Beneath the Jade Moon (pre-NES)

And that's why I said I was moving, no?

...

Can nobody else see the second map I posted?

Oh, well it's really hard (actually impossible, I think) to see it zoomed in so I just assumed the positions were the same.

Look at the OP. The Eastern region of Surotsi is pretty much the only part that has been fully "Aulesirized" I think.

Actually, more of western and northern Surotsi would be Aulesiri. I didn't make things clear-cut, because I wanted to leave it rather open-ended for the proposal stage. For example, Kraznaya is taking that spot because he will be playing an Esurkish "house"; that is to say, a tribe that has become westernized (in our world's sense). I believe his story is that the tribe once allied with the emperor to defeat a few rival tribes, but became ingrained with some of the Pale and even perhaps a few Aulesiri immigrants serving as emissaries. Given his location, perhaps we can assume the river he is on has become somewhat settled and "civilized". His location is perhaps a bit too "in the thick of the wild" for what I was originally thinking, but I think we can make it work using that aforementioned logic. Additionally, perhaps the whole point is that kraznaya is located in such a location, being so associated with the Aulesiri and owing such a debt to the Pale City (no matter who rules) -- so the emperor who signed that deal with his house in the past used that deal to receive a port-of-call for exotic goods from the Beyond. So again, the area around kraz could still be wild and messy, with maybe the river serving as a starting point for past Aulesiri expeditions. Nonetheless, southern and southwestern Surotsi may well be our #1 wild and messy frontier, given kraznaya's choice of location -- as in, the land immediately south of him becomes less and less Aulesirized.

So if I am at the western end of the continent, would I still have contact with the Esurk?

I think they would send raiding parties there, at least.

House Name: Qáhiriyün

Sigil / Words: Abstract Stylized Hawk under a Crescent, in a similar style to this. Ours by Right.

Lord: Qizáçi, age 35, married

Family: Uráyn, age 13, unmarried, Çera, age 9, unmarried

Ancestors: Áttátir the Conciliator, Esurkish war chief who pledged fealty to the Emperor in the 9th century when he found himself in a conflict with three Esurkish chiefs which he could not win. Created the House Qáhiriyün and married an Aulesiri wife, defeating his Esurkish foes with the help of Aulesiri reinforcements. Rátaçi the Navigator, prominent leader of the house during the 11th century that began constructing a Qáhiriyün fleet. Notably disappeared on an expedition to the Beyond when he was in his late 50s.

Holdings: Áqirihün, the largest port in eastern Surotsi, and seat of House Qáhiriyün. Its prosperity has grown great over recent decades due to the expansion of the salt and spice trade back to Jyotnun. Ghásçz, a keep in the north created for its strategic location on the Bay of Ghás and overlooking the peninsula of Kürámen. Kürámençz, a citadel on the Kürámen peninsula that is held by the Aulesiri vassal house of Mantulyn. A fortress network along the southern borders of Qáhiriyün territory, the triplet keeps Yádáyerçz, Hünáskaçz, and Imaçiçz, that protect the lands, especially the valuable salt mines, from incursions of Esurkish tribes who have never submitted to the Emperor. The fortress town of Müliq upriver, at the heart of the agricultural center of the Qáhiriyün domain. All holdings outside of Áqirihün save for Ghásçz are held by vassals and retainers of the house, and not directly managed by the Qáhiriyün themselves.

Retainers: The keeps of the southern march are named for the houses of the minor Esurkish lords that are pledged to the service of the Qáhiriyün: Yádáyer, Hünáska, and Imaçi. There is a bit of a rivalry between the three, for the favor of their liege, although they often cooperate to hold off Esurkish incursions from outside the domain. Müliq (Malic) is the domain of house of Ausoron, a house of Aulesiri colonists that pledged themselves to the Qáhiriyün for protection. The sea citadel of Kürámençz (Kuramin) is also held by an Aulesiri vassal, the Mantulyn, a cadet branch of House Sotulyn which came to Surotsi in search of land and wealth.

Sources of Income: Trade of grown spices and mined salt back to Jyotnun, sale of limited numbers of slaves captured from counter-raids on native Esurkish tribes, farming of corn.

