Elysium
Nuts
This is the thread for all things lore related in the Guardians of Gerhard RP. There is no other posting in here, outside of the Lore i edit or write as the story goes on.
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Fantasy Guardians of Gerhard Lore Thread
- Thread starter Elysium
- Start date
Provinces of Gerhard
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Elysium
Nuts
Provinces of Gerhard
(The Provinces are in no particular order)
1. Silver Shores - The region north of the Dointen River and Jerav River delta. This is one of the only two non-landlocked parts of the country. Silver Shores is made up of grassy hills leading to a sandy shoreline. Many ruins of unknown origin dot the hillscape, and they have remained a puzzle to many archaeologists, as they have resisted any and all attempts to get inside of them.
Silver Shores is made up of one city and two larger towns, all three of which reside on the white beaches that the province is named after. The towns are trade and fishing hubs, sending ships across the Nightsea to the north, but otherwise are nothing interesting or special.
The capital city of Silver Shores is Reefton, ruled by a merchant company that controls the international and northern Gerhardic trade. The “ruler” is an elected councilman named Cassius Drake, a known greedy fop, but a stalwart member of the Gerhardic ruling council. Despite his flaws, he is a well liked governor even if he can be annoying.
2. Altir - Altir is the home of Gerhard’s holy city, and the former national capital, before the Mulhorrin conquest. Located just north of the Gerhard province and south of the Dead Marshes The province doesn’t have much outside of dense forests and the occasional tribe of druids who worship and protect this sacred wood.
Altir is small, and only has two cities, Altir and Varracas. Altir is a city made of immaculate white stone nestled deep in the forest. Varracas a city founded by elves just a few hours south of Altir, and is the elven capital of Gerhard. The two cities are close, and share much with each other.
The leaders of Altir are a selected member of both cities, who convene regularly and come together to find solutions and compromises. Altir is represented by Grandfather Mosk, a grandmaster monk that has led his people for nearly a century, and Kalas, an elven woman that was elected to represent the elves for this decade. Both are adored and welcomed in both cities, as are the citizens of each city also close knit.
3. Winterhall Mountains - The Winterhall mountains are the range that divides Gerhard from the world to the east, with massive redwood trees acting as a wall between the mountains and the rest of Gerhard. The brutal crags and inhospitable passes, along with freezing temperatures year round and blizzards with power enough to rival the sandstorms of Jenovah, create an environment only the toughest bastards can stomach for long.
The only “city” of Winterhall is a massive cavern system underneath “The Plateau”, which is also the name of this capital of sorts. The caverns house different tribes of people, and dwarven outcasts, who conglomerate and work together to survive in this brutal part of the world. The Winterhall province is also home to the Dragonguard, berserker knights. The Nightcloaks also make their base in Winterhall, in an old fort in the redwood forest, although visitors are not welcome.
The ruler of Winterhall is a wise and benevolent silver dragon named Vormund. This dragon is very old, and doesn’t move around as much as he used to, as his extraordinarily long lifespan is reaching its end. However, people love and respect Vormund, and people even make pilgrimages from other provinces and countries just to see him.
4. Gerharda - The present capital province of Gerhard, more centrally located than the previous capital. The Gerharda province is a chunk of hilly grassland turned farmland, and the fortress city of Silvrin nestled in a tiny range of small mountains. The province is pleasant, but isn’t much outside of one of the main food hubs for the entire country.
There are several farming villages in the Gerharda province, but the two cities people really care about are Silvri, the capital of the entire nation, and Oresimirar the capital of the dwarves of Gerhard. Silvrin is a gargantuan fortress built into the side of a long dead volcano, designed and built not only to be impenetrable, but comfortable, liveable. Oresimirar, the home of the Gerhardic dwarves, resides underneath the same volcano.
The ruler of The Gerharda province is the King or Queen of Gerhard, although a council tends to deal with the day to day needs of the people of the realm, while the monarch deals with other things. However, with the king, queen, and heir’s assassination, the rule of Gerharda has shifted. For the time, Gerharda’s king is King Knox Mirar, the ruler of Oresimirar and longtime second of the Gerhardic King, while the regent, General Aneas Nailo, takes care of the rest of the country, moving the ruling capital of Gerhard to Altir.
5. Jenovah - The eastern quarter of Gerhard is unforgiving desert, and the largest, most brutal and most beautiful chunk of that desert is Jenovah, the land of white sands. Lifeless and silent, outside of the occasional oasis village, the desert is famous for how quiet and peaceful it is. Until the sandstorms come, and threaten to scour the flesh off of bone within minutes. Fortunately, Jehovah is laced with underground tunnels of unknown origin, the dwarves of Gerhard denying their involvement. Towns are centered around these tunnels, and manned checkpoints make up a travel system through the angry desert.
There are two major cities in Jenovah, but the rest are the aforementioned oasis villages. Jehanna is the capital, a large, sprawling desert metropolis built around a couple of water sources. The second is Karsh, one of the few remaining Mulhorrinese cities, now property of Gerhard, nestled on the border of Jenovah and Mulhorrin. This is the only point of contact between Gerhard and Mulhorrin, for Mulhorrin refuses to allow Gerhard citizens in.
The ruler of Jenovah is Lady Samira, a young new monarch that took up the mantle just a few years ago, after her mother passed from illness. Despite her inexperience, she was taught to rule from an early age by her mother, who was considered one of the best. She is popular enough, but there is rumor of rebellion floating through the villages.
6. The Dead Marshes - A large chunk of marshland to the north of the Gerharda province, encased by four of Gerhard’s major rivers, and rumored to be haunted, as these marshes are where the lich Anlagen died and was reborn as a god. The marshes are a dank hell scape, and little happens in there, as caravans and travelers do everything in their power to avoid finding out if the rumors of the bogs being full of the undead are true or not.
7. Tarvall - Tarvall is the stretch of basically worthless desert between two mountain ranges on the western border, and as such it is the only “easy” way into Gerhard from the east. It is both a hotbed of trade and bandits, and is a relatively lawless place.
The only city in Tarvall is named Tarvall, after the founder a few centuries back. As fiercely independent as they can be while holding a toe on the line with the sovereignty of Gerhard. Tarvall is one of the main homes of organized crime and the criminal underworld as a whole, and very little is illegal here, if you know where to look.
Tarvall has no real ruler, but has a councilman named Davies who is, blunty put, an unpleasant human, a poor example of the species, but rich and powerful and more than capable of turning anything to his advantage.
8. The Devastated Wastes - Neyond Jehovah is a section of desert that nearly everyone in Gerhard fears. Almost 400 years ago, a cataclysmic event annihilated a beautiful tropical rainforest sitting atop deep, magnificent canyons, and a race known as Jungle Elves. In the north, a magical calamity happened that turned the rainforest into a dead desert. The aura of dark magic hangs heavy over this region, as a literal shadowy cloud, becoming a choking miasma the further north you go. Very few who step into the cloud return, and they come back… different. And usually kill themselves before long.
9. River Torond - River Torond is a mid-sized province, with multiple towns closely built on a plot of flatlands where many rivers intertwine and spill into the only exit from southern Gerhard, the Scarlet Sea. Scarlet Sea is an honest name, for the brilliant reddish dirt from the mountains run into the sea and stain it a dark red for hundreds of feet beyond the coastline.
River Torond is one massive city, composed of smaller towns built together between chunks of land surrounded by rivers. It is inhabited by talented individuals in every field, with those fields being divided by the “towns” that make it up, i.e. carpenter town, smith town, alchemist town, etc.
The Builder's guild makes up the ruling council, made up by a member of every “town”, and sends a different member to each convening of the Gerhard council. And due to the technological nature of Torond, a growing number of people are starting to talk about a shift in the entire paradigm of the world. This group is known as Unity, and they desire to unite the entire world with this technology, and put an end to silly superstitions and religious beliefs. They are currently just talk, but if enough of the advanced country of Gerhard sways, the old ways may be over.
10. Mulhorrin - A city state ruled by Gerhard, tucked in the northernmost part of Gerhard, an independent society state surrounded by Jenovah, The Nightsea Mountains, and a chunk of the Devastated Wastes.
Mulhorrin is a single city surrounded by the only viable farmland and an aqueduct. Mulhorrin lost much during its multiple provocations of Gerhard, and when Gerhard finally said enough, they became nothing more than a city, ruled and populated by mages, and the farm towns around it, for the normal people. There is nothing but a dangerous mage guild here, Sorcere, which is a significant portion of the population of the city of Anorith.
Sorcere rules this city state with an iron fist, keeping what remains of their people in line. Mulhorrin is poor and devastated, and relies on Gerhardic trade to keep them alive. They hate Gerhard with a passion, but no longer have the power to do anything about it, even with Sorcere.
11. Eastvale - Eastvale is a large section of eastern gerhard, between Winterhall and the rest of the country. It’s a giant valley with the largest number of populated towns and cities in all of Gerhard, with the Donton river running through the middle. It also happens to be the most populated part of Gerhard overall. Mountains for mining, forests for logging, farmland, ranchland, fishing lakes, and so much more, Eastvale has every industry for everybody. People coming from the east to Gerhard have to pass through Gerhard after surviving Wintherall. A lot choose to stay, for there's an opportunity for even a peasant to become somebody in some field here, even if they’ll never be invited to River Torond.
