moon and sun, and battles are waged at dawn and daybreak.
[*][color=coral]Zangaii[/color] - God of fertility, birth, love, festival, fun, trickery, magic, music, alcohol, and freedom. Primarily a ‘fun’ god who is worshipped for fun festivals, and depicted as a genderless drummer. Popular amongst both nobility and slaves alike.
[*][color=coral]Penaii[/color] - Female god of wheat, barley, family, motherhood, fatherhood, sons, dowry, dogs, and hunts. Penaii is often depicted as a motherly figure, old and fat. It is believed she favors the family, and takes pride in bringing families together, or their survival from tragedy.
[*][color=coral]Luraii[/color] - A very old Elkadan god, and thought to be a metaphor for ‘vile beauty’, depicted as a beautiful woman who at her feet walks on bones. Luraii is the goddess of death, fall, winter, moon, stars, monsters, pain, suffering, and vanity. Luraii is considered the ‘devil’ of the religion, even though theologically is equal in power and morality of the other gods.
[/list]
[color=coral]Lore[/color]
Cesvaii lore is documented in the three holy books; The Tenod, Prophecies of Yusgadiun, and the Holy Visions of the Prophet Gusgard. These books tell a long and complicated series of tales and legends of the gods, but it is generally agreed upon that the gods are a race of extra all powerful beings and that a tribe known as the Cesvaii inhabit the world. The Elkadan were the great grandsons of their chieftain Huyii and were guided by them, and it was only recent history that they destroyed the Muha Imperium. The gods do not interact in the world not because they do not care, but because they work via miracles and vision.
[color=coral]Beliefs[/color]
Cesvaii believers tend to be fairly tolerant of other faiths, only if not because they view others misrepresenting their own gods or a son of those gods. However, there are some very clear ‘sins’ in the religion, with fairly typical laws and rules against murder, thievery, adultry, homosexuality, and witchcraft. The only thing rather unique in these beliefs is that Cesvaii does not outright condemn atheism, and passages within their lore even sometimes promotes it. Parables of the Wandering Priest for instance have implied that priests do not truly believe their own messages, and must avoid spreading false faiths, which have baffled Casvaii theologians. Cesvaii theologians believe it is their mission to spread the word of their gods and the designs of their morality to the world, often through practice more than preaching.
[color=coral]Priesthood[/color]
Each temple of the gods is run by its own group of priests, separated into 7 castes. The Usgai is the chief priest, head of the temple who performs most temple rites, whom guides primarily over a group of acolytes to help repair the temple and perform daily duties. The temple also has a cremator on their staff, a single guard who protects the church, a missionary who is assigned by the temple to spread the faith, three or so traveling priests who are allowed to perform religious rites and funerals in the local area, and a sculptor to build shrines. The priesthood is relatively distant from one another, but each temple is dedicated to all the gods, and often are in constant conflict with the cults. Priests can form missions under permission from a city temple, considered more prestigious and holy then rural temples, to build temples on foreign soil. These missions often become colonies for priests and missionaries, who help perform religious rites and spread the good will of their faith, and sometimes build small industries which are appreciated by the communities they inhabit.
[color=coral]Cults[/color]
Cults are more of an elven concept, where in their own polytheistic society, a single god is worshipped with special rituals in private affairs. Cults are often secret societies, and for good reason, as many of their affairs would be considered degenerate by the locals. Cults are especially popular amongst cities and nobility, who sometimes prefer to just worship one god. A cult of Huyii for example often worship their god in a month long summer nights, gathering in a basement where they eat special cereal and pretend to be in the court of their god. The only cult of the gods formally banned and despised are the cults of Luraii, who’s cults are infamous for sacrifices and torturous rituals.
[color=coral]Local Faiths[/color]
Local faiths, usually coming out of Muha and Ok’va, are often common enough to mix in with the religious identity of the Muoarman peasants. Peasants add various gods to their pantheons, worshipping water gods and mountain spirits. Local faiths tend to also worship various monsters as gods, and it isn’t uncommon for entire temples to form around dark entities. While tolerated by the faith, local faiths tend to get on the nerves of nobility who can neither tax them and must deal with the constant unrest their cause. While most elite would consider local faiths to be superstitious nonsense, some of these faiths tend to become very popular, and are ultimately promoted by the very nobles who despise them.
[color=coral]Festivals[/color]
The recreational activity in Muoarma is fairly common, which is why festivals tend to be a tricky matter. Religious festivals will celebrate just about anything, seasonal changes, birthdays, gods, the children of gods, local heroes, historical occasions, exc. In order to keep festivals to a minimum, the year’s festivals for an area is decided by a council of local priests who vote on what days a festival will be on, how long it will last, and what will be celebrated. Officially, the temple only allows 4 festival days a year to celebrate any number of 5 things at a time, with one day saved for emergencies. The priesthood gives ‘5 days of grace’ for each festival day, allowing venues and laborers time to set up a festival and it’s events. If days extend, the priesthood will declare bad omens for next year, and will require substantial fines from the local lord or peasantry to remove it.
[color=coral]Bad Luck, Curses, and Omens[/color]
Muoarmans are heavy believers in bad luck, curses, and omens. . .even if some of these things can exist via magic. Bad luck is often a result of spiritual failure, caused by not honoring the gods properly and thus they play tricks on the figure. Curses on the other hand are believed by caused by magic purely, and often by non-humans or evil witches. Many pogroms are caused at the hands of curse accusations, more than the civilized cities are willing to ever admit. Omens, good and bad, are caused by the moral health of figures. Good omens are often said to be rewards for virtue, such as crimson butterflies flying over the village can mean a successful hunt. Bad omens, such as frozen water during a summer heat, is said to bring signs of a terrible winter. Muoarmans go out of their way to avoid and reverse bad omens.
[color=coral]College of Priests[/color]
Every year, three powerful priests of renown travel to Souk Mar to giving their blessings to a pile of rubble outside the city, being a shrine which the elves defiled during it’s siege. It is there that these three priests present all the blessings the church had received, discuss heresies, and discuss enemies to their faith. The priests essentially set forward the temple’s policies and demands for the state, along with choosing successors to temple to help guide them. The priests pride themselves with meeting on an open field of the destroyed shrine, but often this shrine is surrounded by tents, estates, and other shrines which attract massive crowds throughout the years.
[color=coral]Views on Magic[/color]
Muoarmans are fairly okay with magic, although many lower castes have their suspicions. Magic is certainly a blessing of the gods, but that magic can be used by enemies, cruel tyrants, and non humans. Many Muoarmans tend to treat mages poorly, and often with jealousy. Pogroms against magi in the grand duchy is not unheard of, but it is quickly punished. Only in the cities are mages well loved, and are even considered celebrities. Magi thus often integrate more into cities where they are more accepted and protected, and thus end up in the guilds. Magic typically follows an arcane and elemental path, with necromancery and demonology considered forbidden arts in Muoarma. Muoarmans policy towards non-human mages tends to be complicated, as they have equal rights for elves magi, they often send slave Magi into the hands of guilds or kill them on sight. Enslaved Magi are still slaves, and often regulated to lower positions which are not allowed to perform magic.
