The World of Euriga
Euriga is a campaign setting for the fifth edition of the world’s first roleplaying game, presenting a world inhabited by humans of many nationalities and cultures, and where magic has been institutionalised and integrated in the life of its citizens. The setting takes its name from the continent of Euriga; the land from which your character originates and progresses as an adventurer. Euriga is not the only continent of this world, but this setting is described and meant to be experienced from the perspective of its residents, immigrants, and visitors.
Euriga is also inhabited by many spirits – some wild and some benevolent, some bright and some dark – and their interaction with humans takes a central role in the narrative of the setting. It is a land where modernity is emerging from traditions, where the new has triumphed over the old. The world is dawning on a new age; will you stand valiantly against the tides of time, or will you boldly move forward into this new dawn?
Re-Skinning the SRD
Euriga is first and foremost a creative exercise in re-imagining the SRD without altering the rules and mechanics of the presented material. Named after the continent providing the point of view of this setting, Euriga is a campaign setting where religion takes a step back and divine magic is rebranded as “spirit-magic”. Opposing this ages-old spirit magic, modern spellcasters have brought a new and revolutionary type of magic to the world – the arcane arts – which can be learned and practiced by anyone regardless of their social position or standing with higher spirits.
In this setting, elemental, fey, plant, and undead creatures are communally called “spirits” and take a central role in the campaign, both as allies and enemies. Many such creatures differ in appearance from their counterparts illustrated in the Monstrous Manual, but all follow their respective stat blocks from the SRD. These spirits are responsible for divine magic – here called pyoreen magic – which consists in an exchange of magical powers for the mortal’s life essence. Traditionally, this life essence is represented by blood, which must be spilled to feed the spirits and obtain their powers. Arcane magic on the other hand is dissociated from the magical powers of spirits and its newest branch, the rational approach to magic of the academicians, has come to disrupt the old and established pyoreen order. With this liberation from the spirits and the tyranny of the pyoreen mages, Euriga has begun its transition into an age of renaissance.
The Dawn of a New Age
Euriga has recently emerged from a dark era and has begun its transition into an age of renaissance. Technological advances in agriculture and engineering allowed cities to grow rapidly and support large populations. The houses of Eurigeans are warm and clean, and equipped with proper sanitary installations, safe indoors kitchens, coal-burning furnaces, and easy access to clean water. While poverty still endures in the cities and countryside, the inhabitants of Euriga are more prosperous than they have ever been. All but its poorest citizens receive an elementary education, but many also complete advanced studies in the diverse universities, colleges, seminaries, and academies around the continent. Of all the sciences and philosophiae that are taught, arcane magic is among the most prestigious, and its principles are applied just as extensively as those of arithmetic, geometry and chemistry in everyday life. As a matter of fact, modern spellcasting derives from these disciplines just as much as esoteric principles.
The Spirits of Euriga
Euriga is a land where spirits walk among humans, halfway between the world of shadows and that of mortals. They inhabit the rivers and dwell in the forest, blow with the winds and change with the seasons, and the health of the land depends on their presence. Their customs are rich and complex but the intricacies of their society are beyond the comprehension of mortals. For many ages, humans used to worship them as gods and performed rituals to attract their blessings and appease their wrath. Some of these spirits appear more benevolent than others, some more regal than others, but the majority seem indifferent to the fate of humankind as long as the natural order is preserved.
Whether they serve as allies or antagonists to the player characters, the presence of spirits cannot be ignored in and is likely to take a central role in the campaign. In the Euriga campaign setting, the term “spirit” is used in a very broad sense, including virtually all creatures of supernatural origin such as elemental, fey, plant and undead creatures. Only fiends and celestials seem to be set in a different category, while fantastic beasts such as griffons and owlbears are seen as corruptions of nature.
Not all spirits are ghost-like and incorporeal; most are in fact quite tangible. Spirits often take a “shape” as they enter the material world, giving a solid and physical form to their nothingness. Whether this is a deliberate choice on their part or a consequence of their presence in the mortal’s world remains subject to many debates, and the spirits themselves do not seem to have – or even care for – an explanation on the matter.
The Promise of a Better Afterlife
As the world entered a new age of reason, the open worship of these spirits is no longer practiced by everyone and is even discouraged by some. A new pantheon of gentler deities has replaced the olden wild and often cruel gods and spirit lords.
Many inhabitants of Euriga have come to prefer the promise of a blessed afterlife earned by one’s virtues rather than a place of choice in the realms of the dead for those who performed great deeds, be they self-sacrificing or thoroughly evil. Many spirits are resentful of this change and thought they do not feel spite and hatred the way humans do, their mysterious duties must be performed, regardless whether humans cooperate or not.
While this new religion is gaining in importance and popularity, the gods of Euriga do not grant spells to mortal clerics, nor do they empower their worshippers with the ability to channel their divinity and perform miracles on their behalf. This doesn’t prevent the inhabitants of Euriga from practicing their religion and believing in their gods’ power however. Believing without a proof is, after all, the very definition of faith, and these new gods seem to demand worship without absolute confirmation of their existence.
