Trapped Sea Humans

The people of the trapped sea are the other races that live around the large body of water in western Welt. They are most well known for their fragmented history. 
== History ==
=== The Krukur ===
Main article: Origins of the Trapped Sea
The realm was created by the Krukur beings carving the lands, creating the trapped sea with their passing. These monstrous beings had fifty heads and mouths, a hundred eyes, hands and feet to feel and see the world. They were terrified of each other, and of the empty cold world where they were. from spawning came forth more beings, the Monocs, with anthropomorphic features and a single eye. They were farmers without crops, shepherds without sheep, blacksmiths without forges. The Monocs left their parents for their own society, and the Krukur birthed the Menoh onto the lands, who captured the Krukur triplets into the earth. The Menoh tortured their parents, using the first weapons stolen from the Monocs, Sickles, to draw blood from their underground prisons. From the blood, the Menoh created the Staflen, giant humanoids. The Krukur, in revenge, crafted the Raca, to fight off the Menoh, police the lands and find a way for them to die. the Menoh then began their own society, hunting and eating their own children to conserve their godly status, and enslaving the Monocs. The Monocs poisoned the Menoh, freed the Krukur, and the Battle against the Menoh began.
==== The fall of the Menoh part I ====
The Monocs, using thunderbolts, catapults and deadly pits to the underworld, captured and killed most of the Menoh. they captured the Menoh general, as a hostage, in order to keep the Menoh from attacking again. Two of the Menoh had stayed with the Monocs, sensing the folly of their race's ways, and were spared. their stay with the Monocs was not easy. They pleaded constantly for the Monocs to accept more Menoh turncoats into their lands, until one of them destroyed many of their numbers with a powerful weapon, of which nothing is known today, as it struck like a typhoon wherever it went. The monocs never laid eyes on the weapon, but managed to destroy it using many coordinated thunderbolt strikes. 
==== The Fall of the Menoh part II ====
With the Menoh threat finally over, the Monoc tasked the Menoh with ensuring their peaceful ways of trade and craft were spread far and wide. unfortunately they found humans. the Menoh traded with the humans, they gave them clay, to build with, humans gave them fire based weapons. When the Monocs learned of what the Menoh brought back, they had had enough of their self destructive ways. The Monocs created what the Menoh what they coveted, a superweapon capable of killing all of them, and told them of the device. What the superweapon was is unknown, but the Menoh coveted it so that they could defeat the humans should they betray them. the Menoh, no longer capable of helping themselves, captured and bound many of the Monoc with adamantine chains. However the Monoc would not reveal the superweapons power to the Menoh despite their tortures. Later, someone would free them, and offer themselves as sacrifices, it is not known who, or what became of the Menoh, but it is supposed they managed to destroy themselves.
== The Realm oak ==
Main article: Oak Realm
The Oak realm is found just above the trapped sea, and it isn't uncommon for organisms to "fall" from it and land onto Welt, as is the case for the Milk Despot. 
===The Eurom shell===
Above the trapped sea, in the ether fields of the Weltan System is a gigantic tree that holds realms together, its base is home to a colossal snake. The darkest of these realms is also the closes to the core of the realm; the land of the dead, where eating and fighting is the only peace for the violent undead. Wolves are born chained to the ground and are maddened from hunger, and when they escape they hunt the undead. The realms are connected by rainbow bridges, and corpses turn into trees. 
==== The Ardor shell ====
Fire sword wielding giants routinely take the bridges to invade other realms to put an end to the awful screams of the undead. These giants come from a higher shell of the realm which is a land of fire and flame, lakes of lava stretch in between stretches of smoke baked land. The giants want to set the tree alight to free themselves of the realm of the dead. The giants are led by warlords named Giant Lords, whose fortresses and constant warfare dot the land. Despite their crusade against the undead, they are the most accepting of races, the giants often welcomed the Deities in their homes and traded with them. 
==== The Djel/Unterdjel shell ====
These giants are countered by a frozen lake above their realm whose streams and waterfalls feed the tree. The undead freely roams the lands, some broken and sobbing at the horror of their existence, others living life much like they used to happiness and joy. Underneath the mountains of this realm are the enemy dwarves whose lore stealing led to them creating incredible works of craftsmanship, which they use to kill the deities, but most often gift to the gods to spare them. the dwarves wield spears and hammers, ride metal boars, hoard treasures so vast to rival dragons. Some even enacted fratricidal rituals in order to BECOME dragons. 
