Carpathia

this page will serve as an informational guide to the empire of Carpathia

## Carpathia's Beginnings

Carpathia was born 'from the fires' as historians say, that is this scorching landscape came into existence by way of disastrous volcanic eruptions. It is true. Where there is now abundant sand, plateaus, and savanna once was nothing but a land scarred by volcanic activity. The land that is presently called Carpathia was said to have been charred to Felgrimor's core, and as such had completely inhospitable beginnings. The ink-like terrain had a plethora of volcanoes, from small ones the size of a mole hill to ones that rivaled some of the nearby mountains was treacherous place that no Driegvalian-born had dared to set foot in. When Felgrimor was beginning to be pulled into the void by The Great Surge, the many volcanoes erupted all at once from the sudden movement. The lava that now covered the region was then 'flash chilled' as it entered the void. Further movement through the void caused the Carpathia-sized sheet of volcanic glass to breakdown and over time turned into a sea of grey sand and with time Felgrimor's sun bleached said sand to its current day classic tawny shade.

### Early Carpathians

Sometime after Felgrimor had settled into its permanent place within the Void beings began appearing from worlds outside the Void, and for one reason or another some of them began to make a place for themselves in present-day Carpathia. Those beings were inventive nomads who moved to both hunt and avoid the many sinister creatures that seemed to arrive both before and at more frequent rates than their humanoid counterparts.

## Post-Void Carpathia

Carpathia, a nation long synonymous with dust storms, vicious creatures and famine since long before it was given the name.  Carpathia was a wild and rough place to survive much less thrive for ages, but somehow despite the practically unlivable conditions there began to emerge a people.  The first Carpathians to ever exist lived in a Nomadic structure hunkered down to conserve energy during the sweltering heat and nasty dust storms of the daytime, and moving stealthily at night to escape any predators who feed at that time.

Through what one could assume was natural selection those people grew multiple new abilities rarely heard of in the neighboring regions such as, the ability to soak in liquids through their skin for storage and use throughout the body. The ability, called Osmosis, was one of the first genetic abnormalities to appear in the people of Carpathia likely because this made it more efficient when they were traveling at night through the sporadic torrential downpours, they could use their time more efficiently by canceling out the need to stop and drink water and instead use their energy to move camp and escape the clutches of voracious night beasts.  This also allowed for faster and easier storage of water as well since Carpathians could pull water from the rain that hit their body through their skin, and expel it into storage containers as they were moving camp. Over time plenty more genetic abnormalities would occur in the Carpathians as the needs arose, and as such the Carpathians began to believe a greater being was gifting them with these “abilities” as a reward for the hard lives they have lived.

Soon they were all worshiping their ‘Being’ by carving small basic temples and altars out of the sides of plateaus.  Carpathians believed the more obstacles they overcame, the more their deity would grace their kind by furthering their genetic lines with abilities.  This showed true as Carpathians eventually became able to vibrate their bodies which when combined by walking through the vast sands of Carpathia meant they would move through the sand as though it was mere water. They often disappeared beneath the sand much like a diver in water and traversed through the sand on their own just as fast and agile as a drake through the sky.  As the years progressed and the oligarchy that was Driegvale began to disperse, Carpathians began to spend more time in their temples, searching and questioning what the future would look like. That is where Carpathia’s Empress finally sets foot.

Carpathia’s Empress was seen by her fellow Carpathians to be a direct line to their deity, rumors outside of the Carpathian religion was that the Empress could ‘gift’ other creatures with different minor abilities, so one could see how the Carpathians could believe she was the Sand Goddess reincarnated.  Under her early rule, most of Carpathia’s bigger cities were built making it the first time Carpathians had permanent resting places.  These cities were often hidden in plain sight, such as carved into the sides of plateaus much like the original Carpathian temples and altars but on a much larger scale.  Though the Empress did make sure that all non-Carpathians who sought refuge within her borders would be able to access them easily enough through different pathways.