[color=coral]Mage Guilds[/color]
Muoarma has an unusual number of Magi, primarily due to their old slave heritage in the heartland of the old Muha Imperium, which collected Magi from their subservient vassals and slaves alike. Mage guilds travel across Muoarma, collecting gifted Magi and training them in their academies, and then offer their services to nobles for a petty fee. The guilds are not only politically powerful, but also in general are extremely rich and influential. The guilds provide many services, such as taking in slave Magi to become apprentices, serving some church functions, and dealing with magical threats. Mage Guilds also study magic, and are heavily influential in court politics by having higher end members serving nobility as court mages for a huge rent. While these guilds are powerful, most are often at odds with one another, and are constantly vying for control over the Grand Duchy’s political scene.
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[color=coral][b]Economy[/b][/color]
[hider=Econemy]
[color=coral]Muoarma Taxation[/color]
It is said the Muoarmans have a very odd tax policy which is why the state can become so famously rich, which taxes peasants, priests, and nobles alike at abnormally high rates. A lot of this money is used to fund guilds and policies, which not a lot of Muoarmans tend to see. In order to alleviate stress from taxes, the Muoarman tax collectors tend to take Tax Loans, allowing peasants to borrow money from lenders to pay taxes, and in return, the peasants provide extra grain and work hours towards the state instead. The state gains a large amount of revenue from renting out foreign enclaves, tolls for using their ports, and tax schemes of the Schremekvee.
[color=coral]Schremekvee Trade Policy[/color]
The Grand Duchy’s wealth and trade prowess comes from a dubious scheme known as the Schremekvee. The policy is run primarily by trading guilds, encouraging merchants into the toll hell that is the Muoarman ports. The policy often promotes exaggerations of the ports and customer base in the cities, which in turn encourages merchants to come to the city and fall into a number of guild run scams such as royal trade license, pretend knighthoods, and dubious contracts. The merchants tend to then sell at lower prices when their prices look too high compared to local guilds, and thus sell much of their stock at what seems to be huge gains, but in reality their gains are often miniscule, but will likely return due to the business of the ports. This huge scheme requires a great deal of subversion of the guilds, and for foreign merchants not to catch onto it’s dubious nature, which is why these trade secrets are also considered state secrets.
[color=coral]Resources of Muoarma[/color]
Muoarma is surprisingly rich with resources, as was most of the heartland of the former Imperium. The weather is perfect enough in the region to allow crops to grow quickly, and many basic resources such as stone, lumber, and metal can be found in various nodes throughout the region. Resources such as rare metals, cash crops, and herding animals are not so common and must often be imported from other nations or are farmed sparingly. The richness of the land is further improved by it’s warm climate and willingness to exploit the resources with a reasonable rate.
[color=coral]Trader’s Paradise[/color]
While dubious, Muoarma’s normally peaceful coastal region has created a paradise for merchants, drawn in by crowds of other merchants and tales of fully bought stock has created a domino effect of making the coastal region of Muoarma the most sought out. Most have even claimed the city of Souk Mar and Aedeth Mar are the ‘gates to Weskas’, and their open ports have been well sought out for some time. Piracy is often minimal, protected by the sizable fleets and mercenary fleets which keep the trade coasts secure. Foreigner enclaves also grant room and board to merchants from far off lands, providing a diverse land of exotic wonder for many.
[color=coral]Imports[/color]
[hider=Imports]
Sugar
Cattle
Goats
Silk
Dye
Ale
Wine
Vodka
Potatoes
Silver
Weapons
Armor
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[color=coral]Exports[/color]
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Wood
Furniture
Iron
Copper
Stone
Marble
Rum
Apples
Wheat
Barley
Olives
Slaves
Shellfish
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[color=coral][b]Territory[/b][/color]
[hider=Territory]
[hider=County Map]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ugAlW3Vh.png[/img]
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[color=coral]Moasmar[/color]
[b]Region Capital[/b] - Aedeth Mar
[b]Ruling Family[/b] - Penosbaug
Mosmar is the capital region of the country, and has been for a very long time, with a long history of both long peace and conflicts. The region is home to the infamous Penosbaug family, an odd family which rules over the Grand Duchy with a golden fist. The Penosbaugs are a very close knit family which rarely leaves the illustrious capital of Aedeth Mar, a bustling trade city in the region. Mosmar is mostly flat land and coastline, which has been described as ‘the dream of Muoarma’ by many poets and writers. Moasmar is also home to the eternally hated Guilds of Illustrious Magi and Studded Collar, giving it the name Ski’vaka (Shackled Hell) in Okan tongue. Penosbaugs have a long held tradition of holding huge estates, including the Grand Duchy’s most prestigious gladiator school, which supplies the family’s age old tradition of granting gladiator bodyguards to all members of the Pensobaug family.
[color=coral]Jentre[/color]
[b]Region Capital[/b] - Souk Mar
[b]Ruling Family[/b] - Sanderbaug
Jentre was a rival of Moasmar for a long time, and suffered heavily from wars and conflicts with Muha, making the region more militaristic than its neighbors. Souk Mar is a famed trade center for the region, outcompeting even the grand cities of the elves in Muha several times over, and home to the Guild of Sorcerers and the Soukarian Trader’s Coalition. Jentre is a small land, home to many wineries and plantations, along with a vast elven population which settles most of the region. The Sanderbaugs are a distant cousin of the Penosbaugs, and are thought to be rivals. In the reality of politics however, the Sanderbaugs rarely go into politics, more focused on local issues and preparing defenses against would be enemies. Sanderbaugs are major funders of the military, and their armies are considered the best trained in the Grand Duchy, but not the best armed.
[color=coral]Tannis[/color]
[b]Region Capital[/b] - Pratsberg
[b]Ruling Family[/b] - Gradbeos
Tannis is called the ‘Jewel of Muoarma’ due to it’s partially tropical climate, peaceful rural landscape, and lacking of most dangerous beasts, bandits, and enemies overall. A large olive and wheat industry lives in Tannis, with several large scale brewers bankrolling most of the city of Pratsberg. Tannis is ruled by the pacifist Gradbeos, who have a cursed lineage. 4/5th of the family had ended in violent deaths, and their lack of name recogonition and fanciful armor have made them prime targets for torture and execution. Tannis has a large Olman population, most of them peasants with small villages on the outskirts. Knights often prowl the region, and its become a popular land to host tournaments in.
[color=coral]Zengher[/color]
[b]Region Capital[/b] - Gottisberg
[b]Ruling Family[/b] - Gotembaug
Zengher had used to be considered a major part of the Olman core lands, a disputed territory which for hundreds of years has been a source of conflict between Muoarma and Olma. Zengher is a very hilly land, with large cliffs and stretched out forests, but is fascinatingly rich. Zengher has a huge number of rural nobles and estates, and an even more absurd number of Elkadan old families, especially the Gotembaugs themselves. The Gotembaugs are a primarily Elkadan family, known for their beards and military expertise, the family having been in constant conflict with Olma and providing huge numbers of troops to the Grand Duchy. Most consider the Gotembaugs to be an old, but yet naive, family with no heart for the ‘progressive world’, often relying on old codes of ethics and dying family traditions.
