The Forests of Ashtar

*Well, well, well little elf, you are a long way from home. And these woods are so lovely, but so also dark and so deep.... you might just step off the path and not be heard from again. Tell me, have you been feeling well? Eating well? What do you think you weigh, maybe 10 stone? I'm asking because I have a spare cloak in my house that would fit you perfectly. So come, step off the path and follow me......*

### Summary

The Forests of Ashtar is the name a nation of fae beings nestled among the damp, elevated forests of the Mystic East. The land is controlled by a race of beings called Redcaps; notorious fae-creatures who, in ancient times, dined upon the flesh of men and elves, and who's hordes terrorized the humans of the central and south-eastern Mainland. These Redcaps shift from peaceable, reclusive beings to murderous cannibalistic savages from time to time, as dictated by some seasonal change in their homeland in the Faerie World, usually every century or so, and at the moment, they are peaceful, but coming due for a shift for the worse. The nation is isolated now, and it is not advisable to wander its woods without an escort.

### Geography

The nation is located in a thick patch of dense forestland in an elevated terrain at the foothills of the Kharos and Hass Mountain ranges in the central-eastern Mainland, where those two ranges almost connect. The forests are damp and dark, with a mild climate thanks to high levels of rainfall, and towering redwoods and ferns block out a great deal of the light from reaching the forest floors. Giant mushroom-like trees, thick vines, and fields of moss and lichen snake among the trees as well.

### Racial Distribution

The nation is entirely controlled by the "Dh'haal Sidhashe", or "Redcaps" as they are known by the men whom they terrorized years ago. They make up about 80% of the land's population, with the rest being other fae-beings, like Mur-ain or less well known faerie-kin, along with Sidhe Elves and a small population of Inayaga Halflings, who travel between Ashtar and the Footlands throughout the course of the year.

Humans, dwarves, elves, gnomes, and other "normal" people are not advised to travel through the Forests of Ashtar without a local guide. The redcaps are currently not predisposed to murder and/or consume other beings, but this has not always been the case, and so tensions between them and the other races of the western and central Mainland have always ran high.

### History

Understanding the history of this nation first requires and understanding of how the Redcaps themselves shift from reclusive, secretive folk, to violent, murderous marauders, according to their faerie calendar. It is this shifting, rather than a desire for wealth and gold, that motivates the nation to attack its neighbors. Principally, these two phases of Redcap behavior are referred to as "Seelie" (for the reclusive, peaceable times) and "Unseelie" (for the ambitious, murderous times). Individual redcaps can shift between Seelie and Unseelie during the course of their live several times, but overall, the majority of the population shifts from one to the other about every 100 years. So for an individual Redcap that is encountered, they can be in either state, but averaged out over the whole population, it is easy to track what the general attitude of the culture is. It is much akin to a society that shifts from progressive to conservative, and back and forth, over the years. Individuals can be whatever they want, but as a whole, the collective will be one or the other, but will shift over time. Furthermore, inside Ashtar, certain families are more prone to be majority Seelie or Unseelie, regardless of the overall cultural phase.

During the Ancient Era, both the Redcaps and the Mur-ain came to dwell permanently in this world, having left their homelands in the Faerie World behind. The Redcaps seems more familiar with this world of men than their fae brethren and immediately claimed a home in the region now called Ashtar, having displaced primitive human barbarians there. By some accounts, they forced these people east in the region of Daegon, but by other accounts, the Redcaps simple consumed every man, woman, and child among these barbarians entirely. The Redcaps themselves, having no great love for historical record-keeping, simply shrug when asked this question now. Whatever they did in that ancient era was long ago, and not worth bothering about now.

Later on, as the human barbarians of the central Mainland were forming a cohesive nation of warlords, the Redcaps and Mur-ain fae-folk united their forces to expel virtually every non-fae race from the north western quadrant of the Mainland. A now nearly-extinct group of faerie-kin (a race of golden skinned, elven-like fae called the Chambhlis) came to power in the lands to the west of the Kharos Mountains, and this group united with their fae-brothers as well.

Any non-faerie-kin man north of the Myshe river and east of Ashtar was displaced or murdered, and the entire section was known as "The Mystic East" by the humans whom feared to tread there, a name for the general region which remains to this day. In some regards, the power of the Mystic East helped the human barbarians of the central Mainland form their union, as they needed to defend the hilly grasslands and pastures of modern-day Garmond and the Daegon region from fae encroachment.

