The Daggerlands

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Far to the east, in the blasted, desolate Daggerlands, stands the machine-city of Monas Roth. Golgorai-Asthas, the Tyrant-God of Rust, once reigned over this land and its people as a cruel dictator; he viewed mortal-kind as little more than tools to be used in his burning factories and forges, or even as a gruesome fuel for his diabolical machines. The rule of Golgorai-Asthas was one of horror, torture, and neglect; his city was a prison, his people were slaves. So it had been for long ages, but it was not to last. In a series of events that would change the very nature of A'therys, the impossible came to pass: the immortal Golgorai-Asthas was slain by Mortal Heroes, and the Daggerlands were freed.

## History

There are few in A'therys that do not know the story of the Daggerlands, at least superficially. Thanks to the actions of the Mortal Heroes, the history of the Daggerlands and its inhabitants has become almost common knowledge. As the First Calling subsided and the Age of Balance began over seven thousand years ago, the Tyrant-God Golgorai Asthas had already claimed the eastern land as his own. Where once a beautiful landscape existed, lush and fertile as most other places in wake of Yeor's creation, the Asthas-Lord had created a polluted nightmare. Enslaving humanity as a way to follow the decrees of Llyrrh while also fulfilling his ownportfolio, Golgorai continued to build enormous machines and facilities that coated the land in smog and destroyed all other life that had existed there before. The nation, if it could even be called that before modern times, consisted of a single large capital city surrounded by many mining colonies. Raw resources were dredged up by slaves living in the colonies, which were then transported to the capital to be refined and used in Golgorai's forge. The tyrant saw humanity as inefficient tools, failed inventions of Yeor; when their lives neared completion, he threw them to great arcane furnaces to get one last use from their bodies. These vast Soul Furnaces constituted most of the incredible power necessitated by his creations, frequently assembled by the people that came to power them. Those mortals who lived in the mining colonies considered themselves fortunate; they knew that those who were transferred to work in the infernal city would be cast to the flames in due time.

One of the more difficult things to think about in the history of the Daggerlands are the Overseers of Golgorai-Asthas. These are mortals who served the Tyrant-God as slave-drivers and technicians in exchange for being spared from the Soul Furnaces. This often ended up being a family trend, as the safety from the fires extended to immediate family but only lasted the lifetime of the Overseer. Those who served Golgorai were given little other preferential treatment; he extended this one courtesy out of necessity. Overseers and their families were usually given slightly more comfortable accommodations, though it was hardly an improvement over the hovels the rest of the citizens lived in. Whatever their reason for choosing to serve the Tyrant-God, the Overseers were considered to have lost their humanity by pledging allegiance to Golgorai, and were rightfully despised by the rest of those enslaved.

This is the way life was for Daggerlanders for the entire Age of Balance. Unlike in the other nations, virtually nothing changed across the millennia, save for the ghastly projects on which they were forced to work. Death to the Soul Furnaces was all but guaranteed; those who died in accidents or from a sudden sickness were considered lucky, as they retained their souls to be shepherded to the Underworld. There were few who saw the possibility for a better life, and those that did were not especially vocal. They extolled the virtue of patience in secret, during what little time they had free from the factories and mines in which they worked. It was these men and women who first managed to hear of the Mortal Heroes from within their isolated existences, lighting a beacon of hope for the future. When the Heroes did arrive at the gates of the city of Monas Roth, a rebellion had already begun from within. Both the army of the Heroes and the native Daggerlanders fought to wrest control of the city from the Overseers, who were cut down without mercy. When the Mortal Heroes emerged from Golgorai's forge, now silent for the first time in history, few could believe the impossible feat they had helped accomplish.

Freedom for the outlying mining colonies came swiftly after the destruction of Golgorai-Asthas, and when Llyrrh called for the second time in A'therian history, none in the Daggerlands were dismayed. In AB 12, an Alor naval fleet was dispatched to try and strike up relations with the then-disorganized people of the gray wastes. The diplomacy was a striking success, and their alliance has held strong ever since. It was the Daggerlanders who first supplied Aloreh with airship technology, before selling it to the rest of the world as well. Over the next several decades, the citizens of the new Daggerlands developed a democratic government and system of law, promising never to return to the tyrannized existence they had so long endured. Not forgetting their mechanical roots, the people forged a new technological empire with their knowledge of metalworking and machinery. The Daggerlands soon had enough funds to begin importing goods from abroad to satisfy the needs of a population no longer held stagnant, and a new nation was born. They are a forward-thinking people, and they have no gods to command them anymore.

In recent years the industrial machine of the Daggerlands has kicked into high gear. Leading up to the War of Eventide, Aloreh began requisitioning new technology fit for the art of war. Enormous ironclad warships that could stand Itheri canon fire, small but dangerous speeders capable of taking key targets, and a variety of other non-vessel support was supplied to their allies from the shipyards in Crucible and Blackshear. The incredible amounts of money coming in to the nation as a result allowed the Daggerlanders to do something they had been planning for nearly a century: rebuild their broken capital city. The process was begun in AU 261, employing a significant portion of the nation in the endeavor. The old prison-city was leveled and a grand new metropolis was built on its grounds, rivaling any bastion of civilization in A'therys. By the time Genedi Coldhaven became Magister Elect and collective sentiment in the Daggerlands had turned against involvement in the Eventide, enough money had come pouring in that the city was finished nearly five seasons ahead of schedule in early AU 265.