==== The Lineth/Emrosh shell ====
A woman claiming to master magic and its teachings arrive in the deities realm where the Lineth and Emrosh lived. The power of magic entices some, leading to discord and dispute. Suspecting she is sowing discord purposefully, she is speared, bound and burned at the stake three times. Three times she survived.
She was released, and revealed to be an Emrosh queen. this event created conflict between the Lineth and Emrosh. They both succumbed to fear and war came to the realm, the Emrosh breached the Lineth's walls and they retaliate with spear and hammer.
Where the Lineth fought with military prowess and valor, the Emrosh used runic magic and sorcery. Neither could defeat the other, and the weariness led to a truce between them. they exchanged hostage families to ensure lasting peace. the Emrosh soon learned that the supposed noble they were given was of little value and had him beheaded, and returned to the Lineth king. the head was embalmed and enchanted into a death knight, becoming the loremaster of the Lineth kings hall. the two factions then came together and placed the Loremasters head in a body crafted by the Emrosh, becoming the wisest in the lands, and patron of lore and intelligence to both countries. both countries then made spit-wine together and wrote poetry. their peace lasted until dwarf invasions from the above Unterdjel realm came to pillage their lore and science. 
==== The god king of Lineth ====
A great king, whose warrior feats are legend. He enforced the men to train till they dropped and women to find beasts worthy of his might. A minotaur was found, that danced with the beasts. The king learned of the dancing beasts and sent trappers to capture them. The minotaur would save all the animals and destroy the traps. The trappers went to the priests who went to the springs to find the minotaur; one minotaur consorted with a priest and was cast out by the dancing animals. 
The priestess brought him to her city. The minotaur was civilized, and protected the village from lions. The minotaur took wife, and the king came to claim his right. The king and the minotaur fought one another. Evenly matched, they became brawl-friends. 
The left for an adventure, to kill a fire breathing giant whose eye set the lands ablaze. The minotaur was friends with the giant, and knew of its exceptional hearing. The two argued until the minotaur swayed. They went to the forge and built mighty weapons of war. Armed with axes and daggers, they left, despite the peoples warnings to not go to the woods of the gods where the giant lived. 
They then trained themselves, prayed to their gods for their blessings, and left. Three days later, they found a sweat lodge where they received dreams of impending doom. They found the giant, who wore 7 layers of armor. The giant was protected by legions of “motherless turtles”. They fight until the giant relents and offers his services to the king. 
The King led a long and happy life, when he died, the Minotaur left to mourn his friend. 
====The Milk King of Emrosh====
The milk king, who was a cattle king, had many heads of cattle and gave milk to all. His son was doted upon and had a dark disposition. He received a prophecy that he would be king, and murdered his father. He was the first to eat cattle as a meal. He was cursed by a cook to have serpents grow from his shoulders. No cure was available, and they bit the king constantly. The serpents were fed human brains every night. 
In the new kingdom, demons freely roamed the capital, and magicians held important political offices. An oxheaded mace warrior swore to kill the demon king. The king rose a demon/human army to fight the oxhead. The rebel army was led by the blacksmith apron flag. The King fled, sacrificing many in dark rituals fled the lands. The oxhead took over his palace and treasury, cutting off the kings funds and forcing his return from exile. When he returned the capital rebelled against the king. The king was captured and chained underneath a mountain. 
The Demon king would escape and through misunderstood means fall down to Welt and become the Despot of a small island in the trapped sea. 
== The Despot ==
To counter the rule of the Raca, the despot of an isle sent young men to capture gorgons on another island to use their decapitated heads as weapons. 
The Despot ventured to an island to get help. He found an island where the people heeded the wisdom of talking trees and ate the fruit of the trees. They possessed boots of speed, that their women crafted in nearby lakes on a nearby island. these three women were blind, and thus had vast knowledge of how to fight the gorgons. these were Hagswans, with the bodies of swans and a single eye that they shared amongst themselves. They shared an eye to see between them. 