The new Eurigean religion is not completely incompatible with many of the old practices and most of the old holidays are still celebrated today. And while the spirits are no longer worshipped as gods, they remain part of the Eurigean landscape and are still appeased and thanked with daily rituals. Witches who can communicate with spirits once lived a hermit-like life in the wilderness but nowadays, many own fancy boutiques where they sell spells and potions to the citizens of the great cities of Euriga.
Spirits as Creatures
In the world of Euriga, every creature of the elemental, fey, plant, and undead type is considered a spirit, and the DM should feel free to change the appearance of the creature to match its vision of the spirits when necessary. Ghosts, shadows, specters, wraiths, and other incorporeal creatures readily serve as “unclad” spirits, as described above, while corporeal and tangible creatures can be interpreted as one of their physical incarnation (like a salamander, a treant, or a dryad), as an object possessed or animated by a spirit (like an earth elemental, a shambling mound, or a skeleton), or as one of their most ancient and majestic leaders on Euriga (like a djinni or a mommy lord). Some like an azer or a green hag could be imagined as spirits who were banished or sentenced to live on the mortal world, unable to leave or change their appearance, and who eventually made their way into local folklore.
The Continent of Euriga
Euriga, the eponymous continent of this campaign setting, is the name given to the westernmost lands before the Great Sea. It is a geographically varied land featuring rolling plains and high mountains, calm rivers and wild torrents, multicultural cities and primeval forests – all inhabited by spirits of all kinds tending to the magical nature of their land.
An inner sea called The Crescent Sea separates Euriga from the continents of Okontu and Ikisha, while the great oriental continent of Kithù seems to stretch endlessly into the East. Euriga itself is divided in many different nations and countries, each composed of several cultures and ethnicities.
The nation of Montanesse occupies most of the western coast and northern isles where Euriga seems to fragment into the Great Sea, and where the gauntlet between the Shadowlands and the mortals’ world is very thin. Three large peninsulas descending from the frozen plains beyond the Boreal Sea form the Norwald Jarldoms, a land where eight jarls precariously rule a realm divided by lack of a High King. The country of Pryvalon is often depicted as the centre of Euriga, both geographically and culturally, and leads directly to the Sea of the Crescent; the doorway to the neighbouring continents of Okontu and Ikisha. The northern shores of the Pryvalon surrounding the Kikwerth Forest possess such a strong geographical and cultural identity that it is often acknowledge as a nation of its own, while the oriental countries of Euriga upon and beyond the dark Sakozov Mountains are collectively known as Skadozovia. Thus ends the Continent of Euriga, with empty steppes stretching endlessly into the east toward the continent of Kithù.
Other than the land spirit themselves, all inhabitants of Euriga are humans, but many possess supernatural abilities that have passed and subsisted through countless generations. Many lament that these traits are becoming increasingly rarer however, and that centuries of immigration and hybridisation have faded many such of these ancestral abilities in favour of more uniform traits. As the world grows ever closer with trade and immigration, strong ethnic qualities are likewise getting milder, and it is not rare to find an individual in a society showing the traits of another nation.
Nations of Euriga
Euriga is the northernmost and westernmost continent of the known world. Geologically, Euriga, Ikisha, and Kithu are all part of the same landmass, but all three civilisations developped independently due to the distance and emptiness seperating them, and their homelands are percieved as continents of their own.
The Kingdom of Montanesse
The kingdom of Montanesse is the left-hand neighbour of the Pryvalon and westernmost country of Euriga. Bordered by the Great Sea to the West, the Boreal Sea to the North, and the tip of the Crescent Sea to the South, Montanesse possesses the most costal lands of all countries of Euriga and boasts a powerful navy.
Geography and Demography
The southern regions of Montanesse – also called the Méridion – feature a rugged but fertile mountainous plateau thrusting like a great spear into the ocean. While its geology makes it less suitable for the harvest of wheat and other cereals as the central plains of Montansse, the warmer crescentician climate of the Méridion makes it ideal for growing fruits such as apricots, olives, figs, dates, and grapes. The later occupies a great portion of Montanese economy, and more than half of the Eurigean wine production originates from this region alone. The tip and northern shores of the Méridion giving on the Great Sea are slightly more temperate however, and fishing constitutes the main industry there.
Central Montanesse is a pleasant land of gently rolling plains and lazy rivers similar to the inner regions of the Pryvalon. Many castles dot the landscape, some inhabited, some in ruins, bearing witness of another era when the pyoreen mages shaped the land to their liking and reigned over their dominions. Many are surrounded by gloomy spirits-inhabited forests, and the local populations give them a wide berth.
The northern regions of the Montanesse – also known as the Septentrion – see stormier weather and rougher terrain. The fey spirits are particularly present there, and many of its hills, valleys, and torrents are home to powerful fey-lords and spirit-ladies. It has long been observed that the veil separating the mortals’ world from the spirits’ shadowlands is very thin there, and one can accidently cross over to the Fey-Realms if caution is not used. Many spirits living there are surprisingly human-like in their behaviour and appearance. It is said that human blood flows in their veins when they choose to take physical form and that likewise, the Montanese living there share the blood of the fey.