[color=coral]Gaszbam[/color]
[b]Region Capital[/b] - Buvom Mar
[b]Ruling Family[/b] - Veunbera
Not a lot is said about Gaszbam other then it is an underdeveloped region, primarily made up of hills and small mountains. Gaszbam is primarily rural, but most of the population are poor peasantry and slaves. Okam slaves make up a large number of the population, who mine the quarries and chop down the forests, which is often why the land is dotted with huge and depressing Okam working enclaves ruled over by overseers. Gaszbam is ruled over by Veunbera family, a poor but loyal family which owed its power to the Penosbaugs for promotion to becoming dukes. The Gaszbams use to be smiths, and despite being poor and arrogant, the family is especially hopeful about improving the lives of it’s poor folk whenever possible.
[color=coral]Edgk[/color]
[b]Region Capital[/b] - Nousk Mar
[b]Ruling Family[/b] - Desbaug
Edgk is a northern alpine marshland and connected to the Ok’van marshes, a lowland where water covers nearly every part of the main road, where many horrible monsters dwell. The land used to be Okan, but most of the population had been distributed as slaves amongst the Grand Duchy long ago, but a large number still remain along with numerous rebels. The miserable and modern city of Nousk Mar is home to the indulgent Desbaugs, a well connected family which govern the land with an iron fist. The cruelty and incompetence of the Desbaugs is near legendary, often removed entirely from the life of the locals, and often extorting a great deal of money to fund their lavish lifestyles. Unhelpful at best, and treasonous at worst, the only means they have continued to hold onto power is their heavy relationship to the Guild of the Studded Collar.
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[color=coral][b]Terrain[/b][/color]
[hider=Terrain]
[color=coral]Inner Highlands[/color]
The Inner Highlands is a small group of large hills, cliffs, and small mountains which stretch from Gazbam to Tannis, which creates a small section of highlands. These highlands are traversable to most, but for moving armies they are consider an annoyance. Winding roads, difficult winds, and deep untouched woodlands prevent inland armies from simply marching easily into the land, and the hillsides are infamous for being difficult to besiege. These defenses also tend to work poorly for the Muoarmans as well, as the highlands grant protection to bandits and enemies, making it more difficult to control the region. The land is known to be very rich in minerals such as iron and copper, with gold nodes not being unheard of.
[color=coral]The Bountiful Coast[/color]
The Muhan elves call the coastal region stretching from Moasmar to Eldis ‘Sin’gora’, or The Sandy Garden. The coastline is famed for its near perfect weather, predictable patterns which allows easy growing, and short winters. The Bountiful Coast was made almost perfect for empire building, the land fairly flat and spacious to allow stable development. The Coast is home to a small amount of wildlife, the largest often only being stag. The beauty and fresh air of the coast has long been sought out by poets and writers for a long time, and has been thoroughly exploited for trade by Muoarmans and Muhan Elves alike.
[color=coral]Ok’van Marshes[/color]
The Ok’van marshes was once described as ‘The deepest pit of hell made manifest’, and this isn’t far off from the truth. Okan call the marshes their home, having lived in the small deep swamps and lowlands for generations, and calling the massive mythic bog their home. The marshes are connected to the sea and flood regularly, small lakes and untamed wilderness can go on for miles at a time. Only natural swimmers seem to live well in the bog, the land covered in giant mosquitos and huge leeches. The marshes is also home to huge peat nodes, along with the vast number of horrors and monsters which prowl the ancient land. Horned Kings are especially known to infest the region.
[color=coral]Mount Mohuali[/color]
The mountain of Mohuali is of special significance to the Muhan and Eldan elves. The elves believe that the mountain is the home of their gods and a gateway to the spirit world, huge stone temples and underground cities dot the mountain’s surface and vast tomb complexes can stretch across the mountain’s many surfaces. The mountain has an odd shape, looking almost like a C shape, with a small valley-like area in its middle which is highly fertile and home to a prestigious elven cult. Mount Mohuali is often a major site of pilgrimage for elves, and only elven lords and kings may be buried in it’s vast tomb complexes.
[color=coral]Monsters[/color]
[hider=Monsters and Abominations]
[color=coral]Marsh Walker (Draconid)[/color]
Marsh walkers are huge upright lizards which stand on two legs, have a huge body, and two long arms with long claws. Their snouts are long, with a huge spine which unfurls on their back, giving them a very alien appearance to most who see them. Marsh Walkers, as the name suggests, primarily live and hunt in the Ok’van swamps, being relatively neutral scavengers which eat fish, but do not sway away from hunting humanoids as well. Marsh Walkers do not like high heights and can swim very well, in fact, most can even go out to sea and swim for miles to hunt whale, seal, and sharks.
[color=coral]East Highland Spiketail (Draconid)[/color]
Spiked Tails is a type of small wyrm around the size of a dog with a roundish head, and a spinal tail. Spiketails use the spines on these tails to launch bone like protrusions at would be prey at high velocity, injuring their target so they may catch up with them while in flight. The Eastern Highland Spiketail is primarily identified as having a bluish and dark teal skin, making nests in the lonesome parts of the inner mountains. They primarily hunt larger animals such as bears, cattle, and horses.
[color=coral]Muhan Red Drake (Draconid)[/color]
Red Drakes are large and highly intelligent red dragons, natural predators of other draconids and bane of herders. The Muhan Red Drake primarily, as the name suggests, come from Muha and their sacred mountain. Muhan Red Drakes build nests in the many abandoned tombs and cities, fortifying their nests and attacking elven herders or traveling to the inner highlands to hunt Draconids. Red Drakes can breath fire, have rending talons which can easily puncture most armor, and can fly very fast. Muhan Red Drakes live long lives, and thus breed rarely and can sleep for 60 years at a time after a hunt.
[color=coral]Gull Drake (Draconid)[/color]
Gull drakes are small drakes which primarily live on beaches and riversides, feeding primarily on fish. Being no larger then a dog, Gull drakes hunt in packs and have a blindingly white hue, and their scales often make them look more terrifying then what they actually are. Gull Drakes are beutiful to look at, and often fight with actual Gulls and grapple with sharks. Gull Drakes are becoming increasingly rare along the Bountiful coast, due to so many knights and hunters destroying their nests for various reasons, and their hide sells very well along the coast.
[color=coral]Muhan Stag Reaver (Draconid)[/color]
Stag Reavers are large upright draconids about the size of a small house, being primarily plains monsters with stubby arms and huge mouths. They have a reddish and purple scales, hunting stag populations in Muha and sometimes crossing into southern Muoarma. Stag Reavers hunt in small families of 4-5, their nests often found in small forest clearings where they can defend them easily. While fairly distant from any humanoid settlement, they often also hunt cattle and lone humans and elves. Stag Reavers are feared more by farmers then others, being hardly able to pierce their hide with even a sizable militia. Muhan elves hunt these creatures, or least try desperatly to drive them off, although how successful they are is difficult to tell.
[color=coral]Olman Cathedral Wyrm (Draconid)[/color]
Olma is home to a rare kind of Draconid which is primarily urban, flocking and nesting near or in cities, primarily on large stone roofs of castles, cathedrals, and ruins. Cathedral Wyrms are gray in color, about the size of a small horse. They are quite unique and dangerous, having armor piercing claws and fangs, have a poisonous breath, and very tough scales. These Wyrms primarily make nests and socialize ontop of roofs, often avoiding humans below and feeding off of garbage, and hunting in nearby forests for stags, bears, and cattle. Considered pests for causing unncessary damage and creating nests in the attics, Olma often avoids the creatures and tolerate them, although many foreign visiters often remain frightened of such creatures.