The Despot attacked the women and stole the eye, threatening to crush it unless they revealed what he needed in order to defeat the gorgons. They left with the crafts the women made, boots of speed, caps of camouflage, and bags of adjusting sizes. They gifted the acorn men with the crafts, trading them for mirror shields and shatterproof swords. the Despot ordered his best men to blind themselves by firestaring before they left for their quest. 
The men successfully decapitated some and captured the rest of the gorgons. The gorgons, sensing defeat warped the invaders away from their island using Hagswan magic. The expedition of blind men arrived in a coastal city under assault of a gigantic marine creature. they turned the creature to stone using the decapitated heads, however the heads decomposed quickly, rendering them useless.
They make their way back to the Despot, but find the Acorn men have conquered the island, and agree to leave in exchange for all their gifts, minus the gorgons, they agree and the Despot continues his plans to rid the islands of the Raca.
When raising gorgons was found to be too complex the Despot then hatched an even more terrible plan. He ordered the blind men to mate with gorgons, in order to create soldiers with a stare that turned enemies to stone. these children would be raised by their fathers with enclosed helmets, their fathers teaching them to live like the blind. The culture of the island slowly turned to offering gorgon heads instead of horses as wedding gifts. 
=== The Despots son ===
The Despot has a son, who was cursed with fire, which consumes his mother during childbirth, and her ashen corpse was warped to the underworld. the Despot kills the child, chops it into pieces, and casts them to many different islands. these places would become volcanoes. when he learns this, the Despot keeps some pieces as last resort weapons. The blood of the child also had magical powers, to create rain whenever used. he also kept this preciously, just in case. 
=== The Despots wife ===
An opening to the underworld underneath the islands had been recently found, so the Despot went to find his wife. When he arrived it was too late, she had eaten food that kept her there lest the sunlight turn her to ash. In despair the Despot sacrifices his retinue, making them eat the underworld food, to guard his wife in the underworld.
=== The Whipbearers ===
For the crimes of the Despots "Blindsider" soldiers, the Raca send ghosts to fill the sky and goblins to invade homes through the chimney. A savior comes from the Acorn men, wielding a staff of sunlight. but servants of the Raca arrives, the Whipbearers. 
The Whipbearer are chain laden men, goat hoofed and horned, with bells the size of balloons on their backs, who sometimes forces others to whip the unworthy lest they be captured in the adjustable sac and tossed into lakes and rivers. The even less fortunate are forced to join the ranks of the Whipbearer as his aides. 
The Whipbearers sometimes come in groups of as much as 6. They are mountain beings, their way of life is poorly understood. the Whipbearer often takes women to become brothel workers, and sells child meat off his wagon, those that accept become Whipbearers themselves. 
Their master is a Raca lieutenant known as the Hellmouth, who is constantly restrained by two Whipbearers known as Chainkeepers, as he drags his victims to the mountains to become one of his own. 
Another Raca is Ironnose, who is in charge of child discipline, those who do not meet her exacting demands have their stomachs torn open as an example, or filled with occult ingredients to become her Whipbearers. Sometimes she would collect food from homes to give to other children. 
Another Raca is the Dimbelt, who showers the ground in coin and valuables and strikes with his belt those who would gather his belongings or be placed in his bag. 
The Dewwoman is another leader who leads the wild ride of ghosts into the skies and curses those who interfere with the ride by being in the streets with the curse of Lycanthropy. 
=== The Island of Fail ===
The Island of Fail, is a bit of land at the bottom of the ocean surrounded by giant walls, where only a little ocean water falls but the water never rises. on the island a giant tree grows, and the sea rivers are inhabited by four cities. Each city housed an artifact vital to the trees health, as the tree purified the salt water into fresh water for the great rivers the people depended on. 
The first city had the choosing stone, which made a noise when a king stepped on it (its a PEC, so only really heavy people were made king, the royalty knows this, hence their bulky nature). the second city had the retaliator, a sword for kings, in the third, the spear that always hit its target, and in the fourth, the Everful cauldron.
the Failen had a prophecy that some would come to claim their island, and prepared for war. they dyed their hair red and adorned their green hooded cloaks and bid their time, waiting for invaders to come from the waterfalls that guarded them. 