There are five large towns, dozens of ranching, farming, or other villages, and a metropolis to rival Silvrin or Jenovah. Lakeview is a large city with glorious mansions and garbage slums, a mecca of trade and industry, all sitting on the northern shore of Lake Redwood.
12. Westwood - The Westwood is the home to the Bronze Helms division of the military, their homes nestled deep in the sparse forest known. Not much else happens in these woods, outside of travelers moving down the roads to Silver Shores to the north, or the Karth province to the south. Few people want to mess around in the home of Gerhard’s spy network.
The only city in Westwood isn’t much, just a big town centered around a fortress called Fort Dervain, which became the name of the town. Outsiders are welcome, albeit with close eyes constantly watching, but there’s not a ton of reasons for people to come here, unless it’s trade or government business.
The ruler of Westwood is a dwarf, Katarn Koranz, who is also the Bronze General of the Iron Legion. This middle aged dwarf is perhaps the most cunning bastard in all of Gerhard, and he’d be a dangerous politician if he gave a damn about politics. Instead, he thrives off of intrigue and plots, and usually just lets his son, Kochar, run the daily town stuff.
13. Li’arme - Named after the legendary hero who slew Anlagen, the province of Li’arme is a wide expanse of flat planes and evergreen woods, with a couple of large lakes, and a port to the Scarlet Sea. A giant obsidian ruin known as the Demonsgate resides in the rough center of the plains, a massive ring that’s now broken, chunks of black stone glass littering the area.
Li’arme has only a few towns, just general townships that don’t have any real unique features. The capital of Li’arme is known simply as Li’arme, a ranching feudal lordship that was the home of the hero Vormatz. His tomb is interred in the capitol building, which was built by expanding his old farmstead over many generations.
Henrietta Li’arme, current ead ofh the Li’arme homestead, direct descendant of Vormatz, is the ruling force in Li’arme. Li’arme is the capital of Solara worship in Gerhard, as Vormatz was a true believer, a devout worshipper, and mighty cleric of Solara. Henrietta is the same, as the grand priestess of the Daygod in Gerhard.
14. Lindenfell - Lindenfell is the home of the halflings and gnomes of Gerhard, and the other small goodly races. An expanse of grassland bordering the Scarlet Sea, and a wild forest smashed up against the Winterhall mountains. Lindenfell is also the de-facto capital of Wood Elves, although wood elves kind of live everywhere there’s a forest.
There is only one real town in Linderfell, named Littleton, due to the fact that pretty much every structure in said town is made for much smaller people. Littleton is a great place to be, built for small person defense and strategy, but still hospitable and warm to the larger races. A criminal underworld is also rumored to exist here, but again, it’s run by the tiny.
The leader of Lindenfell is a halfling named Togosh, a mischievous little thing that always pranks the council in some way, sometimes to laughter, other times to groans. Despite this, Togosh is a well respected member of the council, and as the only southern land route out of Gerhard, the halfling’s province is always well patrolled and safe from the chaos of the country to the north.
15. Dale - The dale is an expanse of grassy farmland that really has no other features or interesting features, outside of the ruin just east of the “capital”. Similar to the ones in Silver Shores, but much larger, Dale has become a hotbed of archeologists, curious to uncover the secrets of whatever race created them so long ago.
The “capital” of Dale is really just the largest farm town. There is nothing in Dale except a big chunk of the food market of Gerhard, due to the entire province being nothing but farms and ranches. This town is called Peak, for it resides on the hilly part of the province, and is thus the highest point.
Dale doesn’t have a ruler, outside of Dorian, the mayor of previously mentioned Peak, although he really could care less about the world around Dale, as long as his people prosper from the food trade. He even skips Gerhardic council sessions, if there’s nothing his people need from the council itself. There’s a rumor that the Gondar bandits are based in this province, but there’s no evidence to back that up.
16. Wilderness - The wilderness is the almost nearly untamed expanse of mountain, forest, desert, river, and hilly grassland conglomerating into a mixed biome of interest. Unknown, elven, and dwarven ruins dot the landscape, some of which are still untouched, others currently being excavated. The wilderness is an explorer's dream, but also a hotbed of bandit and barbarian activity, due to the mysterious, unkempt nature of the land.
The wilderness has four towns, each bordering another province, with the capital Nerfain to the north. Much like the rest of the province, Nerfain is a chaotic mess, and ruled by the underworld of organized crime. While the other towns are law abiding Gerhardic towns, Nerfain is lawless and morally bankrupt.
Nerfain is headed by the head of the Candorra family, Nivies. Obscenely rich, with a sellsword army well funded to keep him alive, this bastard lets the other towns rule themselves, in a little republic of sorts, while he parties with his citizens in Nerfain until he can’t stay awake, and then makes or deletes stupid laws on a whim while hungover. The only reason Gerhard tolerates him is the tens of thousands of gold he donates to the throne yearly, his one family’s wealth rivalling all but the richest dwarven kings in Gerhard.
17. Maconohei - Macanohei is the last true bastion of the nomads of old Gerhard, a wild land of desert, forest, and grassland where the primitive tribes of druids, barbarians, and outcasts roam after the herds of animals, or within the bounty of the deep woods.
The capital is the only town, a congregation of the elders and younglings of the different groups, named Gather. These elders make up the ruling council and skilled trades while the young make up the military and the unskilled tradesman. This works relatively well, keeping the young strong and healthy while keeping the old active and social. The adults and middle aged, men and women, roam the terrain to hunt food and trade with outsiders, as only tribe members are granted passage to the town during most circumstances.
The ruler of Maconohei is an ancient high elven sorcerer by the same name, as the name of the province changes to match the name of the leader. Maconohei is a legend in his own right, having done many things for the nation of Gerhard, including being the headmaster of Archmagia for two centuries, but retiring from the public eye and returning the tribes he came from to help, and then eventually lead.
18. Tau - Tau is the home of the largest unknown ruin in Gerhard, and the city based next to it is full of archeologists and scholars. Nothing but desert and forest separated by a river and a lake, Tau isn’t really much for anyone not pursuing knowledge.
The capital and only town is called Logia, the town of knowledge. Logia is located against the lake on the forest side, and isn’t much outside of the massive university and library that makes up half the town. Just a typical trade village with a university town attached.
Logia is lead by the Dean, an old human named Gilfried Thoms, an old wizard who dedicated the last twenty years of his life to studying these ancient ruins of unknown origin. He is a supremely intelligent and patient man, a quiet soul who does not bother with much outside of his work, the learning that has been his only obsession for two decades. However, he will convene when the council is called.
19. Talendil - Talendil is another province named after a hero, a general who stood against the demons from the Demonsgate. Talendil was a spellsword with unnatural talent in both fields, and fell on the plains when the demon king Balrond was slain. His tomb is a large monument on the spot where he died, on the edge of the forest and plains.
Talendil has four towns of no real importance, and the city of Colette, the home base of both the Silver Swords and the Gerhard Guardians. Colette is nestled between lake and mountain, and has a strong military presence. Colette is a large, sprawling city, built from the shore and into the mountain, and serves as an important hub in western Gerhard.
The leader of this city was Sir Aneas Nailo, who took regency of the throne after the assassination. Brigadier Galm runs the show with a general-like disciple and efficiency, a proper example of the gnomish race. Galm is a fair man, but he does not show much in the way of mercy, if the crime calls for a merciless touch. Despite his straight laced attitude and lack of humor, Galm is liked well enough. He does a good job, even if he’s unpleasant doing it.
20. Brandelain - Brandelain is the province with Gerhard’s most popular export, wine. Gerhard’s wine is considered the finest in Niverin, and countries all over the continent provide large payments and massive caravans to the province to bring the delicious nectar back home to them. Brandelain is nothing but grape fields and a chunk of small mountains where some silver mining gets done by dwarves.
Brandelain has two cities, Mordoc and Tivallius, and the capital of Brande. Mordoc is the dwarven stronghold in the southern mountains, full of iron and silver, and even some rarer metals. Tivallius is a simple but large trade hub for south-central Gerhard, and Brande is a gargantuan winery with the town built within. Tivallius is rumored to have side belonging to the underworld, but guards are paid well enough to not look down dark alleys.
Brandelain is led by Tiimer and Dula Brande, current rulers of house Brande, whose family has led these lands to prosperity for the last 300 years. They rarely leave their abode, due to their advanced age, but send their children to run things on their behalf. They are benevolent, if absent, rulers. Brandelain kind of fends for itself, but does a good enough job of it that no real change is needed.
21. Portsmouth - Portsmouth is the largest port region in Gerhard, having multiple large harbors on the Scarlet Sea, and is the king of international trade in Gerhard. The Scarlet Shipping Company finds their home here, between the Dalius River and Reber Lake. The untamed forest to the east of the river contains the Hall of the Blackguard, a tower completely full of ethereal and material dead, raised centuries ago to stop anything unwelcome from being within the tower. A small fort is stationed outside the tomb, to make sure the dead stay inside, and so far they have not left their halls.
Portsmouth has two cities, one on the coast, and one on the fork in the river. Both are trade hubs, but the capital of Redbay is the biggest, wealthiest, and most industrious city in all of Gerhard, with their number of factories and warehouses only being dwarfed by the number of anchor points in their numerous harbors. Redbay is home to Scarlet Shipping, one of the biggest trade companies in all of Niverin.
