Ossiah

*"We were dying on Ossiah. We cloistered ourselves away whilst all around us a score of new empires grew up and dreamt of conquest. We were weak, ripe for plunder at the hands of our younger cousins; we had to adapt. Expand or die, the Akharans knew this much."*

-Skôrn

Ossiah is a southern continent that is home to the Ossians, a shadowy, matriarchal collectivist society whose culture is centered around the consumption of a mysterious nectar known as *sequar*.

Sequar is an amber-coloured nectar comprising various pheromones and chemicals (the main chemical and basis for it is known as *nihilium*). Sequar is secreted from a gland in the mouths of the females and is used to feed their newborn. This substance encourages both physical and mental development and as a result the Ossians are able to create a hierarchy of several distinct castes by withholding sequar at different points of development. By using this method, they have succeeded in breeding a dull-witted worker caste, known as *gaunts*, a slightly more proficient warrior caste known as *satiators*, and ruling over them, an all female elite caste known as *highborn*. Above these are the *Matriarchs*, who imbibe pure sequar which is distilled via a secret ritual. The sequar hormonally binds the drinker to the female who secretes it and thus the females, and the Matriarchs especially, command an intense loyalty which cannot be broken. Attempting to induce sequar by force from a female results in the sequar becoming flooded with stress toxins, rendering the secretion incredibly poisonous. As such, there has not been any real attempt to seize power by the male populace.

The Matriarchs are an oligarchy who replenish their ranks by selecting suitable female children from the highborn caste to enter into their fold. After undergoing a trial, these females are brought up in a special school where they are selected and then fed pure sequar. The pure sequar which is imbibed by the Matriarchs is filtered in a specific way to remove the binding hormones which normally lash the will of the imbiber to the female who produces the sequar. It is via this imbibing that the Matriarchs can advance their faculties and be free from subservience to the one whose sequar they have drank.

At some point in their history, the Ossians began to occasionally give birth to a mutated strain, which came to be known as the *Astrala*. These are Ossians born with a rare mutation which leads to their blood becoming suffused with pure nihilium. This manifests in their hair (normally a slick black) turning pure white and their amber eyes turning milky white (save for the pupils). Noted to be particularly psychic, the astrala are respected within Ossian society but are barred from entry into the Matriarchy. Thus, they form an internal society of their own, known as *The Severed Court*.

At first, astrala births were rare. These Ossians often chose a life of solitude, living out their lives in the wilderness. Some however honed their psychic skills to give themselves preternatural reflexes and instincts and struck out as warriors of fortune, known as *Exiles*. Over time however, the number of Astrala being born began to increase. This development has become a concern for the Matriarchs, who believe the growing Astrala faction has plans to challenge them for rulership of Ossiah.

The Astrala's psychic presence also forms a collective "shadow" in the aethyr which can disrupt mages and their abilities. The Astrala's psychic powers compensate for their lack of access to pure sequar.

*"Do you know from whence our name came? Why they call us Exiles?*

*Our kind were not welcome at the courts of Ossiah when first we began to emerge. We were shunned, banished to the fringes of society by those who were fearful and jealous of our power. Exile; the name itself refers to our intended fate.*

*Eventually, too many of us were being born to contend with and the courts begrudgingly permitted us advocacy. But some of us chose not to forget, and we were wedded to the wilderness that had welcomed us in mute acceptance. So we stayed, honing our skills, carving our own legends into the skin of history.*

*We serve the Severed Court because they are our sisters, but we will never be truly Ossian. We are exiled, even as we are venerated. Do not forget this truth."*

-Sahalla

Given the importance of the astrala in accurately recording the Unending Hymn, the problems they pose to the leadership are generally overlooked and they are thus tolerated and welcomed into courtly life in Ossvaren.

Astrala births were originally around 1 in 500; they are now around 1 in 200. Astrala are also sterile and cannot give birth. With no familial ties, they are generally wholly loyal to the Severed Court, making for a potentially highly political atmosphere.