History: In the 9th century, the Esurkish war chief Áttátir of the tribe Qáhiri found himself against impossible odds, drawn into a simultaneous war against three other tribes due to a byzantine system of blood alliances that set them against him. After being defeated in more than a few battles, he decided that his only option would be capitulation to the Aulesiri, whose frontier outposts he had both raided repeatedly and established trade relations. He swore himself to the Emperor and with the help of Aulesiri reinforcements, defeated the triple alliance and seized control of the Árotsi river valley. He married an Aulesiri wife and brought in Aulesiri councilors, inviting the settlement of adventurous Aulesiri merchants and farmers within his territory. Over time, his territory became the greatest and most stable fief of the Emperor in the region, with his successors accepting the Emperor as divine and adopting certain Aulesiri customs while retaining Esurkish mannerisms and language within their court. Esurkish tribes outside the imperial domain, however, regard the Qáhiriyün as Aulesiri, as they have disgraced themselves from "proper" honor by refusing to fight the blood feud by their code and submitting to the Emperor. Over the centuries, the Qáhiriyün continued to fight wars with the indomitable Esurkish who continually refused submission to the Emperor, while gradually expanding their trading fleet that brought them immense wealth in interactions with the Aulesiri mainland in Jyotnun. During the War of the Pale Brothers, the Qáhiriyün stayed out of the conflict, using their remote location to avoid choosing sides. The Qáhiriyün declared for the father of the current emperor when it was clear that he was about to win, a fact that has not been forgotten by the New Order's most ardent loyalists, but is generally ignored for the sake of political convenience. The Qáhiriyün themselves have never been the most religious of houses, and their rivals often claim that they change their gods depending on which way the political wind is blowing. The people of their realm, however, worship with a great deal of religious diversity, with gods from both the Aulesiri and Esurkish pantheon receiving devotion in major towns. The Qáhiriyün officially accept the divinity of the Emperor and his family as inviolate.

Location: Here.

House Name: Sotulyn

Sigil / Words: A torch or beacon with a purple flame on a black background. I’ll design it later/Do What Must be Done.

Lord: Sedemyl age 45, married- Grandson of Avryl.

Family: Surprise me

Ancestors:
Sotul: The messenger who delivered the word of Luseysi's death to the world. Not much is known about what his position was under Luseysi. Theories range from him being a forgotten prophet to (much to House Sotulyn's horror) a captured Raayakin slave. It is also possible that the current House of Sotulyn bares no real relation to the mysterious Sotul at all, and simply shares a similar sounding name with him. Regardless, the story of Sotul's trek is something House Sotulyn takes great pride in, as this is perhaps their only connection to the legends of Luseysi.

Avryl Sotulyn: A spy for Auren during the War of the Pale Brothers, Avryl is considered by his descendents as one of the greatest heroes of the war. Avryl's position on the Imperial Privy Council gave him nearly unlimited access to the Palace and the Emperor. It is unknown exactly when he became a double agent or why, though Avryl himself would always claim divine revelation told him to switch sides. It is known that within the last ten years of the war, nearly everything that took place within the palace was being passed along to Auren's faction, greatly speeding up their victory. For his assistance during the war, Avryl was rewarded with the estate of House Serepin, a former house, loyal to the Forgotten Emperor, who refused to surrender.

Holdings:
Sotulynsia: Formerly Serepensia, the lands of Surotsi's northern coast were renamed when House Sotulyn took over after the War of the Pale Brothers.

Sotulisi: A newer city, Sotulisi was built as an administrative center for Sotulynsia when House Sotulyn moved in. It is primarily a market and government center. It's population swells during the day, but it is practically a ghost town by night when much of the population moves back to the villages and other towns of the region.

Foghead: A large fortress that juts out into the sea. It is the seat of House Sotulyn in Northern Surotsi. It is nestled upon a small peninsula that is, as its name suggest, quite foggy.

The Mire: Though no longer entirely within the possession of House Sotulyn, the family's historical dominance throughout the district still makes them quite influential. The single residence that House Sotulyn publicly maintains here (often simply referred to as "the Old Holdings") is gated off and heavily guarded.

Updated City List:


Retainers:
House Ludilsia: A minor house that was loyal to House Serepin. They are suspected of still possessing loyalties to the Old Ways. It is sizable but extremely poor. It continues to maintain several dilapidated forts along the rocky and infertile Isan Peninsula and pledges loyalty to House Sotulyn mainly out of desperation. Their coat of arms is of three blue wolves and a white star on a black background.

House Tepesi: Like the Sotulyn, the Tepesi are fairly new arrivals to Surotsi. Their bridge-fortress known as Tepesi Castle marks the southern edge of Sotulyn dominated land. They were convinced by Avryl to transplant themselves from the Pale City to Surotsi following the civil war, as their ancestral homeland was quite devastated. They are historically very loyal to House Sotulyn. Their coat of arms is two hands embracing one another with a red and yellow background.

House Arasi: Stewards of the Isle of Pessi, they are actually quite independent in practice, only pledging fealty to House Sotulyn because of their small size. Nonetheless, relations between them and House Sotulyn are generally positive. Their seat is in a fairly sizable manor in the fishing hamlet of Pessi, which shares its name with the island. Their coat of arms is a fish leaping from the water against a yellow background.

Sources of Income: Incense and spice trade, taxing river traffic, textiles, manufacturing, fishing, food preservation, brothels, gambling dens, taverns

History: At first glance, the House of Sotulyn has been for most of it’s history, a relatively minor and unimportant family, perhaps best known for its mention in the legend of Luseysi‘s death, which tells of a man named Sotul carrying a purple flame across the land to announce the passing of the Emperor. After this, the family’s history becomes quite muddled.