The current leader of Portsmouth is the current head of the shipping company, Tobias Mercansi. Tobias is a young but business educated half elf who was elected, from a pool of apprentices, to lead the company after his mentor Gildar retired of old age. Tobias is savvy and clever, but still had some things to learn when it comes to street smarts. Despite this, Redbay and the province as a whole have his back.
(The Provinces are in no particular order)
1. Silver Shores - The region north of the Dointen River and Jerav River delta. This is one of the only two non-landlocked parts of the country. Silver Shores is made up of grassy hills leading to a sandy shoreline. Many ruins of unknown origin dot the hillscape, and they have remained a puzzle to many archaeologists, as they have resisted any and all attempts to get inside of them.
Silver Shores is made up of one city and two larger towns, all three of which reside on the white beaches that the province is named after. The towns are trade and fishing hubs, sending ships across the Nightsea to the north, but otherwise are nothing interesting or special.
The capital city of Silver Shores is Reefton, ruled by a merchant company that controls the international and northern Gerhardic trade. The “ruler” is an elected councilman named Cassius Drake, a known greedy fop, but a stalwart member of the Gerhardic ruling council. Despite his flaws, he is a well liked governor even if he can be annoying.
2. Altir - Altir is the home of Gerhard’s holy city, and the former national capital, before the Mulhorrin conquest. Located just north of the Gerhard province and south of the Dead Marshes The province doesn’t have much outside of dense forests and the occasional tribe of druids who worship and protect this sacred wood.
Altir is small, and only has two cities, Altir and Varracas. Altir is a city made of immaculate white stone nestled deep in the forest. Varracas a city founded by elves just a few hours south of Altir, and is the elven capital of Gerhard. The two cities are close, and share much with each other.
The leaders of Altir are a selected member of both cities, who convene regularly and come together to find solutions and compromises. Altir is represented by Grandfather Mosk, a grandmaster monk that has led his people for nearly a century, and Kalas, an elven woman that was elected to represent the elves for this decade. Both are adored and welcomed in both cities, as are the citizens of each city also close knit.
3. Winterhall Mountains - The Winterhall mountains are the range that divides Gerhard from the world to the east, with massive redwood trees acting as a wall between the mountains and the rest of Gerhard. The brutal crags and inhospitable passes, along with freezing temperatures year round and blizzards with power enough to rival the sandstorms of Jenovah, create an environment only the toughest bastards can stomach for long.
The only “city” of Winterhall is a massive cavern system underneath “The Plateau”, which is also the name of this capital of sorts. The caverns house different tribes of people, and dwarven outcasts, who conglomerate and work together to survive in this brutal part of the world. The Winterhall province is also home to the Dragonguard, berserker knights. The Nightcloaks also make their base in Winterhall, in an old fort in the redwood forest, although visitors are not welcome.
The ruler of Winterhall is a wise and benevolent silver dragon named Vormund. This dragon is very old, and doesn’t move around as much as he used to, as his extraordinarily long lifespan is reaching its end. However, people love and respect Vormund, and people even make pilgrimages from other provinces and countries just to see him.
4. Gerharda - The present capital province of Gerhard, more centrally located than the previous capital. The Gerharda province is a chunk of hilly grassland turned farmland, and the fortress city of Silvrin nestled in a tiny range of small mountains. The province is pleasant, but isn’t much outside of one of the main food hubs for the entire country.
There are several farming villages in the Gerharda province, but the two cities people really care about are Silvri, the capital of the entire nation, and Oresimirar the capital of the dwarves of Gerhard. Silvrin is a gargantuan fortress built into the side of a long dead volcano, designed and built not only to be impenetrable, but comfortable, liveable. Oresimirar, the home of the Gerhardic dwarves, resides underneath the same volcano.
The ruler of The Gerharda province is the King or Queen of Gerhard, although a council tends to deal with the day to day needs of the people of the realm, while the monarch deals with other things. However, with the king, queen, and heir’s assassination, the rule of Gerharda has shifted. For the time, Gerharda’s king is King Knox Mirar, the ruler of Oresimirar and longtime second of the Gerhardic King, while the regent, General Aneas Nailo, takes care of the rest of the country, moving the ruling capital of Gerhard to Altir.
5. Jenovah - The eastern quarter of Gerhard is unforgiving desert, and the largest, most brutal and most beautiful chunk of that desert is Jenovah, the land of white sands. Lifeless and silent, outside of the occasional oasis village, the desert is famous for how quiet and peaceful it is. Until the sandstorms come, and threaten to scour the flesh off of bone within minutes. Fortunately, Jehovah is laced with underground tunnels of unknown origin, the dwarves of Gerhard denying their involvement. Towns are centered around these tunnels, and manned checkpoints make up a travel system through the angry desert.
There are two major cities in Jenovah, but the rest are the aforementioned oasis villages. Jehanna is the capital, a large, sprawling desert metropolis built around a couple of water sources. The second is Karsh, one of the few remaining Mulhorrinese cities, now property of Gerhard, nestled on the border of Jenovah and Mulhorrin. This is the only point of contact between Gerhard and Mulhorrin, for Mulhorrin refuses to allow Gerhard citizens in.
The ruler of Jenovah is Lady Samira, a young new monarch that took up the mantle just a few years ago, after her mother passed from illness. Despite her inexperience, she was taught to rule from an early age by her mother, who was considered one of the best. She is popular enough, but there is rumor of rebellion floating through the villages.
6. The Dead Marshes - A large chunk of marshland to the north of the Gerharda province, encased by four of Gerhard’s major rivers, and rumored to be haunted, as these marshes are where the lich Anlagen died and was reborn as a god. The marshes are a dank hell scape, and little happens in there, as caravans and travelers do everything in their power to avoid finding out if the rumors of the bogs being full of the undead are true or not.
7. Tarvall - Tarvall is the stretch of basically worthless desert between two mountain ranges on the western border, and as such it is the only “easy” way into Gerhard from the east. It is both a hotbed of trade and bandits, and is a relatively lawless place.
The only city in Tarvall is named Tarvall, after the founder a few centuries back. As fiercely independent as they can be while holding a toe on the line with the sovereignty of Gerhard. Tarvall is one of the main homes of organized crime and the criminal underworld as a whole, and very little is illegal here, if you know where to look.
Tarvall has no real ruler, but has a councilman named Davies who is, blunty put, an unpleasant human, a poor example of the species, but rich and powerful and more than capable of turning anything to his advantage.
8. The Devastated Wastes - Neyond Jehovah is a section of desert that nearly everyone in Gerhard fears. Almost 400 years ago, a cataclysmic event annihilated a beautiful tropical rainforest sitting atop deep, magnificent canyons, and a race known as Jungle Elves. In the north, a magical calamity happened that turned the rainforest into a dead desert. The aura of dark magic hangs heavy over this region, as a literal shadowy cloud, becoming a choking miasma the further north you go. Very few who step into the cloud return, and they come back… different. And usually kill themselves before long.
9. River Torond - River Torond is a mid-sized province, with multiple towns closely built on a plot of flatlands where many rivers intertwine and spill into the only exit from southern Gerhard, the Scarlet Sea. Scarlet Sea is an honest name, for the brilliant reddish dirt from the mountains run into the sea and stain it a dark red for hundreds of feet beyond the coastline.
River Torond is one massive city, composed of smaller towns built together between chunks of land surrounded by rivers. It is inhabited by talented individuals in every field, with those fields being divided by the “towns” that make it up, i.e. carpenter town, smith town, alchemist town, etc.
The Builder's guild makes up the ruling council, made up by a member of every “town”, and sends a different member to each convening of the Gerhard council. And due to the technological nature of Torond, a growing number of people are starting to talk about a shift in the entire paradigm of the world. This group is known as Unity, and they desire to unite the entire world with this technology, and put an end to silly superstitions and religious beliefs. They are currently just talk, but if enough of the advanced country of Gerhard sways, the old ways may be over.
10. Mulhorrin - A city state ruled by Gerhard, tucked in the northernmost part of Gerhard, an independent society state surrounded by Jenovah, The Nightsea Mountains, and a chunk of the Devastated Wastes.
Mulhorrin is a single city surrounded by the only viable farmland and an aqueduct. Mulhorrin lost much during its multiple provocations of Gerhard, and when Gerhard finally said enough, they became nothing more than a city, ruled and populated by mages, and the farm towns around it, for the normal people. There is nothing but a dangerous mage guild here, Sorcere, which is a significant portion of the population of the city of Anorith.
Sorcere rules this city state with an iron fist, keeping what remains of their people in line. Mulhorrin is poor and devastated, and relies on Gerhardic trade to keep them alive. They hate Gerhard with a passion, but no longer have the power to do anything about it, even with Sorcere.
11. Eastvale - Eastvale is a large section of eastern gerhard, between Winterhall and the rest of the country. It’s a giant valley with the largest number of populated towns and cities in all of Gerhard, with the Donton river running through the middle. It also happens to be the most populated part of Gerhard overall. Mountains for mining, forests for logging, farmland, ranchland, fishing lakes, and so much more, Eastvale has every industry for everybody. People coming from the east to Gerhard have to pass through Gerhard after surviving Wintherall. A lot choose to stay, for there's an opportunity for even a peasant to become somebody in some field here, even if they’ll never be invited to River Torond.
