Hello, back again with one of these threads that everybody loves to love (or despite). The rules are simple:1. Post an image, then write something about it so it'll be a part of this setting (whether it be a nation, person, religion, random lore, you choose)2. Nations will be added to the map3. Try to be reasonable and respectful - keep power fantasies to a limit4. Overall idea is a "generic" fantasy setting but its aesthetic and feel will be determined by the additions
>>94847389Here's my own addition to kickstart things:>The Skyhold of Murath-KalPerched atop the jagged cliffs of the Ashenveil Mountains, and blanketed by constant mists, Murath-Kal is a city-state revered as the "Spire of the Sunken Sky." Built by an ancient sect of stonewrights who believed the heavens could be reached through their unyielding ambition, its towers are carved directly from the cliffs themselves. Murath-Kal thrives as a hub for trade in rare minerals and artifacts mined from the surrounding peaks. The city is governed by an enigmatic council known as the Aetherlords, who claim to commune with spirits dwelling within the mountain's stone.Those Aetherlords are the descendants of the stonewrights who founded the city, and they also serve as the spiritual leaders of the populace. Its isolation is both its strength and curse; though protected by natural barriers, Murath-Kal’s reliance on airships for trade leaves it vulnerable. Travelers speak in hushed tones of a “Living Fog” that sometimes consumes wayward ships, never to be seen again.
>>94847469
>>94847469and one more before I go to sleep>The Salty Steppe and the Zhur-Khaal CatacombsThe Salty Steppe lies to the south and southeast of the Ashenveil Mountains. This once-fertile land has been rendered barren by centuries of saline deposits carried by ancient winds, though the people of Murath-Kal attribute this change to a more sinister force. An island sea once occupied the region, now reduced to scattered salt flats and shallow brine pools.The Ashenveil Mountains serve as a rain barrier, trapping most of the moisture on their northern and western faces while leaving the Steppe in a perpetual rain shadow. There's a perilous passage connecting the Steppe and Murath-kal, and the citizens of the latter often organize voyages onto the Steppe for the gathering of rare ingredients, artifacts, as well as the ever precious salt deposits.Zhur-Khaal was once-thriving city of alchemists and scholars. Long ago, it is said that its people had delved into the arcane, using it to harvest the power of the water of their land, manipulating the weather, causing storms and rain on a whim. Their experiments, however, went awry, and the city decayed alongside the fertile lands it was surrounded by, being slowly consumed by the salty decay.The ruins are still visited by daring scavengers who seek ancient alchemical secrets within the sprawling catacombs. Most people within Murath-Kal, however, believe it to be a cursed place, and the descendants of Zurath-Khaal's survivors are still viewed with suspicion, generations later. There is a faint, glowing mist at the surface surrounding the once sprawling city, and there are rumours that the underground tunnels and catacombs are twice the size of the above-ground city.
>>94847727
In the the far north, titanic mountains and valleys crisscross the the frozen land. In this wintery maze, some herd reindeer in the vast wilderness, while most huddle in ancient, domed Sieidi. As in Murath Kal, here too, airships form the backbone of trade, for the mountains hold up the very sky and only the hardiest herd of reindeer could survive a journey to the next closest Sieidi.
>>94848790Just as traders ply the air, so too do raider clans. As each Sieidi is necessarily independent, each captain can take his prize and expect to sell it off at the next settlement.These men are unparalleled navigators, the ability to fly the valleys with nothing but a stopwatch and the chart being a requirement to survive the frequent white out conditions. To stop during the storm is unthinkable, for the blinding gales are likely to outlast the fuel that must be burned simply to keep warm on the ground.
>Gre'ch Áhm / Primeval Fog Beyond the coasts of civilization, hidden between the merciless seas and raging storms exists a land forgotten by time. Few have explored this place, and even fewer returned from it. Those who returned talk of a place where the veil between reality and the spirit realm is thin and of fogs that make the hours feels like days and distort the perception of men. Of tribes ruled by spirits older than the sea and of beasts that remind men of a time where man had naught but their claw and teeth to defend themselves.
>The Curse-Stone IslandsJust off the northeast coast of the largest continent, two islands with an inlet between them forming a perfect circle. The Islands are barren, and formed from what appears to be volcanic rock and glass, though the nearest volcano is thousands of miles away. Travelers who get to close often suffer horrible sicknesses and pieces of the stone, hideous and organic-looking, like an infected scab, are said to carry a terrible curse. What could have brought such dark magic into the world?
>>94849254This is not a place of honor.
>>94847389>Goth'ogg R'llk & The Ghost Bloom A forgotten and desolate location, Goth'ogg was a former cityscape whose people believed that the spirits surrounding their land could be made incarnate by allowing them to inhabit naturally occurring structures and objects within the world. As such, it was their view that all things in or near Goth'ogg were inhabited by one or more spirits, with the greatest of these being the Great Spirits of the plains and city itself.Unfortunately, the city would soon be ravaged by an unforseen epidemic of sudden illness. Initially thought to be a mere sickness of the body, it was eventually discovered that victims in the throes of the infection would be covered with bizarre growths somewhere between plant and stone, which would spread from the points of infection and adhere to the environment around them, even attaching to other non-infected people if they drew too close. The horrific effects coupled with the sheer spread and transmission of the 'disease' swiftly caused the entirety of the city to be quarantined and blocked off, with wards to deter the newly named 'Ghost Bloom' from spreading outward into the wider nation. Now, the twisted flowering amalgamations of stone, people and plant life remain with the corpse of a once great city-state as an ill omen.