What is known is that at some point House Sotulyn was granted sizable tracts of land on the outskirts of the Pale City, though with the growth of the imperial capital, the family eventually sold most of this off. By the time of the War of the Pale Brothers, the only remaining Sotulyn holdings in the vicinity of the Pale City were some scattered holdings in the marshlands to the south of what would eventually grow into the Merchant‘s Quarter. However, even these lands had been all but abandoned by the family, who had taken up living in luxury apartments closer to the city's center.

House Sotulyn has had a long history of producing advisers, bureaucrats and priests, many of whom have served directly within the Imperial Palace. During the War of the Pale Brothers, Avryl Sotulyn, at much great risk to himself, worked as a spy for the Emperor‘s brother within the palace. When the Emperor was eventually defeated and his brother took the throne, Avryl was awarded a large estate in Surotsi that had previously belonged to an enemy lord, executed for refusing to recognize the new emperor.

Though Avryl took up residence in his new estate across the sea, supposedly abandoning his stake in Jyotnun, in a somewhat open secret, he continued to hold onto some of his holdings near the Pale City. Since the formation of the Merchant’s Quarter, the Sotulyn section of town had actually become quite valuable, though not in the traditional sense. The few blocks of Sotulyn owned land grew into what many residents of the Pale City derisively refer to as “the Mire”, a section of town containing many taverns, brothels and gambling halls. While of course being associated with the Mire has been somewhat embarrassing for House Sotulyn, it has also been very profitable financially and even politically at times.

Location:

Location:


House Name: House of Renatii

Race: Aulesiri with multiple Esurk slaves and a minority of native Surotsi

Sigil: A Sword surrounded by flames ("We fight so we may live in peace")

Sub Saying: We do not Fight for Words.

Lord: Taerim Deldankin Laulad Renatiun Periat ("Taerim") (51, wed)

Ancestors: Lediran the Settler: Lead a group of Aulesiri settlers to the continent of Surotsi and built the city of Taernith with incredible amount of slave labor in the 7th century. Established the House of Renatii. Began the metallurgical tradition of House of Renatii.

Paelati the Eyeless: Lived during the early 9th century when the conflict with the Esurk began. Captured in his youth by Esurk Raiders, lost an eye during one of his numerous escape attempts before ultimately being ransomed back home several years later. Redefined House of Renatii. Created the Foundries of Arretium and Paelatian Garrisons and personally lead dozens of counter-raids into Esurk territories in his life.

Holdings: Derliet: The seat of House Renatii and home of multiple foundries, arenas, and hippopodromes that makes the House of Renatii so famous.

Paelatian Garrisons: An intricate network of warning towers and forts in the perimeter of the Renatii Territory that allows for rapid deployment of troops to any perceived threats. Beyond that, it is also one of the toughest training regime in the world, and House of Renatii troops are well known for their valour and proficiency in combat.

Source of Income: Metal products, espescially weapons and armor. Trade of captured Esurk slaves. Raising of horses and other livestock. Entertainment through the Arenas and Hippopodromes. Minor growing of olive and barley.

History: The House of Renatii used to be nothing more than a minor house, serving as retainers of another major house, House of Darinian. With their support, the founder of the House, Lediran, was able to conquer the outlying tribes of Esurk relatives and use the slave labor acquired to establish the city of Derliet. Built from the red stones and clay bricks found in the local area, the city was a minor forge city at best, shipping finished iron and other metal products to the master house up north.

Unfortunately for the House of Renatii, the weak nature of the Esurk tribes met so far and the “protection” offered by the master house meant that they had neglected to build stable walls. Indeed, when the Esurk War party descended from the mountains, they saw the city of Derliet as not an impediment to their war efforts, but rather mountain of plunder. They swiftly attacked the city through an opening in the defenses, ripping through the scant garrison provided by the master house and then helping themselves to as much metal weapons as possible. A few hundred men and women were taken by them as slaves, including the heir of the house, Praelati. They, however, spared much of the population and craftsmen living in the area.

The House of Darinian dispatched their army towards the south to deal with the “native nuisance” and was defeated in an embarrassing battle. The fault was mostly attributed to the Aulesiri warriors underestimating the sheer ferocity of true Esurk warriors and partially to the general’s idiocy in leading the charge himself on horseback. No matter what the case, the faith of House of Renatii, and the other subservient houses ‘ as well, was challenged. Relations between House of Renatii and the House of Darinian swiftly deteriorated as the House refused to grant their masters more metal, preferring to train their own townsguard and equip them with weapons.

The heir of the house, Praelati, however, escaped from the Esurkish warband after 5 years of captivity with the help of the soldiers that were captured together and arrived back home, missing an eye. He had learnt much from his time with the Esurk, including their wartime tactics, their languages, and most importantly their ferocious training. Nevertheless, his arrival threw the inheritance into chaos. The family, believing him to have died, had already stricken him from his share of the inheritance. Knowing this, Praelati began to spend much of his time with the lower-class craftsmen and the townsguard. All assumed that he planned to become a general for the house now that the farmlands, the cities, and the forges of the House were out of his hands. Then his father died under mysterious circumstances and the will now read that he would be the sole heir to the House. His brothers and other family relatives were swiftly driven into exile, killed, or forced to accept him as the leader, now that he controlled the Guards.

