History
Traditions
Government
Economy
Religion
Major Cities
History
The Nation-City of Muinark was founded as the center of the once expansive Wycelin Kingdom whose dominion spread through the territory of both the Alliance and Muinarkan lands. It once housed the Grand Palacial Estate of the Ruler of Muinark and although during the Second Dragon Age, much of it was crushed and brought to rubble, the current leadership had it rebuilt at the expense of its citizens in great opulance but it still remains but a shadow of its once grandeur.
Traditions
Muinark is one sprawling Metropolis that is home to hundreds of thousands of people. It is wall to wall buildings and is comprised of three main levels.
Lower Muinark is the seedy underbelly of perhaps the darkest city on all of Rexum. Here no one walks without being accompanied by an entourage of armed men. Here one will find the blackest hearts and bloodiest hands. Many of these are military service men on leave whose station is to make sure that the Trading Sector remains clean of the dark and dirty part of the city.
The Trading Sector is comprised mainly of merchants and citizens. The administration of this level of the city is mainly controlled by guilds whose leading members are normally bought and paid for by the ruling elite and the Priesthood. Most of the citizens of the trade sector have lived their entire lives within the walls of Muinark and make their living by trading goods and services. While the city is aligned with some of the most evil and destructive forces, this level is filled with people who are simply trying to survive as best they can. They have no feelings towards thier government except for respect for the security that it provides. Their lives have little to do with the work of their government and they simply try their best to live as uneventful lives as possible. Most of these citizens are far from that home front and have little care for the actual actions of the ruling body of Muinark. The soldiers of Muinark are selected at birth by a process called Selection where a priest of Dyamaria, who attends every licensed birth in the city, determines whether the child will be conscripted or not. Being selected is seen as a high honor for a household because it means that the stock of the family has been deemed worthy of serving their God in battle. However some of the more well off citizens are able to avoid such a fate for their children with donations to the Temples of Dyamaria. Once selected the child is removed and brought to a barracks where they are thoroughly indoctrinated and trained for military service. These soldiers never know their families and their parents never hear of their fate. While many families try their best to avoid this conscription, they mainly acquiesce out of both fear and perhaps an understanding that such actions are necessary for their continued protection from people such as those from the lower levels of the city. These citizens are the ones that form the economic backbone of the military machine that is Muinark.
Government
The third part of the city is the highest echelon of society that serves as the ruling class of Muinark. These include the high priests and high ranking government officals.
Economy
Muinark is expert in crafting many advanced goods and services but devotes much of its resources to maintaining and devloping its massive army that it uses to enforce order and spread its borders. What it doesn't produce, it takes from its neighbors. The domain of Muinark spreads farther than the city and includes numerous satellite cities that under threat of violence send in all the food and raw materials that the city needs.
Religion
The priests of Dyamaria and Strinnanor keep the people in line with rhetoric of fear and threat of harsh reprisal. The priests of Dyamaria have a strict hierarchy and are integral for maintaining the tight grip over the city. To enter the priesthood is a grueling and painful process but many young men and women do so to try to further their position in life but many remain in lowly levels performing menial duties such as Selection, collecting taxes, and running the lower levels of the government.
History
To the west, Rexum's largest community of mages and magic users study and improve their craft. It is an ancient organization supposedly founded by Magic itself in an attempt to spread itself across Rexum. It only directly interfered with the main continent's affairs during the Purge.
Traditions
Students from all over Rexum go the Crucible to train and if they return as 'Devouts' they find themselves quite in demand. They are a small minority and there isn't a ruler in Rexum who wouldn't like a competent mage at his side. Unfortunately, the process to become a mage is an arduous one and one with a high mortality rate. In order to become a 'Devout' one much pass six trials, each one requiring a sacrifice of himself. These tests are brutal and many do not survive the ordeal. The Devouts are left with a mark from each test that brands him as having passed. After all the trials, the Devout is told the ancient secrets of the order, of the true nature of magic.
Government
There is a council of 3 mages, representing the 3 gods of magic. They have only met a handful of times. Below them there is a systematic ranking of mages that determine the day-to-day government.
