Fantasy Humalgam - Lore page

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As far as humanity has counted, it is during the 108th year that the Great human rebellion began. Before this fateful year, all of humanity was owned by either the malformed Ogres, elegant but cruel Starveiled or any of the other, sadistic races, so typical for the Westlands. The small and fragile humans grew tired of this oppression, but it is not like they could do anything about it. That is, up until the primeval worm-like beings came falling from the sky, agreeing to a pact with the obvious underdog and granting them the power of the Artefacts, the power of Arcane. Some were gifted the ability to hold control over fire, some to enhance their bodies with hardened muscle and word even spread of an individual able to manipulate Fate itself. All together, they banded and formed an army, overthrowing their overlords and taking control over their own lives. Over the next decade, they began building an empire, driving out all non-humans from their lands, save for very unique exceptions, and taking the land for themselves. At first, they built villages and cities, then kingdoms arose. Five kingdoms, to be precise, which lasted for an entirety of five years, before being absorbed into one, either through diplomacy or simple threats, by Ramund and his kingdom of the Virmeye. Thus, the Westland Empire came into being, barely united and surrounded by enemies from all sides.

After another five years of peace, a mobilization order was released. The human race must amass and defeat the lurking threats to the east, west, south, and north. Of course, it didn't take long for neighbours to catch wind of this and command armies of their own. The borders are manned, the taverns are full and everyone is waiting for one thing only; the first order of attack.

(All the information known to the humans will be available in the next response.)

 

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The races;
Ogres - A race of very sizable, malformed humanoids that used to dwell in the caves of the Oafstone mountains, engaging in slave trade, copious amounts of incest and cannibalism. Their society is organized into a very simple hierarchy; the strongest rules. Have a dispute you need to solve? Murder and devour your enemy. Think you are better deserving of your friend's wife? Murder and devour your own wife and then your friend. It is all very simple. Of course, this leads to constant problems and leadership of questionable quality, but the Ogres don't care, as long as they get to eat something. Nowadays, the Ogres are seen as an extinguished threat, destroyed or driven beyond the grand mountain range that borders the sea to the north of the Westlands.

Starveiled - Purple skinned shapeshifters, very similar in visage to the average human. Their hair is as black as the night sky and their eyes radiant. All of their fingers end in sharp, long claws and their teeth can rend through steel. For the most of recorded history, they have been known as the apex of evolution, said to have been born of stardust and guided by gods with names unspeakable. But of course, everything has its weakness and as it turns out, the purple folk really don't like ogre blood, to the point where it melts their skin off. That is what the ogre farms are for, after all. The Starveiled find their home to the west, from the fertile Crastwul plains all the way to the desolate deserts, where they are met with the Sandborne.

Wabberal - The Wabberal are a race of bears standing on two legs, which love riding other bears. It is believed that they are stronger than even the ogres, so it is appreciated by most that they are one of the least numerous and least likely to expand races. Little is know about them, but by an order issued by a noble known only as the Lady of thorns, the south-eastern Wabbal forest was turned into a maze of razor-sharp iron wires, tied from tree to tree. These wires were meant to keep the Wabberal out, although they also make it relatively difficult to get anyone in.

The Sandborne - Known to humans only through oral tradings by the Starveiled, they are believed to be a race of short, bulky humanoids, inhabiting the westernmost parts of the Westlands; the Dampfire desert. It is said that they divide themselves into two groups of unknown nature and that they hold an abundance of artefacts related to light and darkness.

Hawkspawn - Living in the north-east, the Hawkspawn are a race of humanoids covered completely in feathers, bearing two pairs of great wings, a beak, and talons. Their society is that of an extreme matriarchy, where female specimens, known as the featherhags judge and decide which males get to live or die upon birth. The entire race is ruled by the Wingmother, to which all featherhags must answer to. Each featherhag also owns up to ten mates and all of their children, able to control their lives as they see fit. They love seeing other, "lesser" races suffer and so, by extension, they love waging war upon their neighbors.

The Snaketainted - Inhabiting all of the southern shore of Westlands, these three-tailed, slithering creatures worship two things; a group of nameless boulders and the blood they love spilling upon them. On the surface, they seem like lone, mindless hunters, but to anyone who knows better, they are an organized threat, that seeks the elimination of any who trespass their lands. Their saliva is venomous and corrosive, their movement undetectable by sound and their attacks swift and cunning, by all means, a fearful enemy.