[color=coral]Revenant (Undead)[/color]
When souls die via murder or by some extremely unjustified means, there is a small possibility for the corpse to simply rise again as a Revenant. Revenants simply cannot be destroyed, as their body will ultimately reform via some way or another until they kill their would be murderers or have been appeased. Revenants seems to prop up frequently in Muoarma, possibly due to the court politics which is done there, and are especially known to rise after a Pogrom had taken place.
[color=coral]Olman Vampyre (Undead)[/color]
Also referred to as ‘Olman Bloodsuckers’, the Vampyre is an ugly, deformed, and undead abomination which rises from the crypts of Olma. Descendents from an ancient blood magic ritual gone wrong, Olmans have a small chance of rising from the grave as powerful creatures of the night. Vampyres are very ghoulish, and mostly have semi-sentience and are barely aware of their own undeath. They often salvate a blackish ooze from their wounds which when feasted on, enthralls their victims permanently, which is often why the can command a swarm of rats, flies, and even other humans. Olman Vampyres are vulnerable to silver, mercury, and sunlight.
[color=coral]Marshland Guardian (Undead)[/color]
In ancient Okan religion, Horned Kings take the strongest warriors amongst the Okan into the deep marshes, turning them into guardians. Guardians are warrior liches of the ancient Okan faith, having had their hearts torn from their chests and replaced with a pulsating mass of roots, marsh muck, and weeds. These gaping wounds spread roots through their veins, and in doing so, seemingly gives them better sentience and magical power over the Ok’van marshes. The creatures retain memory, and sleep in the trees, and are supposedly guarding the inner marshlands and attacking any who seek to exploit them or harm the ancient priests of the Okan religion. Many guardians are old, many still remember the Muha Imperium, and most are extremely malevolent.
[color=coral]Bogger (Undead)[/color]
Many dead things lay in the Ok'van marshes, and those dead are preserved for almost forever. The corpses, having drowned in the mud, have a high chance of rising up as Boggers for those who wander over their graves, their dried undead flesh shambling towards would be foes to tear them apart or pull them into the marsh and forcefully drown them in it's wetland bog. Boggers are often human, primarily most known Boggers are those who participated in the conquest of Egdk, making many think the Okan have some hand in the creation of boggers themselves. Boggers tend to be born of those who become traumitized by sinking into the bog, and usually dismembering the creature seems to do it the most harm. Boggers are often difficult to spot, and shamble mindlessly in or around their grave.
[color=coral]Marsh Banshee (Undead)[/color]
Marsh Banshees are a rare form of undead horror in the Ok'van marshes, which rise primarily in distant Okan villages and occassional Edgk hamlets. Women are sometimes 'called' into the marsh by a Horned King, are killed, and buried in a defiled way which causes their spirit to rise up as decaying woman surrounded by swarms of biting insects and leeches. Their echoing and tortured screams are often part of it's pained existence, but the real damage they cause is by floating in and around the Ok'van marsh, summoning a legion of undead insects to devour others, sickening humanoids with it's vile aura, and causing waters to rise up in floods, making it easier to command its army of leeches. Fighting the banshee requires an immense amount of magic, but often proper burial and appeasement (often through killing or appeasing a Horned King) seems to help them to move on.
[color=coral]Painted Wraith (Undead)[/color]
Art and undeath do not normally mix, but in decadent socities such as Muoarma and Muha, painted wraiths have been known to exist. Those who died very tragic and cruel deaths during particularly happy times have their spirits latch onto paintings of themselves, making most Painted Wraiths former nobles. Painted Wraiths live in the paintings, coming out during the night to feed on it's owner's life, aging and decaying them rapidly. Painted Wraiths are particularly deadly, being invulnerable and difficult to spot above other specters. They also reform in the painting as well, and often only visible via irregularity within the painting itself, reliving it's own story. Only by burning the painting seems to release the spirit.
[color=coral]Lych'ii (Undead)[/color]
Muha families have many eleborate customs for burying dead magi and hosts of angels, but at times these eleborate rituals can sometimes produce a Lych'ii, a undead Magi who returned to protect their tomb. Gifted with unholy necromantic magic, and constantly floating helplessly above the ground, the creatures have an unnerving but imperial look. Many Muha elves believe the Lych'ii are guardians, allowing only Muhan elves to pass into their tombs of their family line, but is hostile to all others. Lych'ii however can be pest-like, often leaving their tombs and killing anything living or casting some kind of rotting spell to mindlessly kill things in an area. They also suffer from Mage Rot, and can accidently destroy themselves during combat.
[color=coral]Spriggan (Undead)[/color]
One of the darker parts of the old Okan religion, Marsh Guardians tend to implant 'seeds' into living prisoners, and occassionally 'gifts' of Okan youths. Spriggans are killed having the seeds travel through their bodies, and are then puppeted by their puppeteer to be soldiers. Spriggans often resemble pale, rotting beings who crunch with each step and have various sticks and twigs growing out of various wounds and often have many of their orfices overgrown or have sticks peaking out of them. Spriggans are mindless, and unlike other undead, are entirely a unique feature of Okan necromancery. Spriggans are never sentient or naturally made, and thus when one is present, they are usually in the control of some higher being.
[color=coral]Rat Toothed Vampire(Undead)[/color]
Rat Tooths are nightly higher undead beings with a strange history. Rat Tooths are distant cousins of Olman vampires, found primarily in Muha and Muoarman cities, and sometimes in Ok'va. Rat Tooths can only drink on blood, have sharp rat toothed fangs, and long claws. Rat Tooths are immortal, but are more 'ritualistic' in their nature, such as refusing to enter into homes without permission, petty in making sure things are clean and tidy, and often never being able to tell lies within holy places. While highly intelligent, most had earned their intelligence and increased power over illusion by sucking the blood of hundreds of people over their long lives. Terrifyingly fast and having some limited mastery over illusion, their many strange abilities is often linked to their early 'ancestors' having killed and absorbed the magical power of an infected host, and spread it's basic power to those it bit and survived.
[color=coral]Horned King (Fae)[/color]
Deep lands, or lands mostly untouched by humanoids, tend to spawn all kinds of horrors or grant them safety. One such horror are Horned Kings, huge vicious guardians of the green. Horned Kings resemble a huge monkey of sorts, covered in moss, foliage, and animal bones. They wear a ‘spine’ of upright animal rib cages and sport two huge antlers like a moose. Horned Kings are mostly malevolent creatures who guard their territory religiously, demand worship from those they tend to extort, and often make up cruel rituals for their gifts. Ancient Okan religion worships the Horned Kings as gods, or at least their avatars, with a number of them being very prominent in the Ok’van Marshes. However, some exist in Muoarma as well.
[color=coral]Muhan Satyr (Fae)[/color]
Muoarma has such a vibrant culture of decadence, that Fae can spawn from their festivals known as Satyr. Satyr come primarily from Muha, and are more prominent (and accepted) there. They appear as half elven from their chest and upward, and with half goat features on their face and legs. Satyr appear during the midst of vibrant parties where they are least expected, partying mindlessly amongst guests and appear to liven up the party if given acceptance. However, many of their ‘fun pranks’ become cruel jokes, and can turn very violent and dangerous. Sometimes, Satyrs will just continue to spawn amongst the party, and then begin attacking the party goers and destroying the party with an all out raid, kidnapping guests back to their unknown realm. The only real way to remove Satyrs is often via magic or simply bore them. Satyrs often thrive only in places which do not believe in their existence, or where they are popular ‘guests’.