As a result of the simmering suspicion toward them, the astrala have endured several sanctions, including the forbidding of the Severed Court from raising a standing army. Instead, they maintain elite units of loyal Exiles, whom they prefer over the Satiator troops. The astrala have rarely, if ever, voiced dissent over this stricture; conflict is extremely rare given it is considered bad luck to slay an astrala and their aims and pursuits are largely insular and philosophical. They are however as deft at political manoeuvring as any highborn Ossian, and often use their wits to ensure the desires and goals of the Severed Court are satisfied.

*"We cannot tolerate the growing threat posed by the Severed Court. They swell their ranks daily, holding ever more secret meetings behind their onyx doors. Who knows what sinister machinations those witches are plotting in the dead of night, whispering in lilting tongues stained black with attar? They are up to something, I feel it in my heart. Power- that is all they have ever truly wanted. They cannot be allowed to usurp the authority of the Citrine Court.*"

-Matriarch Helrhen

The Ossian's mythos is encoded in what they call the *Unending Hymn*. This is a ritualised oral history of their people which details their collective history and their mystical beliefs.

The astrala are capable of witnessing the events encoded in the Unending Hymn when ritually singing it as if they were physically seeing these events. The unique syllabic tempo and cadences is said to resonate with the heightened levels of nihilium in their blood, allowing them to access a form of blood memory. They are thus regarded as chief keepers of the history of the Ossians.

During the events of Book I, a breakaway faction within Ossian society calling themselves *the* *Ebon Court* conduct a ritual in which a newborn male was fed pure sequar far above and beyond the levels normally permitted. This abomination, known as Skôrn, proceeded to take over a large portion of Ossiah, effectively isolating the Matriarchs in their temple through laying siege to the Ossian capital Ossvaren and launched a war of conquest against Valnar to carve out new lands for his nascent kingdom. Skôrn and his forces were eventually beaten back by Enneron, who unlocked the secrets of ancient Akhara via the drinking of dragon's blood, given to him by his sister.

Exiles have a strict ethic which they adhere to; however such an ethic does not presuppose showing fairness to the enemy. Any and all tactics may be employed in battle. For this reason, Exiles are particularly dangerous and make for a deadly and unpredictable foe.

**The Cult of Taalith**

A famous Exile warrior revered by many Exiles, Taalith "Raven-Queen" is depicted as a pale blue skeletal figure. In life she painted herself blue to create a deathly image. She wields a black glaive that can tear a person's soul from their body and is attended to by ravens. She wears no armour and a cloak of raven feathers.

Little is known about the cult of Taalith (little is known about Exile culture at all). But her followers are particularly aggressive and the more extreme have even been known to challenge other Exiles, and can often be found living feral, isolated lives. Followers of Taalith often paint their faces blue in honour of their goddess.

Taalith is said to have been the greatest Exile who ever lived, embodying the essential Exile virtues of ferocity and excellence.

Devoted followers of the way of Taalith (the deified legendary Exile said to have been the greatest Ossian warrior to have ever lived), *The Undying* are a sect of Exiles noted for their skull masks which they never remove. Particularly devoted Undying cut out their own tongues, opting to exist in silence to remove any distractions from a life devoted to constant battle.

Despite the unpredictable nature of her more ardent followers, Taalith is recognised by the majority of the Exiles on Ossiah as a figure of respect and veneration.

Ossian society is governed by several houses of Highborn females. A High house is headed by the house *Emiserai.*

These houses are made up of highborn females and their attendant warriors. They take favored warriors from the satiator warrior caste- itself divided by rank, with a high Satiator or *keladan* ruling as lieutenants above the common Satiators- as concubines so as to replenish their ranks. This however is not a relationship *per se-* the senior females do not consider the satiators their equals and are just as likely to cast them aside once their purpose is fulfilled. It comprises female highborn, and their satiator retainers and concubines, as well gaunt serfs. The satiators and gaunts are regarded as wards of the house.

Occasionally however, satiators may earn their place beside their concubines, and serve as useful advisors on matters of war.

Unity and order are the highest of virtues within Ossian culture; conflict between the great houses is forbidden, and mitigation is a preferred source of conflict resolution. Any breaching the peace are made to answer to the house of houses, the Matriarchs.