## Regions of Carpathia

Knowledge about the vast expanse of Carpathia and its many regions can be found below

### Dracarius:

A section of Carpathia where lava rivers were found to occasionally ooze from the ground, sometimes even meeting the cool solidifying waters of the many storms or rivers here.  The landscape of Dracarius was ever changing because of this, making it a hot-spot for Empiric military training.

### Hidden Solaris:

A grand glass Temple that in the beginning of Carpathia’s history once sat high above the sands filled with the finest offerings the people of Carpathia could offer to the Sand Goddess, this mostly forgotten temple now sits buried far beneath the sands accessible only to those who know where to look, and those who can crawl beneath the desert sands.  Many a thief has tried to find this ultimate buried treasure, some never have and some never came back

### Inkwell Desert:

Famous for its midnight black sands, rich in charcoal, the rivers that run through here are the purest  thanks to the natural filtration of the sand bed.  Healers flock here from all around.

### Mirage Valley:

One of the hottest stretches of Carpathia, this valley has trapped many a traveler in a continuous loop by way of visual hallucinations that only stop when the traveler reaches either total exhaustion or dehydration- whichever one comes first as the bodies of those who enter usually just turn into a mummified corpse lost forever beneath the changing sands of Mirage Valley.  As such it is usually warned against any travel through there- far better just to go around.

### Mount Levista:

Mount Levista is located above the bay, within eyesight of Dracarius, it is a floating volcanic island with lava that slowly flows down into the waters it floats above. Not much lives here, except creatures made of lava themselves.

### Ostriel:

Settled in what is often considered the “Oasis” of Carpathia sits Ostriel, a trading megapolis filled with all the finery and luxury goods and supplies any one artist could ever need, plenty an artisan called Ostriel home. The landscape was filled with beautiful greenery like a savanna after the rainy season, grasslands and rivers seemed to be as abundant as the precious gems and metals mined from the foothills that sat just above Ostriel.

### Ypsum:

sitting just outside of Dracarius lies the capital city of Carpathia. This city is built into the side of the biggest plateau and sprawls out inside of all of the plateau.  The Empress calls deep within Ypsum home.  The walls are adorned with all sorts of precious metals and gems, the floors are made of obsidian.  The temperatures inside the city are much cooler than the outside during the daytime, and release heat collected from the sun over the day at night to keep the city naturally warmer than the outside at night.

## The Ancient Lakes

### Lake Aasi:

the biggest of all the Ancient Lakes and as such is also the deepest, its lowest point has yet to be recorded.  All sorts of creatures fill this lake so it certainly is avoided by the general public.

### Lake Dyr:

this crescent shaped lake is so shallow it only ever reaches a depth of 4 ft at its deepest point, the water no matter the season is always between 60-70F making it a hot spot for caravans and the general public to fill up on water for their journey.  At night this lake often is covered in a thick fog making it hard to see, so it is best visited during the brightness of the day.

### Lake Frey:

the northernmost lake happens to be just a touch smaller than Lake Sier as well.  Lake Frey’s lake bed is filled with nothing but sea glass of all colors. Many Carpathians swim amongst the sea glass made by this shallow and extremely salty lake.  In fact, Lake Frey has such a high salt content living beings tend to just be able float amongst the sea glass here. No current creatures are known to inhabit this lake.

### Lake Sier:

the southernmost lake of the 5 Ancient Lakes of Carpathia, it is well known for how boiling hot the water can get, often bubbling away like a pot on the fire during the hot summer months.  It is thought that not much can live here because of this and people often steer clear of Lake Sier for that reason.  Though many ignorant folk have accidentally fallen in only to be boiled alive before they could make it out.

### Lake Uriah:

sits just north of Lake Sier, not as deep as Lake Aasi, but filled with underwater cave labyrinths that tunnel seemingly ever ending, some completely submersed, some having pockets of air one could theoretically catch their breath in, many a spelunkers have gone down, some had t be rescued, some luckily came back on their own, and some never saw the light of day again.

## Militaristic Presence

The Empress also began to focus on building a military force, promising a life of ease for all who decided to give their lives to the Empire.  As the military began to grow in numbers the Empress thought they needed better ways to traverse other than by foot, and sail boards, she began to see what they needed was right in front of them all along- the creatures of Carpathia!  A special group of trackers was sent out on an expedition, led by the Empress herself.  While the creatures were brought back from this journey, they founded the Carpathian Empire’s Military.

