recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Stondruic

The Stronghold of Stondruic sits in the middle of the Orschtenvein Mountains, facing a massive river valley of incredible value and diversity of life. The stronghold gates are set upon the face of the mountain of the same name, and have withheld against all forces but the might of the Teluna Empire, now three hundred years dead. Freed from human control, the dwarves have once more closed themselves off into an almost solitary existence beneath the mountain, excepting trade and the occasional diplomatic visit. With the arrival of the infernal legions, and the destruction of most of civilization by their hands, Stondruic contemplates once more closing their city off entirely, and returning to the deepest pits of the earth.

## Government

Stondruic is ruled over by a council of judges, who determine the law based off of the will of the monarch, who rules at the behest of the people. The Stondruic government is a complicated and intricate weave of politics and legislature, dating back to the time the council overthrew the monarchy and declared the nation of dwarves subservient to the Teluna Empire. With the collapse of the empire, the monarchy reinstated itself with the support of the people, but acquiesces to the power of the council.
Faces of the Dead

With the death of Camilia I, all Teluna family members were given a death mask of porcelain, depicting their living features into eternity. The trend caught on with the nobility of the empire and within a decade of the empress' death, all nobles and many wealthy commoners were interred with death masks of varying materials such as gold, traditional clay, and wood. Porcelain was forever reserved for the imperial Teluna family due to its rarity, originating entirely within the Quizon Caldera. The trend died down following the fall of the empire. Economies and technology regressing into their dark age over the coming centuries caused traditional death masks to become featureless shawls thought to hide the faces of the dead from the ravages of evil spirits, with the old nobility believed to provoke evil spirits into mistreating their remains.
Restida

De jure capital to the region of Westmoore, Restida predates the rule of the Teluna Empire by centuries. During the reign of Das Reich the city stood as the capital of the Plodnan Valley and its tribal states, with a heavy garrison of ethnically Normarc soldiers to maintain power in the region. The city is a fortress in all but name, with high walls and city planning that put many later Imperial towns to shame. Restida was the last city in the Plodnan Valley to hold out against Teluna forces before its garrison was recalled to defend the Das Reich capital of Elrit three years before its fall. Restida lost some significance under the Teluna Empire, not being an ethnically Plodnan city caused it to be shunned by its neighbors and the capital of the Imperial Province of the Southern Plodnan was moved to Aalburg.

Restida remained a militarily powerful city through the fall of the empire, and later stood against its former masters during the Normarc-Plodnan Wars of Conquest. Finally losing its reputation as a Normarc puppet, Restida was welcomed into the fold of the Plodnans only a few short decades before its fall to the Shadow of Cysgod.

The long violent history of Restida served as the source of its undoing. Through-out all its many centuries, Restida's fallen were entombed beneath the city itself, given a final place of rest within the walls of the city they called home. Despite wide-ranging efforts of consecration and protection of these long dead, the necromancer-turned-lich known as the Shadow of Cysgod, more fully named Wedi'i Gorchuddio Mewn Cysgod, managed to raise the bulk of their numbers in an all-out attack within the city. With his forces already bypassing the main defenses of the city, it was a short and brutal slaughter that won the city for the undead within a fortnight. Utilizing the dead of the city's former inhabitants and his monstrous experimental lieutenants known as the Hands of Cysgod, the lich would begin his Harrowing of Westmoore, only to be cut short by an Infernal Invasion, and the intervention of Archmage Salona of the Turris Solis.
Kinblade Peninsula

A vast peninsula formed around a central volcanic crater with a great lake filling its center warmed through subterranean magma flows centered on the Andar Draconis. The warm waters of the lake have given the peninsula a temperate climate, and mixed with the volcanic ash have allowed long and fertile growing seasons that make the inhabitants hardy and strong, further buoying their warlike nature.
First Gods

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The First Gods were immensely powerful beings before the awakening of Vennar. To the majority of cultures on Vennar, the First Gods are entirely unknown and unknowable, and are only to be found in the darkest of forgotten texts of madmen. It is only through centuries of utterly skilled research or the blessing(or curse) of the current gods that the First Gods are known.

## Origins

Unknown even to the greatest of scholars, the First Gods were the incarnations of Vennar's first thoughts as a newborn planet. Love, Hate, Happiness, Sadness, Pain, Pleasure, all of the most primal and overarching of emotions, thoughts, and ideas felt by a child of extraplanar origins before it became self aware. It is from the First Gods that the celestials and infernals spawned, the lesser mix of the greater.

As the First Gods came into being and spawned their legions of celestials or infernals, the primal beings warred and fought with each other, squabbling over the conflict inherent in their very essence. These squabbles spread over the face of Vennar, causing more havoc than the already tumultuous ordering of her body. Their spawn turned on them, as they turned on their spawn, and over the vast, unknowable millenia, the First Gods slaughtered each other and were slaughtered by their very creations.