Under his reign, the relationship with House of Darinian all but collapsed. Now no weapon or finished metal product ever reached the master house, all of them were instead focused on developing the House Renatii’s growing army. He sent messengers to the other subservient houses, all unhappy at the House of Darinian’s ineffective efforts to drive back the Esurk tribes, to instead ally with him and raise war hosts with his weapons and armor. Many accepted, driving House of Darinian to panic. Soon, there was a minor warfare between the House of Darinian and the House of Renatii. House of Darinian soldiers had more experience than the House of Renatii’s newly formed warhosts, but the House of Renatii’s expanded army was far more numerous. In addition, a few weeks worth of brutal and hell like training meant that many of the soldiers feared Praelati’s wrath more than they did their enemies.

House of Darinian forces were swiftly encircled by Praelati’s forces and destroyed. Unable to replace their losses due to lack of stable source of weapon and armor, the House of Darinian was forced to capitulate to House of Renatii.

Their position in the New World secure, the House of Renatii now began to prepare for their war against the Esurk. Forges were replaced with large foundries. Walls were built around all settlements, making them more or less impervious to Esurk capabilities at the time. Watch towers and fortress networks allowed for swift response. Brutal and hellish training courses and yards built all around their secured regions gave the House of Renatii a stable source of well-trained, if not always experienced, warriors. After many years, the House of Renatii’s and its associate houses’ armies had developed to such a degree that they were able to, instead of defending themselves against the Esurk raiding parties, mount their own offensives into Esurk heartlands, driving them back more and more to the South and even reinforcing the empire’s army sent to the Eastern coast of the continent.

However, this descended into a seemingly neverending warfare in which border between the Esurk and the House of Renatii controlled areas shifted in a daily manner, with raids being answered with counter raids. They had done much better than other houses, pushing the Esurk back far more than any other, but the distance from the forges of Derliet prohibited them from pushing further.

Centuries later, with the war against the Esurk continuing for more than 500 years, the House of Renatii developed into one of the empire’s most powerful war machines. The dark years of the War of the Pale Brothers had not changed this; the House simply refused to answer either brother’s call for their aid and focused on preparing for another war into Esurk territories. Faction Leader Taerim reportedly claimed that the “stronger brother will be the one the House of Renatii will serve,” seemingly ignoring any claims of the legitimacy of blood. Nevertheless, the sheer military might possessed by the House of Renatii prohibited the Empire from taking any measures against the House of Renatii.




Retainers: House of Darinian: purposefully kept weak by the House of Renatii, this is the former masters of the House which now possesses part of the land that provides food to the House of Renatii kept areas.

House of Darginun: House in charge of the mines to the north of Derliet. This house was the first to combine arms with the House of Renatii and thusly is trusted the most. They form most of the Inner court of House of Renatii, planning with their masters on their next war efforts and discussing and interpretting intelligence received from the borders. The officers in charge of House of Renatii's member's bodyguards are often from this house.

House of Taern: This house, due to being in charge of the newly acquired territories to the south and thus spice farming, is the second most militaristic house associated with the House of Renatii. They would have to be, as throughout their history they had continuously been attacked, raided, and even besieged once by the Esurk. Many of the officers of the House of Renatii's war hosts are from this house.

Race: Aulesiri

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This is not really needed, and I doubt your house is 100% Aulesiri (anyway) given its background. But it doesn't really matter.

I might change a few things. Namely: the fact that the Esurks laid siege to "Arretium". The Esurks laying siege, especially at that time period, is not feasible (unless it is a small fort and you don't mean "siege" in a traditional sense). I also might change your names in the final profile, because for a somewhat unique world, they seem decidedly Roman.

My naming abilities are off. I guess those names were what I get for playing Rome Total War for 2 hours before writing that.

I'll switch around the backstory and run some random name generators.

Names are changed around. I kept the name Renatii despite it being a Latin name because it's a ctually more a reference to an old friend who doesn't come to this forums anymore.

OK, Seon. Thank you. I can always help with names. I have a semi-developed language that I used for the terms in the prologue, but not everyone needs to be so specific.

By the way, just saw bombshoo's post. I'm liking that. It would actually make sense for some of those older houses, who might have "moved", to have remnants of their old holdings in other places (and likely, many major lords that have good favor with the emperor probably have an estate in the Pale City).

Son of Erdrick: Welcome! I might make it a bit later that your house settled the valley, though I do appreciate your later timestamp of ~900.

Keep in mind, everyone, that it is likely your house established its roots elsewhere than it is today, and that the current house you rule, while related to important ancestors, might be relatively fresh. Your house doesn't have to be extremely old, even though your ancestors came through in the original migrations. I'm not saying you must abide to these principles, only that it might be a good idea to keep them in mind. And really, many of you have done a good job with time, relating more to the 8th or 9th centuries. It could be interesting to have some ruins in the north of original settlements related to some houses (not official holdings, but rather relics of the past).

edit: Do not misunderstand my comment above. It's all right if you want your house to be old and have settled the same region for close to a thousand years. I just ask you keep in mind where your house is (for example, it doesn't make sense for a house in the far west of Jyotnos to be dated before 300 A.R.).