Economy
The Crucible trades various magical items and services in exchange for spell materials, food and water. While fully capable of creating these for themselves, they find it far more in their advantage to simply trade for these goods to save their time for their studies.
Religion
Rather than worship the three gods of magic, they worship Magic itself.
History
The Nation of Torunalsia is entirely comprised of one expansive city that spreads all across the Torunalsian forest. Its buildings are suspended in the trees of the forest. It has roots that date back to the Primal age where the city was supposedly created by Nature as a place for followers of Life to live and worship. During the second coming of the Dragon, he razed the entire city to the ground out of spite for his first defeat. When Torunalsio began his ascension the city was in ruins. Prior to his ascension, Torunalsia was known as the Nillithin Kingdom, but for ease it will be henceforth referenced as Torunalsia. He rebuilt it under the guidance of his good friend Lorelin who taught several of its inhabitants the ways of the druid who was able to use the existing roots to regrow the forest. They kept mainly to themselves for the remainder of the Purge. However, during the War of Generations they came to the aid of the Alliance but it is not quite clear if they did so out of love for their allies or for the opportunity to fight their sworn enemies, the elves of Tuanmor. The rivalry between these two nations spans more time than simply the rivalry between Torunalsio and Strinnanor and reaches back to the ancient rivalry between Life and Death with Tuanmor being a similar nexus of followers of Death.
Traditions
Perhaps the most well known feature of a Torunalsian citizen is the nigh unending haughtiness and superiority that they exhibit towards any member of any other nation or race. The accepted pursuits of its citizens are the studies of magic, the bow, the sword, and music. Thusly all citizens are raised to be proficient in all of these areas as they have been for eons. The elves preferred choice of religious service is the singing of choral songs in which every citizen must participate. These services are considered some of the most beautiful musical performances on Rexum.
Government
Torunalsia is and always has been governed by a ruling monarchy. The current leader and the leader ever since the Purge is Sundalin Thissashim. He served as Torunalsio's personal bodyguard when he walked the earth and was granted Torunalsio's living bow as a gift just before his ascension. His posession of that bow has prevented him from aging a day since it was given to him. The length of his life is perhaps only matched by the lack of his public appearances. He keeps to himself and rarely speaks or gives any orders. In his stead the clerics and priests of Torunalsio do most of the day to day menial tasks of officiating the nation.
Economy
The elves are very self-sufficent and see little need for any trade with outside kingdoms, but other kingdoms value their goods very highly due to their expert craftsmenship and beauty. Elvish jewelry is some of the most expensive on Rexum, but also one of the most rare outside of an elvish kingdom. Torunlsian elves only trade with other nations when they seek to promote political alliances and further their own agenda.
Religion
Not surprisingly, the main God of Torunalsia, is its name-giver Torunalsio. The priests of the city hold an incredible amount of power and the only thing that supersedes their authority is the direct word of Sundalin, who rarely speaks. However there are many followers of Torunalsio's good friend Lorelin who is also known as 'the Rebuilder'. There are also several followers of the three gods of magic because from a very young age, Torunalsians are trained in the ways of magic. Many of these often leave to join the crucible but some stay in Torunalsia. There is also a nod to Mursora in the religious work of the elves, although almost none specifically worship her.
History
Traditions
Government
Economy
Religion
Major Cities
History
Far in the East, off the main continent there is an island nation that was founded by a group of rather secretive elves of which little is known. They study an ancient magic once performed by a cabalistic group known as the Elementalists during the primal age.
Traditions
Trivamulia is the home to the Propertist Academy which is a group dedicated to a study of an alternative form of magic that does not rely on any outside influence from a God or from Magic. They draw the power from within themselves and the properties of the materials around them. Their primary interests are studies of Alchemy and Propertism. Propertism is a study of manipulation of the world through the extension of the properties of an object and the elements. For instance a propertist who was in contact with a tree, could transmute his skin to wood's hardness. Every trained propertist wears a metal signet ring that marks him as such.
A trained propertist can change his body into the very elements themselves.
Government
Trivamulia is ruled by democratic system where each Propertist is given the ability to vote.
Economy
Trivamulia is heavily dependent on the main continent for various rare minerals and raw materials that they need for their studies. In exchange, the Propertists often will aid countries in various problems, including militarily.