[color=coral]Lady (Fae)[/color]
Ladies are strange and evil beings who live on the edge of villages and hamlets, Fae creatures who only spawn near ancient ponds and small forests. They appear as beautiful, nearly nude woman with a toga of flowers and weeds. They beckon villagers to follow them, and once out of sight, they use powerful forest magic to turn them into trees, a process which is slow and painful. Ladies seem to feed on these trees, adding to their groves, and improving their powers. Ladies use their powers to turn others into animals, such as boars, foxes, and wolves. Other abilities have included summoning vast swarms of ravens to peck their foes to death.
[color=coral]Arconic (Fae)[/color]
Arconics are rare Fae beings, but are immensly powerful and are the main rivals to Horned Kings. Arconics resemble cloaked wraiths, who emit a dangerous amount of buzzing, as most Arconics often inhabit a swarm of insects. They dwell primarily around towns and road sides, devouring night time travelers who bother them or try to interact with them. Arconics are powerful beings who rely on curses and using their insect forms to devour others. They tend to use powerful curses to force villagers to appease them with gifts, while also silencing them while it hangs around a village, stealing babes and children to mark. Those marked by an Arconic usually live short lives, often being weakened by the marking, but if somehow the Arconic dies or is banished, their swarm appears in those who are marked.
[color=coral]Wulvan (Fae)[/color]
Wulvans are large wolves and the primary enemy of demonic beings, although they are also wholly malevolant. They take the form of huge wolves, often horse sized, and having huge hedgehog quills cover their backs and bright green eyes. They command packs of wolves, roaming around the forests and hills, hunting travelers. They primarily hunt and kill Black Hounds, feeding on their demonic forms and using their power to enhance their pack. Wulvan tend to religiously hunt demonic beings, and will travel great distances just to murder them. Wulvan are often a sign of trouble, as either a demon is in the area they are hunting, or their pack just downright slaughters those who get in their way.
[color=coral]Mountain Hag (Fae)[/color]
Mountain Hags are a mountain Fae, although most rightfully call them demons. They resemble nude, grayish obese women with huge gaping mounds and long noses, often called She-Trolls by others. They primarily hunt humanoids, but survive on goats and birds of prey. While 'kind of' sentient, they are very primitive, often invading mountain homes to set up their own homes and living in burrows. Hags tend to use a unique form of Fae witchcraft, one which protects them primarily from other Fae and hides them, as other Fae seem to hunt them for food it seems. Usually protecting them are magical circles and fetishes made of human bone, and destroying them often means another Fae will travel to either kill them, drag them away to be eaten for later, or enslave them to their wills.
[color=coral]Forlorn (Fae)[/color]
Forlorns are mist Fae, inhabiting shore lines and are incredibly rare, but are one of the more beneficial fae who are tolerated by both humanoids and other fae. Forlorns live in the mist and travel along with, resembling near invisible floating men. They often conjure rain for those who present offering to it, but also conjure short lived thick fog for ships who try to insult it or purposefully displease it. Forlorn seem to not be able to attack physical things nor control them, often their 'sweat' often is collectable and distilled to make powerful anti-magical salves and potions to cure minor curses.
[color=coral]Royal Leshen (Fae)[/color]
Royal Leshens are a rural creature, resembling old men with goat legs and horns, inhabiting and haunting large estates and have a mixed reputation. They burrow into larger estates and often reveal themselves only to children, granting them blessings and natural treats, nearly harmless by most standerds. However, those who displease them can become horribly cursed by them, often killing entire families except for their children which it allows to live and 'guards' over till they grow. Most sorcerers are convinced that the Royal Leshen marks children in someway, feeding off their spirit subtly in order to sustain themselves, and using their power to protect themselves. Royal Leshens are not fond of other Fae, often considered dangerous but tolerable family guardians by many Muoarmans.
[color=coral]Imp (Demon)[/color]
Imps are very minor demons who live in burrows, almost specifically under dungeons and taverns. Imps are creatures which are by demonic standards, scavengers, which often live within a short distance of those drowning their sorrows in rum, or are wasting away in the dungeons. Imps resemble small black humanoids with long arms and legs, who emit an aura of extreme heat and who’s claws burn on touch. Imp burrows are especially considered deadly as these burrows can ignite with enough imps, killing the Imps but also burning down the structures the burrows inhabit. Imps are difficult to kill as well, often swarming their opponents, refusing to leave their underground nests, and can scatter very fast and simply return to their burrows once danger has passed.
[color=coral]Black Hound (Demon)[/color]
Black Hounds are demonic entities who were once possessed but had fallen ill to a specific kind of demon which had fed off primarily their meekness and exhaustion, turning the possessed into a Black Hound. Black Hounds resemble large dogs with black scaly fur which roam the night in packs, killing any they come across with poisoned teeth. Black Hounds do not always kill, but prefer to capture and torture their victims in their lairs, making them weak enough to be inhabited by a demonic entity which turns them also into Black Hounds over time. Black Hounds tend to follow dark creatures such as Olman Vampyres, Horned Kings, and Gargoyles which gain their command by collaring and leashing them.
[color=coral]Gargoyle (Demon)[/color]
Gargoyles are rare demons, primarily found in Olman and Muoarman cities, resembling demonic statues. Gargoyles are demonic beings which inhabit the bodies of church gargoyles, living on the top of roofs and spying on things below. Gargoyles will only ever attack at night with stone fists, and molding their body if incomplete from a local quarry. Gargoyles do not usually kill their victims, but prefer to ‘add them’ to their collection of stone statues and using brutal torture to turn them to stone over time, and often sometimes turning them into Black Hounds with stone collars and chains. Gargoyles are very much feared in Olma, which is often why Olman carve their stones with chains to hopefully prevent their terrifying sculptures from ‘escaping’ their perches. Despite popular belief, Gargoyles cannot fly, but they can teleport like most demons.
[color=coral]Tormenter (Demon)[/color]
Tormenters are small pack demons, often resembling larger then normal dark green imps with rounder faces and wielding a variety of clubs, farming tools, and knives in makeshift cloths. Tormenters live in small woodland packs, attacking travelers to make off to their warrens where they torture their victims for weeks, but it isn't unhead of for them to torture for months or years. They primarily keep only one prisoner and eat the rest, often being highly creative with their torment and vicious. Most tormenters can fly, and as a minor demon are often bound to higher demonic beings in and around Muoarma. Tormenters can only be killed, as they tend to pretend to be 'appeased' by their barely legiable demands for young adults.
[color=coral]Incubus (Demon)[/color]
The Incubus is a higher demonic being, often associated with cities, and Muha. Incubuses often come in the forms of beutiful figures, only to reveal their long sharp claws and fanged teeth when along. Despite common belief, the Incubus is not inherintly lecherous, it just uses its good looks and charm to get it's victims alone. What the Incubus is known for is tormenting it's victims slowly, and using it's memorizing glare to enslave others to it's will. While powerful and often commanding other demonic beings such as Tormenters and Black Hounds, the Incubus is not known to be good survivors and are inherintly rare, even in their 'home' of Muha. Many often fall victim to their own hubris, arrogance, and general lack of competence when it comes to political affairs.