Well, I don't mind what you do with my house, Starlife, as you know the lore better/have a clearer vision than me! Play around with the history as much as you'd like. I was not entirely sure of what 'enemy' I could incorporate in my history that saw the old lords flee and the first Lyelt (btw, is the name alright?) make some last stand against so I kept it vague. It would be nice if you clarified it.

Sure, and no problem. I plan to make everyone's proposals flow together in the final profiles.

Question posed by Thlayli: Are priests celibate?

Short answer: No.
Long answer: Yes and no.

In my designs for our religion, I was thinking that, while priests are not celibate, they do undergo a painstaking ritual to become "purified" with the Pale. That being said, it would be counter-intuitive for some priests to be married during this ritual, though that does not mean it is impossible. Similarly, because I left the religion intentionally ambiguous, there could have developed sub-cults that are stricter than the norm, or perhaps their ritual is more demanding. There could even be a sect of the Old Order that requires castration, for all we know. As long as you can adequately explain the development of such a cult, I'm all for listening to you, but not necessarily using what you have to say.

Name's been changed around in the backstory. Kept the name Renatii as it is a reference to another forum member.

I am thinking of changing the backstory so that Paelati was captured in a disastrous Aulesiri defeat instead.

To be expanded later.

House Name: House Dyre
Sigil / Words: The sigil of House Dyre is a mountain, gules, on a field, argent, inferior to an eagle rampant. The Words: "Our fate, our fire."
Lord: Priest-Lord Varich Dyre
Family: Six sons, of varying ages from 2 to 24, and innumerable daughters. The heir is the third son, Kalevin Dyre.
Ancestors: Artavin Dyre, the Great Rebel, who fought for the brother of the Emperor (the true emperor) even after his ultimate defeat. Before Artavin, House Dyre was a minor clan of extremely religious nobles with priestly ancestors.
Holdings: The mountainside tin-mining city of Artavin's Pit, and some small estates in the lowlands for tea-farming. Built around the Great Mountain (name pending).
Sources of Income: Tea exports, bronze weaponry and ceremonial bronze items for the priesthood across the continent. Skilled metalworking.
History: House Dyre fought, and lost.
Location: On the tallest mountain of the realm.

The Pale is nomenclature used to describe the religion of the Aulesiri and their descendants. It is the most commonly practiced religion in our realm. As stated in the OP, Luseysi and his descendants (the appointed emperor) is considered by all to be a sacred individual, the son of the gods and a personification of the spiritual power of the moon. He is not lord or king of gods, but is rather considered a supreme spiritual authority because he is the only personification of this faith. The sigil of the emperor (NK, you can alter this how you wish) is a pale-green crescent moon. Do not equate the emperor to the Pope; there is no grand hierarchy in the Pale, but rather a series of rituals to create a powerful priesthood and a spirit-based shrine system.

As mentioned in the OP, shrines come in three basic varieties:

1. A shrine dedicated to a historical figure who has been deified after death. In this case, the remains are enshrined, along with potentially that figure's entire family's remains. These shrines have mostly local importance.

2. A house shrine. Each major house has its own shrine, typically on the grounds of its main holding. This shrine can range from intimate and small to vast and underground. It holds the cremated remains of the house (the Pale cremates the dead -- it does not bury them, though enshrined historical figures who have been deified will often have parts of their bodies left intact).

3. A shrine dedicated to a specific spirit. I say "spirit" instead of "god", because, while otherworldly, these spirits are said to exist within the realm in small pockets of the shrine. These shrines are often grandiose and fantastical. Each major god-spirit of the Pale has a Shulryi, or "head shrine", which administers that god-spirit's branch shrines. There can be thousands of branch shrines, ranging from small hut-like structures to palaces, but the head shrine is usually the most grandiose. Each head shrine has a Aulryir, or "head priest", whose clergy is called the Taunesii. The Aulryir will travel to various branch shrines in visits, but will live and operate mostly within a specific god-spirit's main shrine. Each branch shrine has its own Taunesii, or clergy, a group of priests who have gone through the ritual and preside over that shrine. The emperor has supreme control over who becomes the next Aulryir of a Shulryi, though it is often obvious who will become the next Aulryir based on a series of merits.

The complicated bit is that some spirits are actually based on historical figures, but the populace believes them to be gods. A word for god-spirit, by the way, is simply Lesauni.

If one is to designate a "hierarchy" for the Pale, it would be something like this, from lowest to highest:
-> Practitioner / lay worshiper
-> Kauyhin: One who has decided to become a priest, but must wait to go through the ritual.
-> Mauzhin: One who has begun the ritual, but has yet to finish.
-> Eulryir: One who has finished the ritual, and has become ordained as a Pale Priest. A group of Eulryir is called a Taunesii.
-> Aulryir: The head priest, who manages a Shulryi (main shrine) dedicated to a certain god-spirit.