Religion
They only worship the Primal Six.
History
The nation of Tuanmor was founded in reverance to the God of Death and has always been a neverending source of pain and stryfe of Rexum. When Strinnanor began his ascension, he had little trouble rallying Tuanmor behind his cause because he embodied everything they had always revered. They have been constantly at war with one group or another but their neverending foe is the elves of Torunalsia whom they have kept a deep seated hatred for since their creation.
Traditions
The elves of Tuanmor are a brutal and cruel race. For every bit that their Torunalsian counterparts spend on music, song, and craftsmenship, the elves of Tuanmor study the dark arts, torture, and weaponsmanship. All inside Tuanmor is dark and foreboding. The very trees of Tuanmor droop in a waning symbol of decay.
Government
Tuanmor is ruled by a small enclave of very powerful entropes, which are a group of elite warriors who through their devotion and dedication to Strinnanor have remained deathless and empowered. They brutally kill others in order to increase their own abilities and lifespans. This need for sacrifices has caused their neighbors to be in a constant state of fighting back incursions by the Tuanmor military. They do not fight for land, but for the thrill of it and the power that the death that they deal brings them.
Economy
Tuanmor does no trade with the outside world because they harbor a hate for outsiders. They spend their resources almost entirely on their military which they use to keep kill for thier twisted goals.
Religion
Originally, Tuanmor was dedicated to the God of Death, but after his departure, Strinnanor stepped almost directly into his place, using the same temples, priests, and sacred symbols.
Major Cities
Tuanmor is one continuous nation in the forest. There are no borders of cities. In the Center there is a grouping of buildings and temples but there is little organized political boundaries within the nation.
History
The Nillithin Kingdom (Now known as Torunalsia) during its peak of power and influence was one of the most powerful nations on Rexum during the Primal Age. Underneath the thriving metropolis in the branches, burrowed in the ground because wooden buildings were forbidden for them, the Senristian people lived. Their name roughly translates to approximately "dirty person". They were the racial subgroup of the Nillithin elves that were doomed by birthright to the poverty and the menial labor of the Torunalsia that those "high" elves refused to dirty their hands with. They were noticably differentiated by their much shorter stature and slightly stouter frame. They existed in a state of near slavery, although the Torunalsian refused to consider it that. Nonetheless, they were bought and sold as property. When the Dragon, during his second coming, leveled the Nillithin Kingdom centuries before Torunalsio's ascension the Nillithin forced all the work of rebuilding on the Senristians. After centuries of this harsh treatment, this added labor was the breaking point there was a brutal uprising that when quelled left all of the Kingdom nervous. This was when Torunalsio, prior to his ascension, who was a then up and coming priest for Life began to be heard when he spoke of how the harsh treatment of the Senristians should end. He worked tirelessly to improve their conditions and would frequently send aid to this ailing people. The King listened to his arguments and mainly out of fear declared the "freedom" of the Senristian people, which was in reality a sentence of exile. Torunalsio spoke out but his influence then was quite limited. The entire Senrisitan race were relocated and forced to live east in the far more desolate land. The first few generations were rough and brutal, but slowly they developed their own subsistence. As of now they are a thriving nation who are known for their hard work, dedication, and curiousity.
Traditions
Despite an overall resentment to the Torunalsian nation, the people of Senristia have developed a healthy and vibrant culture of their own. Their main values are hard work and dedication. Their homes are only made of wood that has fallen in the forest for they never cut down trees, a leftover of their lives under the Nillithin Kingdom.
Government
The government is ruled by a council of 7 elders.
Economy
Their hardworking lifestyles have made them a rather prosperous trading economy. They export a great deal of raw goods such as food and ore. They import various goods from other nations, especially some of the more finely made products from the other lands.
Religion
They worship 3 main Gods, Gadder, Lorelin, and Torunalisio. During Torunalsio's ascension, he was able to unite all the elven kingdoms including Senristia. This was done because they all knew of the work that he had done in their name in an attempt to end their harsh living conditions. He was perhaps the only Nillithin elf that could have accomplished this.
Major Cities
The capital is Hunik, which is mainly a trading nexus for the rest of the nation. It is a short distance from the trading ports to the South and the Alliance trade routes to the west.