### Infantry

These soldiers hardened by conviction and tempered by the climate are experienced in hand to hand combat having been trained by the best fighters in all of Carpathia. their training is said to twice as intense as any other nations due to the fierce trials they must endure though the strength they have gained is more than rewarding enough. these soldiers are also trained in many styles of martial and ranged weapons such as battleaxes and javelins which they prefer over most other weapons due to ease of use from their bestial companions.

The Infantry of Carpathia are forced to complete all of their training while bonding with a companion who would one day be their mount and greatest ally in combat. the mounts found most favorable by infantry are the tenacious sand ceattle. These were preferential for combat due to their size and durability even in the worst of battles, they also provide a litany of final resources to the soldiers of Carpathia when they finally met their end. These creatures serve a dual purpose as they are valued for their highly nutritional meat as well as their thick chitinous armor.

### Strixborne

The strixborne much like the infantry are put through vigorous training and are also experienced in hand to hand combat as well as in many forms of armed combat. Their training while similar to that of the infantry consists more of airborne warfare than ground based combat. Most strixborne prefer to carry repeating crossbows with bolts, as well throwing knives and kunai that come coated in strixtula toxins. They are also trained to use magic as their style of combat calls for it quite often.

As part of their conditioning from the very moment they begin training they carry with them a strixtula youngling that they must nurture and defend as well as learn to work together with. The constant close proximity during the strixtula's developmental years before they mature is the sole reason strixborne soldiers can gain immunity towards the potent strixtula venom. Once the youngling has reached maturity they will be bonded to their caretaker for life. The bond they share with their riders is very special as either would gladly give their life to defend the other,

### Stealth Ops

The ultimate assassins of Carpathia are the stealth ops. These elite units are skilled in completing tasks without anyone ever having known they were there in the first place. their training is much more intense than any other ranks in the Carpathian military as from the very instant they are chosen they are forbidden from making any sound until they have completed their grueling training. even when at rest their bodies are conditioned to bend air as to avoid making any noise whatsoever. They are trained to fight and kill silently and unlike the other soldiers it is required that they carry a special khopesh given to them by the empress herself. The magic they are taught is unique to each soldier and honed throughout years of training to be cast silently.

Another thing that makes these units so terrifying is that unlike the other troops of Carpathia their bestial companion must choose them otherwise they may never be accepted into the stealth ops. These soldiers must be chosen by the legendary Serpanters. upon bonding with these shadowy beasts they will share all of their abilities with each other. including the powerful sepanter shadow-step.

## Climate & Wildlife

The Rainy Season lasts from Winter to Spring, The Drought season usually occurs from summer to autumn.  Thunderstorms with torrential downpours usually take place at night when it is coldest. Never once has it been recorded to snow or ice over in Carpathia.

* Spring: 120 F / 55 F
* Summer:155 F / 60 F
* Autumn: 140 F / 58 F
* Winter: 100 F / 40 F

### Wildlife found in Carpathia

* Ceattle
* Serpanters
* Strixtula
* Jackalope
* Teirbi
* Lavouse
* Plains Drake
* Various beetles and bugs

## Economy

Carpathia’s biggest exports are Ceattle meat, Strixtula silk, different gems and materials, Chitin, and Strixtula silk. Chitin, though used in Carpathia mainly for armor, has been used in other regions as a building material due to its natural ability of being waterproof. Strixtula silk is soft but strong with a tensile strength of 2.5 it can easily handle weights in  excess of 2000lbs.

### Taxes:

* Provincial Tax: 5%
* Ostriel Tax: 15%

### Purchased/Rented Land Tax

* Dracarius: N/A
* Inkwell: 30%
* Ostriel: 15%
* Ypsum: 9%
* Unclaimed Territory: 3%-7%

### Export Taxes:

* Central Driegvale: 15%
* Falthrom: 9%
* The Emerald Coast: 10%
* Velltherea:10%