[color=coral]Shadow (Demon)[/color]
Shadows are from Muoarma, a rare and lonesome demonic beings which haunts those with rare conditions such as sleep paralysis. Shadows take on the form of shadowy men and drain the spirit from others, causing paralysis while it eats. Shadows are very self serving beings, which often makes them seemingly helpful against other demonic entities or dangerous fae, as they do not wish death on their feed. Shadows tend to be difficult, quite literally living in shadows themselves or in shadowy cracks. Shadows tend to only be banished if they are stabbed at while feeding, and are often intelligent enough to not fall into most obvious traps. Shadows are feared by other demons, and even some Fae, as they seem to give them a wide berth.
[color=coral]Hunter Killer (Monster)[/color]
Hunter Killers are large insectoid creatures, typically being 7 to 8 feet tall. They resemble large upright worms, and move via their tail. They have a huge bone shield for a head, with two scythe like claws for arms. The creatures launch grooved bone spines from their bodies at incredibly high speeds, and spawn in wretched dens hidden in sewers, destroyed villages, and close to human contact. Hunter Killers are animals by most sense of the word, but they are also extremely intelligent and often hunt with care. Most who face them will die, as they have been known to easily handle everything from Gargoyles, to Horned Kings, to Red Drakes.
[color=coral]Megafauna (Monster)[/color]
Megafauna are massive, horse sized, dragonflies which roam the Ok’van marshes, feeding on the other large insects and the occasional creature there. Peaceful normally, they are considered sacred by the Okan and pests by humans due to their strange appetite for chickens and dogs. Megafauna often do no avoid humanoid contact, and rarely stay in one place, and tend to swarm all around towns and villages. Their connection to Okan is well known, often being considered royal pets and a popular ‘carrier pigeon’ for their armies.
[color=coral]Bear Otter (Monster)[/color]
Bear Otters, also known as Bea’vuka are huge bear sized otters which roam the Ok’van marshes and rivers of upper Muoarma. Despite their playful nature and bear-like tendencies, often avoiding human contact, they are much more dangerous than bears and do not shy away from swarming and killing humanoids. Being very fast and traveling in families of 6 or 8, Bear Otters eat large fish and sharks while in the water but will hunt elk and wolves on land. Bear Otters playfulness, while a heart breaking sight for poets and writers, is hated by villagers and fishers. Bear Otters tend to ‘play’ by destroying hamlets, eating fish, and snatching up younger villagers and throwing them around like an otter with a stone, breaking bones without care.
[color=coral]Sunken (Cursed)[/color]
Sunken are humans who had died at sea, but had refused to die over the perceived injustice much like a Revenant. Only issue is, the victim of this hatred is the sea itself. Sunken come to shore at night, and cannot physically leave their beaches or watery graves, often being so parched for food and drink that they turn to eating human beings and gorging on fish. Sunken can only be removed either by having their sentient selves come to grips with their death, or burying their bodies properly. Sunken are not fully undead, but rather are closer to spectral projections of their decaying waterlogged bodies. They tend to long for the afterlife and have the personality they had in life.
[color=coral]Mourner (Cursed)[/color]
Mourners are women who had become so emotionally distressed from loss, that they seem to simply disappear and weep endlessly for times on end. They can only be heard when they are not seen or best noticed, which tend to frighten others quickly. Mourners are not dangerous at first, but their hunger in their own pocket dimension can grow immense, and their spirit seeks to fill the void by sucking the life from others, causing miscarriages or killing the elderly. Mourners can sometimes appear as wraiths, attacking living things to feed themselves. Only powerful magic and religious rites can ‘return’ Mourners from their own sorrow, and live in what seems to be the future.
[color=coral]Damned (Cursed)[/color]
Demons sometimes do not like to eat all their meals straight away, but instead will ‘mark’ their victims after capturing them, and letting them go, especially Magi. Damned are usually given a simple sign, often partially subtle, such as brand mark, a cursed wart, or a black eye which never heals. This mark slowly feeds on the victim, stealing from them their spirit and life, until they become old husks. Damned can only be cured via religious rites, which seems to dispel the magic quickly. If the victim ignores the mark long enough, Damned become increasingly corrupted and warped into demonic appearance themselves as their spirit is burned away, and eventually they burn into ash or their corrupting flesh implodes in on itself and kills them.
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[color=coral]Neighbors[/color]
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[color=coral]Kingdom of Ok’va[/color]
Ok’va has a long and troubled history, being the official homeland of the Okan. The land is a traditional and highly underdeveloped, and it’s people live in a perpetual state of supposed barbarism. Ok’va is mostly marshland with huge deposits of peat strewn about the marsh, but much of it remains undeveloped due to the old traditions and clan lifestyles of the country. While only recently having gone through a significant religious change, embracing the tenants of Cesvaii, the Okan tolerate their old faith, worshipping various monsters and keeping to old traditions, although even to the Muoarmans these things are relatively unknown. Ok’va doesn’t tend to fight wars in a traditional manner, the Okan preferring to ambush and sow terror across enemy ranks. The Grand Duchy and Ok’va have no real relationship due to the Ok’van leadership being so isolated, and often both nations view each other with hatred and suspicion for many reasons.
[color=coral]Kingdom of Olma[/color]
Olma and Muoarma consider each other rivals, even though the power balance between the two has been considerable for years. Olma is the homeland of the Olmans, a feudal nation which has been ruled by the Wiezzbaugs for generations, and believe they still have a right to Muoarma. Olma is a hilly, urban country with many walled villages, hamlets, and small cities. The country often prospers from trade networks and its large cottage industries controlled by rabidly fierce guilds. Olma is famed for its impressive army and sizable retinue of armored knights, soldiers, and their burning hatred for non-humans. Olma has a long history of deadly pogroms against non-humans who have settled their region, and are not fond of elves most of all. Olma and Muoarma often despise one another deeply, and their opposing monarchs often throw ambassadors to spew threats in petty diplomatic duels.
[color=coral]Kingdom of Muha[/color]
Muha is not the Imperium of Muha, but more like it’s dream, with a very long and complicated history after the fall of the Muha Imperium. This Muha was formed by a group of elven warlords, dismantling the old ideas of empire, and founded a kingdom after years of bloodshed. Muha is a decadent land, known for its artisans and dye making, and its boundless cruelty and decadence. Muhan elves are fiercly xenophobic, and view almost all non-Muhans as little more then slaves or animals. Despite initial problems, the kingdom makes a lot of money off of Opium farms in it’s southern region, and from it’s large slave population of humans. Muhan armies are often dressed in vibrant silvers and purples, known for their small but elite units, composing of complicated roles and scouting units. Muhan and Muoarman relations are extremely taxed, but more neutral than other neighbors, with civilians and minor nobles often exchanging border glances without openly killing one another. Muhan kings view the whole world their birthright, stolen from them by barbarians and slaves, and the Muoarmans view the Muhan elves as a cruel and evil nation that needs to be taken down a peg.