## Nature

The First Gods were very primal and ultimately simple beings. Their entire essence consisted only of the most overarching and, ultimately, basic of thoughts and emotions. The First Gods warred with each other because it was in their nature. Love and Hatred did not exist in calm tandem with each other, and so they warred. Pain and Pleasure mixed and warred together, so utterly different and yet sharing traits far similar than the others.
Senix

The City-State of Senix, Mage Capital of the Three Continents, and the Jewel of Senix, is a floating city located on the eastern shore of Senix, an island south of the continent of Irida and central to the Godwave Sea. Sat upon the Hesir river, Senix floats fifty feet above the riverbank and farms, guarding the lands below with arcane magics and practiced armies.

The city itself was founded within the Era of the Magi on one of the countless islands of ancient Cra'awrios, though any history surrounding its founding has been lost to time. It is known that the city was used by refugees of Cra'awrios to flee their homeland towards Vireth, but ceased to function when it arrived. The city has lain dormant in its present location ever since. The magitech of the city provides clean water, sewage, heat, and cooling to its residents, much of which was the inspiration for the Capital City of the Teluna Empire, Iriden.
Sibyl

A Sibyl is the title of a Concordat within the Regnum Caelorum religious structure, specifically one that can directly commune with their concordant entity. Becoming a Sibyl requires the formation of Concordance through direct likeness with the entity, and then imbibing various tinctures and herbs within a cult ritual, opening the mind and soul to the entity's possession and communication. The rituals and required recipes are often kept strictly confidential within the cult hierarchy depending on the entity in question, with only the highest echelons of power and the sibyls themselves holding the rites in question.

Many sibyls are leaders of a specific temple commune and cult, directing that community in their worship of a deity or powerful spirit within the Winds of Creation, granted visions of that entity's wishes, memories, and the Tapestry of Fate. Sibyls are often requested to grant petitioners a fortune and prophecy, most often granting their foresight to petitioning leaders on matters of state and governance. Sibyls are often located within the main branch of a god's temple within the Regnum Caelorum, scattered across the former Teluna Empire and currently concentrated within the surviving Nine Bastions.

The most well known Sibyl is the Oracle of Deliah within the city of Aurvalis, once the Hegemon of the Aurvalin Hegemony. The Oracle is often the source of the greatest Prophecies within the Regnum Caelorum, constantly reading the Tapestry of Fate as it soars across the skies of Vireth as if it were a length of simple bureaucratic parchment. The Oracle of Deliah was the source of the Teluna Fate, the Foretelling of Hope, the Retold Prophecies of Irene, the Covens' March, and Contact itself with the other landmasses of Vennar.
Coxani Archipelago

The Coxani Archipelago is a large group of over three hundred individual islands off the southern coast of the western Vikar continent in Makhavireth. Formed from the gradual descent of the Orschtenvein mountain range beneath the waters of the Godwave Sea, the archipelago is the largest center of naval power and trade in the form of the Kel'Korin Confederation.
War of the Oathbreakers

The War of the Oathbreakers was a succession crisis following the death of Camilia I Teluna in 616 PC. With the death of Camilia I her cousins Heriax Fulcinia, Angelus Fluctum, and Volcatia Caelus-Cirina, along with her nephew Palaestrio Teluna, and her aunt Caesetia Speratus, all laid claim to the throne of the Virethi Empire. Each claimant held strong legal ties to the throne and the influence to see it through, and so within months of Camilia I’s passing the empire was in a state of civil war. The sheer power available to any individual member of the Teluna Dynasty caused untold devastation across Vireth, with millions of lives lost within the first year of the conflict. By the last year of the war the original five claimants had fallen, several of their allies and successors falling soon after, and the remaining members of the Teluna family barely capable of raising armies of a few thousand each.

The war ended with the rise of Tarekles III Teluna, lost son of Camilia I. Born on the night of the empress' death, Tarekles III was considered at high risk for assassination and he, along with the imperial regalia, was hidden away until he was old enough to claim the throne himself. It was believed the resulting succession crisis would be bearable, but the lengths to which the claimants would go to deny their competition was a surprise even to the most cynical of the empress' advisors. Tarekles III would grow up in complete obscurity, collecting personal followers and a retinue of some few hundred soldiers by his 14th year, righting wrongs and protecting what few commoners he could within the war-torn lands of what was rightfully his own empire.

At the Battle of Scalarum on the 18th of Tretivis in the year P.C. 631, Tarekles III led his retinue of two hundred and fifty against the last two claimants and their armies of two thousand each. The battle lasted for half the day with the majority of the claimants' armies taken hostage and both men personally executed by Tarekles III. The new emperor marched on the imperial capital of Iriden and finally claimed the imperial throne, ending 14 years of devastating war. Tarekles III declared the claimants that had risen in conflict Oathbreakers, exhuming their bodies and sentencing them as guardians of the empire into eternity. He named the succession crisis the War of the Oathbreakers, so that history might never forget how his family had betrayed their peoples' trust, and would work to earn their forgiveness in the future.
Adoette