Visitors came on black clouds, and landed on the mountains of the Island of Fail, others, the Spielings came from cities across the sea on ships of turquoise which burned upon their arrival, condemning them to conquer or die on the island. The Failen and the Spielings bartered the coming violence, weapons, place, number of soldiers and of days of battle were chosen before hand and weapons traded hands. the Spielings honored the request and the violence barter was decided. During the battle, champions met and fought for an entire day, and when the Failens hand was lost to a hammer strike from the Spieling champion, he stopped the fight, and granted him a silver arm so he could continue fighting the next day. the Spielings would be defeated, and their fort surrounded by dogs that ate the corpses of the battlefield. 
However, the Failen were not the first inhabitants of the lands, before there were a race of fishmen, the Boelt whose ancestors were mermaids who couldn't climb back up to the sea above them. in time they adapted and changed themselves, using caps of camouflage amongst the Failen. 
The Silver armed champion became the king of the Failens, and was of Boelt descent. his child was the Toad king, who imposed discriminatory tithes upon the Failen. Failen bards created unrest with their poems, and soon the Failen were rilled against their king. The Toad king went to his father's mystics to help cement his position. the champion went to capture an ancient being, a Monoc, whose single eye's gaze caused fire and flame. however the Monoc used its power to heal the champions missing arm, in exchange for the silver arm. The Failen were undeterred by the Toad kings threats and went to war on the plain of Towers, buildings erected to the kings glory on the battlefield where the Spielings were defeated. The towers, when the sun came out to warm them, broke apart and the ferocious Boelt giants, still infants, came out to go to war. 
The war went on for days, and Boelt wondered how the Failen were still fighting. a spy found that their kings magical arm was repairing broken weapons, and when placed in a pool of water, would heal any wound those on the battlefield had. The spy killed the arms keepers and destroy the spring.
The final battle was set. the last warriors of the Failen on one side, with their restored weapons, and tree sized clubs. Their bards and druids calling forth the thunder and rain, the tree sending forth tree soldiers. 
The Boelt with their watery companions and towering infant giants, still eye closed, their mouth arms reflexively grabbing the air hoping to feed. their witches came forth, sapping their enemies life force. The Infant's eye was opened, and all burst into flame. the only ones left were the Boelt who left their fortress and recovered the eye, which became their symbol from that point on. 
== Trapped sea wars ==
Fought between two factions, one, the Rabirius Oligarchate, a democratic oligarchy where military conquest was essential to start a political career. the other, the southern faction, the Isauricus (named after their city, Isaurica) which was more trade oriented, relying on mercenaries to fight their battles. 
these wars made the northern faction the greatest power in the area, influencing language and law for centuries after. 
An Isaur, then became the word for traitor. 
The Rabirians had recently conquered the entire region of the Bump all the way to the mouth of the Trapped sea, and were expansionist, due to military glory being the factor for political power at the time. The Isauricans controlled most of modern day southern coast of the freelands, and several of the islands in the trapped sea. 
The fighting took place over ownership of one of these isles, Mines (pronounced Mee Ness). one Rabirian warband took control of the island in the name of the Oligarchate, and began raiding passing ships as pirates. they appealed to the Isauricans when Rabirians started attacking them to restore trade in the area. they then rejected Isarican rule in favor of the Rabirian Oligarchate, thus sparking the first Minesian war. the war between the two Trapped Sea superpowers cost nearly a million lives, more than 20% of the population of the time, it was the bloodiest war for 300 years. 
The conflict is notable for prompting both superpowers to a Naval Arms race, developing new technologies such as Warships, Nautical warfare, Marine operations and so forth. the 20 year conflict was a back and forth of both powers taking and losing the islands of the trapped sea without ever gaining an edge over the other. The war ended when the Isauricans could no longer support their mercenary fleet financially and surrendered. the Rabirian could not hold the islands either due to a severely low population, and the islands remained independent island nations. 
However, due to the cost of war, the Isauricans couldn't pay their mercenaries due to the reparations imposed by the Oligarchate. the mercenaries then sieged the city of Isarica. the Isauricans appealed to an independent general, Vel Appius native to the city to defeat the mercenaries, which he did, by paying mercenaries up front this time. 