## Geography

The Daggerlands are divided into ten states, in keeping with its inhabitants' seeming obsession with numerical balance. In the heart of the modern wastes is Crucible, the state in which the capital Monas Roth resides. This metropolitan state is the most densely populated on the continent, mainly thanks to the enormity of the new capital. Surrounding the capital state in a ring are the other five most populous states in the nation, clockwise from due north: Anvil, Redcoast, the Scar, Blackshear, and Ironlight. The state of Anvil is known primarily as the home of the Merchants' Guild in Sablemarch, built as it is into a giant, ancient caldera without room for much else in terms of settlements. The few others that have sprung up similarly share the inside rim of the dead volcano. Redcoast is known for its significant coastal iron deposits, or once was before it was mined out; the oxidation of the deposits gave the coastline a rust-red sheen, lending the state its modern name. Blackshear and Ironlight function as suburbs of Crucible, moderately populated with strong ties to Aloreh - Ironlight is known as the state where the Mortal Heroes first made landfall. The Scar is crisscrossed with deep trenches and high peaks, geological destruction left over from extensive mining operations over the Age of Balance and continuing even now.

On the other side of the central volcano in the Daggerlands are the remaining four states, far less populous than the more globalized west. The state of Harrow encompasses the largest volcano in the country and the site of Golgorai's ancient forge. Fracture, on the northeastern coast, similarly encompasses the other active volcano in the nation and is also the largest in terms of land area. The two states collectively are the new mining center of the Daggerlands, seeded as they are with ancient sediment distributed by the volcanoes. The remaining two states, Stonemere and Cinderweald, are the wildest states in terms of governance. This is specifically because they are the states most encroached upon by the poison swamps of Rammat: most towns here are heavily fortified and clustered on the roads, guarding themselves against both violent cultists and the native creatures there. The law there is the same, though it is enforced more strictly out of necessity - a "lost" city does not bode well in the fight against Rammat. And these states are most definitely on the front lines of the fight to drive back the swamps, or bend them to the will of the Daggerlanders. While purification experiments and safe lumber harvesting are rapidly showing progress, there is much time yet before the pragmatic Daggerlanders will find final success.

## Society

Life in the Daggerlands is a trying and difficult existence, where none are especially fortunate. Families are tight-knit, with professions and know-how typically passed on through the generations as opposed to from formal schooling. Those with Yora enough to afford a proper education are usually schooled in Aloreh, as part of a trade agreement dating back to AU 14. The average Daggerlander is exceptionally skilled in machinery and mathematics, leading inventors and economists onto the world stage in the service of the guilds of A'therys. Indeed, it is from these harsh climes that the Merchants' Guild, the most powerful force of trade and economy the mortal plane has ever seen, has arisen. Serving greater humanitarian purposes such as these gives citizens of the Daggerlands great pride, as it signifies a departure from the old god-fearing ways. Self-sustenance is understood by these former slaves better than most others, and they typically see it falling to themselves to educate the rest of the world and bring about an enlightened age. This thought is especially evident in their alternative name for the Age of Uncertainty: the Age of Reason.

As a whole, citizens of the Daggerlands see their national machine as more than the sum of its parts. Each person is necessary, and none should be forgotten or lost; too many were during the Age of Balance, and it is a thought none linger on anymore. While people are generally expected to be able to handle life on their own, none ever seem to be forced to. Communities, isolated from the capital as they are, exist like larger family units and come together in times of great need. Thievery is incredibly uncommon within the rocky wastes, as is murder; criminals typically come from outside lands. Unlike most other nations, there is no punishment by execution in the Daggerlands for any crime, no matter how severe; death is something that should never be willed on another mortal again under the polluted skies of the Daggerlands, even if they have committed a murder of their own. Because crime is so scarce, there are no prisons to hold offenders, and they are typically banished from society to the Swamps of Rammat or even out of the country. In a place as inhospitable as the Daggerlands, to be ostracized from the community is the greatest punishment of all.

## Government

The Daggerlander government is a shining example of due democratic process in A'therys. In a full turn away from their dictatorial history, no area of the leadership is hidden from the populace and virtually all laws and edicts are voted on by the nation as a whole. Once every year, a large election is held to choose ten Magisters from among the populace. Any Daggerlander citizen over the age of twenty is eligible, no matter their normal occupation or social standing. Campaigning for office begins in Forgefire and lasts for the full season; elections are held on the 100th. The position of Pithkeeper in Monas Roth was created specifically to keep track of the campaigning process and candidate list, though the position has now come to involve more daily aspects in the capital as a whole. Once the full Council of Magisters has been decided upon, those ten choose from among themselves a Magister Elect to be their debate leader and also a face to the public. While the Magister Elect is in charge of most aspects of lawmaking, the Magisters devote themselves to specific aspects of the betterment of the nation. In this way, the group becomes something of a committee for the improvement of the Daggerlands, giving rousing speeches to get the public behind their various causes. The current Magister Elect is Genedi Coldhaven, in power since since AU 262 and one of the most celebrated Elects in recent memory.

A Magister may hold office for no more than five years, consecutive or total, regardless of whether or not they held the Elect position. Frequently upon retiring, they remain in the governmental scene, backing various candidates or pledging funds to associated philanthropy. Such was the case with Oscelle Ashwalker; having served as Magister of Industry for several years, she exited government and started an organization called the League of Progress. With few notable exceptions such as that one, life in the Daggerlander government is not as glamorous as it is in, for example, Aloreh. One does one's duty to their compatriots to the best of their ability, and moves on when their tasks are done. Corruption is almost non-existent, and even the various political parties hold some measure of decorum among them. Upon entering office, Magisters pledge to put the needs of all above their own, to serve the people instead of pursuing their own interests. Thanks in part to the still-painful memories of their national origin, it is not a promise that most Daggerlanders would consider breaking.

*Originally written by OccidentalAnvil for the more official A'therys wiki*