Adoette is an orc woman of middling years, somewhat larger in the midsection even beyond the thick muscle left over from her adventuring days. She wears her long, coarse, grey hair in braids along the sides and back of her head and keeps her tusks filed to a sharp needle-like point. Files found lying about the general store she calls home show her vast network of contacts across the nine bastions and the lands between, relaying information there and back again with the practiced ease of a long campaigner. She is a jovial, intelligent, and caring example of her species who brooks little argument and shows little patience for incivility in her establishment.
Orientis Mountains

The Orientis Mountains range south from the Tyraig Peninsula's western coast and the southeastern coast of Irida, then north to the northern coast of the continent of Naran, and alongside the Areqi peninsula on the coast of Irida. The range is one of the two largest in the landmass of Vireth, and is home to a wide assortment of life and culture. The ancient dragonriders of the Teluna Empire's founding were lost to these mountains, with reports that their remains can be found in a forgotten valley somewhere near their center.

The second tallest peak in Vireth, Mount Socellia, is located near the northern end of the range, west-northwest of the Sanctuary Forests, and contains a dwarven hold of some minor repute. It is beaten only by Mount Stondruic in the Orschtenvein Mountains.
Kalnordt

A vast stretch of tundra found in the northwest of the continent Drashe. The Kalnordt has been a site of war and conquest through-out history, due mainly to the rich mineral deposits of its mountains and sea-side cliffs, as well as the warm growing fields centered around its three main rivers, heated by underground magma chambers. The Kalnordt has fallen primarily under the sway of the Rethiln High Kings, occasionally falling to predations by foreign lords in the Normarc and dwarven rule. During the interregnal War of the Oathbreakers Kalnordt fell to a council of Lich Lords who seized power and enslaved the inhabitants for nearly a hundred years, only to fall to the armies of Emperor Casitus I Teluna.
Tiernan Asher

Prince Tiernan Asher of the Principality of Brunuh stands as a very middling personality type, much like his state. Prince Asher maintains a noble if modest appearance with his common brown hair and green eyes, pressed and lightly decorated military uniform, and the wrinkles just beginning to show in his middle age. The Prince prefers to be thought of as a moderate, though he has been known to stand with the smaller states of the Dail Marches to promote their interests, and keeps largely to himself.

While a moderate as a ruler, in his youth Tiernan Asher was considered to be quite the adventurous young man, studying within the Kingdom of Nos along the central trade route, and took to a military commission under the mercenary bands of Yvanoma. As he traveled the width and breadth of Venastor he gained a level of experience and cultural knowledge unrivaled amidst his fellow princes and most of the Dail nobility. When his fathered died unexpectedly while he was in his mid thirties Tiernan Asher had to be convinced by his own mother to leave his life of high adventure and return home to rule. The first days of the man's princedom were rocky and tempestuous, but after a brush with death at the promenade of Noranase the prince is known to have settled down, appropriately married, and begun his long history of moderation and near anonymity.
Black Forest

A physically surviving Wode, the Black Forest has been devoid of elves since its purge by the Teluna Empire at the elves' refusal to submit to its rule. The Heart Tree remains near the center of the largest section of forest, but the spirit of the wode lies dormant. The majority of the forest is inhabited by hostile wildlife, awakened trees, and nature spirits all roused into anger by the slash-and-burn techniques of Traktiera to its northwest. It was only the intervention and strike of the duchy's halfling inhabitants that sated the forest, allowing the existing fields to be sown once more.

Rumors persist from the rise of the Teluna Empire and its conquest of the Plodnan Valley that, during its culling of the Blackwoods, the elves had taken up a demigod in their desperate attempts to resist. According to Teluna historians, the demigod had held the Spirit of the Wode captive, and was responsible for the elves' resistance to begin with.
Kalnordt Spires

The Spires of the Lich Lords within the realm of Kalnordt were immense constructions that towered over even the Orschtenvein Mountains beside them. From these spires the council of Lich Lords ruled their conquered lands until defeated by the legions of Casitus I Teluna. The spires were focuses of arcane and darker powers, existing within the material plane and the Plane of Shadow, allowing the Lich Lords to rule over their territories without ever rising from their thrones. When the Emperor defeated the undead armies of these Lich Lords he cast the spires down into oblivion, one of them falling in the physical world and the other two falling in the shadow, damaging the surrounding landscape for generations afterwards but banishing their power, hopefully, for good.
Kleinbru

One of the "Twin Capitals" of Das Reich and the Normarc, Kleinbru was a major city of the area that shared regular capital status with Elrit. The founder of Das Reich, Bertrada I, had married the Duke Klein of Kleinbru, and with the marriage solidified the status of the two cities as effectively equal partners in the confederation's rule. It ruled over the regions of Kleinmut and Sudskog.
Sakral Standing Stones

The Sakral Standing Stones northwest of the city of Traktiera on the border of the Alvorwode are an ancient site of sacred worship to the local druids and wise folk of the villages. The oldest records of their existence date back long before the founding of Bulwark as a hamlet, let alone modern Traktiera as a city, and they are believed to date back before the migration of humans to Vireth.
Drekmot

Drekmot was a quiet fishing town along the Andar lake, the traditional gathering place of the various tribes and racial groups within the Kinblade Peninsula. It maintained the protection of the High King in Rethiln while holding impressive independence due to its cultural significance across the Peninsula. The Moot to decide the High King was held here, despite the size and importance of Rethiln suggesting otherwise.

