Meridia

> *"And He stands before us, proud and tall. Father, oh Father. What have you done. Nightmare beckons. Do not stray from your path."*
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> - last words of Mozafari'heydarpanah, High-Priest of Vendlor the Just
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## Meridia

### People

Humans (Meridians)Dravken (Waalsen)

T'wica (Baša Tribes, Ga'ƞum)

### Regions

Planes of Kahas (Aahl'Kahas)The Expanse (Jhel'Haalam)

Falahor Plateau (Vajira)

### Religions

Cults of the Old OnesThe Pantheon

Feral Gods

*Meridia* once was the birthplace of the Human race, until the disappearance of their Gods resulted into the fall of the first Empire. Even though there is little left of the ancient *Meridia* and its golden cities, the Meridians are still alive, surviving the desert and the centuries inside their last three Oasis-Cities.

## History

### The Era of Peace

The begin of modern history of the Known World, starts with the First Era in *Meridia*. According to the records of the Humans, who once lived in this area, the Meridians, they were brought here by the Gods of the Pantheon, together with other minor Old Gods and several immortal beings, who all lived together in the ancient *Meridia* under the blessing of the Pantheon. Where they all originally came from, is not known, but the meridian legends speak of a "era before time" and "endless war and suffering, the first Humans were saved from".

"The Land of the Middle", as *Meridia* was also called, was mainly ruled by the Pantheon, who used High-Priests as their proxies amongst the mortals and immortals. Here, they build up a advanced civilisation under the guidance of their Gods. *Meridia* was supposedly a "paradise on earth", without war, conflicts or any major ailments. Instead, the people of the land invested their time into several fields of science, social development, arts and the mysteries of the arcane.

In the year 1:406, since the founding of *Meridia*, the construction of the nations structure was officially finished and the nation was finally born, moving into a long lasting age of peace and prosperity, although all were forbidden to cross the borders of the designated paradise by the Pantheon and their forces.

### The Era of Silence

Long did the Era of Peace last, until a new calendar began, with the *Era of Silence*. This change came, when the Pantheon fell silence. The High-Priest were able to hide the fact, that the temple-halls of the highest Gods were empty, in the beginning, but eventually the Meridians realised, that their shepherds have abandoned them. The death of High-Priest Enyat Mozafari'heydarpanah, the High-Priest of Vendlor the Just, officially ushered in the new age. In his violent struggle of death, Enyat received visions from his God one last time, speaking of the ends of worlds and all the seals, who will break before the end. Ten warning, who have been forgotten by many over the ages, but are still remembered by the Meridians as the Ten Seals. Enyat died after this in the year 2:101, sending the people of *Meridia* into a panic.

Even the land started to change with the absence of the Pantheon. Rivers ran dry, temperatures started to rise and the harvest went bad to lacking rain. The earth itself were dying, without the blessing of the Pantheon. Even the minor Old Ones and other immortal beings could not reach their masters and either started to flee the land, or to subjugate the struggling mortals to their whim. In the year 2:268, a majority of the Priest-Caste took off with all the ships of *Meridia* over the Middle Sea, disappearing into the far East. They left their subjects back to die, while taking most of the food stocks, gold reserves and some artefacts with them. This new lack of leadership split the land into different regions, all fighting each other over the few resources, decimating the Human population.

Sixteen years after the Priest-Caste betrayal, the desperate warriors, who were fighting each other for dominance, banded together, in order to march northwards. There, beyond the forbidden border of *Meridia*, lied the land of the T'wica, still green and bountiful. They marched, in order to take the land from the peaceful giants by force and to secure their rule. But, the army never returned, having been slaughtered by the T'wica, who did not took to kindly to the hubristic invaders. Only a group of warriors, once loyal to the God Gwerov the Vanguard, were allowed passage to the North-East, as they once proved allies to the T'wica in the First Era.

Amidst the ruins of Human civilization, a voiced beckoned many from the south, around 2:404. A siren-song, coming from the dense and just as deadly Cravas Wilderness. The Arch Dragon Everax, lured many Humans to his hidden lair in the South, in order to enslave the unprotected and weak mortals to his will. Those, unable to resist the call, entered the Jungle and never returned.

But, in all this chaos, three cities remained strong and bountiful, untouched by the drastic change around them. These Oasis-Cities closed their golden gates before the hungry masses, as they had no room left behind their walls for more. Being faced with the choice of dying in the newly formed desert, called the Expanse today, the last homeless Humans marched westwards, towards the might Waals Mountains. Some sought refuge amongst the caves and crevasses of the hilly badlands, still hoping for a return of the Gods. Those, unmoved and unrelenting, became the Dravken over years, having eventually entirely lost their faith into any higher power.

Those, who did not stay, made the peril full journey across the peaks of the Waals Mountains, in order to pass them and seek new lands beyond the natural barrier. Eventually, those refugees found themselves within the Westerlands, founding most of the Human nations of the Known World.

### The Oasis Cities

For the longest time, the last real Meridians had barely contact with the rest of the world besides seafaring merchants from the lands to the east, beyond the Meriian Sea. Only with the end of the dravken Isolation in the year 3:524, dwarven merchants started to trade with both the West and East, loosely connecting the continent with the help of meridian Dune-Ships, transferring wares back and forth. Even though there are little import, as the Meridians care little for foreign goods, many meridian spices and wares are highly sought after in the West and North.

## Culture

The Meridians are, not only due to their separation from the majority of the Known World, a reserved people. Rarely do their keep in contact with foreign culture and even rarer are they see outside Meridia. This is both to the meridian ideal of their superiority over other Human cultures, who abandoned their ancient heritage and the good will of the Old Gods, but also to keep their secrets well protected from envious outsiders. The Dune-Ships and their ancient engine, powered by forgotten technology, is just one of the many secrets hidden within Meridia.