>Al SuraddaA coastal empire where the Merchant Lords of Suradda rule for 8 great cities that form its nation. Formally they were of the desert dwelling Nasurma but found their way of the great oceans after numerous clan wars forced them from their ancient trade routes and have taken their lot with the Southern Akura Empire with their lords having married into their Noble lineages.
In the eastern islands, a pantheon of many gods was worshipped until a great war broke out and devastated the populace. Afterwards, the mythology changed to match, saying that all the gods perished in the war except for their equivalent of Aphrodite, who is now worshipped solely and supremely. Any other gods are referred to as dead gods, and openly worshipping them as they do on the mainland is considered a grave crime.
>>94847469Thousand Steps of MurathIll Climb them one by oneThousand steps of MurathI Hope im Nearly DoneI Hope Im Nearly DoneThousand Steps of MurathI Think I see a lightThousand steps of MurathClimb another flightClimb another flight-Dwarven Folk song>>94847727maybe the king and nobility were kicked out and lives in exile in Murath. the people of Zhur-Khaal elevated a begger king after the famine you mentioned. >>94848790The Byzantine and Cosmopolitan people of Murath love to wear to fur coats made from a specific type of GIANT BEAVER that lives deep in the frozen lands. Trappers of all Fantasy Races come to the frozen land to try and strike rich.
Alessia is a mountainous peninsula whose terrain is ravaged by a magical radiation known as the Corruption. The Corruption mutates animal life and will turn men into violent, mindless monsters. It is able to be cleansed off with water, but exposure to the Corruption causes permanent damage if consumed or allowed to build on the skin. Alessian land fauna is gigantic and primarily consists of flightless birds, insects, and enormous monstrous creatures, while natural flora is dominated by ferns, pines, firs, and ginkgos. The climate is tropical, with high temperatures, high humidity, and periodic monsoons. For unknown reasons, random psychic storms will occasionally drive all animal life not under a roof into a manhunting rage, causing animals to form into unnatural swarms and throw themselves at the nearest humans in a coordinated attack for several days until they exhaust themselves.Human communities in the peninsula are formed around fortified shelters where the people can flee when the swarms attack, generally made of stone and often built into the rock. Settlement buildings are often connected by underground or enclosed pathways to allow people to go from one building to another without going outside into the Corruption, while doors to the outside are often accessible only via ladder or are otherwise protected. Alessian communities are surrounded by wet rice paddies, and rice is the staple of their diet. Alessians supplement their diet with tubers and root vegetables, hunted beast meat, fishing, and aquaculture. When outdoors, Alessians cover themselves head to toe in fabric to protect against Corruption, while indoors they wear little clothing and have no conception of modesty or a need to hide the nude form. Alessians are a highly communal people, cooking, eating, and doing non-agricultural work together in their longhouses or great halls. They fight primarily with spear and shield, although crossbows, knives, and magic are also used.
>>94850084Alessian communities are led by a mage who binds themselves into a magical core anchoring the shelter, turning themselves into a Dominus and granting themselves nearly unlimited magical energy within their Dominion. Domini owe allegiance to the Domina Superior, who reigns in Antiqui, but in practice each Dominus is able to exercise near total control within their domain. The Dominus is bound to the core for life, and can only be replaced after their death. The Corrupted Wastes are littered with abandoned Dominions that have fallen to Corruption, famine, disease, civil violence, and more; most are filled with monsters, loot and a claimable core for the bold, the prepared, and the lucky. Alessians are known for their diversity in hair colors, with all colors of the rainbow as well as more conventional hair colors naturally occurring in the population. It is believed that hair color impacts the personality, with blue hair being associated with shyness and kindness, white hair with prodigy and pride, blonde hair with low intelligence and loose morals, and pink hair with naivete and charity, among others. Their skin tones run from pale to dark brown, with greater diversity than is common in other regions.In a hidden vale in the center of the peninsula, hidden behind doors of metal, automatic defenses, and deadly Corrupted monsters lies the HMS Starfarer, a crashed spaceship whose esoteric reactor is behind the Corruption. Heroes that conquer the ship could claim archeotech artifacts and alter or end the Corruption, changing the destiny of the entire Dominate.TLDR: Jurassic anime tropical HRE with dungeons
>EidolonsA classification of corrupt spirit, Eidolon may only be manifested into the world in places of great spiritual defilement or where major atrocities have been committed. Upon their manifestation, an Eidolon usually appears as an entire blighted or distorted landscape of painfully warped geography splayed out in graphically organic yet unfamiliar and alien ways. Warlocks and mad men usually entreat with these distant intelligences but the Eidolons 'gifts' always lead to further corruption and the destruction of the land. Any area exposed to Eidolonic taint is permanently blighted, the spiritual energies there being rendered impure and any life, be it beast or man, twisted into unrecognizable abominations.