Drekmot was wiped out by the fiends during their Infernal Invasion, but was never annexed due to counterattacks by the surrounding populace. Recently, Rethiln has made overtures to retake the town but have been rebuffed by squatting refugees coming in from across the Kinblade. Of note, the Kinblooded have taken to the town as a new capital of their traditionally nomadic people.
Addiolad

A religion sourced and popular within the city-state of Senix and the island that bears its name, Addiolad is focused around the worship of the ancient dragons before their fall in the closing days of the Genesis Wars as representatives of pure, primal, arcane magic. Addiolad holds these early dragons as architects of fate and the structure of the very world, claiming them responsible for the creation of species and continents. The head of the pantheon and its central deity is Plenabercyn the first-born, first dragon born to Vennar and the King of Many Colors.
Grobsheim

Home of the Duchy of Grobsek, Grobsheim has stood along the banks of its eponymous lake longer than any can remember. Before it was a human town, it was a goblin one and archeological evidence suggests it was an elven town long before that.

With its highly defensible access to the Schutz river system and an entirely independent water source, Grobsheim has not once been defeated by siege, only ever in an all-out assault. The last such occurrence was during the Normarc invasion of the Plodnan Valley around a century before present day. The town's return was a sticking point in peace negotiations, as the town was fully legally the property of a Normarc noble family dating back to the imperial era. The family was compensated for their loss and Grobsheim returned to Plodnan hands alone.
Plodnan Valley

The Plodnan Valley is a massive region of largely rich farmland and dense forests, intersected by natural and man-made river systems stemming from the Orschtenvein and Allarian mountain ranges on the western and eastern borders, respectively, then bordered by the Marcline ridge in the north and the coast of the Godwave Sea in the south. Large tracts of arable land, irrigated by the many river systems, and flanked by two of the largest mountain ranges in the world give the region a rich agricultural and industrial potential, enough cause for surrounding regions and major factions to wage wars of conquest in the area.

The valley has a long and violent history separated by short periods of relative peace that provided immense wealth to its inhabitants that began the cycle anew. The Plodnan Valley's lands were annexed in to Das Reich shortly after its founding in 378 B.C. For nearly five hundred years Das Reich held the lands under an iron fist and true peace reigned for the first time in the region's long history. This peace lasted until the Teluna Emperor Verinas II conquered it in his Drashe Campaigns; after a coup in Verinas II's capital city funded by Das Reich was thwarted by his eldest daughter Camilia I, Verinas II retook control of his armies and waged a merciless war against Das Reich, taking the Plodnan Valley in the opening days of renewed aggression and using it to fund the campaigns in the north. The Plodnan Valley would remain under the Teluna Empire until the empire's fall in 1060 P.C., at which point it would fracture into its constituent authorities under dozens of independent states until its reunification under the Plodnan Confederation against aggression from Normarc. After the Infernal Invasion of the landmass the bastion of Traktiera would rise as one of the only surviving centers of civilization in all of Vireth, with a dome of holy energy protecting it from fiendish influence.

In the present day, the Plodnan Valley is a land of danger and wild magics like the rest of the landmass surrounding it. The once bountiful farmlands are overgrown, the dense forests corrupted by demonic magics, its river systems polluted by blood and iron from countless battles and infernal powers, and its mountains shocked to the core with chaotic storms. The land is teeming with creatures unheard of since before the Birth of the Arcane, and no place but the Bastion of Traktiera could be considered safe. The people that once called this land their home would see it restored, but the battle ahead of them is long and arduous, with the very land itself reeling in pain and anger fighting against them.
Order of the Shieldwall

### History

The order was integrated into the Teluna empire from various ancient dwarven traditions, and set to guarding major fortifications and hostile borders. The strength, unity, and discipline of the order ensured their continued survival through the golden days of the empire, and a position of importance no matter who held the throne. With the War of False Gods that saw the empire shattered, the Order held onto its most sacred sites, and defended itself against those it once swore to protect.

With the death of the Teluna family line, the order experienced a short but brutal period of infighting that saw its original grandmaster killed, and a lay-brother risen to the position in his stead.

With the invasion from the Infernal planes, the order lost nearly all cohesion before Iriden's Despotes Lucius Sergius rose to the defense of their home in Camilia's Gate and helped fend off the first wave of infernal forces. Signing a mutual defensive pact, the grandmaster found a close friend and ally in the new ruler of the empire's ancient capital.

