The White Island

## Geography

The geography of the white isle is varied, but it could generally be described as "flat, temperate forests and taiga." Notably, the winds that hit the south side of the island are coldest here, and the island is notably more chilly than the rest.

### The South

The southern part of the White Island is dominated by the vast swampland of the Twin River Basin, seen on map as the area around the southern two rivers.

These swamplands are known as a hotbed for ruins, many treasures have been lost into the marshes.

As the swamps of the far south start to build upwards in altitude they are overtaken by temperate forests of deciduous trees.

### The Capital Region

The region around Raurey is considerably more fertile and prosperous than the rest of the island. It is occupied primarily by sweeping hills, dotted with trees, and both abandoned and occupied farmland.

The cove where Raurey sits, while cold, is a beautiful beach and look out point onto the glaciers of the north. The glaciers are only visible from the White island, as they are both small and far to the northwest.

### The Neck and the North

The Neck, or the Near North, is often referenced in holy texts as a place of change. This perception of malleability is because the area has numerous different spots of biomes scattered throughout its landscape. Specifically, the neck is dotted by fields and pine forests.

The North, or the Far North, is seen by the people of the White Isle as the place of birth. That meaning, it represents the birth of life with its geography. The North is full of lower deciduous trees that form dense forests. Even in winter, the Northern brambles are legendary. The forests here are often impassible, and the locals are limited to the roads for travel.

Old roads and paths sometimes diverge from the known highways, these paths often lead to old ruins, or the nests of dangerous beasts.

## Locations:

### The South

* Usjahver
	+ Small town located on the edge of the southern swamps. Known for being a powerful place of necrotic magic. The death place of many adventurers. Known for lynching and burning nonhumans.
* Ulilualia
	+ Recently captured Old Order base. Essentially an old island outpost under repair and occupation by Nighthand forces.
* Bloklausda
	+ One of the smallest towns on the island, located in a grove in the forest, with the swamp still in sight. Legend has it that this town was so small that Turoon missed it while recruiting. People from here are viewed as lesser.

### Capital Region

* Raurey
	+ The capital, and biggest city on the island. Still only 1366 occupants of mostly human nature. Huge, unoccupied districts of the city are connected by the warrens beneath the city. Maps to these districts have been lost to time.
	+ Following the destruction of Elias Nighthand, the appointed baron of the town, the center city was destroyed.

### The Neck

* Djurey
	+ Popular nonhuman enclave. Hidden deep in the forest of the Neck, rumored magical/druid presence here.
* Krugar
	+ Important trading port and stop for all pilgrims. Makes significant money off of trade and pilgrims. Also the base of operations for the church.

### The North

* Brudalengi
	+ Old, mostly ruined former city that has turned into a town from depopulation. Hidden in a defensible crater in the middle of the deep forest. Makes money off of logging in the forest. Center of the Squirrel-folk hunt.
* Haukjar
	+ Newly colonized old ruin, full of new immigrants, strong nonhuman population here. Quickly becoming the best trading port in the island due to its distance from the Old Order.

## Government

The White Island is ruled in a Duchy-like, noble based system by King Edun. His family has presided over the White Island ever since they were put into power by the Imperial Government immediately after Turoon's Rebellion. The predominant characteristics of this government are their hands-off attitude towards economics and their protectionism and collaboration with the Holy Church of Reincarnation.

### Leadership and the Royal Family

#### King Edun

    King Edun is a 41 year old human who rules, by noble blood, as the king of the White Island. He is known for his characteristic long, black hair, his skill in combat and duels, and his respect and admiration for monster hunters.

#### The Nighthand Family

The Nighthands are the long ruling family of the White Island. They go back to since before Turoon's rebellion, and there are many living members ruling over various villages and cities throughout the island. They are the only noble family on the island, there are no minor nobles. A person is either a Nighthand, or a peasant.

#### Princess Osane

Princess Osane is the current heir to the throne of the White Island. She is renowned for her devotion to the Holy Church of the Reincarnation, in addition to her proficiency with crossbows and bows, though she usually prefers the former. Princess Osane is also known to have personally slaughtered a clan of noble imposters in the Neck, and she is known by the common folk as "The White Death" for her killing ability.

### Economics and Taxes

Legally speaking, the class system in the White Island is simple. A person is either a Nighthand Noble, or they are a peasant. The peasants are obligated to pay a flat tax every six months, no matter their actual income or assets. Notably, the Nighthands are not fond of regulation, so they tend to favor only concrete and essential laws, you won't find building permits here.

The applied class system of the White Island is a lot more complicated. Generally speaking, there are five classes of people.

The peasants, those who produce the goods for trade

The soldiers, who make more from military payments than the average peasant does from production, nonhumans are almost always relegated to these two classes, and they are seen as one step lower than their human counterparts

The merchants, who buy in bulk from the peasants and sell smaller quantities for more

The low ranking clergy, who are often poor but are given moral respect, sometimes make significant money off of donations

The high ranking clergy/church officials, who do not pay taxes

The Nighthand Nobles, who collect taxes and run the government

### Relationship with the Church

The Nighthand family are famously, or infamously in cohorts with the Holy Church of the Reincarnation. They live in the same houses, have the same servants, and make conveniently timed donations to one another. It is rare that the Nighthand and the Church ever counterbalance eachother. While they both have the power to overrule one another in certain situations, they almost always conveniently overlook eachothers' actions.