 

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Human lands;
Lands of the Anch'or - What used to be the first official human kingdom, now reduced to a simple province of the Empire. It is the northernmost human land, mostly filled with fishing villages, ports, and docks, thanks to the fact that it neighbors the biggest known Westland river, the Anch. However, the soil near this river is hardly fertile, mostly composed of easily washed-away clay, so the agriculture of these lands can be lacking at times. It is governed by a group of nobles, to which mayors directly answer. Of course, these nobles are loyal to the Emperor and are disposed of at the first possible sign of treason. This is because the Anch'or people are certainly the most rebellious ones towards the Empire.

Lands of the Virmeye - At the center of the empire lays its capital of culture, military and power; the city of Virmeye and its surrounding lands. As the seat of the Emperor, it is the land to which all nobles must come to bow. Officially, it was the second kingdom created, however, lately, it has been claimed by its scholars to be the first one established. It holds the most lands, most armies, and most ships and it is highly inadvisable to try and attack its borders. Of course, the Virmeye lands have the highest rate of education and the wealthiest citizens, although more lie in poverty here than anywhere else, seeking to gain new chances, but denied their attempts.

Lands of the Daggerhill - The lands of the south, bordering the seaside. The capital stands atop a hill, into which many daggers have been plunged as a sign of respect for the victims of war, hence its name. Its soil is fertile and the climate good, but it is mostly known for its many blacksmiths and other men of the forge. This is because of the quality of iron and other materials found here, combined with the fact that the men now inhabiting it formerly served as slave craftsmen for the Starveiled. The cities and lands are as usual owned by mayors, but here, the mayors must answer to the Smith's guild, which created a monopoly sufficient enough to hold sway over most Daggerhillian land.

The Sungrain Lands - Located in the west, bordering the Starveiled territories, the Sungrain lands are the most fertile and agriculture-friendly, to the point where the rest of the empire could hardly survive without its exports. This makes the pockets of its people very rich, if, by people, only the upper class is meant. The peasants work for ten hours a day, for very limited pay and with hardly any concern put towards their well being. This is highly reminiscent of Starveiled handling and so, the farmers are held at bay only by their lack of arms, magical ability, and motivation. For the most part, they are all broken men by this point, bereft of hope for the future.

The Velvetleaf Lands - The lands where all leaves are as soft as velvet and used en massé for the creation of clothes and fabrics. Found to the east of all other human lands and bordering the territory of the Wabberal, the Hawkspawn, and the Snaketainted, these lands are just as dangerous as they are beautiful. Another one of its problems is the lack of cities and abundance of villages, always at feud with one another over their borders. As such, the Velvetleaf people are probably the most disunited members of a former kingdom, all the while the nobles have limited control over their subjects, because of rogue mayors.

 

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Human Religion;
Religion is diverse within the human lands, ranging from paganism, atheism, and anything in between. This is because humanity, for the most of history, had no real specific culture, instead either adopting the customs of their masters, willingly or not, or their opposites, as a sign of rebellion. Some searched for hope and salvation in death, some in the night sky and others were simply broken.

The Gods of the Black River - The religion typical for the north, around the Anch river. It supposes that the sky is in actuality an enormous river and that the planet is a pebble floating about in its stream. During the night, the Gods peak their heads out of the waters in the form of stars and observe their loyal creations, sometimes granting them gifts. The greatest of these gifts is believed to be the creatures that fell from the Black River twelve years ago, granting humanity the ability to rise up.

The String Gods - The most common pagan belief of the human lands, most prevalent in the east. It supposes that all gods are weavers and that they spin all living things into being. This religion's preachers speak of about how humanity's strings are the most elegant and pure, destined to bear all the fortunes of the world. Perhaps, this is how it became the favorite religion of the nobles.

The Night of Absolution - A godless religion, mostly believed in by the lower classes. Its preaching is that of purity and struggle in mortal life, rewarded in death. It supposes that after death, a soul either ends up cursed in eternal torment (the indulgent, selfish or "heathen" soul) or in the absolution of any and all of their minuscule sins and an eternity spent in "the Night," a reality of gold and luxury, a reward for faithful, humble life. Passage to the Night is ensured by mysterious Guardians, that act as judge and jury of the souls. Mortals that ensure the purity of others, by force or not, are allowed to pass no matter what their own sin, or so it is said.

Men of no faith - The truly broken ones, that hold only the belief that if any good gods existed, humanity would not be allowed its horrible fate. In the eyes of others, they are seen as mad or impure, but what does that matter? Life is horrible with or without faith. After the Great Human rebellion, the faithless have become much less numerous, to the point of negligence.