As the human barbarian hordes collapsed under their own weight later, it looked like the Redcap/Mur-ain alliance was poised to become the dominant power in the land, but a bitter civil war among the Mur-ain people broke out, and the Redcaps themselves were drawn into the struggle, as some of them sided with the faction of Mur-ain who wanted less conquest. This faction, later called the Nyr' Obe Monarchy, displaced the more violent Nuual Dynasty in the Mur-ain homeland of Northpoint, and the Redcaps shifted to the Seelie majority. The Chambhlis people started to form more peaceable relations with their human neighbors in modern-day Partha as well.

Sometime later, the humans in the north-central section of the Mainland formed into the powerful nation of Partha, and this time is often referred to as the early phase of the great Parthian Empire. After collecting the remaining scattered barbarian tribes into a permanent, settled culture, the Parthians turned their attentions to their fae-neighbors, whom had caused them great trouble in years past. The Parthians were concern that although the fae peoples seemed peaceable enough now, they still presented a great threat. The Chambhlis people were attacked and eliminated in a single, sweeping military campaign that absolutely stunned the Redcaps. Their fae-brothers were completely killed, virtually overnight as the Parthians brought their full weight (and new found technological progress) down unto these golden-skinned people. The Redcaps and Mur-ain tried to mount a counter attack, but were completely dominated by the newly united human groups. The Parthians pushed the Redcaps back as far as they could, until they were constrained entirely to the deepest part of the Ashtar, and reduced them in numbers until there was little fear that the Redcaps could mount a serious attack upon the humans at anytime soon.

The Redcaps remain in this state virtually to this day. Their populations have increased inside Ashtar somewhat, but they still refuse to attempt to settle any permanent villages outside of the deep, dark, protective forests of Ashtar.

Political Relations

The nation is ruled by a Monarchy, consisting of a large royal family that holds power through a mix of politics and feudal loyalty. The current ruler is a Seelie Lord named King Gerax of Kulthy a respected ruler well liked by neighboring lands because of his efforts to eliminate the Redcap raiding parties that often push into the Footlands or the Mist Mountains. However, the reign of the Seelie Kings will come to an end soon, and his closest challenger, an Unseelie Warlord Prince called Xerxian the Plague, will take control after Gerax's reign ends and will undoubtedly expel foreigners from the Forests and resume full scale raids on their neighbors.

Solitary by nature, the majority of Redcaps don't live in cities but on lone farms and villages. The cities that do exist will have a Seelie or Unseelie dominance. Seelie cities are quiet places of natural beauty and magic, while unseelie cities can be cesspools of violence and political intrigue. Four large towns do exist. Gnash is on the north border region of the country close to the Mist Mountains and sees the most foreigners traveling through the mountains and into the region. Kurumdie is the capital city of the nation and houses the royal family. Huroon is an old military post close to the South Western border, and served as an invasion point for the redcaps venturing into the Footlands. Yibish is located in the center of the land and hold the famous Ashtar Gardens, a magical forest region of indescribable beauty, kept by Duke Yarshguard the Green, a benevolent faerie lord who is friendly to most respectful sentient beings.

### Culture & Customs

The Redcaps, brutal as they may be, have refined the science of anatomy, but not for altruistic reasons. Because of their cannibalistic past, they have dissected, autopsied and cut apart more bodies than any other group. Even in times of piece, the Redcaps realized that much could be learned from these macabre traditions, and started recording their findings on muscle, bone, and organ structure. Also, leather produced in this region is considered to be the finest in the land, and Ashtarian saddles are high prized by royals in Garmond and the Footlands.

The Redcaps eat only red meat, certain herbs, and overripe fruit. Apricots, peaches, pears, berries and apples all are collected and eaten just as they start to rot, since the redcaps feel a little decay heightens the flavor. The game they pursue include antelope, stag, wild boar, monkeys, kurbish tapers, musk ox, small wild horses, and the occasional intelligent being. The crown of Ashtar changes hands ever hundred or so years, from the benevolent Seelie group to the wicked Unseelie faction. "Samhain" is the holiday on which the change takes place, and this night is dangerous to anyone in the forest land. On years without the change in power, Samhain is a night in mid fall which celebrates the change of the year, and is marked by festivals and parties raging into the dawn, with bonfires, orgies and feast occurring simultaneously. Each faction of red caps plots against the other, and most assassinations and murders take place this evening.