### Structure

The Order answers to the Emperor of the Teluna Empire, but follows the grandmaster in service to the empire. With the fall of the empire, the grandmaster holds final say in all things. Below the grandmaster are his commanders, who hold regional command of the order's forces. Seneschals are the right hands of the commanders, and effectively run whatever the commander delegates to them. In essence, a seneschal is a commander in training. Marshals stand below commanders in rank, in charge of military matters within order strongholds. Quartermaster stands even with marshals in rank, and organize all logistics and supplies. Knight is the standard rank for those joined with the order by oath. Sergeant is the highest unsworn rank in the order, and is responsible for squads of other unsworn members. They are ranked below all sworn members, but take orders only from marshals and above. Treasurer is responsible for any bookkeeping within the order. They are without rank, and can be found at any level within the order, from the grandmaster's household to a minor border chapterhouse.

### Public Agenda

Defend sites of prophetic importance and guard those under their care.

### Assets

Fortified positions guarding over owned farmland and trade routes. Taxes and tolls ensure a steady supply of wealth compared to most other organizations and orders. Mutual defensive pact with Iriden promises lasting trade and benefits despite the ongoing infernal invasion.
Trovian Empire

The Trovian Empire, or the Western Aristocracy, was a semi-feudal empire within the Northwest Bough of Venastor from its founding in BC 2738 to its overthrow in 758 PC. The Trovian Empire was known for its cruelty, barbarism, and tyrannical rule over its serfs. The empire was overthrown by Rowland Ironheart, who went on to found the modern Western Terran Empire in its place, a human supremacist and semi-theocratic empire. Due to the nature of its rulers, the Western Aristocracy is believed to have been led by either an elven ruling class or that of another similarly long-lived species. The sheer length of its rule can be attributed to the long lives of its ruling class, and the power at their command as magic users.

Little is known in the modern day about the Trovian Empire due to the Holy Western Empire's efforts in scrubbing its history clean. Though the modern cities of Coastheart, Woodspire, and Runestead all trace their lineage back to those dark days, the technology and written records of the era are sparse to say the least. Most of what's known is sourced through age-old folk tales, memorial stones, hearsay of the longer lived species, and mentions from the Library of Nos. It is known that the Western Aristocracy was ruled by a long-lived species that was well-versed in arcane magic, held absolute power over the human lower classes, and itself maintained records dating back before the ending of the last age.

The nature of the Western Aristocracy in its cruelty to the human serf classes, its supremacy in arcane magic, and its nearly atheistic cultural practices resulted in the Holy Western Empire's own human supremacist, theocratic, and rabidly anti-arcane magic stances.
Crusaders of Aeyed

The Crusaders of Aeyed are a vast military force sent from the landmass of Venastor and the Empire of Dawn to the lands of Vireth to conquer in the name of Aeyed and humanity. The majority of the force consist of penitents and peasant conscripts, led by prestigious knightly orders and noble champions. At the head of the crusade is King Andrew Ironsworn, Emperor-Abdicate of the Holy Terran Empire.

The crusade was raised publicly to combat the rising fiendish forces within the lands of Vireth, sacred to the Church of Aeyed, to save the shards of Aeyed's parents and drive the fiends back to their proper place. The true cause for the crusade is the reconsolidation of power within the Holy Terran Empire as its nobility has begun to fracture and split, the influence of the imperial household waning in recent years without a unifying enemy.

What makes the Crusaders of Aeyed stand apart from the forces of the Nine Bastions is their advanced technology, religious fanaticism, and understanding of mass warfare. With a mix of Pike and Shot, Heavy Cavalry, and the Penitent squads, the forces of the Crusade are more than a match for any other modern army of Vireth. Strategically, the Crusade aims to capture key cities and major towns, allowing control over surviving wildfolk and the industrialization of the surrounding area, quickly enough to begin resupplying their already considerable logistics. Once infrastructure has been laid down the War for Vireth will begin in earnest and the Crusaders will march against the Nine Bastions themselves to consolidate human supremacy over the three continents.

## Structure

At the head of the Crusade is King Andrew Ironsworn, served by his vassal nobles and the Grandmasters of the knightly orders. The nobility in turn command the conscript sergeants, while the Grandmasters command their Knight-Captains. Thus command flows downwards until the conscripts themselves, the vast multitude of which make up the bulk of crusader forces.
Bastion Council

The Bastion Council is an intergovernmental military alliance between the Nine Bastions of Vireth. The alliance declares victory through unity against the infernal forces arrayed against all of mortal kind. The Bastion Council of War is a defensive alliance, whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to any attack by an external force. The Bastion Council of War meets most frequently in Iriden, capital city of the bastion of the same name, and once capital city of the Teluna Empire, of which each Bastion was once a member willingly or otherwise.

With the defeat of the Infernal Forces at the Last Battle of Spirit Fields, the Bastion Council of War has shifted its focus to rebuilding and recolonizing the vast stretches of the landmass its people once called home. These efforts are hampered by infighting between the bastions based largely in territorial disagreements, with many arguments based in ancient land rights, disputed conquest, and more recent border declarations. For example, Dermonal was claimed by its current residents, the hobgoblins of the Black Scar tribe and Warlord Kalduri, merely weeks before the infernal invasion itself, and was controlled by what is now a minor noble house in exile within the Kel'korin Confederation that seeks to dispute the Black Scars' rites of conquest. Areqbri's current borders consist of miles of land that its people fought to defend against the infernal legions, but which is under the legal control of the Iriden Royal Family, though defunct now under the rule of the people of Iriden.