Imisau is the god-spirit of agriculture, fishing, commerce, productivity. Shrines to Imisau are perhaps the most common.

Shulensi is the god-spirit of warfare and protection, yet this spirit was not appointed as such until well after the migrations and the death of Luseysi. For a long while, he was a god-spirit of pointed exploration.

Echrodaut is the god-spirit of education and learning.

Dysaunn supposedly sculpted Jyotnun. He is the god-spirit of arts and crafts.

Coming soon: god-spirit of the mountains, the sun, animals, and the sea. Again, I don't think it's wise to simply associate them with a single category (i.e., "war" or "agriculture"), because in the world of the Pale, they have complicated lives. In fact, one of these god-spirits might have a different use to different regions.

These god-spirits, or Lesauni, are androgynous and can be represented in a variety of ways. I will write more about them later, but almost none of them date from before the migrations; they are, essentially, manifestations of a new cult that began during the migrations and after the settlement of Jyotnun, under belief that Jyotnun itself was a sacred land. As such, the Lesauni are often associated with Jyotnun and Surotsi, or basically, all areas the empire has decided to settle; they are not, necessarily, god-spirits representing aspects of the whole world, but specifically, the Aulesiri world. This effectively makes the Pale henotheistic, as the Pale is said only to serve those under the empire, and the lands of the empire, while not denying that other peoples have other gods.

I will also come up with the Shulryi, or head shrine, for each of these god-spirits. If you want to try to include one in your proposal somehow, or something related, go ahead, but I might not use it.

The Old Order of the Moon, called the Order of the Stone was loyal to the False Stone and perpetrators of the devastating Solemn Age. Their core beliefs do not differ much from the new Order of the Moon that has replaced them, though the way they practice their beliefs are. The Stone believes that ornate, grandiose structures should be dedicated to the god-spirits and they also believe that the three centuries of meteor showers has a profound spiritual meaning, something that the new Order of the Moon would call superstition and justification for the old priesthood to live in unbridled, corrupted luxury (as they did under the Order of the Stone, at the expense of the populace). The Order of the Stone no longer recognizes appointments by the emperor to the position of Aulryir, or head priest. In fact, the Stone no longer recognizes the Order of the Moon as a representation of the Pale altogether. This means little, though, because the Stone is all but crushed, either dead or in hiding. Some fanatical members of the populace might share their ideas, but the vast majority sides with the Moon, which is more populist, advocates simpler structures or at least a reformed use of the old shells of the grandiose, in addition to humbler lifestyles for the Pale Priesthood, and an unspoken subservience to their warrior lord-protectors.

Qaanoiyin
The Raayakin's animalistic, shamanic beliefs set is referred to by the realm as Qaanoiyin. This term is of Raayakin origin, but was designated by the Aulesiri in their original encounters with the Raayakin. The Raayakin themselves had no name for their beliefs, and the term Qaanoiyin literally means "vessel of the land". Some of the specifics of Raayakin beliefs are somewhat vague, as the Raayakin no longer exist and have been completely integrated into Aulesiri society (or exterminated altogether). Additionally, Aulesiri scholars did not take much care in preserving the oral history of the Raayakin, so there exists a high degree of mystery behind the actual origin of the Raayakin and the nuances of their beliefs. It is clear that the Raayakin were organized into tribes under shamanic chieftains, who were both spiritual and "political" guides. There are various stone "monuments" scattered throughout the more wild regions of Jyotnun, in the mountains and deep forests. These range from simplistic circles or rings formed with smoothed stones, to more complicated cairns. Indeed, cairns are what most consider to be an icon of Qaanoiyin today, and some of the more ornate, dyed stone-stacks are remarkably well-preserved (though, in the middle of nowhere from the viewpoint of Aulesiri lords and lands). It is not entirely clear what these landmarks represent, though a primitive series of symbols was long ago decoded by scholars as a written language, and a small number of recorded oral stories from the Raayakin in their slave camps can reveal some insights. According to these stories and the small amount of written examples, the Raayakin shamans could supposedly control a single aspect of nature, whether it be elemental or animalistic. They also knew of the "secrets of the wild" and told of "other worlds". Their cairns are often designated as altars to a specific "aspect". Unfortunately, the Raayakin were rather cryptic in their dealings with the Aulesiri, and much remains a mystery to this day.

Coming soon
Elakycit, or Elákyçít: The beliefs system of the Esurks, which focuses on temple worship.

In other news...

ROME TOTAL WAR 2 ANNOUNCED! YEEEEEEEESSSSSSS



You know I will be Roma nut for a couple of months.

Seon said:

In other news...

ROME TOTAL WAR 2 ANNOUNCED! YEEEEEEEESSSSSSS



You know I will be Roma nut for a couple of months.

Click to expand...

Keep it out of my NES and stop spamming.