The Appearance of Spirits
The spirits of Euriga can take various forms but in their “natural” incorporeal states, they look like indistinct humanoid shapes of impenetrable darkness. Sometimes, their lower body resemble the body of a snake, the tail of a fish, or even the tentacles of a squid rather than the legs of a human but regardless of their appearance, the shape of spirits always dissipate into nothingness before touching the ground. Only a pair of glowing eyes appear on their face, as if no other trait could emerge past the blackness of their shape. Incorporeal spirits wear a mask when manifesting in front of mortals, and many wear clothes and jewelry to give shape to their nothingness. This mask is often white with gold ornamentation or dark grey with silver motifs, but some are brightly coloured and take after the traits of an animal instead of those of a human visage. Strangely, the eyeholes of these masks change continually to match the current spirit’s expressions and emotional state. The mouth of their masks on the other hand never moves, even when the spirit is speaking.
Many spirits also “clad” themselves with a physical form when entering the mortal’s world, taking the shape of an animal, of a fantastic creature, or even of an animated lump of rock and soil, but they seem incapable of perfectly adopting the shape of a human being. Whenever they try, their otherworldly origin is always betrayed by inhuman features; some that are fair (like a dryad spirit), others that are grotesque (like a green hag spirit), or that are truly repulsive (like a ghast spirit). Ancient necromancers also learned how bind lesser spirits to the corpse of the deceased and raised hordes of animated skeletons and zombies.
When a spirit is killed or banished, its mask and clothes fall to the ground and vanish within a few seconds. Ancient spells allow a necromancer to preserve a defeated spirit’s mask, allowing the mortal who possesses it to summon and bind the defeated spirit to its will.
The north of the Septentrion disintegrates in a long archipelago of many islands separating the Great Sea from the Boreal Sea. The biggest and closest islands are inhabited by humans, but the farthest isles are taboo and forbidden to all mortals. Locals sometimes say that these islands belong to the Fey Realms and can only be seen because the veil between the two worlds is almost non-existent there.
Politics and Government
The Kingdom of Montanesse is a constitutional monarchy. Like the Pryvalon, Montanesse has freed itself from the tyranny of the pyoreen mages but unlike the former, this country is still officially ruled by a pyoreen queen. With her power checked by an assembly of academician ministers, the queen has little political weight in the affairs of the state. Her only real power lies with her people who, perhaps through one of her last unbroken enchantments, truly adore her. The queen’s political power may be broken, but her cultural influence is stronger than ever.
People and Customs
Called the Montanese, the inhabitants of Montanesse are known as a very welcoming and festive folk. They take the value of hospitality very seriously, especially in the northern provinces where locals believe that fey spirits sometimes travel in the guise of a man or woman to test the virtues of the Montanese.
The Montanese are also known for their colorful adages and proverbs, and for their strong belief in numerous taboos and superstitions. The ancestors of the Montanese were once very close to their spirit neighbours and intermarried with the fey, instigating many strange traditions that are still practiced to this day.
Like many other countries of Euriga before the rise of the pyoreen mages, Montanesse used to be composed of several petty kingdoms, each with their own ethnicity and culture. Centuries of coexistence and intermingling have attenuated these differences, but regional traits, habits, and accents can still be observed. For example, some share the lighter physique of their Pryvalonian neighbours while others, especially in the south, feature the distinctive dark skin of the Okontu.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
Montanesse is a land blessed by nature spirits who reside there in abundance. Most of these spirits remain unclad and ethereal behind their masks and gowns, but guardian spirits often take the form of a mighty tree, or that or a long serpent made of water.
Montanesse is also home to many kinds of fey spirits; some very regal, some more mischievous. Most are harmless as long as they are not angered, but not all seem to be fully conscious of the consequences that their tricks and games can have on mortals. Some darker spirits on the other hand, take malicious pleasure in the pain and suffering they are inflicting on their victims, and some others simply cannot refuse fresh blood that inadvertently walks into their lair.
Many spirit-lords and faerie-queens reign over various regions of Montanesse, but two courts obscure all others in importance and magnitude; the Summer Court and the Winter Court. Both courts have been raging a war of influence since times immemorial, each involving mortals to further their cause. Many pyoreen mages have pledged their fealty to the Morning Queen or to the Horned King of the Summer court, but the dark Queen of Dusk uses more devious ways of luring mortals in her thralldom.
The Republic of the Pryvalon
Bordering the Crescent Sea and all other eurigean nations, the Pryvalon is often seen as the academic, cultural, and economic centre of Euriga. It is here that the first pact with the Ghaele Princes was formed and that the first pyoreen queen was crowned, and also here that the academicians rose to power and overthrew the last of its pyoreen kings. Ever since the first pyroeen queen settled her throne on Moel Argnyr , the city of Argenville has been considered not only as the capital of the Pryvalon, but as the primary seat of power of all Euriga.
Geography and Demography
The Pryvalon is a fertile land of shallow but wide valleys sculpted by ancient glaciers. The country is roughly divided in three great regions, each bordering Montanesse, Norwald, and Sakozovia respectively.
The western provinces of the Pryvalon resemble those of central and southern Montanesse, featuring rolling hills and progressively rising costal lands along the Crescent Sea.
The crescentician climate makes the Southern Pryvalon much warmer than the rest of the country, which otherwise tends to be cold and rainy. There, numerous harbour towns and cities ensure a steady commerce between Euriga, Okanta, and Ikishia, making of Southern Pryvalon the most multiethnic and multicultural region of Euriga.
