Under The Albatross

[Aldur]

Works for me!

 

[Bone2pick]

Empire Details





National Colors = Navy Blue, White, & Gold


National Symbol = Swooping Albatross


Major Cities:


• Bracknell — Primarily a coal mining city; overall impressions = sooty, oily, and noisy.


• Garstang — Capital of the Empire; political, whaling heavy, varied economic classes.


• East Shefford — Largest blue collar whaling port in the Empire.


• West Shefford — Largest industrial hub in the Empire; factories and warehouses line every street.


• Tenbury Wells — Wealthy river and oceanfront city; lush fruit orchards decorate it's countryside.


Persons of Interest:


• Emperor Howard Orson Cromwell


• Duke of Colchestor George Browning


• Lord Chancellor Bram Huckabee


• Earl of Bracknell Elliot Stansfield


• Baroness Judith Everett


 
Update: My idea for where the major Empire's cities are on the map.

Spoiler

 

[Aldur]

Wonderful! I'll reply later with sketches for elves and possibly sharkmen.

 

[Bone2pick]

• Ada'Malja — (liberal) Artistic city built around the largest southern oasis. Colorful murals and regal statues adorn its every wall and corner. The Hafla Theatre is its biggest draw, a marvelous venue for plays and live music.


• Jawharji — (liberal) An island city of gambling halls, smoke filled taverns, and erotic entertainment.


• Magaaraat — (conservative) Iron mining city that snakes through the jagged desert hills.


• Myhr Khayr — (liberal) Capital of the Caliphate, home of the famous Grand Bazaar & the prestigious Bwayt wa Lawh. It is also known as the City of Pizzazz and the Heart of the South.


• Yarhamu —(conservative) Considered the sacred city of the Alhaam, it is the home the highest cleric of the Al-Taaba, the Ra'Hima. Mosques are plentiful, clerics are passionate, and the people are obedient.

Spoiler

 
Update: Here's a section I'll expand to cover the orcs, elves, and pirates.


How the political powers of the Empire view everyone else


The Caliphate: It's a bittersweet relationship. Bitter, because the raging egos of the fascistic Empire elite can't stomach the idea that another civilization can rival theirs. And while they are still the undisputed leaders in engineering, exploration, naval power, and manufacturing; they admittedly trail the southern people in philosophy, magical study, artistic influence, and cavalry might.


But the Caliphate is also the biggest trade partner of the Empire, so even pride has a price tag. They export wood, flour, tools, leather, wine, and weapons to the desert lands; and import fabric, jewelry, art, spices, iron, and horses from them. It's the most active exchange of goods in the world, and merchants on both sides have grown rich from it. So while tensions have flared between the two cultures from time to time, their equal lust for greater profits have always mended their relations.

 

[Aldur]

Thinking about it, I should expand on the tropical orcs too. Apologies for my lack of effort going into this recently. I'll make up for it.

 

[Bone2pick]

No problem Aldur, I'll be interested to see what you come up with. Btw, I'm thinking about introducing a third small human nation. A single city state on an island, a free city. Something multiracial and inviting, but very vulnerable and fearful of the Empire. Let me know what you think about that.

 

[Aldur]

No problem Aldur, I'll be interested to see what you come up with. Btw, I'm thinking about introducing a third small human nation. A single city state on an island, a free city. Something multiracial and inviting, but very vulnerable and fearful of the Empire. Let me know what you think about that.

As you can probably tell by my liking of your post, I am quite fond of the idea. Sort of like a haven where every race gets along? I'd love that.

 

[Bone2pick]

Sorta yeah. A free city with very few rules and restrictions and lots of racial diversity. But it shouldn't be utopian, I still want it to be a location ripe with drama. It has to fear for its own existence against threats like pirates, the almighty Empire, and possible territorial shark folk. And it would have its own political intrigue like everywhere else, but they would have a redeeming and admirable quality in their pioneer spirit.


If that makes sense. (=u=)

 

[Grey]

Sorta yeah. A free city with very few rules and restrictions and lots of racial diversity. But it shouldn't be utopian, I still want it to be a location ripe with drama. It has to fear for its own existence against threats like pirates, the almighty Empire, and possible territorial shark folk. And it would have its own political intrigue like everywhere else, but they would have a redeeming and admirable quality in their pioneer spirit.
If that makes sense. (=u=)

Former pirate hideout turned legitimate colony, fearing reprisal because the Empire still has the crimes (real or alleged) of major public figures on their records?

 

[Aldur]

That'd make sense. How about we also have a few rogue ships that didn't like the others turning into a colony? Those could still be considered pirates and instead of staying somewhere they sail the seas?

 

[Grey]

I may whip up something for the elves tomorrow. I am inclining towards lupine elves.