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[color=coral][b]Factions[/b][/color]
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[color=coral]Guild of Illustrious Magi[/color]
The Guild of Illustrious Magi is more family then guild, primarily made up of the Naffembaug family and it’s cadet branches. The Guild runs out of Aedeth Mar, and primarily runs a mostly secular school of Magi, dedicated to studying the arts of illusion, evocation, and teleportation. The guild sells its services exclusively to nobles and are fairly in the grasp of the Penosbaugs, who invest in the guild. The Illustrious Magi are known to be arrogant and snide, many of its members are known to use charms, glamors, and fetishes which improve their looks and magical prowess. The Guild allows both men and women to join its ranks, and are known to be very expansionist and urban, being mortal enemies of the Guild of Sorcerers who they view with utter contempt.
[color=coral]Guild of Sorcerers[/color]
The Guild of Sorcerers are a Souk Mar guild which rose to power as branch of the Guild of Illustrious Magi, which primarily are more open to other Magi families, but will only take in boys as formal sorcerers. The sorcerers primarily master elementalism, weather manipulation, and enchantment. Sorcerers primarily work with rural farmers, miners, and rural nobles, often being described as kind and overly neutral in the affairs of others. The guild contracts a number of specialized mercenaries into their ranks, who are given enchanted gear and training to help fight various cursed beings and monsters, often making them a go to guild for monster slaying. Unlike their rival guild, the Guild of Sorcerers are religious and highly tolerant, allowing Okan slaves, elves, and foreigners into their ranks, as well as being known with working (sometimes treasonously) with other religions in order to aid Muoarma.
[color=coral]Redshirt Company (Mercenaries)[/color]
The Redshirts had use to be deserters from Olma who grew into a force consisting of Olman mercenaries, Muoarman turncoats, and banished Okan. The Redshirts set up a mercenary outpost in Gottisberg, and now have encampments in most major cities. The Redshirts wear Olma’s red with Muoarman blacks on their clothes, primarily taking in mercenaries. The Redshirts are famed for their pikemen and armored divisions, and for being very fickle about who they are hired by. Officially, they never work for private affairs, but only for the affairs of Muoarman nobles. The Redshirts own several large estates which keep their company afloat. Despite their Olman ancestry, the group is mostly Muoarman, and often recruits elves and buys Okan for their mercenary armies. Okan often find a rare loophole for freedom by joining the Redshirts, who provide pensions and retirement for older members.
[color=coral]Order of the Black Rose[/color]
The Order of the Black Rose is a knightly order which is a branch of the Order of the White Rose, but is also a cult of Marii, the Muoarman god of war. While they act more as a knightly order, performing duties as elite retinues and guards for other dukes, the Order of the Black Rose also performs religious rites for their god. In order to worship their god fully, order must often kill, or gash injuries into themselves or one of their slaves. The Black Rose uses a black armor, and despite their many bloodthirsty rituals, most are viewed as honorable and highly competent. Most of the Order refuse to die of old age, and upon reaching an older age will shed their armor and go off into enemy lands to hunt dangerous beasts or bandits till they expire in battle.
[color=coral]Guild of the Studded Collar[/color]
The richest and infamous guild in Muoarma is the slaver’s guild of Aedeth Mar, or the Guild of the Studded Collar. The guild primarily sells and buys slaves, but also gives them apprenticeships, fund gladiator schools, and holds several sizable (and brutalizing) marble quarries. The guild also dabbles heavily in moneylending, fishing, and shipbuilding, and is the main funder for the Grand Duchy’s fleets. The guild is infamous for it’s base greed and complete lack of morale compass, often dabbling in political affairs for their own gains. They often are known to reward their most loyal slaves with iron studded collars, which often act as the guild’s elite guard and most experienced gladiators. The guild is very friendly with the Penosbaugs, but are hated universally by nearly all others, especially the Soukarian Trader’s Coalition.
[color=coral]Soukarian Trader’s Coalition[/color]
Souk Mar is home to many of Aedeth Mar’s rivals and enemies, and one faction which holds the most vicious rivalry is the Trader’s Coalition, a mercantile group of local guilds and concerned merchants which hold meetings in Souk Mar. The Coalition founded the trade policy of the Grand Duchy, primarily printing propaganda with the aid of the College of Writers, and mostly helps keep their trading schemes intact. However, the coalition is also a reform faction, primarily using their influence to steer economic, cultural, and military policy to better suit their own pockets. One of their most hated rivals is the Guild of the Studded Collar, whom they view as regressive, cruel, and counterproductive. Most high members support decentralization, abolition for Okan, and increased religious rights.
[color=coral]Circle of Edgk Soothsayers[/color]
The circle of Soothsayers is a formal, but illegal, cult of Luraii. The cult primarily is made up of Okan druids, elven sages, and human witches who descend from several Magi families drawn to the inner marshes of Edgk and worship in a sunken Okan stone temple where they perform necromancery to commune with the ancient dead of the marsh. The circle is religiously dedicated to worshipping Luraii, along with several local marshland gods, and make it known of their intentions of keeping the inner marshlands safe from development. In Muoarma, many fear the Circle, especially Okan slaves who spread rumors that the circle sacrifices their kind to dark and foreboding gods. The circle is only kept safe due to their local popularity, along with some of their members being friends of the Guild of Sorcerers.
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[color=coral][b]Characters[/b][/color]
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[color=coral][b]Marsha Penosbaug[/b][/color]
[b]Titles[/b] - Grand Duchess of Muoarma, Duchess of Moasmar, Ruler of Aedeth Mar and her Counties, The Diligent, Bane of the Lull, Swan of the Middle Sea
[b]Race[/b] - Female Human
Marsha was Grand Duke Kaisal Pensobaug’s husband and cousin, a fact which Marsha herself can never fully forgive, as her marriage had been arranged. Kaisal was incompetent and a heavy party goer, leaving much of the politics in Marsha’s hands unwittingly, making her one of the most powerful women in Muoarma. When Kaisal died, Marsha assumed control of the estate by forcing her sons and daughters to levy ‘regent control’ over to her in order to continue ruling the state, and fixed many of the country’s issues within her career. Now, the cornerstone of that career rounds the corner, with her ambitions looking to the country’s neighbors.
[color=coral]Family[/color]
[list]
[*][b]Tesan Penosbaug[/b] - Eldest son who was cheated out of his inheritance by his mothers, forever spiteful, he now lives in Souk Mar with his family.
[*][b]Resan Penosbaug[/b] - Younger son, and likely heir, who has been groomed by his mother for politics and warfare. While taught to be as snide and arrogant as his mother, Resan holds many symapthies and more or less wishes to be a soldier more then a ruler.
[*][b]Extended Penosbaug Family[/b] - The very large, and often very important, members of the extended family from Marsha. 3 brothers, 2 step-brothers, 1 step-sister, 2 other sons, 4 daughters, and their families.
[*][b]Meizbaun[/b] - Marsha’s Okan slave, a male who had, like all bodyguards, have been well trained from birth to serve as protectors for their masters.
[*][b]Lorgan Burges[/b] - Marsha’s Marshal of Information, and a credit to her impressive espionage circles. Is also Marsha’s longtime lover.