A main branch of the Sakozov Mountains elevates the northern regions of the Pryvalon called the Northern Mark high above the inner lands. It is a coastal country cut with deep fjords similar to those of Norwald across the Boreal Sea, and featuring a dark primeval forest where goblins and giant spiders are said to dwell. The Northern Mark was among the last territories to be annexed to the Pryvalon, and its people still possess a strong cultural identity of their own.
The eastern valleys of the Pryvalon lean against high Sakozovia, each separated from one another other by long ranges of hills stemming from the Sakozov Mountains like the big branches of a tree. Everything appears gloomier in the shadows of the Sakozov Mountains, and the frequent fog and rain of eastern Pryvalon do nothing to improve this feeling. Its inhabitants are optimistic and jovial nonetheless, but doors are kept locked at night and lanterns burn long into the morning.
At the confluence of these three provinces stands the great city of Argenville; the most populous and cosmopolitan metropolis of Euriga, home to the famed Academy of the Arcane. Politics and Government The Pryvalon is an elective magocracy governed by a parliament of academicians under the chapel of a Prime Magister. Many find it ironic that the Pryvalonian rebelled against a kingdom ruled by wizards only to install another regime ruled by wizards, but fact that these wizards are elected by their people and can come from any social class changes everything in their eyes.
Of all countries of Euriga, the Pryvalon has the most progressive laws and policies, and shows the most traits of a truly democratic government.
People and Customs
The Pryvalon is the most cosmopolitan and urban nation of Euriga, and shows the least differences in social classes. Magic there is institutionalised and its utilisations are well integrated in Pryvalonian cities and villages; every large town has magic shops where spells and magic services can be purchased. In rural areas, Pryvalonian peasants live more according to their ancient customs and traditions, leaving offerings to the spirits and keeping their shrines clean and well lit. Some have preserved the ability to speak with beasts like their ancestors did a long time ago, as well as the skill of crafting glamours; the ancient art of illusion.
The Kikwirthen residents of the Northern Mark possess their own distinct culture and set of traditions.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
Most nature spirits of the Pryvalon prefer to appear in their ethereal form. Their masks and gowns are particularly elaborated here, suggesting that these spirits were once very wealthy – if such a thing is possible in the spirit-world. But ever since the academicians rose to power and the new faith replaced the worship of wild spirits, nature is not as lush as it once was and the land seems to have lost its enchanted quality that once defined the Pryvalon. Even the princely spirits of Arethusa Springs – which many believe to be the anchoring point of the shadowlands onto the mortals’ world – lost a great deal of their grandeur. While they still remain immensely powerful beings, they have become wary of humans, and so have their spirit subjects. These princely spirits have come to realise how much their mortal servants contributed to their stature, and how much mortals could harm them if they realised their own potential. The princes and princesses of Arethusa Springs need new mortal allies and vassals, but the academicians must first be humbled back to their place in the world.
The Northern Mark of Kikwerth
Kikwerth, also called the Northern Mark, is the name given to the coastal regions of North Pryvalon. It is bordered by the Boreal Sea and the Norwald Jarldoms to the north, the northern range of the Sakozov Mountain to the east, and the inner lands of the Pryvalon to the south. While Kikwerth has been annexed by the Pryvalon long time ago, its inhabitants kept their native language and distinct cultural identity, and are often perceived as an independent nation.
Geography and Demography
Although its peaks are not very high, Kikwerth is made of the same geological formation as the Sakozov Mountains, standing as the longest and widest of their western arms. It forms a high plateau of jagged hills crossed by numerous valleys and torrents, but the great valley of the Kikwerth Forest traversing the whole region is by far its largest and most distinctive geographical feature.
Giving its name to the whole country, the Kikwerth Forest has an evil reputation and is said to be haunted by giant spiders, werewolves, goblins, and many other despicable creatures. Many nature spirits live in these woods and surrounding hills, but the heart of the Kikwerth Forests is said to be corrupted and rotten, ruled by hordes of vile creatures and monsters. The Kirwirthen are careful not to enter too deep in its woods, but the eaves of the forest constitute their main source of venison and medicinal plants.
Politics and Government
Even when it was ruled by its own king, Kikwerth operated under a decentralised clan structure ruling over small city-states. The Kikwirthen primarily live in walled seashore villages and fortified burgs in the uplands, each governed by a thegn. Historically, these thegns were chieftains ruling directly under the authority of the king but nowadays, they are little more than mayors with a glorified title. The thegns in turn form a council to discuss matters of common defense and commerce, but as a province of the Pryvalon, the Northern Mark of Kikwirth is administered by one of the parliament’s magisters who has guardianship over its burgs and authority over the Kikwirthen thegns.
People and Customs
The Kikwirthen tend to be tall and muscular but possess a notoriously slow gait for a people of their size. They walk in great strides with confidence and deliberation but rarely with great hurry or haste. Perhaps due to the attacks and hardship they faced in the past, the Kikwirthen are a reputably hardy people with a grim appearance to match. “Having the guts of a Kik” is a common expression in Euriga used to signify resilience, particularly in respect to stomaching indigestible or poisonous food, or consuming large quantities of alcohol.