There are five large towns, dozens of ranching, farming, or other villages, and a metropolis to rival Silvrin or Jenovah. Lakeview is a large city with glorious mansions and garbage slums, a mecca of trade and industry, all sitting on the northern shore of Lake Redwood.
12. Westwood - The Westwood is the home to the Bronze Helms division of the military, their homes nestled deep in the sparse forest known. Not much else happens in these woods, outside of travelers moving down the roads to Silver Shores to the north, or the Karth province to the south. Few people want to mess around in the home of Gerhard’s spy network.
The only city in Westwood isn’t much, just a big town centered around a fortress called Fort Dervain, which became the name of the town. Outsiders are welcome, albeit with close eyes constantly watching, but there’s not a ton of reasons for people to come here, unless it’s trade or government business.
The ruler of Westwood is a dwarf, Katarn Koranz, who is also the Bronze General of the Iron Legion. This middle aged dwarf is perhaps the most cunning bastard in all of Gerhard, and he’d be a dangerous politician if he gave a damn about politics. Instead, he thrives off of intrigue and plots, and usually just lets his son, Kochar, run the daily town stuff.
13. Li’arme - Named after the legendary hero who slew Anlagen, the province of Li’arme is a wide expanse of flat planes and evergreen woods, with a couple of large lakes, and a port to the Scarlet Sea. A giant obsidian ruin known as the Demonsgate resides in the rough center of the plains, a massive ring that’s now broken, chunks of black stone glass littering the area.
Li’arme has only a few towns, just general townships that don’t have any real unique features. The capital of Li’arme is known simply as Li’arme, a ranching feudal lordship that was the home of the hero Vormatz. His tomb is interred in the capitol building, which was built by expanding his old farmstead over many generations.
Henrietta Li’arme, current ead ofh the Li’arme homestead, direct descendant of Vormatz, is the ruling force in Li’arme. Li’arme is the capital of Solara worship in Gerhard, as Vormatz was a true believer, a devout worshipper, and mighty cleric of Solara. Henrietta is the same, as the grand priestess of the Daygod in Gerhard.
14. Lindenfell - Lindenfell is the home of the halflings and gnomes of Gerhard, and the other small goodly races. An expanse of grassland bordering the Scarlet Sea, and a wild forest smashed up against the Winterhall mountains. Lindenfell is also the de-facto capital of Wood Elves, although wood elves kind of live everywhere there’s a forest.
There is only one real town in Linderfell, named Littleton, due to the fact that pretty much every structure in said town is made for much smaller people. Littleton is a great place to be, built for small person defense and strategy, but still hospitable and warm to the larger races. A criminal underworld is also rumored to exist here, but again, it’s run by the tiny.
The leader of Lindenfell is a halfling named Togosh, a mischievous little thing that always pranks the council in some way, sometimes to laughter, other times to groans. Despite this, Togosh is a well respected member of the council, and as the only southern land route out of Gerhard, the halfling’s province is always well patrolled and safe from the chaos of the country to the north.
15. Dale - The dale is an expanse of grassy farmland that really has no other features or interesting features, outside of the ruin just east of the “capital”. Similar to the ones in Silver Shores, but much larger, Dale has become a hotbed of archeologists, curious to uncover the secrets of whatever race created them so long ago.
The “capital” of Dale is really just the largest farm town. There is nothing in Dale except a big chunk of the food market of Gerhard, due to the entire province being nothing but farms and ranches. This town is called Peak, for it resides on the hilly part of the province, and is thus the highest point.
Dale doesn’t have a ruler, outside of Dorian, the mayor of previously mentioned Peak, although he really could care less about the world around Dale, as long as his people prosper from the food trade. He even skips Gerhardic council sessions, if there’s nothing his people need from the council itself. There’s a rumor that the Gondar bandits are based in this province, but there’s no evidence to back that up.
16. Wilderness - The wilderness is the almost nearly untamed expanse of mountain, forest, desert, river, and hilly grassland conglomerating into a mixed biome of interest. Unknown, elven, and dwarven ruins dot the landscape, some of which are still untouched, others currently being excavated. The wilderness is an explorer's dream, but also a hotbed of bandit and barbarian activity, due to the mysterious, unkempt nature of the land.
The wilderness has four towns, each bordering another province, with the capital Nerfain to the north. Much like the rest of the province, Nerfain is a chaotic mess, and ruled by the underworld of organized crime. While the other towns are law abiding Gerhardic towns, Nerfain is lawless and morally bankrupt.
Nerfain is headed by the head of the Candorra family, Nivies. Obscenely rich, with a sellsword army well funded to keep him alive, this bastard lets the other towns rule themselves, in a little republic of sorts, while he parties with his citizens in Nerfain until he can’t stay awake, and then makes or deletes stupid laws on a whim while hungover. The only reason Gerhard tolerates him is the tens of thousands of gold he donates to the throne yearly, his one family’s wealth rivalling all but the richest dwarven kings in Gerhard.
17. Maconohei - Macanohei is the last true bastion of the nomads of old Gerhard, a wild land of desert, forest, and grassland where the primitive tribes of druids, barbarians, and outcasts roam after the herds of animals, or within the bounty of the deep woods.
The capital is the only town, a congregation of the elders and younglings of the different groups, named Gather. These elders make up the ruling council and skilled trades while the young make up the military and the unskilled tradesman. This works relatively well, keeping the young strong and healthy while keeping the old active and social. The adults and middle aged, men and women, roam the terrain to hunt food and trade with outsiders, as only tribe members are granted passage to the town during most circumstances.
The ruler of Maconohei is an ancient high elven sorcerer by the same name, as the name of the province changes to match the name of the leader. Maconohei is a legend in his own right, having done many things for the nation of Gerhard, including being the headmaster of Archmagia for two centuries, but retiring from the public eye and returning the tribes he came from to help, and then eventually lead.
18. Tau - Tau is the home of the largest unknown ruin in Gerhard, and the city based next to it is full of archeologists and scholars. Nothing but desert and forest separated by a river and a lake, Tau isn’t really much for anyone not pursuing knowledge.
The capital and only town is called Logia, the town of knowledge. Logia is located against the lake on the forest side, and isn’t much outside of the massive university and library that makes up half the town. Just a typical trade village with a university town attached.
Logia is lead by the Dean, an old human named Gilfried Thoms, an old wizard who dedicated the last twenty years of his life to studying these ancient ruins of unknown origin. He is a supremely intelligent and patient man, a quiet soul who does not bother with much outside of his work, the learning that has been his only obsession for two decades. However, he will convene when the council is called.
19. Talendil - Talendil is another province named after a hero, a general who stood against the demons from the Demonsgate. Talendil was a spellsword with unnatural talent in both fields, and fell on the plains when the demon king Balrond was slain. His tomb is a large monument on the spot where he died, on the edge of the forest and plains.
Talendil has four towns of no real importance, and the city of Colette, the home base of both the Silver Swords and the Gerhard Guardians. Colette is nestled between lake and mountain, and has a strong military presence. Colette is a large, sprawling city, built from the shore and into the mountain, and serves as an important hub in western Gerhard.
The leader of this city was Sir Aneas Nailo, who took regency of the throne after the assassination. Brigadier Galm runs the show with a general-like disciple and efficiency, a proper example of the gnomish race. Galm is a fair man, but he does not show much in the way of mercy, if the crime calls for a merciless touch. Despite his straight laced attitude and lack of humor, Galm is liked well enough. He does a good job, even if he’s unpleasant doing it.
20. Brandelain - Brandelain is the province with Gerhard’s most popular export, wine. Gerhard’s wine is considered the finest in Niverin, and countries all over the continent provide large payments and massive caravans to the province to bring the delicious nectar back home to them. Brandelain is nothing but grape fields and a chunk of small mountains where some silver mining gets done by dwarves.
Brandelain has two cities, Mordoc and Tivallius, and the capital of Brande. Mordoc is the dwarven stronghold in the southern mountains, full of iron and silver, and even some rarer metals. Tivallius is a simple but large trade hub for south-central Gerhard, and Brande is a gargantuan winery with the town built within. Tivallius is rumored to have side belonging to the underworld, but guards are paid well enough to not look down dark alleys.
Brandelain is led by Tiimer and Dula Brande, current rulers of house Brande, whose family has led these lands to prosperity for the last 300 years. They rarely leave their abode, due to their advanced age, but send their children to run things on their behalf. They are benevolent, if absent, rulers. Brandelain kind of fends for itself, but does a good enough job of it that no real change is needed.
21. Portsmouth - Portsmouth is the largest port region in Gerhard, having multiple large harbors on the Scarlet Sea, and is the king of international trade in Gerhard. The Scarlet Shipping Company finds their home here, between the Dalius River and Reber Lake. The untamed forest to the east of the river contains the Hall of the Blackguard, a tower completely full of ethereal and material dead, raised centuries ago to stop anything unwelcome from being within the tower. A small fort is stationed outside the tomb, to make sure the dead stay inside, and so far they have not left their halls.
Portsmouth has two cities, one on the coast, and one on the fork in the river. Both are trade hubs, but the capital of Redbay is the biggest, wealthiest, and most industrious city in all of Gerhard, with their number of factories and warehouses only being dwarfed by the number of anchor points in their numerous harbors. Redbay is home to Scarlet Shipping, one of the biggest trade companies in all of Niverin.