There is, however, a subtle politics that simmers below Ossian society. Several factions all jostle to further their own interest. These gather and organize via Ossiah’s elaborate court system; There is the *Ammolite Court*, which represents the warrior caste and is a fairly recent development; *The Severed Court*, the enclave of the astrala; The highborn houses convene in the *Dioptase Court*; Finally, the Matriarchs convene within the *Citrine Court*. Each of these courts has a grand hall in the great city of Ossvaren.

Ossiah is an archipelago, and Ossian geography is a dramatic affair; the landscape is largely mountainous with sharp rift valleys dotted with rocky outcrops. Besides the sprawling Red Forest, there is little in the way of woodland, though twisted blossom-like trees are common, most notably the milk blossom, from whose milky-white flowers it derives its name. The climate is mild and is host to an unusually high amount of foggy weather. Rich veins of ore and precious metals run beneath Ossiah, and the limited trade they have allowed with outsiders consists chiefly of exports of both. The mountainous terrain has made large scale invasion of Ossiah almost impossible.

There are four main plains in Ossiah. The largest, *the Vale Of Iss*, is where the principal city of Ossavaren is located. Akharan excursions were often hindered by naval disasters owing to the dense fogs, and those who made it ashore were met with shadowy hit and run attacks by the Ossians who knew their native country well. The Akharan empire eventually decided the region was more trouble than it was worth, owing to the lack of settlements discovered for extracting slave labour, the unpredictable weather and the lack of resources such as granite or wood.

Ossian warfare is often asymmetric in it’s approach. Poison and assassination are the favoured tools, and almost every Ossian blade is coated with deadly toxins. The satiator caste is heavily militaristic, and many of the highborn are skilled at arms (highly ritualised rules exist for duelling, which has been, at times, the preferred solution to particularly fierce intra-house conflicts). But Ossiah has never fielded armies and launched imperial expeditions. They are an insular people, and often find the climate and cultures of other lands too intolerable. They are content to remain on their archipelago, nestled away from the world and it’s unpredictabilities.

When an Ossian dies, the levels of sequar in their bodies causes their flesh to harden into an amber-like crystal material, and the body becomes brittle and easily breaks apart. The higher the sequar levels, the more thorough the process. As such, males tend to decompose similarly to any other creature, and their bodies are burnt in funeral pyres. The females, however, become completely solidified into a brittle crystal-like substance. The crystalline corpse can be ground up into a fine powder-like resin, known as *attar* or "corpse resin". This is often smoked in secret by the Matriarchs and elicits prescient powers to the smoker. Given that attar can only be obtained from the corpses of Ossians with high levels of sequar (and thus high caste members), it is a drug reserved exclusively for the higher castes. The corsairs of Caithmora traffic in its supply, though it is difficult to procure and thus rare, as well as being deadly when smoked in excess.

For those corpses with high levels of sequar present, other methods of disposal must be sought out, as burying the attar results in the soil in which it was buried being rendered sterile and inimical to life and it does not readily burn. Thus, the funeral rites of the females follow an elaborate procedure, whereby the members of the house of the deceased gather, and reciting the sacred Song of Passing, grind up the remains of the female and deposit the sequar resin-powder into a funerary urn. The urn is then interred in an elaborate shrine along with the urns of previous generations. Incense is often burnt before the urns in honor of the dead. The role of *Keeper Of Antecedents* is a highly valued one and she who serves it maintains guardianship of the urns within the shrine.

**The Satiator Order**

Within the underground arenas of the fortresses known as the "blood pits", the wholly male satiators do battle in order to hone their skills. These blood pits enact a brutal selection process, pitting males against one another in mortal combat, ensuring only the toughest and most ruthless survive.

Any satiator can rise through the ranks by taking the head of a formidable enemy in battle and presenting it to his house dynasts. This was a common way to earn rank during Ossiah’s warring period. The presentation of an enemy’s head takes place within an elaborate ritual. First, the head is cleaned and perfumed, before being prepared with preserving oils. The head is then carefully wrapped in linen and placed upon a plaque. A wooden tag displaying the name of the satiator who claimed the head along with the name of the individual whom the head belonged to is hung around the head. The head is then placed before a delegation of highborn, with the Satiator bowing low as the head is presented. Should the highborn deem the offering worthy, the Satiator is rewarded by receiving a small amount of sequar from a female. He may then enter into her concubine and father her offspring.