I forgot one rather crucial element of profiles, though thinking about it now I suppose it is not required. Retainers will likely be an important aspect of this NES. Your houses, as players, are among the most powerful and influential houses (unless otherwise noted). Your region will have several smaller houses, and your levied armies, supplies, and support will likely come from them. Now, most of these retainers can remain nameless and implied, because keeping a record of hundreds of families would slow us down (and it is likely that when you all write stories, you will throw names in there that we can all get to know over time).

I would put this section underneath Holdings, so if you could edit your posts to reflect it, that would be great. As I said, it is not required; I can always come up with retainers, or perhaps your house is a lone wolf. But perhaps you want to customize such relationships. It could be fun to keep track of the more important retainers, because they could change loyalties based on passing events. You are essentially coming up with NPCs, but ones you have strong control over. I might use some of your proposals to make legitimate NPC houses.

Retainers: [give a few lesser house names, and give a brief set of words to describe each retainer's role and how they support you or have supported you in the past]

These families will be geographically close to your own holdings, and they do not represent alliances or important marriages necessarily, but more a part of your realm that is somewhat personalized.

OOC:Sorry if this reads like ow -- I'm not working on much sleep right now, and I can't really focus enough to proofread it or organize it better.


House Name: The house of Luseysi, the Emperors need bear no other name.

Sigil / Words: The Jade Moon, of course – a pale green crescent on a white cloth. House words for them would probably be seen as undignified, so we'll skip them here.

Lord: Emperor Auren II (28, married) – the grandson of the last emperor; his father predeceased him. Whereas his grandfather, Auren I, was weak-willed and easily manipulated by the great lords, Auren II is something of an unknown. He should be married to a daughter of one great house or another; we'll call her Irial, but I don't particularly care which house she comes from. Someone who supported the royal family in the last war; beyond that, maybe you should use a dice roll to decide?

Family: Preferably two sons (Mares, Alurei) and one daughter (Luriana), ages 6 and 2 and 5, respectively. Also, I'd like the emperor to have one brother (Fyrdes), and for his brother to have a family as well – past that, I'm not sure how much leeway you want to give me in making up this family tree... But I imagine the imperial family is somewhat small, given the fratricidal war that ended only a generation back.

Ancestors: The most important of the imperial ancestors, of course, is Luseysi, the Son of the Moon, and founder of the Empire. Of his life, much has already been written, so we shall examine a few of his more illustrious descendants in brief (I will write up a detailed kings list later):

Keresen I (r. 304-380 AR): Immediate successor to Luseysi; compared to his father's 300 years, the son's mere 80 year reign was rather less impressive.
Kyurili I (r. 380-412): An even briefer reign compared to his father and grandfather, Kyurili was nonetheless beloved by the people of the time for the first great set of improvements to the Pale City. Builder, architect, hero, patron of the arts, and subject of one of the first romantic tragedies of the nascent empire, he would be remembered long after his father.
Tares I (r. 784-831): He who presided over the first days of the Solemn Age.
Tares II (r. 831-832): Mysteriously died at the age of 18, shortly after showing signs of disapproval towards the actions of the Order of the Moon.
Nosyan I (r. 832-899): Put the Solemn Age back into full swing again. A very pious – some would say too pious – man.
The Forgotten Emperor [name officially stricken from the record] (r. 1297-1351): The usurped. Supported by his church and by the loyal lords, he ended up embroiled in a brutal, fifty-year-long war against his brother. A hard man, he managed to keep the imperial forces going for a long, long time against what was probably superior opposition – until, of course, they were finally brought crashing down. After his dethronement and execution, his name was physically removed from every imperial monument and listing; by imperial decree, writing the name is punishable by extremely cruel death.
Auren I (r. [1297] 1351-1370): The usurper. About 17 when he first started his war, and already an old man when he finally defeated his brother and gained the throne, it is said that in his old age he barely wanted to fight anymore; it was merely the momentum of the fifty-year war that had kept him going. By the time he had defeated his brother and ordered his execution, he was already seventy years old. The last twenty years of his reign were spent in senescence and grief, during which the provincial warlords gained still more power.

Holdings: The Emperor is more powerful in the spiritual realm than the temporal, but he still has extensive holdings; the most notable, of course, being the Pale City and its environs. Much of the immediate surrounding lands have been granted to other, minor lords, but the Emperor has a patchwork of holdings all the way from the river up to the mountains and down to the southern coast – though even with these, a lot of the farms fall under the administration of other nobility.

Sources of Income: Though some taxes from the surrounding farmers help, the Emperor gains most of his income from lowly merchants, in tolls in the port and on the River near the Pale City. There are, of course, plenty of gifts from other lords, and donations to the church, etc.

History: The fortunes of the Imperial House have been almost synonymous with the fortunes of the realm for much of its history. That is starting to change, but not enough to make a detailed history of the adventures this particular family has undergone particularly interesting or useful. Instead, I'll provide a reasonably succinct bit of background on the areas immediately around the seat of the Emperor.