 

[Aldur]

I had some sketches on paper for elves and shark people. Would you guys be interested in seeing them?


@Grey @Bone2pick

 

[Bone2pick]

Former pirate hideout turned legitimate colony, fearing reprisal because the Empire still has the crimes (real or alleged) of major public figures on their records?

I like the former pirate hideout origin. I'd also like it if the reason the city turned straight was on account of an influx of influential Empire abolitionists. Prominent men and women who decided to finally speak up about the immorality of chain slavery. That resulted in getting those folks ostracized, and in some cases, brought up on fraudulent charges. They were run out of the Empire and needed somewhere to start over. The rest is history.


My idea for the present day is that the city is governed by guilds and trading companies. Nearly all of the idealism is gone from the people, it's been replaced by a burning frontier spirit and a love of independence.


 
@Aldur Forgehammer I'd like to see your Shark Folk. You might want to wait on Grey's elves — I like his lupine features idea.


 
Update: Free city name and location

Spoiler

 

[Grey]

I am ma'tiir, and I am wounded. I am ma'tiir, and the rage is mine. I am ma'tiir, and my chains will be broken. Elven Chant; The Oath of the Moon

One of the largest islands of the northern sea is one with a bloody history. The elves - or as they call themselves, ma'tiir - fought among themselves for centuries, a series of raids and skirmishes over territory and herds. Eventually this became ritual and expected, and their howlings speak of legendary aurochs and the heroes who stole them from neighbouring packs.


Then the Empire came. Their superior numbers and weaponry overwhelmed the elves, who were enslaved and their lands exploited to fuel the appetites of the Empire. It is only in the last twenty years that the elves reclaimed their homeland, and some wonder if the price was too high.


Elves are lupine creatures; tall, lean, with an unexpected, wiry strength. Pointed ears, varying amounts of fur, and sharp teeth, they're almost entirely carnivorous. There's a predatory grace to their movements and enthralling gleam in their sharp eyes. They live long, breed slowly, and rarely seem to tire. They roam in small packs gathered into larger clans, crudely keeping aurochs herds that they rely on for food and cleaving to specific territories.


Males are typically larger, furrier, and stronger. Females are smaller and sleeker. All have excellent senses, particularly smell.


Once Packs were loyal to themselves, then loyal to their clan, but all ultimately united by the druid caste - the principles of harmony with nature and worship of the moon.


Each pack was governed by the Huntmaster (typically male), the leader in times of war, the one responsible for practical matters of the pack. He was supported by a Moonsinger (typically female), a druid who howls the deeds of the pack and is responsible for keeping their history, teaching, and morale. Moonsingers can be recognized by their silver eyes; a byproduct of eating mushrooms called Moon Tears to give them prophetic visions.


Grovekeepers are druids who live settled lives, rather than nomadic; priestly figures who maintain ritual sites such as stone circles and sacred trees. The migrations of packs pass by these sites. In times past, Grovekeepers simply guided the growth of their homes, acted as healers and criers for the wandering packs, but in recent years they have learned new skills. Now they consume Moon Tears like the 'singers, and use the power gained thereby to sculpt the trees into fortresses, and forge weapons the ma'tiir will use to claim their vengeance.


The ma'tiir have learned from their enemies. They have united under the Adri, formalized the clans and packs. Former slaves taught to scribe have begun a written history. Former slaves who built ships and sailed have brought that knowledge home, combined it with the magics of the druids.


And a lost art has been revived in the bloodcaller druids, who use the spilled blood of battle to fuel their powers, who have awoken the Full Moon's Blessing in the last generation of pups. Now one in every five adult elves, when standing under the light of the full moon for the first time, transform into a creature closer to wolf than elf. One that seems unmoved by Imperial rifles, undeterred by Imperial armour, and entirely without mercy.


First the ma'tiir slew every human on the island. They burned their plantations and sank their ships. They wiped out every trace of Imperial presence, and when the Empire tried to recover the island, the survivors were fed to the Moonblessed.


The island has remained untouched since the rebellion, but the ma'tiir are not satisfied. The bloodcallers insist Mother Moon demands retribution, that only blood can pay for blood. The Empire have no idea of the horror they have unleashed on humankind.

 

[Aldur]

Alright... I wasn't home today so I couldn't do much. I'll get the sketches from paper on digital format (aka just drawing them again) and post them soon-ish. Also, I like Grey's idea.

 

[Bone2pick]

A couple of questions about the elves:


1. How isolated/removed are they from everyone else? Would one have ever left their home island and joined up with pirates or any other multi-racial group?


