Update 0: Rise of Civilization
Humans, perhaps youve heard of them, have begun civilizing on this strange world. Towns and cities begin organizing and become more populated. Armies are raised to defend against the uncivilized nomads that roam the desert. Farmers raise crops near rivers to sustain rising populations. Great leaders lead their people to a better way of life. The world is abuzz with change.
First, well look at the Mikuena, a rather strong country, at least when compared to other peoples. They have thrived off the lands between the branches of the Kahluen River. Cities quickly sprang up in this fertile land. Trade with upriver countries has led to many riches. Mikuena is also fairly peaceful, leading to less conflict with barbarians.
However, there are strange happenings near Mikuena. Along the other side of the river, strange obelisks of black stone are slowly rising out of the sand. At first it was hardly noticeable. Their peaks barely pierced the ground; they looked almost like small rocks. However, these rocks slowly rose higher and higher over the years, becoming towering obelisks. Those who get near them seem to get extremely uneasy and scared. There are some individuals who have touched these strange towers of stone.
The effects of doing such a thing result in insanity. Those whom touch the obelisks or are exposed to them for long periods of time have their sanity stolen from them. The obelisks are largely avoided for now, sitting in the desert alone, casting their shadow over the Mikuena.
Now we travel north to a costal country known as Adorin. Its population rivals, if not surpasses that of Mikuena. Irrigation along with fishing has led to this high population. Surplus food is often traded to other countries, namely Caronia. Such trade has lead to an increase in shipbuilding. Currently Adorin has more ships than any other country and dominates when it comes to trade.
While their dominance at sea is not challenged by any other country, there are others things that roam the seas besides fish and ships. Great beasts are prowling the waters near the coast, eating whatever seems to look like food. These beasts are said to be giant cousins of the small octopi that sit in tide pools. While some dont now how they grew to this size, it is known that they arent invincible. Occasionally a trade ship will accidentally crash into these eight-legged terrors. The result is fountains of blood and ink flying around as waves crash wildly in every direction. Soon, a giant carcass will wash up onto shore, proving the creatures are killable.
Attacks by these creatures arent too common, but arent unheard of either. With increasing traffic at sea however, it is not known how long this could last.
And now we start to travel west to the Republic of Caronia. This country clearly has some work to do. While in a rather fertile location with access to the sea it has some problems. Crime runs rampant through Caronia. However, people here do seem to have a strong sense of unity when a threat is present. This most likely is the factor that has kept Caronia from being overrun by barbarians.
Caronia is also threatened by the beasts of the sea. However, Caronia lacks the massive fleet that Adorin has, thus making conflict with the beasts extremely rare. However, their presence is still known, making the costal regions of Caronia somewhat united by fear and less chaotic.
And finally, we travel far to the west where two groups of people await us. The first is the Purzan. These people are led by a king and various chiefs. These chiefs are appointed by the king or by peasants. They have exceptional boat building skills that make trade on the sea and along the river Hasvian very profitable. They also have horses which allow them to raid other peoples with incredible speed. While this has provoked many nomads and barbarians the Purzan's strong military seems capable to hold back most invasions.
And next to the Purzan is Kourstani. Possibly the strangest of the current countries, it is populated by what some might call dwarves. The Kourstani are very short people that have a knack for stone working. They are very industrious, having many hard working farmers on farms while men take trips to the mountains to gather stone. the people of Kourstani seem to have an opposite view on some things with the Purzan. While the Purzan like ship building and horses, the Kourstani are rather bad at ship building and perfer ponies and mules to horses.
However, the mountains to the west of the Kourstani have some strange accessories. Great heads made of stone can be seen on or around the mountains. These heads are scattered around, watching mountain paths and sometimes gazing into the sky. For now their purpose is unknown. However, the Kourstani may stumble unto their purpose in later years.
And so begins civilization. Mysteries and terror surround the countries of the world. Will they be engulfed in chaos and destruction? Or will they thrive and achieve glory unimaginable. Only time will tell.
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OOC: Sorry it is such a short update, but I didn't have too many countries to work with. If you see any errors, please tell me. Stats and civ map should be up soon.