The people of *Meridia* are also the only culture still actively worshipping the Celestial Pantheon in their original form. While these deities were carried with the migrating Humans across the continents in varied forms and names, the Meridians still hold up the original version of the Old Gods. They also keep the varied history and legends of the first two Eras alive.

## Regions

### Inhlu'Kahgela

The most northern Oasis-City border at the Frayhilden Republic and is most likely the most liveable region of *Meridia*. The plains of *Kahgela* are a vast savanna, filled with wildlife and spare vegetation; with the city of *Inhlu'Kahgela* at its western fringe, near the lake of Taxāb. In the east of Kahgela, nomadic tribes reside, living of large herds of domesticated horses. These loyal vassals to the ruling Hesha of *Inhlu'Kahgela* are also the cavalry backbone of its military.

The people in these lands are proud hunters, prising themselves on their skills and honouring those, who are able to provide for themselves by their own strength. Their warriors are few, but fierce fighters and among the deadliest of *Meridia*, having chosen the Old God Gwerov the Vanguard as their patron. But among the common folk, Yrveil and Ki'hika are also favoured over other Gods, one for her healing properties and the other for her joyful approach to life.

### The Expanse

The majority of *Meridia* is part of the *Expanse*; an enormous badlands of deserts, dried up riverbeds and canyons. Once the entire land was populated by people and their cities, until extreme weather changed during the Second Era turned the once green land into the *Expanse*. To this day, ruins of the Old World can be found underneath the sandy dunes of Meridia. The biggest hoard of knowledge is the vault of the Lex'yia, who collect all wisdom and knowledge of eld according to their patron Hilstra'sa.

### Ahel'Hwalem

Einst lediglich eine kleine Stadt am Ufer des Almasi Sees, gewann die Stadt an Wichtigkeit, als sie eine der wenigen Oasen-Städte der Zweiten Zeitalters wurde. Mit den Hohe-Priestern weg, übernahmen die mächtigen und Reichen die Regierung und die drei Oasen-Städte vereinigten sich unter den Pascha. Jhel'Haalam wurde hierbei die neue offizielle Hauptstadt des neuen *Meridias*. Eine Stadt, mit bunten Dächern, die die prallende Sonne reflektieren, einer hohen Mauer ringsrum und dem Sitz des Lexicare im Zentrum der Stadt. Ebenfalls liegen hier die meisten der Dünen-Schiffe an und die Mönche des Lexicare bemühen sich, altes Wissen zu sammeln und vor dem Rest der Welt zu verwahren.

Von der Stadt ausgehend im Osten, liegt das Haalam Delta, der letzte Rest grünes Land entlang des Haalam Flusses, was als letzte Kornkammer *Meridias* dient

### Falahor Pillars

Am südlichen Ende des Waalsgebirge liegen die Falahor Pfähle. Durch Wind geformte Säulen aus roten Gestein, liegen die "Pfähle" in Canyons des tiefliegenden Gebietes. Die alten Meridianer glaubten, dass hier die Pforten zur Unterwelt liegen und die Seelen der Toten von Kra'am Gemahlin, Großmutter Tod, dorthin zu Vater des Pantheon gebracht wurden.

### Darjira

Die südlichste Oasen-Stadt ist ein riesiger Hafen und Handelspunkt zu den Cravas Weiten. Seefahrt ist hier auch die einzige Verbindung zwischen dem Rest der Welt und *Vajira*, mit der Ausdehnung im Norden und der Cravas Wildnis im Süden. Hier gehen nicht nur Waren der Völker aus dem Westen ein, sondern legen auch fremdartig Schiffe, bemannt mit exotisch Aussehenden Menschen an Bord am Hafen an. Die Regierung Vajira hält allerdings eine strikte Trennung aller Kultur-Bereiche ein, wodurch die jeweiligen Fremden nie wirklich in Kontakt miteinander kommen. Nur ihre Waren wechseln den Besitzer hier. Somit können nur hier Güter wie Tee oder bestimmte Gewürze gekauft werden, die ihren Ursprung wohl weit im Osten, jenseits des Meridianischen Meeres haben.

## Politics

The ancient *Meridia*, before the Era of Silence, was ruled by the priesthood and its caste, directly serving the will of the Pantheon. The several High-Priest, who served the individual members of the Pantheon, ruled as monarchs over the different provinces of the Empire. With the fall of the same, also came the end of the High-Priest and the Priest-Caste in *Meridia*.

Today's *Meridia* is ruled a several Oligarchies, from inside each Oasis-City. The ruling families use their power and influence over the populus and other important families, to maintain order and of course their rule in the different city-states. They are normally called Pasha, serving as the self-proclaimed, mortal rulers of *Meridia*, after the abandonment of the Gods.

The Meridians are generally rather introverted. Foreigners can only move freely in their country with the right permits and entering one of the Oasis-City is almost impossible for a stranger. People from abroad are often put into alien-districts, in order to keep control over any foreign visitor and to keep safe the secrets of the ancient *Meridia*. There are a lot of Artefacts and old Technologies, buried beneath the scorching sands, which the Meridians normally do not like to share with outsiders, as they often see their culture and their people as the last remaining, pure Humans; The only ones worthy of the knowledge of the ancient Eras.

## Personalities/Organisations

* Enyat Mozafari'heydarpanah
* Lexicare
* Priest-Caste
* The Sisterhood Taraneh's