The current leader of Portsmouth is the current head of the shipping company, Tobias Mercansi. Tobias is a young but business educated half elf who was elected, from a pool of apprentices, to lead the company after his mentor Gildar retired of old age. Tobias is savvy and clever, but still had some things to learn when it comes to street smarts. Despite this, Redbay and the province as a whole have his back.
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Pantheons of Gerhard
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Deities of Gerhard
Hran - The god of life, growth, and renewal. This deity has the domain over the cycles of the world. He is a common deity of farmers and the like. With the amount of farmland on Gerhard, his religion is the most widespread, even if it’s not the most popular.
Narahandal - The god of nature, Narahandal is the force behind the blessings of the world around. His domains include the natural world, and the place everything has in it. He rarely interferes, and his worshippers include druids and farmers but every who travels in the wilds might say a quick prayer to him.
Oriniro - Oriniro is the god of neutrality, time, and fate. Everything is going as planned, and if a believer allows themselves to be swept into the flow, they will reach their proper destiny. Oriniro has a big following among monasteries and convents, as they too are neutral to the world around them, as long as they can meditate and philosophise in peace.
Tavrin - Tavrin is the trickster god/goddess/thing, a wild child of the divines who regularly appears on earth to cause chaos. Appearing as either a stunningly handsome man or an unbelievably gorgeous woman, sometimes as a goblin or a cat, or whatever, this deity is part of whatever legendary party, bar brawl, or chaotic event in history. Patron of thieves and other ne’er do wells, this is the only “accepted” deity of the darker side of society, for Tavrin is also the deity of fun, booze, pranks, and parties. Nothing she’s done has given Ao reason to deliver her the same fate as Nocturna, but she does play fast and loose with the rules.
Clo - Clo is the deity of the dimensions, the one who keeps the various planes of existence separate from each other, aside from the small gaps that are required to keep balance between them. Clo is a deity few worship, for she has no real power on the planes themselves, just the space between, but is still an important member of the mythos. Part of her soul, if deities have those, makes up Nocturna’s cage.
Solara - The god of light, truth, and justice. A common deity for paladins, good clerics, and people in general, with every major city and most mid-sized towns in the country having at least a small chapel. Also known as the Daygod and the Dawnlord, the Solara faith has rigid beliefs, with honesty, integrity, and charity being large parts of the teachings.
Ao - The Father of Divinity, Ao is the power who created every other deity, and the universe we reside in. Ao does not intervene in mortal or divine affairs, doesn’t have a particular set of beliefs or teachings, and praying to him does nothing. Despite this, he has a small following in Gerhard, mainly among hermits and monks, people who don’t interfere or interact with the rest of the country. Also called the Allfather, or the Old God.
Grath - The god of valor, glory, and battle. His wisdom includes might making right, death in honorable combat, and staying true to whatever guides you. Many barbarian tribes on the continent of Niverin worship him, and he’s a common one people pray to before battle, or as they lay dying on the battlefield
Nocturna - The goddess of darkness, depair, depression, and insanity. She was very prominent until roughly 700 years ago, until the god Ao personally intervened in recent memory, and put her into a cage in the plane of shadow. She has reached out and gained avatars to free her, to no avail. Presently reaching out again to find another bid for freedom.
Arcanarican - The Deity of magic. Arcanarican doesn’t have a proper form, instead being a sentient part of the flow of arcane energy. They are connected to every single user of arcane magic, and that connection is the reason arcane magic exists. Even a non-religious mage feels some sort of connection to this deity, whether they like it or not. Arcarican has a huge following, simply due to the arcana stones and their vital role in Gerhard's current prosperity, wealth, and technology.
Anlagen - The god of undeath, the lich who brought both Gerhard and Mulhorrin to their knees and gained the power to ascend to godhood. Anlagen is the patron saint of the undead and necromancers, and only they dare publicly admit that they venerate him.
Kalanthas - The god of dragonkind. Kalanthas is a dragon said to be the size of a small country, with scales making up every color that lesser dragons can be. Dragons revere him, and so do people tied to dragons, and the Dragonguard.
Vandahar - Vandahar is the Judge, the god who decides where your mortal soul will end up when your body fails. He is the one who brings souls to the doors of the afterlife and holds tribunal with your eternity on the line. No one truly worships him, but all religions respect him and his role in the divine realms.
Zoss - The Goddess of the elements, the one who combined all her ability on this lifeless ball of rock and created the world around us. Zoss is perhaps the only deity that has similarities to the “creation” deity of other civilizations. Druids and mages who focus specifically on elemental magic are among the most prominent of Zoss’ worshippers, but many people of the land worship him by default, as the elements make up everything, and should be shown proper respect.
Livandir - Livandir is the goddess of the elven race, and counts the elves as her primary “worshippers”. Elves are not a religious group, but Livandir is respected as the main object of spirituality among elvenkind. She is described not as an entity, but as the spirit of the world around, and the elves are blessed by her spirit with long lives, and willingly become part of that spirit when their lifespan ends.
Torrandal - Torrandal is the god of the dwarves, a stern, strict, militant deity that demands loyalty and commands respect. Dwarven society is rigid and archaic, a domain where law and order reign supreme, and hierarchy is everything. Torrandal is the patron of the riches of the mountains, the true forgemaster, and the stoic king.
Unity - Not a deity, but a growing belief in the emptier parts of Gerhard. Unity believes that the gods have no value, and are just fairy stories made by more primitive minds to explain the unknown, and faith is just idle wishing. Gerhard has no need of that anymore, for we are the masters of the world around us. And soon, neither will the rest of the world.
Nahzer - Nahzer is the god of travels, of trade, and the spirit of adventure. Anyone stepping foot on the road offers him a quick prayer for safe travels, or luck on big purchases. He is perhaps the second most popular deity of worship in Gerhard, as the world is constantly moving, trade caravans of other travelers constantly seeking something.
Ferith - Ferith is the goddess of knowledge, understanding, and reflection. Her domain is every library, classroom, and place of meditation. Her calm presence has been noted throughout many points in history, when revelation or epiphany lead to something great, planting just the seeds and ideas behind inspiration here and there, once in a long time, to see what the world does with her knowledge of what could come of it, and how she may even be surprised by it.
Rothirin - Rothirin is the god of war, disease, famine, and drought, and the god of demonkind. Whenever some awful historic event happens, Rothirin is the one who is blamed. Rothirin has never left the abyss, but if he does, it is mostly likely game over. He has seemed content to live vicariously through his demons, sending them to the mortal realm from time to time for blood and conquest.
Hran - The god of life, growth, and renewal. This deity has the domain over the cycles of the world. He is a common deity of farmers and the like. With the amount of farmland on Gerhard, his religion is the most widespread, even if it’s not the most popular.
Narahandal - The god of nature, Narahandal is the force behind the blessings of the world around. His domains include the natural world, and the place everything has in it. He rarely interferes, and his worshippers include druids and farmers but every who travels in the wilds might say a quick prayer to him.
Oriniro - Oriniro is the god of neutrality, time, and fate. Everything is going as planned, and if a believer allows themselves to be swept into the flow, they will reach their proper destiny. Oriniro has a big following among monasteries and convents, as they too are neutral to the world around them, as long as they can meditate and philosophise in peace.
Tavrin - Tavrin is the trickster god/goddess/thing, a wild child of the divines who regularly appears on earth to cause chaos. Appearing as either a stunningly handsome man or an unbelievably gorgeous woman, sometimes as a goblin or a cat, or whatever, this deity is part of whatever legendary party, bar brawl, or chaotic event in history. Patron of thieves and other ne’er do wells, this is the only “accepted” deity of the darker side of society, for Tavrin is also the deity of fun, booze, pranks, and parties. Nothing she’s done has given Ao reason to deliver her the same fate as Nocturna, but she does play fast and loose with the rules.
Clo - Clo is the deity of the dimensions, the one who keeps the various planes of existence separate from each other, aside from the small gaps that are required to keep balance between them. Clo is a deity few worship, for she has no real power on the planes themselves, just the space between, but is still an important member of the mythos. Part of her soul, if deities have those, makes up Nocturna’s cage.
Solara - The god of light, truth, and justice. A common deity for paladins, good clerics, and people in general, with every major city and most mid-sized towns in the country having at least a small chapel. Also known as the Daygod and the Dawnlord, the Solara faith has rigid beliefs, with honesty, integrity, and charity being large parts of the teachings.
Ao - The Father of Divinity, Ao is the power who created every other deity, and the universe we reside in. Ao does not intervene in mortal or divine affairs, doesn’t have a particular set of beliefs or teachings, and praying to him does nothing. Despite this, he has a small following in Gerhard, mainly among hermits and monks, people who don’t interfere or interact with the rest of the country. Also called the Allfather, or the Old God.
Grath - The god of valor, glory, and battle. His wisdom includes might making right, death in honorable combat, and staying true to whatever guides you. Many barbarian tribes on the continent of Niverin worship him, and he’s a common one people pray to before battle, or as they lay dying on the battlefield
Nocturna - The goddess of darkness, depair, depression, and insanity. She was very prominent until roughly 700 years ago, until the god Ao personally intervened in recent memory, and put her into a cage in the plane of shadow. She has reached out and gained avatars to free her, to no avail. Presently reaching out again to find another bid for freedom.