2. Just how dangerous is the nation of elves? Do they really pose a genocidal level threat to the Empire?

 

[Grey]

1. I'm thinking not too distant from the coast of the Empire, but still largely inaccessible. I think there's a strong likelihood of former Elven slaves joining pirate crews or finding freedom in the Caliphate, but I think in the elven heartland they tend towards the xenophobic - or at least massively prejudiced against humans and human allies.


2. No, I don't think they pose a fully genocidal threat to the Empire, but I do think they may be a significant problem for any human societies as they will likely struggle to let go of their - in their eyes fully justified- prejudice against humans, specifically of the Empire.

 

[Aldur]

Does this fit your vision, @Grey ?


Also, my concept of sharkmen. Anything to add or take, @Atom ?

 

[Bone2pick]

Spoiler

There are no Mosquitos on the island. It was a ruse, a trick that the locals adopted when they were away from home. They were fearful of the wrong kind of attention, so they picked an unappealing name for eavesdroppers. The city's founders quibbled one morning on what to call it, but they finally arrived at a title that satisfied all parties — everyone hates Mosquitos.


Their cunning namesake failed to hide them — they underestimated just how seductive rumors of freedom could be — but they would retain the ironic identity of Mosquito Junction forever after. It grew quickly. Folks blew in like honeybees to orange blossoms. Adventurers came to brave the frontier islands, idealists came for freedom of expression, merchants came for the promise of unregulated trade, and repentant outlaws came for a fresh start. Any reason was as good as the other.


Tens of thousands call it home today. And the people never bow to a king, queen, mayor, or representative. The island is without government. Guilds and trade companies are powerful and influential, but none can claim authority over the other. Disputes are settled with third party judges, and their rulings are almost always obeyed; to do otherwise results in total ostracism. Those who disregard a judge will not be sold food, they will not be sold drink, and they will be not be spoken to. Unless of course, the guilty party pays their debts and humbles himself/herself publicly.


What the city is not: A pirate hub. To conflate the guilds and people of Mosquito Junction with pirates would be to insult both the guilds and the pirates. The guilds are fanatically anti-theft, because to not be would give a nation like the Empire a legitimate charge against the free city. And so they diligently self-police each ship and crewman that calls the Junction home. A pirate in their ranks is as accepted as a fox in the henhouse. Once uncovered an active pirate will be handed over to a ravenous lynching mob.


However... Mosquito Junction is also a city of new beginnings. And while the locals would vehemently deny harboring pirates, they have a secret track record of doing so. A remorseful pirate will be accepted on two conditions: 1. They bring only the clothes and equipment on their back, because no pillaged treasure can be allowed on the island. 2. They take a new name and identity and never confess to their earlier life of crime. Their past, tethered to their old name, dies — and their sins are taken with it. It's the best offer an infamous pirate is ever going to get.


Top four Guilds in Mosquito Junction (ranked accordingly)


1. East Water Trading Company


2. Flock of Pelicans Guild


3. Sunrise Shipping


4. Sawtooth Exports




 
How the political powers of the Empire view everyone else


Mosquito Junction: With open disdain. The Empire has outlawed trade and visitation with what its royalty often describes as a "lawless cesspool." Empire trade unions have called for more extreme measures to be taken, like occupying and forcefully regulating the rogue city. But a written trade agreement, signed by the leaders of the four primary guilds of Mosquito Junction and the Caliph himself, has managed to shield the city from such aggressive action.


Despite the hate the two sides do conduct business together. It's a black market affair, very hush hush. So when the sun sets behind the port of Myhr Khayr, less principled Empire buyers sneak into guild warehouses. The waiting guild members greet them with wide smiles and hearty handshakes, and an Empire only auction takes place. Unfortunately that's what commerce between the two worlds has been reduced to.


The Ma'tiir: As the devils of the snow, and that's from a staunchly secular nation. When the news hit that every last man and woman serving in the north was slain by the elves, people wept in the streets. Funeral bells tolled in solidarity in every city and township, white roses floated in mourning over puddled roads, and the royal flag of the Empire flew at half-staff for twenty days. A loss so great demanded answers, but the story surrounding it was inexplicably delayed.


When the grisly details of the murders finally leaked, they spread like wild fire. Their husbands, their sons, their sister, had been ambushed by monsters. They were feasted on like pigs. It was not the death a soldier deserved. It was not a death a man deserved. A hatred, mythological in its intensity, exploded into a culture that night.


Even the meek screamed for revenge. Militia recruitment was frantic, weapon sales spiked, and nearly every ship in the Empire was called back for reassignment. The largest navy the world had ever seen would soon set sail for the island of the dogs. They would roll cannons, a sea of cannons, across the snow covered plains up to the doors of their enemy. Then they would unleash a seige volley so great the Caliph himself would hear it boom from his palace. And the dead would be left to freeze in the rubble.


