Camara

File:Camara.jpg

## **Nation of Tyrants**

The swampy mosquito-ridden peninsula of Camara is ruled over by one of the most vicious, repressive dictatorships the world has ever seen. Over the last century, the Talons of Camara, a consortium of seven powerful and evil figures, have enslaved almost the entire population, and then repeatedly turned their resources on the rest of the world. Camara is now an iron fortress of a nation, and it has become a haven for the very worst people in the world.

## A Country in Chains

Until around 80 years ago, Camara was relatively undeveloped. It was a divided, marshy peninsula populated by dozens of separate clans, each with their own territories, dialects and histories. These clans had no need of a name for the entire Peninsula. Outsiders called it the the Isle of Askar (A mistitling that stuck - it is not an Isle). Cut off from the rest of the continent by the Land of Milk and Honey, surrounded by oceans, it had little to do with the rest of the world.

Then came the Talons. Baragon, the sole native Camaran of the group and head of the Morven clan, publicly spearheaded the takeover of the Peninsula. The rest of the Talons, numerous exceptional strategists and mages among them, conducted a brutal, hidden campaign of brainwashings, manipulations and killings. The Talons had effective control over the region within 5 years, and quickly set about consolidating it.

What followed was a rapid period of industrialisation. Resource production was consolidated and organized, swamps were drained, the coastlines fortified with iron towers. The Morvern were granted privileged status and rank, the rest of the population was pressed into slavery. The Talons summoned allies and servants from other countries, promising power and control over a subjugated people.

In the current era, Camara is a fortress, and a snake pit of suffering, slavery and tyranny. Some of the worst people in the continent have fled there, others have been invited, and all have been welcomed with open arms. The Talons take people in who have committed the unspeakable, and in return for service, place them in positions of absolute power over the population of slaves. There are rumors of alchemical substances being placed in the general populace’s food supply to keep them docile. Camara has a large and varied military, with powerful magical artefacts and twisted monsters in its arsenal. And the Talons, with the resources of a nation at their back, have turned their expansionist gaze outwards. The rest of the world has spent the last 60 years dealing with their schemes.

## The Talons of Camara

The Talons of Camara are a consortium drawn from many places across the world. While they each have their own goals and personal schemes, they are united in their ambition to conquer the known world, or at least happy to come along for the ride.

The ectochoirs of the group utilize an unknown method to control their own repossession of new bodies. This method is believed to have been discovered by Varamir the Revenant, who taught it to his apprentice Absinthe, who then shared it with her friends.

The seven Talons are: Baragon, Absinthe, Vasilla, Dancell-Praise, Sylph, Craw and Azaliah.

## Frustrated Ambitions

Camara is a powerful nation, with skilled troops and immense magical capacity on their side. Nevertheless there are two major thorns in Camara’s side that continuously frustrate the Talons’ expansionist ambitions.

The first is their navy. Camaran wood is poor for ship building, and its enslaved natives are even poorer sailors, with a major cultural aversion to the deep blue sea and thousands of years of never engaging in much, if any, seafaring. The lifespan of Camara has not been near enough time to remedy these issues. In addition, Mosshaven, Athaelore and the Sea People frequently attack Camaran ships on sight, and they usually win. Camara has no terrestrial path to the rest of the world, and it has a lot of trouble moving troops around.

The second issue is the natives. The Talons’ conquest was very effective, but deep within the dark heart of the peninsula, some clans have escaped their grasp. Camara is fighting a constant guerrilla war against these insurgents, who have become very skilled at launching surgical strikes on things important to the Talons, and then disappearing into the marshes.