After centuries of living in the uplands, the Kikwirthen have become renowned mountaineers and stoneworkers with an unparalleled knowledge of rocks and geology. Stonecunning,
the ancestral art and knowledge of using stone as a building material, is a tradition that runs deep in the history of the Kikwirthen. Children of young age are taught the properties of rocks and stones, as well as the handling of picks, hammers, and other tools. Axes and hammers in particular take an important place in Kikwirthen iconography and folklore, both as tools and as weapons. Under the constant menace of the Kikwerth Forest, every man, woman and child must be ready to defend its life with the instruments that are at hand.
Of all citizen of Kikwerth, one group identifies itself as a subculture of its own. The rich and industrious southern plateau known as Myriidr has seen much commerce and urban development recently and with it, an increase in cultural diversity. The Myrans’ past as strong miners still shows to this day, and the metalworking and goldsmithing that have made their fortune are just as honoured there as the knowledge of stonecunning.
The other inhabitants of Kikwerth don’t have a specific name for themselves, but the Myrans sometimes refer to them as “foresters” in allusion to their country’s namesake forest.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
With the exception of the wild spirits agitating the Boreal Sea, the Kikwirthen have quiet and timid spirits for neighbours. Many dress their etherealness with animal shapes, others hide as shy woodland dryads or water nymphs, but all tend to be benevolent toward their human neighbours. The Kikwerth Forest however has many threats in store.
Many varieties of giant spiders and centipedes live in the Kikwerth Forest, as well as many other types of oversized creepers and crawlers that love nothing more than to feast on human flesh. The Kikwerth Forest is also inhabited by hordes of goblins that come out on moonless nights to lay siege on the fortified burgs and houses of the Kikwirthen. Trolls and ogres are said to prowl the forest and nearby valleys, and legends speak of an ancient dragon living in the heart of the woods; a vile creature whose spit can burn the flesh like if it were burning coals. The dragon, if real, has yet to be seen but its spawns are often sighted, growing stronger and wicked with every passing year.
The Jarldoms of Norwald
Of all human nations the most northerly, Norwald stands at the edge of the world between Euriga and the Frozen Realms of the Jotuns. It is a land where the olden gods have left their marks, and where their gifts are still remembered and used by its inhabitants to this day.
Geography and Demography
The Jarldoms of Norwald encompass all three great peninsulas looking down on Euriga from the northern side of the Boreal Sea, as well as the numerous islands and islets east of Montanesse. Each norweldian peninsula share similar climates and geological traits dominated by mountainous and high terrains, with a great variety of natural features carved by ancient glaciers. The most noticeable of these are the fjords: deep coastal gorges cut into the land and flooded by the sea eons ago.
Most Norweldians live by the sea, on an island, or along one of the many rivers leading to the Boreal Sea. Even those living inland cannot ignore the prevalence and omnipresence of the sea in the politics and economy of Norwald.
Many valleys and fjords provide fertile lands that would be well suited for agriculture, but the short summers and the harsh winters of Norwald prevent the cultivation of cereals on a wide scale. Most of their provisions are taken from the sea and from the herding of goats and sheep, but boars and deer – which exist in abundance in Norwald – are also hunted for their hide and meat.
The mountainous valleys and plateaus of Norwald are covered with forests of fir, pine, and birch. Hard wood essences such as oak, alder, and ash are also present but in much smaller proportion, and are never fell for firewood. These trees are rather nurtured and protected, and used exclusively for the construction of houses and ships, as well as the confection of weapons and tools.
Ancient Jotun ruins can be found in many places, some inaccessible, some completely sunken or frozen, ever reminiscing that Norwald was once inhabited by giants and wrestled from their hands by the Olden Gods and ancestors of the Norweldians.
Politics and Government
The jarls of the eight major noble houses govern Norwald as unofficial monarchic confederacy. Ever since the High King died without an heir, these eight clans have been fighting for the throne without any decisive victor. Ultimately, the jarls were forced to unite and form an uneasy league to avoid territorial and commercial conquests from other nations.
Norwald remains openly feudalistic even to this day, but the status of freemen and freewomen has always set Norwald apart from other types of monarchies. All modern legal systems take roots in the old tribunals of the Norweldians whereas every free person is permitted to take advisory and defend itself in a fair trial. Political and judicial authorities have not yet been separated in Norwald however, and the thanes of each tribunal still retain both responsibilities of political leader and legal magistrate.
People and Customs
While the rest of Euriga embraced new religious doctrines based on virtues, the Norweldians still practice the old faith where mortals must prove their worth to be admitted in the afterlife by judgemental and often cruel gods. The Norweldians always maintained an ancestral kinship and proximity with their gods however, and consider themselves to be the direct descendants of the gods who sided with the dwarves against the giants. In return, the olden gods were rewarded with the secret knowledge of runes and given the lands of Norwald as wergild for their human followers. Acknowledgements to the olden gods and to the power of runes are part of every Norweldian’s life even to this day. Some even still practice the ancient secret of casting runes and retained the ability to manifest their mystical powers.