Each of the nine bastions sends a representative to the Bastion Council of War with the bulk of these representatives consisting of the bastion's highest offices or military leaders. Iriden's own Despotes Lucius Sergius, both military leader and current political leader, heads up the council in most meetings, with Traktiera's Lord Mayor Verater Heafod, the bastion's political leader, heading up the lion's share of the rest. Most other meetings, largely minor affairs based in general policy, are led by representatives in turns. This has resulted in the claims that the bastions of Iriden and Traktiera having a louder voice in discussions of policy and goals of the Council, though these claims are largely dismissed as inflammatory, baseless, and intentionally destabilizing.

The Bastion Council is effectively defunct, since the withdrawal of Rethiln at its insistence that all arcane magic users be declared witches and slaughtered, citing the Infernal Invasion as cause. Dissent from Senix, Irida, and Dermonal result in the the eventual withdrawal of all but Iriden, Traktiera, and Senix. Though the council is effectively defunct, the mutual defense pact is still in place between all but Rethiln due to Traktiera's unaffiliated mutual alliance with every other bastion.
Cra'awrios Calendar

The Cra'awrios Calendar was instituted as the standard for all academia within the magocracy of Cra'awrios. With a calendar era based on the date of First Contact between the three landmasses, which was itself established by Cra'awrios, The calendar was organized and ratified on the first day of its first month, year 403 PC.

The calendar is designed with precision in mind. Vennar's rotation around the sun is very exact, with the rotation completed in a cycle of 300 days, variable by about 2.4 hours. This allows a fairly regular calendar, with an extra day every ten years between the months of Valoni and Telunar. The months are structured around Aejuna, the major moon, and her position in the sky, which creates the seasons of the world. Aejuna is full in the sky roughly every 14th-16th of the month, and new every 30th-1st.

The calendar year is written out in reference to first contact. According to standard writing, BC (Before Contact) is written after the year, and PC (Post Contact) is written before the year.

For example,

Present Calendar Year - PC 1426

Year of First Contact - PC 0

Discovery of Magic - 277,350 BC

The months are kept very simple, as academia demands. Months are simply numbered, and referenced as such. For example, where Makhavireth would reference Duskfal 13th, Cra'awriaos would reference the 13th day of the 8th month. Weeks are also referenced as such.

## First Month

Transition month between Winter and Spring, with the Spring Equinox occurring with the full moon.

### Annual Events:

1. Lover's Feast

 Third Month

Spring month.

## Fourth Month

First Summer month, with the Solstice taking place at midnight on the morning of the first day.

## Sixth Month

Transition month between Summer and Fall, with the Fall Equinox occurring with the full moon.

### Annual Events:

1. Fall Equinox
2. Harvest Week

## Ninth Month

First Winter month, with the solstice taking place at midnight on the morning of the first day.

## Tenth Month

Last of the 10 months of the year, and a Winter month.
Dweonine Valley

A large river valley, cut through the mountains by the Dweonine river flowing beside Stondruic Peak. Fertile and resource rich, but lacking the regular violence of its eastern sibling in the Plodnan Valley due to the protection of the dwarves. Once populated primarily by humans, the Storm of the Setting Sun in 2298 B.C. destroyed the native population, allowing it to be colonized by the dwarven city of Stondruic.
Crown of Fire

The Crown of Fire is one of the nine Crowns of Dominion, embodying Phozia the Primordial Goddess of Fire. It is a golden band of metal set with broad shards of ruby, fire opal, topaz, garnet, jasper, cinnabar, and a dozen other red gemstones that shine like sparks. The crown grants some small piece of dominion over the elemental forces of fire, and allows the wearer to embody the force of creation and destruction that fire represents. Created in the earliest days of the Teluna Empire, the Crowns of Dominion served the Empire for centuries before one by one becoming lost to its ruin.

The last known holder of the Crown of Fire was the Tyrant Queen, Gaatha the Black. She utilized the Crown of Fire in her efforts to conquer the Western Plodnan Valley, as well as maintaining her dominion as the Duchess of Blackwood. Her forces were often bolstered by fire elementals, her logistics alleviated by the crown's creations. Following Queen Gaatha the Black's defeat at the hands of Duke Theodulf de Traktiera, the Crown of Fire was lost and has yet to be found in the present day despite persistent rumors surrounding the Blackwood.
Keepers of the Rite

The Keepers of the Rite, or the Inquisition of the Rite, is an institution built by the Regnum Caelorum during the failing days of the Teluna Empire in an effort to enforce religious doctrine upon the collapsing imperial lands. Its aim was to combat heresy and heathenism, enforcing the will of the temple during the days when the Empire was unwilling or unable to do so, by conducting trials of those suspected.