The Pale City: Cut in two by the Blessed River, the Pale City was founded on the site where Luseysi drew forth the Moon's Pearl from the riverbank. This, of course, was also the sacred site where Luseysi died, his arm upraised in a gesture towards Surotsi. The first buildings were a simple tomb for their fallen first emperor and homes for the followers of the second. All of this would be built over in time, as the initial accommodations proved wholly inadequate for what would become the imperial infrastructure. Larger, more elaborate buildings would house the tomb of the Lunar Son, being torn down and refurbished around the spot of land over and over. Ringwalls for the city would rise and be cast aside as the sprawl of buildings grew too great for each one – and eventually, they would be abandoned altogether, as the Imperial City knew not the touch of warfare.

Regardless, while Luseysi's site had a dramatic cast to it, with a small bluff overlooking the broad estuary where the river met the sea, it had very little value in terms of a commercial port. The river, while navigable, did not make for a good dock. Thus, only a few decades after the founding of the Pale City itself, a neighboring town rose alongside the excellent deepwater harbor just to the southeast of the capital. The Bridges of Kyurili were the first to span the Blessed River, beautiful edifices of stout concrete merged seamlessly with jadeite ornamentation that looked like spun sugar. Other constructions at this time included a series of watchtowers, a wide road to Harbor Town, a magnificent Imperial Palace that would serve as the core for the subsequent additions, and a toll tower that would stand all the way until the War of the Pale Brothers.

The Solemn Age halted most construction north of the river, as larger and larger zones were reserved for the use of shrines, monasteries, and gardens in widening concentric circles around the Lunar Shrine. The Shrine itself, a product of that almost absurd five century span of religious construction, would take almost all of that time to be completed: it was a fantastic array of jade and quartz, gold and marble, more window than wall, with deep green jade arches surrounding a central hall, where Luseysi's sphere was suspended above worshipers.

The priests could mandate all the kingdom's resources go into the mourning of Luseysi, but much of the populace had already moved on. With the north of the river off-limits, they moved to the south en masse, and the city sprawled southward until it joined with and then overwhelmed Harbor Town. South and south it would go, until temporarily petering out in the swamplands to the far south of the city; these would only be conquered by man around the time of the War of the Pale Brothers.

Civil war had a number of effects on the city. For the first time since Keresen's reign, there was reason to ring the city with walls. The Forgotten Emperor constructed some of the largest in the kingdom; eighty feet high and twenty feet thick... but their sheer size precluded them ever actually being finished. Only the city north of the river had its walls completed by war's end, and even theirs only faced the land: the ceremonial center was still quite vulnerable from the sea. The materially much more valuable commercial district was left rather less well-defended; thus, when the loyalist armies finally collapsed in the last few months of the war, it fell quite easily; the ceremonial center following shortly when it became clear that resistance would be silly.

The city has a number of distinct districts at this point, but the most important are almost all still recognizable – the Ceremonial Center, the Palace, Over-River, and Harbor Town. Two more might be noted from more recently: notably the Mire with its chequered reputation in the far south, and the Estates, a series of riverfront urban estates built for the lords who had been on the winning side of the civil war, for them or their family members to dwell in whenever they might venture into the capital.

I'll map out the city when I get the spare time to draw a quick one up.

Luseysi's Fist: The name for the peninsula of land which juts towards Surotsi. A number of castles dot its rocky shores, for while the peninsula's harbors are rather uninviting, the land guards the Pale City, and thus one of the commercial lifelines of the Empire; in the distant past it was a frequent first line of defense against the furthest-ranging Esurkish raids. Several of these castles belong to the Imperial family, but only one, the Wasp's Nest, is actually held by a (distant) branch of the imperial family itself (almost due southeast of the Pale City, it serves as the departure point for imperial messengers to Surotsi); the rest belong to various retainers.

Valley of the Blessed River: The primary source of jadeite for the kingdom (a vital stone for the religious buildings of the faith), the Blessed River also waters a fertile agricultural valley, tended by numerous lords, who probably do not owe fealty to the Emperor directly – but I'm not sure whether to give this land to alex's future family or another group who might settle in the river valley. There's room. There also exists an extensive series of well-built fortifications throughout the valley, primarily built by the Forgotten Emperor's decree; they were reduced to rubble, one by one, in the war.

Likely at least one fairly large town exists further upriver from the Pale City itself – maybe at the fork? – but I won't name it yet. There's a reasonable chance that someone else might join here, which is chill. Also, this town is probably still recovering from the formerly interminable war.

The first branch of the river flows into gently rolling hills and a pleasant wine country, one which likely supplies the Pale City with much of its booze.

Location: The Pale City


Retainers: Obviously, every house in the realm owes allegiance to the Imperial Family. But there are a few of local importance who owe fealty to no lord but the Emperor himself.

The Lords of Luseysi's Fist: Hirau, Niami, Dulchir, Inther – a diverse group who hold relatively poor lands, but with strong castles, owing to the troubled past of the Fist.

The Lords of the Blessed Lands: Ess, Imry – retainers who hold lands immediately outside the Pale City. Neither were particularly rich even before the war; now, afterward, they are desperately poor.