=== Rise of Vel Appius ===
The general became bitter, with the Rabirian for their victory, and the old leaders of the city, merchants and coin counters in his eyes. when Appius was tasked by the city to repay the war debt to the Rabirians, he raised an army. Pretexting to secure the city's holdings along the coast, he left to the mouth of the sea, crossed into Rabirian lands and conquered silver mines to repay the debt. the city posed no questions when silver flowed into their coffers, and Appius was consolidating his holdings north and pushed east until he reached the base of the Bump. The army of mercenaries became a formidable force loyal only to the house of Appius. Vel eventually died, succeeded by his son, who took his name. Vel Appius II ruled the lands fairly and was unopposed by the Oligarchate for the most part of his reign. Appius II negotiated a peace treaty with the then Oligarch, Regn Latrius, who established the border at the mountaineous regions east of the city founded by Appius, Balevent. 
When Appius II son, Sagun Vel passed the mountains they found mammoths encased in ice. Sagun pillaged the border towns were sacked pillaged and enslaved. an emissary was sent to Isaurican, who declared war. the Rabirians were now on a two front war, sending troops to invade both Balevent and Isaurica. 
=== Rise of Sagun Vel ===
Sagun anticipated the Rabirians would fortify the sea, expecting naval conflicts and island invasions much like the first war. this was not the case, waking hibernating mammoths from their mountain slumber, they attacked the bump directly. they are repulsed by Rabirian Oligarch Arius Vinc, who alarms Rabiria of the surprise invasion. the Vinc and Vel great houses would swear blood oaths. Failing to capture Sagun, Arius returned to the Oligarchate to warn of the invasion. Sagun in the meantime would be assailed by barbarian tribes, having planned for this, he offered them generous gifts to war with him against the Oligarchate. Meanwhile, the Rabirian naval forces, led by Enoddus, return from their fortified islands to come to Aruis' aid. Disobeying the regrouping orders, Arius attempts preemptive strikes on Sagun's forces, but fails. Arius is wounded but survived the encounter. Arius and Enoddus regroup at a river, where Sagun's forces are waiting. through the cold sleet and snow, they discover the war mammoths. the Rabirians lose more than 25 000 soldiers including Enoddus, Arius escapes yet again.with winter arriving the Rabirian empire prepared its next move, raising four commands of soldiers, they perilously went east to hold off Sagun, but found no one. Sagun had decided to go south, and commandeer merchant navy ships to sail to the Oligarchate. Sagun went blind from a bad wound during the portuary assault and the besieged used diseased arrows to defend themselves, killing even more of Saguns forces. Sagun pressed on, rallying most of the Oligarchates holdings to his cause. the Rabirians ambushed them while they settled at a lake, but Sagun had his forces lie in wait on the island in the middle of the lake, and the cavalry scattered around it, forcing the Rabirians to drown in the lake.
=== Fall of Sagun ===
The Oligarchate, without options elected one of their leaders, Gurseus Herat, to the position of Monopol for 6 months. Herat's strategy consisted of harassing without engaging Saguns forces. the strategy of containment and stretching the supply lines of Sagun's forces. Sagun started pillaging all lands except Herats lands, to create popular discontent. 
At some point, Sagun's army was in a valley where Minotaurs resided, and all paths leading out were controlled by the Rabirians. Striking a deal with them, the Minotaurs distracted the Rabirians with a mock stampede, while Sagun slipped out under cover of night. Meanwhile the Rabirians had plans to invade the city of Balevent, and did so with such ferocity that Sagun retreated and returned to defend his capital. but what wasn't anticipated was that Arius invaded Isaurica, and finally the battle was taken to the south of the trapped sea. conquered in just days, the Isauricans recalled Sagun, all his efforts made for naught. Isaurica ceased to be an empire, a simple trade post where a mighty trade port once stood. 
== Inhabitants ==
=== Oak Realm Inhabitants ===
==== Deities realm ====
Lineth Kingdom
Emrosh Kingdom
==== Eurom ====
Eurom rogue undead
==== Ardor ====
Ardor Giants
==== Unterdjel ====
Unterdjel Dwarves
Unterdjel Dragons
=== Creatures ===
====Raca====
Primitive police force that enforced the law in the Trapped sea islands. 