Arcanarican - The Deity of magic. Arcanarican doesn’t have a proper form, instead being a sentient part of the flow of arcane energy. They are connected to every single user of arcane magic, and that connection is the reason arcane magic exists. Even a non-religious mage feels some sort of connection to this deity, whether they like it or not. Arcarican has a huge following, simply due to the arcana stones and their vital role in Gerhard's current prosperity, wealth, and technology.
Anlagen - The god of undeath, the lich who brought both Gerhard and Mulhorrin to their knees and gained the power to ascend to godhood. Anlagen is the patron saint of the undead and necromancers, and only they dare publicly admit that they venerate him.
Kalanthas - The god of dragonkind. Kalanthas is a dragon said to be the size of a small country, with scales making up every color that lesser dragons can be. Dragons revere him, and so do people tied to dragons, and the Dragonguard.
Vandahar - Vandahar is the Judge, the god who decides where your mortal soul will end up when your body fails. He is the one who brings souls to the doors of the afterlife and holds tribunal with your eternity on the line. No one truly worships him, but all religions respect him and his role in the divine realms.
Zoss - The Goddess of the elements, the one who combined all her ability on this lifeless ball of rock and created the world around us. Zoss is perhaps the only deity that has similarities to the “creation” deity of other civilizations. Druids and mages who focus specifically on elemental magic are among the most prominent of Zoss’ worshippers, but many people of the land worship him by default, as the elements make up everything, and should be shown proper respect.
Livandir - Livandir is the goddess of the elven race, and counts the elves as her primary “worshippers”. Elves are not a religious group, but Livandir is respected as the main object of spirituality among elvenkind. She is described not as an entity, but as the spirit of the world around, and the elves are blessed by her spirit with long lives, and willingly become part of that spirit when their lifespan ends.
Torrandal - Torrandal is the god of the dwarves, a stern, strict, militant deity that demands loyalty and commands respect. Dwarven society is rigid and archaic, a domain where law and order reign supreme, and hierarchy is everything. Torrandal is the patron of the riches of the mountains, the true forgemaster, and the stoic king.
Unity - Not a deity, but a growing belief in the emptier parts of Gerhard. Unity believes that the gods have no value, and are just fairy stories made by more primitive minds to explain the unknown, and faith is just idle wishing. Gerhard has no need of that anymore, for we are the masters of the world around us. And soon, neither will the rest of the world.
Nahzer - Nahzer is the god of travels, of trade, and the spirit of adventure. Anyone stepping foot on the road offers him a quick prayer for safe travels, or luck on big purchases. He is perhaps the second most popular deity of worship in Gerhard, as the world is constantly moving, trade caravans of other travelers constantly seeking something.
Ferith - Ferith is the goddess of knowledge, understanding, and reflection. Her domain is every library, classroom, and place of meditation. Her calm presence has been noted throughout many points in history, when revelation or epiphany lead to something great, planting just the seeds and ideas behind inspiration here and there, once in a long time, to see what the world does with her knowledge of what could come of it, and how she may even be surprised by it.
Rothirin - Rothirin is the god of war, disease, famine, and drought, and the god of demonkind. Whenever some awful historic event happens, Rothirin is the one who is blamed. Rothirin has never left the abyss, but if he does, it is mostly likely game over. He has seemed content to live vicariously through his demons, sending them to the mortal realm from time to time for blood and conquest.
Factions of Gerhard
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Gerhard Factions
Guardians - Mercenaries hired by the royal family to deal with things that would take the formal military and bureaucracy too long to deal with. The Guardians are well known and respected around the land, even among the less civilized parts of the country.
Archmagia - The mages academy founded by the previous Mage Queen of Gerhard. A massive tower stretching over a hundred feet into the air, built purely by magic, and home to another small city and compound at the base, populated purely by Gerhard’s wizards.
Builders Guild - A massive guild with branches in every large city in Gerhard, responsible for building nearly every bit of infrastructure in the country. Started as a dwarven embassy, but eventually those dwarves just built a city underneath Silvrin, and created the guild to keep Gerhard from falling apart. As long as you can do physical labor, you’ll be taken care of.
Sorcere - A group of mages from the mage city of Mulhorrin. An infamous group who researches and teaches in every realm of magic, with a vast majority of their group practicing darker magics. They occasionally recruit mages from Gerhard, in secret. Their motives are unknown, but Sorcere is the ruling power of Mulhorrin, so their motives could be an issue.
The Iron Legion - Gerhard's military. There’s three distinct branches, the Gold Shields, the Silver Swords, and the Bronze Helms. The Shields are the royal guard, the most trusted of knights, staying with the castle and the royals. The Swords are the special forces unit of the military, and rarely are called on. The Helms are siege and subterfuge experts, destroying enemy holds from outside and within.
Nightcloaks - Adventuring scholars who delve into old ruins and face dangerous conditions for the pursuit of knowledge. Based in Fort Dunmond, in the eastern reaches, these people have no interest in the politics or threats to Gerhard, as long as they are left alone to expand their expansive library, museum, and workshop.
The Dragonguard - A group of armored barbarians who reside in the western mountains of Winterhall, protectors of the border mountains and sworn to the dragon Vormund. These berserkers are the only thing that stops anything from coming in from the east,
Unity - A cult that has been growing in size in recent months. Believes in no government and no gods. The current rulers are a large portion of a city with the same name, in the province of Maconohei. Their doctrine believes purely in mortals, and believes that technology will be the downfall of mortalkind. Potential threat, currently harmless.
Gondar Bandits - A bandit clan with enough members to populate a small city, rumored to have a single stronghold somewhere in Gerhard, with smaller bases in nearly every province. Been a problem for nearly two decades.
Mountaineers - A regiment of mountain based rangers all over Gerhard’s many mountain ranges, large or small. Homed in Winterhall, these tough wildmen and women are famed bounty hunters, road protectors, and goblinkin slayers.
Gerhard Council - The rulers of all the provinces of Gerhard, meeting together once every three months in Silvrin (now Altir) to discuss matters of importance. These are the most powerful people in Gerhard, politically.
River Torond - Not a faction, but a massive conglomeration of small towns that house geniuses of every field possible, from alchemy to shipbuilding to mining and magic and more. Torond is responsible for every advancement Gerhard has made in the last 200 years.
Shadowknives - The Shadowknives are Gerhard's assassins, hitmen for hire based in the underworld. However, only the best killers get in. Some hobo with a knife that killed another hobo isn't going to cut it.
Guardians - Mercenaries hired by the royal family to deal with things that would take the formal military and bureaucracy too long to deal with. The Guardians are well known and respected around the land, even among the less civilized parts of the country.
Archmagia - The mages academy founded by the previous Mage Queen of Gerhard. A massive tower stretching over a hundred feet into the air, built purely by magic, and home to another small city and compound at the base, populated purely by Gerhard’s wizards.
Builders Guild - A massive guild with branches in every large city in Gerhard, responsible for building nearly every bit of infrastructure in the country. Started as a dwarven embassy, but eventually those dwarves just built a city underneath Silvrin, and created the guild to keep Gerhard from falling apart. As long as you can do physical labor, you’ll be taken care of.
Sorcere - A group of mages from the mage city of Mulhorrin. An infamous group who researches and teaches in every realm of magic, with a vast majority of their group practicing darker magics. They occasionally recruit mages from Gerhard, in secret. Their motives are unknown, but Sorcere is the ruling power of Mulhorrin, so their motives could be an issue.
The Iron Legion - Gerhard's military. There’s three distinct branches, the Gold Shields, the Silver Swords, and the Bronze Helms. The Shields are the royal guard, the most trusted of knights, staying with the castle and the royals. The Swords are the special forces unit of the military, and rarely are called on. The Helms are siege and subterfuge experts, destroying enemy holds from outside and within.
Nightcloaks - Adventuring scholars who delve into old ruins and face dangerous conditions for the pursuit of knowledge. Based in Fort Dunmond, in the eastern reaches, these people have no interest in the politics or threats to Gerhard, as long as they are left alone to expand their expansive library, museum, and workshop.
The Dragonguard - A group of armored barbarians who reside in the western mountains of Winterhall, protectors of the border mountains and sworn to the dragon Vormund. These berserkers are the only thing that stops anything from coming in from the east,
Unity - A cult that has been growing in size in recent months. Believes in no government and no gods. The current rulers are a large portion of a city with the same name, in the province of Maconohei. Their doctrine believes purely in mortals, and believes that technology will be the downfall of mortalkind. Potential threat, currently harmless.
Gondar Bandits - A bandit clan with enough members to populate a small city, rumored to have a single stronghold somewhere in Gerhard, with smaller bases in nearly every province. Been a problem for nearly two decades.
Mountaineers - A regiment of mountain based rangers all over Gerhard’s many mountain ranges, large or small. Homed in Winterhall, these tough wildmen and women are famed bounty hunters, road protectors, and goblinkin slayers.
Gerhard Council - The rulers of all the provinces of Gerhard, meeting together once every three months in Silvrin (now Altir) to discuss matters of importance. These are the most powerful people in Gerhard, politically.
River Torond - Not a faction, but a massive conglomeration of small towns that house geniuses of every field possible, from alchemy to shipbuilding to mining and magic and more. Torond is responsible for every advancement Gerhard has made in the last 200 years.
