Holy Meruvian Empire

The Holy Meruvian Empire is quite an exclusive people, their upper echelons belonging to purebred families of humans and their churches searching for and accepting those of the "Chosen." To the West, Ostrana, South, Veragun, East, Ghennduran, and North, the ocean, the HME often find themselves in the thick of continent wide situations and diplomacy.

The Holy Church of Meruvia is based out of the HME and it's religious hold covers most of the continent, for better or worse. They seek out what they would call "Relics," "Chosen," and "Fates" that are spoken of by their prophet, Orin Garradalaigh. Orin seeks to solve the messages they were supposedly given by the Messengers of our Divinity; often, these riddles seem to be nothing more than the prattling of a lunatic but they have drawn quite the crowd so they must be doing something right.

## History

This territory was once ruled by the very same Kallum Ust of Ostrana, after his death many of his children looked to make a name for themselves, outside of their father, and waged bloody, seemingly never ending wars against each other. Although many of them did end, of course, the two eldest children, twins, fought for their entire lives. Many thought them sick in the head or possessed, but upon inspection the two seemed to spread the same message, "My brother is destined to die and I was told by the Angel Sathariel, that I would be the one to end him," and refused to speak further on the matter.

Their war ended just as many believed it would, their lands were irreparable and their people were left alone with no ruler. These lands eventually would form into the Protectorate of Amera, thanks to the kind teachings of a humble farmer known as Stump. The people were quickly introduced to this Deity Amera and just as quickly as they learned that humble farmer took his leave, content with his work. Slowly more people came from other places, bringing their teachings to this land of theocratic acceptance, and with them came new Deities to guide and more rules to follow. There were always whispers of a danger with following too closely the teachings of those we cannot prove even exist.

Only recently was the Holy Meruvian empire founded and what a mess it has made. People taken from their homes and children abducted from their parents, all for the cause I suppose... Orin proclaimed themselves a prophet and now only makes appearances to speeches, fancy sermons, and diplomatic meetings; their messages are given out by the church members. Although, I cannot condemn their results, the HME is peaceful from what it seems and their people are typically safe from the expansion of Veragun. I agree with some amount of their methodology, as I would imagine most would, but they give no chance for redemption to the common folk and any who would reject them initially will find no respite in their territory or from their members.

Over the last fifty or so years the HME has been spreading their religious views to every nation and while some welcome it, some question the nature of this spread. Their teachings can sometimes be overzealous or dangerous to the individual. Their Church seems to covet specific groups of people and bloodlines, as they believe them to be special. Many times a family will be gifted with a "special" child, one deemed gifted or cursed by any, and, once word gets out, that child will vanish in the night. It may be the very same priests and religious folk that come by asking to take the child off the family, as they say "the cursed nature breeds misfortune" and they "seek to rid the meek of their misfortunes."

These unfortunate children seem to find themselves in a relatively safe and happy environment, strangely enough. They are taught and trained enough to protect themselves by the congregations that take them in. Religion is the path to enlightenment and it is taught to every individual that lives in the territory of the HME fervently. The Accursed find themselves on a more strict and zealous path; frequently they find themselves taking up religious professions to continue the work and path they were taught, but very few find their way out of the HME.

## Principalities

### Atrington

Acting as the funnel for all peoples going in and out of the HME, Atrington is the focus of much religious discussion. Both the HME views and those of Ostrana are frequently debated, often in favor of the HME however it is on their land; thankfully only a few times has it ever amounted to anything more than church goers not speaking to each other.

Grellon the Green, a wizard who made a name for himself in Ostrana, hails from here and came back after a long life full of magic; his people rejected him due to his gifts and now some say he is a hermit in the newly formed mountains wreaking havoc across the land while others tell of a hidden glade that he brings people to, none have been said to be seen again. Grellon is said to be the reason the land is funneled towards Atrington, the land between Zoston and the Ostranan lands of Ardeval and Ustea was sunk, providing a large gorge that none have bothered building a crossing for; along with this, the land of Atrington was raised above the surrounding lands as some sort of plateau. These changes have wrought as much danger as the magician himself, earthquakes and violent storms constantly bombard the countryside.

### Heartland

The Heartland of Meruvia, as it is so called by the Arivae, is where the Elves first touched ground in Meruvia. The Heartland is a beautiful country with lush countryside's and beautiful towns and cities. The metaphorical jewel of the area is the capital, Navashara, a grand city the likes of which is only rivalled by the great Elven citadels of the age before our own. The amazing architecture does wonders for the eyes and walking through that city, while confusing and troublesome, was absolutely breathtaking.

### Rosengard

Home to the Holy Order of the Iron Rose. The order made it their mission to rid the world of that which would impede the creativity and growth of mankind. In the past, they have found themselves at odds with the Drakes of Veragun, finding endless reasons to hunt their kind to extinction but being held back time and time again by the Church. They requested their land directly and were granted the land they have now, ever since then they have kept the land safe from the ever encroaching grasp of Veragun. The forefront of many wars waged by the HME have been littered with the members of this order, they see no reason to hide from conflict and seek to prove that their land and people are the greatest of any. Their leader, Grandmaster Andrion the Resolute, has led the order for almost three decades and inherited the title rightfully through the Tests of Elohim.

Months ago, the order seemingly closed itself off and turned harsh in its militaristic rule of the land, just weeks after this sudden change, Rosengard was beset upon by the Drakes of Veragun. The siege came to a stalemate and eventually peace was struck between the two orders, but tensions are high and many think any sort of hostility or weakness could set off a chain reaction.

## People of the HME

The HME finds itself at a very interesting conundrum, they most certainly accept races other than their own, that being majority Human, but they treat those different from themselves harshly. Often, those trying to find a living here will almost certainly find it easier to be human unless they are an extraordinary individual. Although, they seem to have made it a point to raise up those cursed with abnormalities, specifically inside the reaches of the church. Any outsiders, regardless of race, will find a watchful eye over them and should expect any wrongdoing to be reported almost immediately.

The more common races you may see here are:

Human - As normal as zealous gets.

Avian - The ones you'll see here are mostly the shorter, more agile variety; these creatures are used as some sort of delivery or mail service and seem to have taken it upon themselves as a mission of the powers that be.

Accursed - At times, a child born with certain... abnormalities may be found, such as horns, hooves, sharp teeth, strange eye colors, and, more infrequently, strange skin tones or features that resemble that of elements.