====Hagswans====
Witches with the heads of women but the bodies of swans, they live in sweat lodges in forests. When together, they fly in covens of up to five. hunting them requires whistling until they fly in circles trying to find the source of the sound and then making a sound as loud as a thunderclap. This disorients the Hagswans, sending them crashing to the ground. They must then be clubbed unconscious before they begin laughing and flapping their wings. The wingbeat can cause small tornadoes, enough to send the attacker flying, and crashing to the ground.
====Wendigo====
Born of those who commit cannibalism during winter scarcity. The desire for same species flesh turns the heart cold, and the wendigo begins its transformation away from its previous self. 
====Whowie====
Titanic six legged lizard with frog head. it is long fat and slow, its tongue tastes the air. the Whowie eats people. it hunts during the night, silent, and swallows people whole. it hides in caves during the day, kilometer long cave systems. Tribes gather, communicating via signal fires to fight the Whowie together. they can be smoked out of its cave by lighting a fire at the entrance. 
====Mammoth crocodiles====
Serve as bridges for other creatures in exchange for tribute. the tribute is mostly rabbit fur and meat. 
Giants that eat acorns. Aquatic jaguars came from the sea and ate the acorn giants. the giants created a food mountain. 
== Culture ==
Agriculture ritual: When wearing a head dress of pine and cedar branches and dancing next to a fire in a Hagswan Sweat Lodge, summons fire spirits. this summon makes the fire larger and brighter. The animals, when too hot, must exit the sweat lodge. when the head dress catches fire, the animals must toss the headress to each other in turn, to take the head dress as far away as possible. All of the ritualists will be killed by the enraged fire spirits except the last one to hold the head dress. the last to hold the head dress must then throw the head dress into a tree and hide. the fire spirits will summon the wind, spreading the fire. the next rain will dousing the fire spirits, making the burned land arable and suitable for agriculture. 
Hagswan sweat lodge objects: enchanted to have their own will, and attack any usurpers. a Wolf cry can dispel this enchantment, making Hagswan tools safe to use by anyone.
* A comb that perfectly grooms its owner but scratches any usurper. 
* An awl (leather piercing sewing device) whose point is extensible, and stabs any who try to usurp it.
* Arrowhead smoothing stones that constantly smash against the fingers of usurpers. 
* A meat tenderizing hammer that would constantly smash fingers and drop on toes of any usurper. 
* Kingfishers cry: attracts fish to the surface of a fishing hole. 
* Sweat lodge blanket: Used to cover Hagswan sweat lodges. Commonly stolen by budding magicians. These blankets allow a measure of control over the wind. 
== Misc ==
Underworld food reanimates people but causes lethal allergy to sunlight, killing the affected in seconds.
Hands of Night and Erebus: Program to create a Realm. 
A city in the desert whose towers touched the moon. 
A tree whose apples grow in a day, one half is white, the other red. those who eat the apples give birth to white haired children. These trees are protected by a fence of thorns, and hosts of horsemen. 
A sword that cleaves the sea, leads to a tower where 7 twin brothers live. they are served by three nymphs with transmogrification powers to turn into doves. they serve a water deity, the Flowered locks. 
A warlock dies in a village, every night he returns to terrify the village. A soldier returns home and passes the graveyard. a warlock exits his tomb, and brings them to a marriage. He takes the blood of the newlyweds, sending them to a deep sleep. The warlock can only be killed by a crows call followed by burning the remains on a pyre, in a flash of vermin and insects. 
Villages have emergency supplies of wood for pyres.  
There is a black market of rabbit furs made from cat tail plant fluff.
Snake scale scarf: when agitated, calms snakes, wasps and centipedes.
Marsh fires: inflammable due to marsh gases.
A drought threatens to kill a tribe, even Emu leave the lands. 
Rain ritual: creating a great hut from tree bark. dancing in a river until head coal is removed then the rain will come, the wizard must dance in the rain, leading the thunder away. will create enough rain to create lakes full of aquatic life.
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