But to the citizens of the Empire's outrage, that day of reckoning never came.


It's uncertain what his reasons were, but the Emperor put revenge against the Ma'tiir on hold. The public has begrudgingly waited for an appropriate response, but they are quickly reaching a breaking point. The drums of war are deafening.




 
I have an idea for a new race. They would be a minor (barely noticeable) player in the grand scheme of global politics, but imo they would bring a nice new wrinkle into the setting. I also believe they would blend in well with the current aesthetics we've built so far. Here's where I'd place them.








Let me know if you'd like to hear more.

 

[Grey]

I am curious. Let's hear it.

 

[Aldur]

I also wanted to talk about flintlocks and maybe rifles too. If there are any.

 

[Bone2pick]

Spoiler

The climate takes an interesting form along the border of the great Zion desert and the northern mountains. Cacti, as tall and as wide as willow trees, dot red rock plateaus and canyons. The days are hot, and the wind gusts spin tumble weeds out of thickets of scrub brush. But the nights are cool, and coyotes prowl under starlit skies for kangaroo mice and desert hares.


The peaks of the tallest mountains on the continent leer like giants against the horizon. A few rivers trickle down from their majestic tops, each one precious to the ecosystem. It is a quiet country; nearly untouched by civilization, and completely unsettled by man. But it is not culturally barren — another species calls it home.


Inside cliff caves guarded (and camouflaged) by cacti fences, are the dens of the Tri Horn. A massive humanoid race that has yet to progress beyond stone tech. Unable to speak the languages of man, they remain an enigma to the general public. What men do know they fear: Tri Horn flesh is as thick as rhino hide and their bear-trap sized beaks can sever bone clean. Their average adult height is between seven to eight and a half feet, and they weigh upwards of six hundreds pounds. And most of all, rifles and swords all too often feel like poor weapons against a charging Tri Horn.


What they don't generally know is that Tri Horns are herbivores. They cultivate and harvest cacti, river grass, and all other type of desert vegetation. Folks would also be surprised to learn that Tri Horns are generally docile in their inter-clan disputes. That they respect the wisdom of their elders and refrain from insulting one another.


Few realize that while Tri Horns can't speak traditional man tongues, they can hear them perfectly well, and if taught, can understand them. Fewer still learn that the Tri Horns have two methods of communication of their own: an audible language comprised of guttural bellows, snorts, growls, and sub-frequency moans; and a silent (and intricate) sign language, which incorporates horn touches and facial plate markers.


Tri Horns signal their territories by painting white triangles onto the faces of cliffs and boulders. Only the foolish or naive dare to trespass, because the big folk have been known to attack intruders on sight. So in the eyes of most of the tribes of men and orc, that makes them a savage species. Yet all too often those that judge the Tri Horns the harshest are ignorant of the code of honor that they abide by.

 

[Bone2pick]

I didn't intend to come up with a new race. I was actually listing out possible fantasy creatures our world could support when I backed into these dudes. And once I thought about what they would bring to the table I decided to pitch them


A) They're another competing humanoid group for our central desert, which has room for them imo.


B) They're quite different on a physiological level — cold-blooded, reptilian, egg laying, ect.


C) They're on a primitive tech level (stone tools) in a largely Victorian era world.


D) They're not morally binary — they're fiercely defensive and territorial but code of honor bound.


There's more but I thought that was enough. Did you have any thoughts on them @Aldur Forgehammer?

 

[Aldur]

I didn't intend to come up with a new race. I was actually listing out possible fantasy creatures our world could support when I backed into these dudes. And once I thought about what they would bring to the table I decided to pitch them
A) They're another competing humanoid group for our central desert, which has room for them imo.


B) They're quite different on a physiological level — cold-blooded, reptilian, egg laying, ect.


C) They're on a primitive tech level (stone tools) in a largely Victorian era world.


D) They're not morally binary — they're fiercely defensive and territorial but code of honor bound.


There's more but I thought that was enough. Did you have any thoughts on them @Aldur Forgehammer?

I think there could be room for another race, but I'm not sure about the whole dinosaur aesthetic. Reptillian, though, I can get behind. It fits the desert, it would make sense to have something like that. I have a question: they can be a playable race, right? If so, their primitive ways might be a huge downside. I'm not against it, though. It would be interesting.

 

[Bone2pick]

I went with a dinosaur look because it's not classic High Fantasy. Lizard men are a little stale imo. Stone tech is a limitation but it still gets the job done. And these guys are tanks on legs, so it's better that they won't get their own cannons.


If you guys don't think they fit well please let me know; I'll gladly shelve them. I've got my own fantasy world in the works so they won't go to waste.