Shadowknives - The Shadowknives are Gerhard's assassins, hitmen for hire based in the underworld. However, only the best killers get in. Some hobo with a knife that killed another hobo isn't going to cut it.
Timeline of Gerhardic History
New
Elysium
Nuts
Gerhardic Timeline
(To make this easy, and since I won't build a calendar system, everything is listed in terms of years ago (y/a), from the start of the RP.
1800 y/a - The country of Gerhard is founded by a tribe of nomads settling down in what would eventually become Altir, and center their town around the sun god, Solara. The country is named after their chief, who eventually became the first king of Gerhard, Alucos Gerharda
1750 y/a - The first war against Mulhorrin, beginning a long, violent relationship between the countries.
1748 y/a - The first war ends, with both countries losing ground and gaining different territories.
1651 y/a - The Lich Anlagen is born in Mulhorrin, and starts a conflict between himself, Mulhorrin, and Gerhard, a period of history known as the War of the Entombed. Gerhard and Mulhorrin reach a truce, and battle the threat together.
1633 y/a - The War of the Entombed reaches an end. Relative peace for well over a century.
1419 y/a - Mulhorrin begins another war with Gerhard, and the two countries enter a stalemate for nearly a century.
1322 y/a - The war comes to an end, with no real action or battles being had, but each side stuck anticipating something from the other. Another uneasy truce is struck.
1303 y/a - The dragon Vormund settles in what would later become Wintherhall. Gerhard sends recon, but learns the dragon is not a threat.
1292 y/a - The lich Anlagen returns, and once again forges forward to bring Gerhard down. Mulhorrin stays out of it, as they are experiencing famine and increased bandit activity.
1287 y/a - Anlagen is defeated once again, but curses the region now known as the Dead Marshes. Gerhard spends many decades rebuilding from the devastation of the magical war, and the pockets of undead army still littering the country, aimless but hostile.
1105 y/a - Gerhard and Mulhorrin unite again, as the western nation of Xing invades from the unclaimed stretch of desert that now makes up the Tarvall province.
1098 y/a - The war with Xing ends, and an uneasy truce is signed. Trade between the counties resumed with the Gerhardic or Mulhorrinese military guarding the road into the country. Xing and Gerhard become friends, but Xing and Mulhorrin fall out.
907 y/a - Mulhorrin starts another war with Gerhard, but that rebellion is quickly put down after three battles, in which Gerhard captures another of Mulhorrin’s provinces, the area that would become River Torond about five centuries from this point in time. For now, it is just a port city that finally allows Gerhard to start exploring the world around them from the sea.
899 y/a - The current war with Mulhorrin ends, with Gerhard taking more territory. This territory became the Gerharda province, and the current capital of Gerhard as a whole. Altir is repurposed as a holy city, where all the good and neutral gods could be worshipped openly, and peaceful debate could be had.
872 y/a - Anlagen returns, and begins a conflict known as the War of the Vampire Kings, a territory war with the four most powerful vampire covens, with Gerhard as the main battleground. Undeads and mortals battled it out.
870 y/a - The war of the Vampire Kings comes to an end, with the archmage Horrandal taking the throne of Vampire King, and leaving Gerhard… mostly. His cadre resides in the Torvandall Mountains, and has been rumored to come down to the nearby Gerhardic provinces to feed. But, his castle, lair, cave, whatever, has yet to be found or dealt with.
859 y/a - The ruling monarchy of Gerhard is established, with the Olindaris family taking the reins of the country from the top of the fortress city of Silvrin, built into the side of the dead volcano Oresios.
841 y/a - The Demonsgate opens in what will eventually become the Li’arme province. Hell creatures poured out all over Gerhard and laid waste for many years.
819 y/a - An elven swordsman by the name of Talendil slew the demon king Balrond, and with the death of Balrond, the Demonsgate shattered. Talendil died for his wounds, and was posthumously granted lands and rulership, which his family did well until the lineage died out. The lands still bear his name, and the Talendil festival still occurs on the anniversary of his feat.
791 y/a - The Dragonguard is formed as more and more signs of invasion from the east appear. An invasion from a previously unknown nation, Araden, does occur, but it is quickly quelled with minimal casualties. Gerhard and Araden enter a truce that eventually becomes a lasting friendship, allies to this day.
707 y/a - Nocturna appears on the land of Niverin, and spreads an encroaching darkness that threatens to swallow not just the continent, but the planet. The Old God intervenes personally, locking her in a cage in her own plane of existence.
681 y/a - An mysterious event known only as convergence occurred in the realm of the gods, merging many together. Gerhard's pantheon, and the rest of the world's, used to be much larger than it is now. What happened, what the convergence truly is, is unknown.
651 y/a - Mulhorrin is attacked by a Gerhardic necromancer, and the resulting year long war is settled with the necromancer's defeat, but a significant part of Mulhorrin was razed, and takes many years to rebuild.
509 y/a - Sorcere is formed in the heart of Mullhorrin, in their tucked away capital. Sorcere becomes a source of constantly scrutiny for Gerhard, due to their tendency to delve into darker magics, as if Mulhorrin didn't have enough suspicion levied against it already due to their constant antagonizing of Gerhard.
444 y/a - Ancient ruins of unknown origin are found all over Gerhard's landscape as archeology becomes important to the scholars of Gerhard, as all that can be learned above ground has been learned (so they think). The city of Tau is established as a joint venture between Mulhorrin, Xing, and Gerhard, as these ruins dot much of each of their lands.
388 y/a - Anlagen returns for the final time, bringing the city of the dead to the material plane. In what are now the Devastated Wastes, undead of all types marched on Gerhard and Mulhorrin, bringing the two countries almost to the point of ruin. A human named Vormatz Li’arme defeats the lich, but not before Anlagen was able to devastate the canyonlands of the Jungle elves to the point of turning a beautiful jungle into a waste of coarse dirt, and driving the last bastion of these dryad-esque elves into extinction. Vormatz was granted rulership over the lands south of Gerharda, and he ruled for another thirty years until his death of disease and advanced human age.
381 y/a - The Olindaris family comes to an end, as the last king of their line dies without any living heirs. The Doucard family takes the throne of Gerhard, starting with Queen Nahth.
319 y/a - A second, smaller war between the Vampire Kings breaks out in Gerhard, but like the previous one, Gerhard shuts it down with ruthless efficiency, driving vampires as a species to near extinction in the land. Some small cabals of vampires still rest in hidden shadows of the country, but they have little impact on the wider world.
280 y/a - The wizard Tomlin discovers acana stones, a crystal perfectly attuned to storing magical power. Along with an artificer dwarf named Gonlok, who created strange things that the world shunned him for, the Magical-Industrial revolution of Gerhard begins. Arcana stones became the most important material in the world for nearly a decade, and were mined extensively to power the new world that was coming. River Torond is now the most important part of Gerhard, outside the throne itself.
162 y/a - The Doucards are ousted from the throne when it is discovered that the current king, Aesoroth, is a vampire. He and some of his family escape, others die, and the Gallus family takes the throne, with the Mage Queen Delara starting the royal line.
159 y/a - Mage Queen Delara builds Archamagia, a school for mages to rival Sorcere of Mulhorrin. A beautiful, otherworldly tower drawn up from the ground by pure magical talent, Archmagia is perhaps the single most important monument made by the Gerhardic people.
129 y/a - The Bullder's Guild is founded, and begins building all of Gerhard into a land of beautiful cities, gorgeous monuments, the strongest road system on the continent, both above and below ground.
127 y/a - Queen Delara dies, and her son Royander takes the throne. He leads the army into war with Xing once more, as they broke the treaty, and dies on the field five years into his reign, to be replaced by his son, Anafein, who is perhaps Gerhard's most unpopular monarch ever. Mulhorrin takes some land back from Gerhard under his rule, to no retaliation.
101 y/a - Anafein is assassinated, and no real investigation is ever performed, the Helms and Shields pretending to investigate for a few years before gladly letting that case go cold.
84 y/a - Gerhard grows further, gaining an unused stretch of land now known as the Jenovah desert. Jenovah was originally a place for Mulhorrin and Gerhard to mingle and exchange trade, knowledge, and culture. Obviously that wouldn't remain the case forever.
31 y/a - King Dreden Gallus takes the throne of Gerhard, and is, to date, Gerhard's most popular High Monarch. The first half of his reign is nothing but peace, prosperity, and popularity. His second half proved him to be a master of leading a land through war.
18 y/a - The final war with Mulhorrin begins. A member of Sorcere attempted to kill the King, Dreden Gallus, and what followed was a merciless wave of retribution across the land of Muhorrin, stripping them of members of royalty, land, resources, and people until there was nothing left but the one city and the farmland around it.
10 y/a - Muhorrin surrenders, and the war ends. They no longer have the power to resist Gerhard. Gerhard allows them to keep their final city, but Gerhard now has gained another large portion of landmass, cities, and infrastructure.
4 days ago - King Dreden Gallus, his wife, his oldest son, and many members of the court were killed in an explosion that burned the inside of the top floor of Silvrin to ash. Tiffany Delmar and a pair of unknown accomplices are rumored to be behind the assassination.