History
Traditions
Government
Economy
Religion
Major Cities
History
Traditions
Government
Economy
Religion
Major Cities
History
The Steelmar Clan of dwarves were a hearty and peaceloving people but after the discovery of a strange plant that grew deep in the tunnels, a legend of an ancient underground being began to spead. This led to the creation of a cult, named Bloodstone for the sacrifices that they performed. When it became known that they were responsible for a long swath of murders in their Clan, all those associated with the Bloodstone Cult were banished into the deepest and darkest tunnels.
The Bloodstone dwarves are a brutal people. They are constantly running raids in an attempt to exact retribution for their exile. After the First Night, while tunneling ever deeper into the ground, one of them found a piece of the Dragon's heart. That dwarf became Hurkurn (the tunnel) and took almost no part in the Purge.
Traditions
Their warriors are berserkers whose only armor is a warpaint that they make from a mysterious plant that grows in only the deepest and darkest caves. It grants them uncanny strength and resistance to wounds. They live in almost complete darkness and appear to suffer from a madness that causes them to dedicate themseves to their two obsessions, digging deeper in search of Hurkurn and the destruction of the Steelmar Clan. Bloodstone Clansmen have been known to tunnel with their bare hands if deprived of their tools.
Government
They have no real government to speak of. Their only source of organization is in following the priests of Hurkurn.
Economy
They are entirely subsistent on eating a strange plant that grows deep in the tunnels of their domain. According the Steelmar clan the eating of this plant is the source of their madness. Their weapons and digging implements are either stolen from the Steelmar clan or are simply crude implements.
Religion
They worship Hurkurn body and Soul. Their priests hold utter sway over their actions. They are the only dwarves that do not worship Stonemore.
History
Traditions
Government
Economy
Religion
Major Cities
History
After the First Night, those poor souls that found themselves afflicted as members of the Underraces were slowly driven Eastward as every encounter they had with people along the way was one of fear and hostility. Slowly they began to coalesce into small groups and villages. As Frakner began his campaign to retake what he felt he had been deprived of, he pulled these small villages together under his command. The people felt slighted and angry and Frakner gave them something that had been lacking, a place to belong. Frakner was even able to gather some of the more mentally affected underraces and even some other beings that had been affected.
They invaded the old Wycelin Kingdom but were beaten back. After the Ascension, without Frakner there, the underraces slowly disbanded and diffused across the Eastern Desert. There are still members of the underraces that still run incursions on the Eastern Border of the Alliance as well as have spread Northward towards the Goldaxe Clan and they are often involved in disputes over land and territory.
Traditions
The members of the underraces came from all around Rexum and slowly found themselves to the Eastern Desert. Angry at their treatment, many of them rejected the cultures of where they had come from and they developed their own society. While a hardworking people, they harbor great resentment to the uncursed. Generations have passed since the first night and now the Underraces know not what it was like to be uncursed, which is perhaps a blessing for they have been doomed to a life of hardship and isolation.
Government
There has not been a government in charge of the Underrace Nation since Frakner left this world.
Economy
No one will trade with them for fear of being afflicted with their condition so they are forced to either make or steal everything that they need.
Religion
They worship Frakner for he was the one who united them and brought them their greatest gloy.
History
Nulon of the Trivamulian kingdom was a very high-ranking propertist when he began his own faction within his own kingdom, spreading a new ideology. He claimed that he knew that the Six were formed from the Dragon and not the traditionally opposite view. He practiced forbidden Propertism, seeking to find uniformity in the Six and did so.
Traditions
While the eldest were branded to prevent their use of propertism, the younger ones have begun to learn, but the lack of the Crystal Isle's facilities has meant that their progress is stunted and will never reach surpsas the rudimentary to the the level it would have on that island.
Government
Nulon's son, although quite old now, is the current leader o f the Northern exiles.
Economy
They are forced to be self-subsistent because they are forbidden from any outside contact. In a barren land where they cannot farm, they are forced to spend almost all of their efforts hunting and fishing just to survive.
Religion
They worship the Dragon as the First One, the Progenitor, the One Before the Six.
Major Cities
They live in a small tribe in the far North, where there is only ice, sleet, and snow.
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