### Foreign Relations

#### The Old Order

The White Island is the closest, and therefore the most threatened, by the Old Order. Since the formation of the Old Order there has been constant fighting between the two. Recently, Nighthand navies captured the Old Order outpost on the small island of Ulilualia. However, Nighthand assets and trade are always under threat by the Old Order.

The two forces are sworn enemies, and almost no one has ever served both sides.

#### The Neighboring Isles

The White Island is seen as a high-risk, high-reward investment by the neighboring isles. The White Island produces a ton of food and lumber for the rest of the Empire, but the only way for traders to access their most profitable cities is to sail near to the Old Order. As such, trade with these islands is slightly crippled by the presence of the Old Order.

Generaly speaking, the White Island is respected by the other imperial vassals.

#### The Imperials

The Nobles of the Imperial Island are split on their opinions of the White Isle. Some of them see the Nighthands as stalwarts of the empire, working tirelessly to thwart the plans of the Old Order and protect their people. Others see them as a heretical cult, crazy people who have taken Turoon's teachings too far in the wrong directions. Generally though, the Imperial court has yet to take any action to curb the religious teachings of the White Island. However, their natives are the butt of many Elf jokes.

## Society

### Population/Demographics

As with all the islands, the White Isle is in a state of rebuilding, the cities and villages are shadows of what they used to be. Raurey, the capital, still contains a fair few un-populated districts, and there have been entire towns lost to depopulation.

A majority of people are human, and, while all towns are multi-racial, most nonhumans are discriminated against. The rough percentages of the civilized races in the White Island are shown below:

Human - 80%

Gnomes (Forest in the north, Rock in the south)- 15%

Dwarves (Hill only) - 3%

Aarakocra - 2%

Squirrelfolk - population unknown

Dragonborn - trace

Elves - trace

### Relationship Between the Races

Throughout all of the White Island, non humans are pushed far out of society. It is rare to find anyone who is not a human within a few miles of a town center. However, the nonhumans tend to make their own communities far out in the wilds, hunting large game and living self-sustainably. Usually, these nonhuman conclaves are exclusive to one race, however, the more accepting ones sometimes employ multiple races equally.

### The People and the Church

In the White Island, faith is a constant element of life. Almost everyone follows the Holy Church of Reincarnation word by word, and those that do not are either foreigners or clerics of another aspect. Most people have holy symbols in their houses, and fully buy into the superstitions of the church and its followers. Occasionally, a town will fall victim to a popular cult leader. In those cases, these towns are wiped off the map completely, or go into hiding before they are found out.

### The Squirrelfolk Hunt

When the Holy Church of Reincarnation rose to power, the Squirrelfolk were the first to question their teachings. The Squirrelfolk always lived by the laws of the forest, protecting its creatures and living in harmony. When the Church became popular, the Squirrelfolk declared it blasphemy and left society for the deep forests of the North. This resulted in the newly zealous Church and its followers declaring a hunt for the Squirrelfolk. The church put an open bounty for Squirrelfolk heads; the bounty is still open to this day. Squirrelfolk hunting became a sport, and the discovery of a camp could pay handsomely if sold to the right merchant.

## The Holy Church of Reincarnation

### Teachings

#### Overview

The Holy Church of Reincarnation focuses on the sanctity of life and death. They personify that teaching as reverence for their god called "Karliox, the Soulbinder."

They believe that everyone has a right way to die, and those that do not meet their purpose are cursed to be reincarnated into a bad position. They believe in reincarnation by karma, where good people and, more importantly, good followers of the church get to be reincarnated higher into society.

#### The Pilgrimage

They also believe in life's great pilgrimage, where the most holy of followers will make a pilgrimage all the way from the north point of the White Island to the south point. They see this pilgrimage as the greatest way to learn about the cycle of life and death. Not everyone has to do the pilgrimage, but those who want the best reincarnation tend to do so.

They view the pilgrimage as having four parts, one for each region of the island:

* The North represents the abundance of formless life. It is the place where life is purest, but the most uncontrollable. It represents birth and childhood.
* The Neck represents the shifting and unpredictability of youth. It is the place where life can change in an instant; it represents the move towards maturity, and youth becoming adults.
* The Capital Region represents the abundance and beauty of life. It is full of farmland and wild fruit. It represents the wonders of adult life, and the trials life presents.
* The Southern Swamps represent the descent into death. As the land gets closer to the water, the vegetation wilts, and eventually shifts into decay.

#### Depictions of Karilox, the Soulbinder

Karilox is represented by the church with the symbol of a purple and gold Yin-Yang. The purple representing death, the gold representing light. Clerics of Karilox often wear the symbol as a token of power and good luck.

An alternative, but also popular depiction is that of a golden unicorn with a pebble in its mouth. In this depiction, the unicorn represents the glories of life, and the pebble represents the small sacrifices we make for our holiness.

### Politics

The church is run on a system of elected monarchy, where the Court of Holymen elects one from their own to serve as the next High Father. All positions serve until death or retirement. The Court of Holymen is made up of 12 members, and they are selected by the ruling High Father.

#### High Father Solomon II

The reverent High Father Solomon II currently rules over the church. He is an elderly man with miraculously dirty blonde hair and a full beard. He rules with an iron fist over his disciples, and he has no tolerance for any kind of deviance in the church's teachings. He has been known to hire assassins to kill his enemies.

#### The Rankings of Servitude to the Church in Order of Command

1. High Father
2. Holyman
3. Reverend (Lowest rank with tax breaks, control the priesthood in a town)
4. Cleric (Fighting/fieldworking members of the church)
5. Priest (serve under the Reverend as town wide priests)
6. Apprentice (pages, servants, etc.)