History, legends, myths, and sagas are but the same thing in Norwald, and for its inhabitants, mythology is still writing itself. Long ago, the Norweldians were warriors, poets, raiders, and explorers. While they no longer are the pillagers they once were, the people of Norwald haven’t forgotten their warrior roots.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
The spirits that inhabit Norwald are fittingly old and wild, sometimes cruel, and often tempestuous. Few present themselves in their incorporeal form, preferring to take the guise of ferocious beasts or inhabit pure elemental shapes of fire, air, water, and earth. More malicious spirits take pleasure in inhabiting the corpses of ancient buried warriors and indulge in their hosts’ enduring lust for battle. In Norwald, one earns the respect of spirits by surviving their constant assaults.
But as dangerous as they can be, spirits are far from being the only threats of Norwald. According to legends, Norwald is a land taken from the hands of the primordial giants, but some of their children, guardians, and traps were left behind. It is not rare to encounter a lone giant or a clan of trolls in the wilderness of Norwald, and many linnorms (use dragons without a fly speed or wing attack) hunt in the seas and fjords of the North.
The Sakozovian Principalities
Sakozovia is the name given to the ensemble of zovic-speaking countries of eastern Euriga. Taking its name from mighty Sakozov Mountains, Sakozovia is a land of darkness and mystery inhabited by old spirits trapped in their monstrous forms. While not all of their leaders take the title of “Prince”, the countries that compose Sakozovia are sometimes collectively referred as the Sakozovian Principalities.
Geography and Demography
Each Sakozovian country has its own variety of geological features and climates, but all have one major attribute in common; the colossal Sakozov Mountains.
Longest and highest mountain range of all Euriga, the Sakozov take root in the icy plains of the Jotun Realms north of Norwald, and run south across Euriga all the way to the
Crescent Sea. In many places, they form an impassable wall between central Euriga and the tablelands beyond, but wide mountain passes allow passage in between each major chain. With time, these mountain passes were settled, along with the lands beyond, each becoming one of the current Sakozovian countries. Of the lands east of the Sakozov Mountains, the northern plains and taigas are the most populated despite the length and harshness of their winters.
The Sakozov Mountains are notorious for their gloomy valleys and precarious mountain paths. These mountains always seem darker than they should, as if shadows lingered like a fog that only the midday sun can disperse. Many spirits live in these shadows, but they claim not to be the cause of it. Local populations attribute this darkness to the malice of the mountains themselves whom they blame for all kinds of unusual hazards and accidents. Ever since humans first settled these regions, they have found the mountains to be unnaturally treacherous and cruel. Still, the Sakozovians endure the mountains’ wickedness and thrive in their shadows. The Sakozov Mountains may be perilous, unforgiving, and unnaturally dark, but they are their mountains, and the Sakozovian are proud to be named after them.
The tablelands east of the mountains tend to be arid and rocky in the south, and therefore mostly settled along the Crescent Sea. Conditions quickly changes to wetter and colder climates as one travel north, and the abundant fresh water sources make Northern Sakozovia much more inhabitable despite the frigid winter temperatures.
Politics and Government
Each Sakozovian country expresses some form of monarchic government, some more centralized and autocratic than others. Unlike Montanesse and the Pryvalon however, Sakozovia never was united by an ambitious pyoreen mage and conserve their distinct identity and sovereignty to this day. Spirits seem to be of a different kind in Sakozovia, and they appear to be more possessive of the land to which they are bound, opposing the pyoreen mages more often than they have forged a pact with them.
This never prevented human warlords from invading their neighbours however, and each Sakozovian country has been conquered and annexed at one point or another in their history. Traditionally, such annexations were given to the royal prince and took the name of “principality”. As neighbouring kingdoms kept invading one another, these principalities ultimately survived their mother nations and the title of prince came to replace that of king. Only the northern tsardom of Zovianka succeeded in keeping its original crown, and the tsar rules over a court of several princes.
People and Customs
The Sakozovians are a people of extremes. On one hand, they have lived for so long in the shadows of the Sakozov Mountains that they have absorbed some of their darkness. The Sakozovians can be prone to sombre moods and some have inherited their land’s treachery and cruelty. Some can even manifest this darkness in globes of misty black smoke, not unlikethat of the dark fogs that linger in the Sakozov.
On the other hand, the Sakozovians have fought the same darkness for so long that their culture is full of light, cheerful songs, festive dances, and bright colours. Fire spirits are revered above all others there, and flames remain lit in the fireplace every hour of the day and every season of the year. In turn, these fire spirits protect the descendants of the oldest Sakozovian families and those they deem worthy of their blessings.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
Of all regions of Euriga, Sakozovia has the most unusual spirits. Nature spirits exist in abundance here, but no courts of spirit-lords and fey-queens rule over sizable regions of the Sakozov Mountains. Instead, Sakozovia seems to be a land of exile for banished or rogue spirits; a place where the veil between the worlds of mortals and that of the spirits is particularly thick and removed from the kings and queens of the Shadowlands.
Bound in a physical form they cannot shed, these exiled spirits are forsaken by their own kind and must prey on the life essence of mortals to survive. With time, they have become creatures of legend featuring in many tales of Sakozovian folklore:
The Vampire Lord is an ancient spirit living in the southern parts of Sakozovia, feeding on the blood of mortals and literally consuming their life essence. The Vampire Lord has bullied many spirits in his service and spawned many vampire spirits himself, but folklore tells that he still lacks one thing to complete his court; a bride worthy of his stature.