The sequar sharpens the senses, strengthens the body, and enriches the health and thus this satiator ascends within his caste to become a high satiator, and will be gifted a retinue of lower-rank satiators who are his to command henceforth.

The main centres of power for the Satiator caste are the fortresses *Tolgaron* and *Gorandon*, though others exist including *Gatharog* and *Solkoth*. Every year, the satiator fortresses send forth their best warriors to compete in the annual proving rites which ensure constant competition between the fortresses and provide entertainment for the Ossian populace.

**Ossian Religion**

Religious practises in Ossiah center largely around ancestor worship. There are no sacred texts (the Unending Hymn is an oral recitation), though a general belief that all aspects of nature (such as rocks, plants and animals) possess a spirit (or *shedar*) is the unifying belief among Ossians. The most powerful of these spirits are the *ulmara*, ancestral spirits. Each home contains an ulmara shrine to family ancestors, and communities often have a yearly festival in which the collective ulmara are venerated. There is also a practise of leaving offerings to the shedar of the forests, the fields and the sky to ensure good harvest. Ancestor veneration often takes elaborate forms among the high houses, who often have entire shrine temples built to honor their forebears.

Those ulmara who no longer have any descendants alive to honor them and provide offerings are believed to turn evil and seek sustenance by preying upon the living. These entities are known as *ulmanetru* or the “dark ulmara”. The underground realm of Ulmanur is said to be their home, and from this shadowy kingdom they venture out to stalk their prey. The ancestral ulmara work to keep them at bay, and this function is one of the reasons for which prayers are offered up to the ancestor spirits.

There are also traces of a syncretic cult among rural Ossian settlements, whose devotees honor a goddess in the form of a young woman known as *Driassa*. It is believed that this is a corrupted portrayal of Tristessa, brought to Ossiah by Valnarian pilgrims centuries ago. Driassa is regarded as a powerful deity, being both a shedar and an ulmara, though the exact beliefs of this cult vary amongst devotees.

Followers of Driassa believe she sought to spread beneficiences to heal the world. They regard the Valnarian religion as a patriarchal warping of Tristessa's/Driassa's teachings, regarding Her as blessed by the celestial order (the heavens and the ancestors) and regard the Allfather more of a Valnarian ancestor spirit than the one, true God. The worship of Driassa is often looked down upon by the high houses of Ossiah as a primitive, backwater belief.

There are several drugs which are popular in Ossiah. The most famous of these substances is *attar*, which is simply the powdered remains of Ossian females (usually highborn due to the high bodily sequar levels). This resin is smoked and produces a unique high, relaxing the body, suffusing a great warmth through the limbs and inducing the most beautiful and fantastic hallucinations. The substance can be quite addictive- and for the non-Ossian- potentially deadly if smoked to excess.

**Ossian Appearance**

High, pronounced cheekbones form a dramatic shelf of bone beneath piercing eyes which contain a bright amber iris surrounding a black, vertical slit pupil.

The skin is pale grey-white, as are the lips; the nose is thin and aquiline. Within the mouth are small yet sharp predatory teeth.

Down the centre of the narrow and elegant chin runs a soft yet noticeable groove, along which the female permits the flow of sequar from her mouth when feeding her newborn.

The hair is a uniform slick black (save for the astrala, who possess pure white hair- and the eyes of the Astrala are also either entirely white save for the tiny black pupils in their centre or, in some cases, entirely black).

Ossians are tall and slender, though they possess a wiry strength and muscle tone that belies their physical skill. The Exiles, those warriors par excellence, are particularly well sculpted and can match the strength of most men. Exiles are also known to sharpen and stain their teeth black with dye so as to add to their fearsome visage.

*Famous Exiles*

Kennerath

Sahalla

Viraath

Taalith