While the majority of sentences result in a penance or exile, the Keepers have been known to sentence some unrepentant and dangerous heretics or heathens to execution, often by fire.
Vistetir

De jure capital of the Region of Vistgrat, Vistetir is the doorway into the Plodnan Valley and has remained so since its construction by the Teluna Empire. Vistetir sits upon the crossroads of Deep Folk Road and the Shielded Way, both major arteries of the Imperial Highway. The crossroads between the extremely fertile Plodnan Valley, the mineral wealth of the dwarves, and the province of Normarc to the north, gave Vistetir an easy start to its commercial power grab.

Vistetir would fall to the infernal forces early in their invasion, containing a gateway to the Abyss that allowed the Butcher of Worlds to enter the Material Plane. The diverse and everchanging population of the city had allowed a massive cult following to grow in the underbelly of the city, leading to its eventual downfall. With the birthing scream of the Butcher of Worlds' entrance into the material plane the city was torn apart, becoming a charnel pit of wanton slaughter and violence.
Traitor's Walk

Traitor's Walk is a system of clffside fortresses defending against the horrors of Hypocrite's Maw.

At the height of conflict during the War of the Oathbreakers, two usurpers fought upon the former peninsula where the Maw now lies, and one unleashed the immense powers at the disposal of a Teluna descendant. In a flash, both armies were wiped from the field and a force of unknowable power washed across the land. When the dust settled, the peninsula was turned to sand and the Maw was opened wide, constantly swallowing the ocean into its ever-churning depths.

What creatures survived were warped and twisted into fresh horrors, constantly assaulting the usurpers' rear camps. An armistice was signed for the first time in the war to beat back the unending tide of monstrosities, with even the normally hostile nomads of the Tyraig joining in defense.This armistice and temporary alliance would be formalized under the victorious Emperor Tarekles III, who would build the fortresses that stand to the present day, decreeing that every member of his legions would serve a minimum of two years on the Walk. Ostensibly, the two years service was to show a legionary the outcome of treason - In reality, it was all that could be done to maintain some semblance of defense against the horrors his forebears had unleashed upon the world.

The Infernal Invasion would see the Traitor's Walk attacked from the rear, and overtaken. The fiends were seemingly unaware of the Walk's importance, but they too were soon forced to man its ramparts in defense against the Maw's horrors. With the Miracle of the Spirit Fields, the status of the Traitor's Walk is unknown.
Alvoran Wodes

Alvoran Wodes are expansive and incredibly dense forests stretching across hundreds of square miles, then infused with arcane energies and controlled by the Alvoran peoples. Three such wodes still exists within Vireth - Sanctuary Forest in northern Naran, Alvorwode in southern Drashe, and Zerlevoi in northeastern Irida.

Few mortal species beyond the elves are permitted within the wodes, and those who enter heedless of their welcome are soon to discover themselves lost deep within, starving and mad before succumbing to a slow and painful death at the whims of the forests themselves. Before the wasting sickness of the elves the wodes stretched across the entirety of Vireth, in various forms. Not always forests, wodes may be any wild lands personally protected by the elves and properly suffused with their magics. It is only by the whim of fate that those wodes remaining are all the dense forests they are today.
Falliswell

The Falliswell is one of the few physically surviving wodes of the world, centered around its Heart Tree in the town of Pirswal. Without a living community of elves within, however, the spirit of the wode has long been dormant. A century before the Infernal Invasion the duke of the Falliswell was revealed as a vampire and killed by the Order of the Watchers. The duchy's lands were split apart and absorbed by its neighbors, with only the town of Pirswal remaining independent.

Falliswell is a dark and gloomy place with dim leaves, hostile wildlife, and a thick canopy blocking nearly all sunlight in its depths. The inner forest is also mountainous, with its peaks reaching far above the trees, the lone figures of the wode to look upon the light of day.
Burning Column

The Burning Colum stands in the middle west of the island of Senix, consisting of a central square tower ringed by high walls and projecting a short beam of light into the sky from its highest level. A remnant of a civilization long lost to history, the Burning Column seems to resist the corruptions of extra-planar forces with some inherent magic, as well as providing a solid defensive position with a view of the surrounding lands from coast to coast north and south.

The Senicians of the island itself, having been enslaved by the city folk of their capital since the Strictures on the Arcane some six centuries past, have seized the Burning Column and called it their own. A small settlement of their survivors have taken refuge here since the Infernal Invasion, utilizing the beacon in their defense against the infernal legions.

With the Final Battle of the Spirit Fields, the fiends have retreated to their three capitals, one of which is Aita on the far western edge of the island of Senix. In their constant struggle against the city-folk, the Senicians that now call the Burning Column home have allied with Aita against the Bastion of Senix. In exchange for their continued war against Senix, the People of the Column will no longer suffer constant raids and corruptions by fiends, their leader even taking a fiendish advisor into his court.
Viret Primus

The province of Viret Primus is the original home of the Teluna Empire. The city at its heart, Tareklena, was conquered by and renamed for Tarekles I Teluna, founder of the Teluna Dynasty and the Empire of Vireth. The city began as a republic, formed by a council of elders some few centuries before the birth of the man who would be emperor. In the latter days of the empire Viret Primus was considered the heartland of the emperor's personal demesne, and the border between Iriden and the province was nearly invisible to the layman. It wasn't until the empire's collapse that the provincial borders were solidified and the two provinces became wholly autonomous entities under their respective governments.