The Immortal is a common antagonist in sakozovian folklore, empowering or helping mortals in exchange of their life essence. Typically, the deal proposed by The Immortal is appealing at first but gets progressively worse and impossible for the hero to keep its end of the bargain. The Immortal is sometimes slain in those stories, only to return a fortnight later to haunt his killer.
The Night Hag is but one of the many crones and mysterious witches of sakozovian folklore, but this particular one hunts on the mortals’ life essence by stealing their dreams and replacing them with nightmares. She is said to capture the soul of those she kills, and sells them to the fiendish creatures of Hades.
Many exiled spirits take the forms of water creatures with particularly malicious predispositions in sakozovian folklore, stealing their life essence by drowning them and feeding on their last exhalation.
The Firebird is also an old exiled spirits but unlike the others, this one is not hostile to humans. On the contrary, the Firebird is a gentle and generous spirit, refusing to steal the life essence of mortals and thus doomed to die, consumed by its own flames. Legends say that the Firebird eventually comes back to life and rises from its ashes only to grow old and weak again, renewing the cycle with each death.
Ikisha
Ikisha is the closest neighbour and primary trade partner of Euriga. These two continents have a long history of commerce, alliances, betrayals, and war but lately, relations with the Ikishans have improved immensely. While the Ikishans have become a common sight in the cities of Euriga, they remain a mysterious and exotic people in the eyes of the Eurigeans, retaining the spirit-glamour that the inhabitants of Euriga seem to have lost long ago.
Geography and Demography
Ikisha is an empire about the size of Euriga, featuring luxurious forests, tall mountains, fertile deltas, and arid deserts. The climates of Ikisha are just as diverse but in whole, the weather there is a lot warmer than in Euriga. Ikishan winters only brings mild and comfortably cool weather, while summer comes with its lot of torrential rain and yearly hurricanes.
The northern regions bordering the Crescent Sea are the most settled and the most visited by Eurigeans. They also have the mildest climates and least aggressive spirits, making northern Ikisha a suitable land for the growing of crops and building of infrastructures. The low mountains are easy to traverse in the north, providing a direct access to the continent of Okonta that lies further to the West.
The southern regions are separated by a great chain of mountains that rain spirits cannot cross, leading to lush forests and wild rivers in the east, and arid deserts of blond sand dunes on their western side. The vast majority of Ikishans live north and east of those mountains, but tribes of nomads live in the western deserts as well.
Very few Eurigeans traveled far inland on either eastern or western side of the mountains, and Ikisha remains a land of wonder and mystery in the Eurigeans’ imagination.
Politics and Government
The Eurigeans know little of the intricacies of Ikishan politics, but it is well known that Ikisha is ruled by an Emperor from the lavish palace of the Imperial Metropolis far into the southern forests. All sorts of magical powers are attributed to the imperial family that remind those of the pyoreen mages of Euriga at the height of their reign. The Ikishans are then governed through a feudal system of vassalship – not unlike that of eurigean aristocracy – where noble houses must answer to both mortal and spirit lieges.
Many Ikishans travel to Euriga on the behalf of their lord or lady as part of a diplomatic or commercial endeavour. Others, on the contrary, immigrate to eurigean cities to escape an otherwise inflexible social class system.
People and Customs
In the eyes of Eurigeans, the Ikishans form a tall, slender and comely people. Politeness and courtesy are important values, and Eurigeans find them eloquent and articulate despite their recognisable accent. The custom that Eurigeans often finds the strangest is how Ikishans “sleep” with their eyes open, lazily siting or even standing up, with a content expression on their face.
Deliberately telling lies or misleading someone to false truths is frowned upon in Ikishan society but, especially among the upper class, the Ikishans practice the subtle art of speaking only part of the truth, constantly leaving others to guess the whole picture or the true intent of the interlocutor. Conversing with an Ikishan is a skill than many Eurigeans have yet to master.
The Ikishans believed in the education of their people long before colleges and academies started to appear in Euriga, and all Ikishans understand the fundamental notions of mathematics, physics, optics, and many other sciences. The Ikishans also believe that only the worship of spirits will lead to a blessed afterlife at their side.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
The spirits of Ikisha are wild and unforgiving. Even the usually gentle rain spirits come raging every summer over southern Ikisha, and when the wind spirits come in the fall by the thousands to chase them away, other spirits hide until the storm has passed.
Ikishan travellers sometimes bring vagabond spirits with them, typically in the shape of an animal.
Okanta
Okanta lies across the seas to South and East of Euriga. It is a mythic continent where a legendary Sorcerer-King rules over a land of eternal summer. Few Eurigeans have settled permanently in Okanta but the Okuntu – the inhabitants of Okanta – have been exploring and travelling the world for centuries, and many immigrated to neighbouring countries. Okontu merchants are a common sight in the southern ports of Euriga and northern markets Ikisha, and many Eurigeans and Ikishans families are clearly of Okontu descent.
