Veshtisa

If there ever was a nation that made a mess of things, Veshtisa is it.

A nation with a promising future, with successful conquests, a somewhat noble culture, and an uninspired although successful form of government. All this was lost when the Veshtisan ground it to dust due to the fear of losing their solidarity. Their struggle against the Meranian Empire ended like no war has ever ended.

Veshtisa faltered before the war began in earnest, and quickly changed tactics: Striving rather to make their own lands undesirable. When this failed, and the growing ire of the Meranian generals brought them to Veshtisa's capital, the ruler took the decision to do the ultimate sacrifice. The decision that it was better not to exist than to slave to the Meranians. And with their final words they unmade their Divine Concept, the very thread that bound them to Tanebrae. In an avalanche of unmaking Veshtisa unraveled, lives, homes and culture all gone in the blink of an eye.

Afterwards, the Meranians settled the lands and burned all records of the Veshtisan, deeply disturbed by the mass extinction of a people they had initially sought to unify with, not to conquer.

When Veshtisa's Divine Concept was by accident brought back in a moment of loose thoughts and careless scribbles, they reemerged on top of the descendants of Merania that had thousands of years broken free from the empire.

Now the witch-rulers of Veshtisa are back, but nothing returns from chaos unaltered, and they are nothing like what they once were.

## History

Little to nothing is known. The Meranians burned what they had recorded, and Veshtisa unmade a thousand years of history, siphoning words off of pages. A few things were written down of Veshtisa by other nations who recorded their sudden disappearance and clung to the memories of who their neighbors had been. In time, many of these records were lost, but a people who shared a common ancestor with the Veshtisan held on to the legend of their sibling nation for a thousand years. They even made it their task to peer into the night at the northmost place of Tanebrae, hoping that one day their brothers and sisters would return. Unfortunately, that people were lost before the return of Veshtisa, and their replacement, The Stranger Folk, cannot relay whatever they've read in the ancient libraries of the Freeholds.

## Life of the Old Veshtisan

Old Veshtisa was a nation of earily looking humanoids. Some would have argued that they were inherently beautiful, with slender frames, long ears and the most magnificent yellow eyes that seemed to sparkle with laughter. They were relatively long lived, going through a childhood of thirty years and ending their lives at around two-hundred years of age.

The early years were spent frolicking and exploring the inherent magical nature of their people, every being capable of slight alterations to Divine Concepts. As such they were often at odds with the Divines, taunting those who thought to control them, and celebrating those who taught them more. When nearing adulthood they would serve in the priest-scholar caste of society, celebrating advancements in the understanding of Divinity. From here, most would choose to abandon the path of the Divine, having fulfilled their calling, and settled for more mundane lives or security and general enjoyment. A strain of the people desired to indulge in the warfare of lesser races, and as with all things the general opinion of Veshtisa was to accept it until it hurts someone.

What began as a curiosity for war developed into a full-fledged code of honor, and from then on all citizens were given choice to serve in the warrior-caste or the priest-scholar caste when nearing adulthood.

For those who chose to serve, life became an endless schedule of duties, tasks, and demands, while those who chose to participate in 'mundane' society were free to explore philosophy, innocent hobbies, and to some degree politics. It did not take long before the public permission to engage in politics were withdrawn on grounds of dividing the country. Instead, a strong leader arose, and a hereditary monarchy was born. Not all leaders to follow in her footsteps were as strong, but for all it was required that they had walked both the warrior and the priest-scholar paths.

When finally the expansion of Veshtisa came to a halt, their new nation surrounded by allies and the at-the-time friendly Merania, the warrior caste was honored repeatedly, and given the task of keeping the nation safe from within, becoming a glorified police force.

Alas, the price for understanding and manipulating Divinity finally came, and slowly but surely the priest-scholar caste began to investigate the other side of the coin: The Nothingness, The Void, The In-Between. Chaos. That gave birth to a new caste, one that was not welcomed nor desired, but that swept through Veshtisa in a violent revolution: The witch caste. In the end a couple stemming from the witch caste ascended the throne, becoming the first witchess and witch-lord.

They became the first and last rulers of the witch caste, for not long after did their fear of Merania's expansion blossom into insanity and the Doom of Veshtisa was at hand.

## Life of the New Veshtisan

The Returned people are not as when they left. Most don't remember who they were, and only some have vague ideas of which caste they belonged to. Most have no reasons or desires of their own, and until confronted with what they once were, they are simply beings of shadow.

But the witch-rulers of Veshtisa know more than most, and were among the first to regain parts of their memory. Together they managed to piece together parts of their common background, and realized that their nation is in no way how they left it.

Instead of dwelling what was they've set out to restore something, and find out what they could be, which involves convincing the shadow people to return to their castes, making them an actual people again. Thus, the Returned come in three sizes, the witch-rulers themselves not included:

### The Witch Caste

It is impossible for mortals to comprehend the chaos of nothing, and thus to cling to the power they once sought, the witch caste did not return to mortality. Their Concepts are inherently vague, weak, and everchanging, making them great for utility tasks, but horrible for dealing with the Divine. They serve often as the ravaged minds that leads expeditions and tasks that may result in disaster, because they thrive most when Concepts fracture and chaos sets in.

### The Warrior Caste

The warrior caste has yet to fully awaken. They were neither close enough to chaos to have a desire to remain changed, nor close enough to Divinity to regain their old bodies. Instead they wander the land as beings who take on the shapes with which they are presented, giving birth to fake and outdated legends, bringing back the horrors of imaginations and fiction.

### The Wise (Priest-Scholar) Caste

As the closest to the Divine, it made sense that the priest-scholar caste reappeared as the most whole. At least after the witch-rulers, the Wise have regained some of their memories. Although, all their minds are fractured and vital pieces are missing. The Wise search the world for the Truths that can restore themselves and their people, and are often trailing behind the warrior caste, trying to delimit their unintended destruction.