For most of imperial history Viret Primus was owned and ruled by the imperial family, with the major family estates within the province and many cadet branches owning land within it as well. It was tradition for the youngest child of the ruling family to directly handle the day to day business of the province once they came of age, giving each child a turn at the post and granting them the skill and experience to handle the responsibilities they would inherit later in life.

Viret Primus is an incredibly rich and verdant land, owing to its long history under the rule of the empire and the power of the republic before it. Old magics, vast engineering projects, and hard work by its people have resulted in a land lush with vibrant green forests, great fields of agriculture, and bountiful rivers teeming with fish. The mountains to its eastern border have always been rich in mineral wealth, and the dragons that claim them as home rarely bother prospectors, travelers, or the people in the fields far below.
Festival of the Moons

The Festival of the Moons is a popular religious festival across the three continents of Vireth and has been since the oldest histories. Based in the widespread worship of Aejuna, the Major Moon, and her lesser siblings that occupy the sky beside her. Every culture seems to have had a similar celebration through-out their history, and the Telunan Empire merely combined the celebrations and established a single, official date for its practice.

### Traditions

Though every culture and region has its own way of celebrating the festival, there is a standard way of doing things. Groves, stone circles, village squares, and quiet lakes are all popular destinations for this celebration. Softly lit lanterns, paper streamers, quiet colors, and moonstone are appropriate decorations. For most official celebrants, a small ritual is undertaken at midnight on the winter solstice, where a respected supplicant of Aejuna gives prayers of thanks and quiet meditations to their goddess in sight of the her full splendor. Pitchers of holy water are normally poured upon those seeking a blessing, forgiveness, or an easing of burdens. Feasts and fasting both are common, and wine is almost compulsory. Ultimately, the Festival of the Moons is meant to be a time of contemplation, love, and thanksgiving, with family, friends, and neighbors. It is thus a popular holiday for the commoner and noble alike.
Crystal Beacon

The Crystal Beacon is the pinnacle of the tallest mountain on Aeled, a large island to the northwest of the continent of Drashe. The Beacon is a naturally occurring formation that refracts light from the sun and moon to create a beam of light similar in appearance to a lighthouse' beacon. The structure of the Crystal Beacon is a large crystal forming the mountain's peak and worn smooth over the millennia by the harsh weather of the upper mountains on the island.
Camilia I Teluna

Camilia I was the reigning Empress of the Teluna Empire from 487 PC - 616 PC. She came to power following the death of her father, Verinas II. Her rule was a peaceful one, focused on industrialization and political connections. With her marriage to High King Hraerekr the lands of Rethiln were tied to the Teluna Empire, and were later annexed under her son Tarekles III. The capital city of Iriden was also completed and the majority of its construction occurred under her supervision, leading to many peoples of the former empire considering her the city's founder.

The period of Camilia I's rule would be known in history as the Camilian Era.

Camilia I would die at the age of 150 due to complications during the birth of her son.
Star Signs

The Star Signs are a series of ten constellations that orbit Aejuna the Major Moon, given significance due to their year-long cycle of prominence in the sky. Through the year each sign is in place above Aejuna in the firmament and is brightest in the sky at midnight due to their position directly interceding the sun. Each sign as a symbol is ascribed to a deity, and it is generally believed that each deity is more influential in the world during their sign's prominence. Because of the reliable cycle of the Star Signs, a person is considered "Born to a Sign" when they are born during it's prominence, and are often believed to be influenced by the sign in terms of personality and fate, due to Deliah's position as the Goddess of Fate and the Goddess of the Stars.

### Griffin

Representative of Ayvir, Goddess of Air, and prominent between the 16th of Otivis and the 15th of Tutivis.

### Rose

Representative of Deliah, Goddess of Beauty, and prominent between the 16th of Tutivis and the 15th of Thretivis.

### Salamander

Representative of Phozia, Goddess of Fire, and prominent between the 16th of Thretivis and the 15th of Suvenik.

### Warrior

Also known as the Bastard. Representative of Valeos, God of War, and prominent between the 16th of Suvenik and the 15th of Valoni.

### Fox

Representative of Kesathria, Goddess of Change, and prominent between the 16th of Valoni and the 15th of Telunar.

### Ram's Head

Also known as the Forebear's Jewels. Representative of Borlum, Deity of Earth, and prominent between the 16th of Telunar and the 15th of Market.

### Scales

Representative of Salux, God of Travel, and prominent between the 16th of Market and the 15th of Duskfal.

### Kraken

Representative of Urupa, God of Water, and prominent between the 16th of Duskfal and the 15th of Beirfal.

### Eye

Representative of Ronnovar, God of Magic, and prominent between the 16th of Beirfal and the 15th of Vuone.

### Hourglass

Representative of Lothos, God of Time, and prominent between the 16th of Vuone and the 15th of Otivis.