[/list]

[color=coral][b]Nausk Gotembaug[/b][/color]
[b]Titles[/b] - Duke of Zengher, Ruler of Gottisberg and her Counties, Baron of Bilzberg
[b]Race[/b] - Male Human
Nausk is the younger member of House Gotembaug, who recently came out of serving his time as a captain in his father’s army and became the Duke of Zengher. Nausk is not very ambitious, and is in fact a fair traditionalist and conservative, but is also mostly honorable and a true rural noble. Nausk is the rival of Garlor Olo Veunbera, the Duke of Gaszbam, having greatly critized and insulted the duke and his lineage for their handling of a slave revolt and the decimation of his friend’s family in the region.
[color=coral]Family[/color]
[list]
[*][b]Penela Gotembaug[/b] - Nausks’s wife, who comes from a line of marshal barons who had served the Gotembaugs for a long time. Penela is almost as a decent warrior and commander as her husband, and his most true love.
[*][b]Kazam Gotembaug[/b] - Nausk’s eldest son and heir, also known as The Twilight Knight, a formal member of the Order of the Black Rose who one day seeks to become a member of the White Rose. He often quarrels with his father over many reasons, primarily over his traditionalist ways.
[*][b]Gotembaug Extended Family[/b] - Nausk has a sizable family. 6 Brothers, Mother, Step Father and Mother, 3 Sisters, 2 other sons, 2 daughters, 3 cousins, and 3 step-sisters.
[*][b]Zar’usaga[/b] - Elven scout and a old friend of the family, who now serves primarily as both Marshal of Information for the Gotembaugs and as a scout for Nausk’s army.
[*][b]Zerban Lulsbera[/b] - Nausk’s Marshal of Arms who was rescued from a familicide in Gaszbam. Zerban’s father, a baron, had supported an Okan slave revolt, and the whole family was punished with hanging.
[/list]

[color=coral][b]Garlor Olo Veunbera[/b][/color]
[b]Titles[/b] - Duke of Gaszbam, Ruler of Buvom Mar of her Counties, Imperator of the Highlands
[b]Race[/b] - Male Human
Garlor came to power through violence, and put down a situation which could have quickly spun out of control through excessive cruelty. A Okan slave revolt, supported by Baron Lulsbera, killed his brother and father, burying them alive in a quarry they were visiting. Garlor put down the revolt, and then hanged the Lulsberas with decisive action. Garlor was declared Imperator by his troops for his cunning in the battles of the revolt, and focused much of his time wishing to industrialize the country and reform it’s military systems. Garlor is considered a fat, rude, and snide figure with no love of non-humans whom he considered far beneath him, and has many unchecked ambitions. Garlor is a hated rival of Nausk Gotembaug, who still holds the last remains of the Lulsberas under his protection.
[color=coral]Family[/color]
[list]
[*][b]Tanberg Veunbera[/b] - Garlor’s eldest son and heir, an experienced battle commander and hardened soldier, the apple in his father’s eyes.
[*][b]Gannis Veunbera[/b] - Garlor’s second son, a meek but politically connected child more interested in reforms and improving lives rather than his father’s boisterous career.
[*][b]Veunbera Extended Family[/b] - One wife, 3 other sons, 1 daughter, 2 brothers, 2 sisters, and their families.
[*][b]Kulner Vergbaun[/b] - Garlor’s Marshal of Arms and his most experienced officer, spent half a lifetime fighting Okan insurgents and Muhan bandits as a Redshirt Mercenary
[*][b]Krale Vergbaun[/b] - Kulner’s brother, and Garlor’s Marshal of Taxation, a not very well skilled or motivated collector whom had only earned his position through his brother’s connections.
[/list]

[color=coral][b]Yekseen[/b][/color]
[b]Titles[/b] - Sage of the Circle of Edgk Soothsayers, Friend of the Guild of Sorcerers, Witch’s Bane
[b]Race[/b] - Female Elf
Yekseen was born three years after the end of the Muha Imperium, and grew up in hiding with her hermit parents in the woods of what is now upper Moasmar. Yekseen studied to become an herbalist and village healer, but often embroiled herself in politics, such as the Olman conquests, the sack of Souk Mar, and the invasion of Edgk. She became an incredibly skilled farseer, if not also becoming one of the most skilled mages in all of Muoarma and a friend to nobles and slaves alike. Yekseen is currently a leader and high end member of the Circle, and a good friend of the Sorcerer’s Guild, and often is constantly using many of her friends and allies to accomplish many strange and magical tasks.
[color=coral]Family[/color]
[list]
[*][b]Za’kain, Wisp of Edgk[/b] - A Okan Marsh Guardian, an ancient warrior who hides within the groves where the Circle meet in Edgk, primarily commanding Okan holts, training their warriors subtly, and keeping their traditions as slaves alive.
[*][b]Bun an’ Muck[/b] - A Okan druidess and Yekseen’s good friend, despite her extreme age, rude behavior, and ugliness. Nearly blind and battle scarred, she is the leader of the Circle.
[*][b]Vikeral Zinghei[/b] - Leader of the Guild of Sorcerers and Yekseen’s good friend, having saved each other’s lives hunting down dangerous monsters and curing curses in the land.
[*][b]Shaun’alka[/b] - An elven sage from Muha who had been aiding Yekseen, and a court sorceress of it’s king. She is both friend and foe of the sage, often playing her to get her own aims.
[*][b]Forgoia[/b] - Okan apprentice of Yekseen and her traveling companion, and a descendent of Za’kain.
[/list]

[color=coral][b]Tazberd Neskerbaud[/b][/color]
[b]Titles[/b] - Baron of Sazberg, Financier of the Guild of the Studded Collar, The Fat
[b]Race[/b] - Male Human
Tazberd is the baron of Sazberg in Tannis, and is one of the richest men there. He is a lonesome slob and decadent, his family colors of black and purple dot the landscape of his domain, and is a major financier of the Guild of the Studded Collar. A political ally of Marsha, Tazberd is not openly ambitious even though he is private enough for most to not know him. He primarily funded and supported much of Marsha’s efforts, along with bankrolling her government personally with suspicious funding. Tazberd is rarely seen in public, and often his privateness gives away to vicious rumors.
[color=coral]Family[/color]
[list]
[*][b]Kara Neskerbaud[/b] - Tazberd’s martial daughter, a cruel and indulgent woman who works for the Guild of the Studded Collar in tazberd’s stead, primarily leading slaving parties into Ok’va. However, her antics and blatant cruelty has often earned her more enemies than friends.
[*][b]Liez Neskerbaud[/b] - Tazberd’s son and heir, a black haired and beautiful man and a skilled knight of the Order of the Black Rose. Liez, while supposedly loyal to the cultish order, is more in his father’s pocket and a common companion of his sister Kara.
[*][b]Caizera Venkbaug[/b] - A powerful mage from the Guild of Illusterious Magi and Tazberd’s right hand, court mage, and favored ambassador to Aedeth Mar. Known for her beauty, and ugly attitude towards peers and those lower than her, she often views her employer with contempt.
[*][b]Luzban Frigbaug[/b] - Formal leader of the Guild of the Studded Collar, who had been a slave and gladiator in Muha before escaping and using his experiences in Muha to rise to become a skilled officer of the guild. Luzban funds his own private gladiator school, and is a political ally of Tazberd but not his friend.
[*][b]Zander[/b] - An agent who works with Tazberd, a cruel bandit and assassin who primarily enjoys working with Kara Neskerbaud, but despises her brother. Zander’s experience as a torturer in Olma had made him a formal overseer in Tazberd’s company.
[/list]
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