Geography and Demography
Okanta is a vast continent featuring a surprising number of different climates, biomes, and environments. Ample volcanic activities lead to many fantastic biomes such as wide plateaus of shallow sulfuric pools, basalt plains where the faint glow of magma can be seen through deep cracks, and mountains over which the wind-blown ashes cause an everlasting lightning storm. Wide savannahs host a variety of strange and exotic animals, and rain forests hide so many dangers that only local populations have learned how survive through the night. Mounds of earth and stone float above the central wetlands, anchored to the ground by long roots and vines where frog-like people make their homes, and dragons lurk in the badlands and sand dunes that connect Okanta to Ikisha
Despite its abundance of and diversity of climates, biomes, and ecosystems, one thing remains constant; Okanta is a land of eternal summer. Whether it is the scorching sun the blistering wind, or the suffocating heat, this land is hostile to those not accustomed to its climates and befriended by its spirits.
Politics and Government
The politics of Okanta are complex, where various types of tribal governments and tribunals rule over their respective territory, all under the aegis of a near-mythical Sorcerer King.
Eurigeans know little about the politics and demographics of Okanta, and while they are all communally named Okontu, the inhabitants of Okanta present as many difference in culture and ethnicity as the population of Euriga. As a matter of fact, they are much more diverse.
The Sorcerer King instilled a policy that draconic is to be spoken as the pan-continental language of Okanta, and all Okontu speak, read and write this language in addition to their local or tribal dialect. Okontu travelling to Euriga also learn common.
People and Customs
The customs and traditions of Okanta are as diverse as the Okontu themselves. From the perspective of the Eurigeans however, certain practices stand out as more common among the different tribes however. Dance and music seem to be important to Okontu for example, and most display a style of dance and music very different from that of the Eurigeans or even the Ikishans. Also, Eurigeans observe that most Okontu went through some kind of rite of passage into adulthood, and that all can perform some form of elemental magic, conjuring an element in affinity to their homeland’s nature spirits.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
The spirits of Okanta are like their land; bountiful, wild, and unforgiving. The Okontu have many legends involving local spirits, and many mythological monsters and small, hidden people either benevolent or resentful toward humans. The Okontu rarely speak of them in front of Eurigeans, and those that have been living in Euriga for several generations forgot them all but their names, instead turning to the spirits of their new homeland.
Khitù
Of all the lands outside Euriga, Khitù is the least known to the Eurigeans, and all sort of wild rumours circulate about this mysterious land. In truth, Khitù is just the eastern continuation of Euriga but as the tablelands and the northern steppes seem to stretch indefinitely beyond Sakozovia, the land of the Khitans is viewed as a continent of its own.
By the accounts of the Lings who have traveled to Euriga, Khitù is a densely populated land mainly dominated by their own country – the Empire of Ling-Shi – whose imperial city alone could house more than half the Eurigean population.
Geography and Demography
Little is known of Khitù’s geography, but the descriptions that the Khitans make of their homelands induce awe and wonder in the Eurigean’s mind. A majority of the Lings are said to live by the sea or along one of the major rivers, but great works of architecture and civil engineering also allowed them to settled even the most inaccessible environments and thrive under the most uninhabitable conditions.
The route to Khitù by boat in the South seems to be easier than travelling on foot through the northern passages of Sakozovia, and therefore most Lings come to Euriga aboard Ikishan ships. The Ikishans themselves trade extensively with the Lings, and most of their products arrive in Euriga via Ikishan merchants. Only the nomad tribes of the northern steppes sometimes reach the outskirt of Sakozovia
Not all inhabitants of Khitù come from the Empire of Ling-Shi, but the vast majority of Khitans reaching Euriga define themselves as Lings.
Politics and Government
Taking their name after the dynasty of their Grand Emperor, the Lings form the vast majority of Khitan travellers and merchants to reach Euriga. Ling-Shi is an imperial hereditary monarchy, and it seems that the other countries and nations of Khitù are ruled by similar feudal governments. But other than the name of their empire and the alleged grandeur of its armies, the Eurigean know little about the laws, politics, intrigues, and courtly manners of the Lings. Whenever the Lings travel to Euriga, their own laws and social status seem to be of lesser importance.
People and Customs
According to the Lings, the Ling-Shi Empire alone is as vast as Euriga, and Lings originating from different regions possess different traditions and habits. However, all seem to vow a cult to the gentler nature spirits and to their ancestors who have joined them in the spirit-world. They believe that these spirits will in turn protect them against the wild, deceitful, and evil spirits of Khitù, as well as the demons and other mythical creatures living in the wilderness. For that reason, the Lings observe a number of daily rituals and spontaneous reverences, tending to their family’s shrine and leaving offerings to its guardian spirits.
Respect of the elders also plays an important part of Ling culture. After all, these elders will one day become their guardian spirits, and it is best to stay in their grace.
Spirits and Mythic Creatures
The spirits of Khitù seem to come in two variety; the gentle nature spirits that are generally benevolent toward humans, and wild and often evil spirts loathing everything created by mortals.
Nature spirits often take the form of animals or even that of dragons and other fantastic animals, and the Lings sometimes revere them collectively as a single entity such as the Snake, the Crane, or the Tiger.
Evil spirts can take many forms, but many remain unclad and incorporeal, wearing frightening masks and tattered gowns. Dragons are said to roam the countryside and shallows of the seas.