Now - The Guardians find a stronghold, an abandoned village, of the Gondar Bandits on the way back to the new capital of Altir. A splinter group divides to take down the stronghold after the location was found, and the Bandit King Cnut has been verified to be there through recon. The Guardians are at the gates, and the story begins…
(To make this easy, and since I won't build a calendar system, everything is listed in terms of years ago (y/a), from the start of the RP.
1800 y/a - The country of Gerhard is founded by a tribe of nomads settling down in what would eventually become Altir, and center their town around the sun god, Solara. The country is named after their chief, who eventually became the first king of Gerhard, Alucos Gerharda
1750 y/a - The first war against Mulhorrin, beginning a long, violent relationship between the countries.
1748 y/a - The first war ends, with both countries losing ground and gaining different territories.
1651 y/a - The Lich Anlagen is born in Mulhorrin, and starts a conflict between himself, Mulhorrin, and Gerhard, a period of history known as the War of the Entombed. Gerhard and Mulhorrin reach a truce, and battle the threat together.
1633 y/a - The War of the Entombed reaches an end. Relative peace for well over a century.
1419 y/a - Mulhorrin begins another war with Gerhard, and the two countries enter a stalemate for nearly a century.
1322 y/a - The war comes to an end, with no real action or battles being had, but each side stuck anticipating something from the other. Another uneasy truce is struck.
1303 y/a - The dragon Vormund settles in what would later become Wintherhall. Gerhard sends recon, but learns the dragon is not a threat.
1292 y/a - The lich Anlagen returns, and once again forges forward to bring Gerhard down. Mulhorrin stays out of it, as they are experiencing famine and increased bandit activity.
1287 y/a - Anlagen is defeated once again, but curses the region now known as the Dead Marshes. Gerhard spends many decades rebuilding from the devastation of the magical war, and the pockets of undead army still littering the country, aimless but hostile.
1105 y/a - Gerhard and Mulhorrin unite again, as the western nation of Xing invades from the unclaimed stretch of desert that now makes up the Tarvall province.
1098 y/a - The war with Xing ends, and an uneasy truce is signed. Trade between the counties resumed with the Gerhardic or Mulhorrinese military guarding the road into the country. Xing and Gerhard become friends, but Xing and Mulhorrin fall out.
907 y/a - Mulhorrin starts another war with Gerhard, but that rebellion is quickly put down after three battles, in which Gerhard captures another of Mulhorrin’s provinces, the area that would become River Torond about five centuries from this point in time. For now, it is just a port city that finally allows Gerhard to start exploring the world around them from the sea.
899 y/a - The current war with Mulhorrin ends, with Gerhard taking more territory. This territory became the Gerharda province, and the current capital of Gerhard as a whole. Altir is repurposed as a holy city, where all the good and neutral gods could be worshipped openly, and peaceful debate could be had.
872 y/a - Anlagen returns, and begins a conflict known as the War of the Vampire Kings, a territory war with the four most powerful vampire covens, with Gerhard as the main battleground. Undeads and mortals battled it out.
870 y/a - The war of the Vampire Kings comes to an end, with the archmage Horrandal taking the throne of Vampire King, and leaving Gerhard… mostly. His cadre resides in the Torvandall Mountains, and has been rumored to come down to the nearby Gerhardic provinces to feed. But, his castle, lair, cave, whatever, has yet to be found or dealt with.
859 y/a - The ruling monarchy of Gerhard is established, with the Olindaris family taking the reins of the country from the top of the fortress city of Silvrin, built into the side of the dead volcano Oresios.
841 y/a - The Demonsgate opens in what will eventually become the Li’arme province. Hell creatures poured out all over Gerhard and laid waste for many years.
819 y/a - An elven swordsman by the name of Talendil slew the demon king Balrond, and with the death of Balrond, the Demonsgate shattered. Talendil died for his wounds, and was posthumously granted lands and rulership, which his family did well until the lineage died out. The lands still bear his name, and the Talendil festival still occurs on the anniversary of his feat.
791 y/a - The Dragonguard is formed as more and more signs of invasion from the east appear. An invasion from a previously unknown nation, Araden, does occur, but it is quickly quelled with minimal casualties. Gerhard and Araden enter a truce that eventually becomes a lasting friendship, allies to this day.
707 y/a - Nocturna appears on the land of Niverin, and spreads an encroaching darkness that threatens to swallow not just the continent, but the planet. The Old God intervenes personally, locking her in a cage in her own plane of existence.
681 y/a - An mysterious event known only as convergence occurred in the realm of the gods, merging many together. Gerhard's pantheon, and the rest of the world's, used to be much larger than it is now. What happened, what the convergence truly is, is unknown.
651 y/a - Mulhorrin is attacked by a Gerhardic necromancer, and the resulting year long war is settled with the necromancer's defeat, but a significant part of Mulhorrin was razed, and takes many years to rebuild.
509 y/a - Sorcere is formed in the heart of Mullhorrin, in their tucked away capital. Sorcere becomes a source of constantly scrutiny for Gerhard, due to their tendency to delve into darker magics, as if Mulhorrin didn't have enough suspicion levied against it already due to their constant antagonizing of Gerhard.
444 y/a - Ancient ruins of unknown origin are found all over Gerhard's landscape as archeology becomes important to the scholars of Gerhard, as all that can be learned above ground has been learned (so they think). The city of Tau is established as a joint venture between Mulhorrin, Xing, and Gerhard, as these ruins dot much of each of their lands.
388 y/a - Anlagen returns for the final time, bringing the city of the dead to the material plane. In what are now the Devastated Wastes, undead of all types marched on Gerhard and Mulhorrin, bringing the two countries almost to the point of ruin. A human named Vormatz Li’arme defeats the lich, but not before Anlagen was able to devastate the canyonlands of the Jungle elves to the point of turning a beautiful jungle into a waste of coarse dirt, and driving the last bastion of these dryad-esque elves into extinction. Vormatz was granted rulership over the lands south of Gerharda, and he ruled for another thirty years until his death of disease and advanced human age.
381 y/a - The Olindaris family comes to an end, as the last king of their line dies without any living heirs. The Doucard family takes the throne of Gerhard, starting with Queen Nahth.
319 y/a - A second, smaller war between the Vampire Kings breaks out in Gerhard, but like the previous one, Gerhard shuts it down with ruthless efficiency, driving vampires as a species to near extinction in the land. Some small cabals of vampires still rest in hidden shadows of the country, but they have little impact on the wider world.
280 y/a - The wizard Tomlin discovers acana stones, a crystal perfectly attuned to storing magical power. Along with an artificer dwarf named Gonlok, who created strange things that the world shunned him for, the Magical-Industrial revolution of Gerhard begins. Arcana stones became the most important material in the world for nearly a decade, and were mined extensively to power the new world that was coming. River Torond is now the most important part of Gerhard, outside the throne itself.
162 y/a - The Doucards are ousted from the throne when it is discovered that the current king, Aesoroth, is a vampire. He and some of his family escape, others die, and the Gallus family takes the throne, with the Mage Queen Delara starting the royal line.
159 y/a - Mage Queen Delara builds Archamagia, a school for mages to rival Sorcere of Mulhorrin. A beautiful, otherworldly tower drawn up from the ground by pure magical talent, Archmagia is perhaps the single most important monument made by the Gerhardic people.
129 y/a - The Bullder's Guild is founded, and begins building all of Gerhard into a land of beautiful cities, gorgeous monuments, the strongest road system on the continent, both above and below ground.
127 y/a - Queen Delara dies, and her son Royander takes the throne. He leads the army into war with Xing once more, as they broke the treaty, and dies on the field five years into his reign, to be replaced by his son, Anafein, who is perhaps Gerhard's most unpopular monarch ever. Mulhorrin takes some land back from Gerhard under his rule, to no retaliation.
101 y/a - Anafein is assassinated, and no real investigation is ever performed, the Helms and Shields pretending to investigate for a few years before gladly letting that case go cold.
84 y/a - Gerhard grows further, gaining an unused stretch of land now known as the Jenovah desert. Jenovah was originally a place for Mulhorrin and Gerhard to mingle and exchange trade, knowledge, and culture. Obviously that wouldn't remain the case forever.
31 y/a - King Dreden Gallus takes the throne of Gerhard, and is, to date, Gerhard's most popular High Monarch. The first half of his reign is nothing but peace, prosperity, and popularity. His second half proved him to be a master of leading a land through war.
18 y/a - The final war with Mulhorrin begins. A member of Sorcere attempted to kill the King, Dreden Gallus, and what followed was a merciless wave of retribution across the land of Muhorrin, stripping them of members of royalty, land, resources, and people until there was nothing left but the one city and the farmland around it.
10 y/a - Muhorrin surrenders, and the war ends. They no longer have the power to resist Gerhard. Gerhard allows them to keep their final city, but Gerhard now has gained another large portion of landmass, cities, and infrastructure.
4 days ago - King Dreden Gallus, his wife, his oldest son, and many members of the court were killed in an explosion that burned the inside of the top floor of Silvrin to ash. Tiffany Delmar and a pair of unknown accomplices are rumored to be behind the assassination.
Now - The Guardians find a stronghold, an abandoned village, of the Gondar Bandits on the way back to the new capital of Altir. A splinter group divides to take down the stronghold after the location was found, and the Bandit King Cnut has been verified to be there through recon. The Guardians are at the gates, and the story begins…
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