Voreal Kingdom
Regions: P4, P5, 80, 81, 117
Issedonia
Region 81
Population: 1,032,000
Spoiler: Terrain
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The region is one of the warmest in the Iero Dominion, though that would be scant comfort for most travellers since much of Issedonia is still frozen tundra. The region is divided by a mountain range running from east to west, which separates the vast northern plateau from the southern lowlands.
Compared to the north, the lowlands are temperate, with an abundance of vegetation, although still cold by global standards. The most notable feature is the Zethea river, which forms much of the region's eastern and some of its southern border. It is an unforgiving and icy torrent for much of its length, but a vital source of life for the Voreal and their livestock alike.
Among the Voreal, Mount Kione is widely renowned: a tall mountain which stands above the capital at Abarsis. It is not particularly remarked for its height, however, but what is carved into it, for its size bears the image of the kingdom's divine patron, Yphine, and the legendary founder of the tribe, Vor. Each figure is believed to stand over two hundred feet high, and was carved in time immemorial, some say by Yphine Herself to stand perpetual watch over the city and Her people. The figures are now believed inaccessible: each year a new pilgrimage sets out attempting to reach them, but none are known to have succeeded and many disappear without trace.
The most notable feature of the region, however, is undoubtedly the Great Ice Wall which forms the western border with Estglaz. For years, this was seen by the population as a protection erected by Yphine to shield the people from western incursion, while also dissuading them from travelling out of the region where they were safe, but since the rise of Marmora and the destruction of part of the wall, this attitude is being reconsidered.
Spoiler: People
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The vast majority of the population is of a tribe calling themselves the Voreal. They are Frosten Berapi, and, like the nearby Glazfelli, their skins come in shades from the palest white to teal to a moderate blue, and pale, slightly glowing streaks of white show upon their bodies where veins and arteries come close to the surface. Their flesh is cold to the touch, thicker than that of most other humanoids, and hairless excepting the tops of their heads.
At any rate, their unique traits grant them an unparallelled ability to survive the harsh northern winters. Even compared to other Frosten, the Voreal are a hardy people at home in the cold.
Its status as the capital of the Voreal Kingdom, and, by extension, the Iero Dominion, means that there is also a population from other peoples within the empire, though they remain a minority.
Society is highly stratified, and largely controlled at upper levels by the aristocracy and the church. A substantial bureaucracy exists to support the monarchy, and, although the church operates a near monopoly upon it, this still provides one of the best means for advancement for a Voreal of low station, for successful bureaucrats are often ennobled.
The other principal means of social mobility is through the army. Although aristocrats tend to dominate the officer ranks, a sufficiently skilled soldier can nevertheless rise high, and successful commanders are usually rewarded with titles. A fortune can be made in gold mining, but a man who rises from rags to riches will always be viewed as something of a parvenu unless accorded a title by the king.
The population is roughly evenly-distributed around the region, confounding expectations that the warmer south might be more heavily settled. In fact most of the cities in the region are in the northern reaches: golden Anacharsis, fair Melamis, and the forbidding towers of Phalaris.
The largest city, however, is Abarsis, located in roughly the centre of the region, guarding the main pass from the lowlands towards the tundra in the north. It has long since sprawled beyond its walls, and periodically kings are forced to clear dwellings that threaten to block the mountain pass. No matter how many edicts are passed, or how many times people are expelled from the city, more come flooding in.
There are two reasons for Abarsis's attraction for migrants. As the capital and largest city, it is inevitably viewed as a place of opportunity, where the streets are paved with gold.
The other reason is because the streets are paved with gold.
Abarsis was established on top of one of the most lucrative gold mines in the region, and its location as a trading hub quickly caused it to grow, until it swallowed a number of smaller ones. The vast wealth accumulated by the town led to its pre-eminence among cities in the area, and the nobles of the city (many of whom are descended from early miners) are not shy about flaunting their wealth.
Despite the lofty claims of Abarsis's people, only the central streets within the old city walls are paved at all, and the royal guard and inhabitants both protect the entrances with great jealousy. This has led to two distinct communities developing: Upper Abarsis, within the walls, and Lower Abarsis, spread out across the surrounding slopes. This has led to a curious social relationship between the people in the area, for even the meanest inhabitant of the Upper City will consider himself better off than an otherwise privileged nobleman obliged to live outside the walls.
Most of the people in Lower Abarsis are doomed to live their lives within sight of its magnificent riches while grubbing out an existence in the surrounding slums and suburbs, but for many that promise is enough. It is said a denizen of Lower Abarsis is more likely to visit [region 80] than Upper Abarsis in his lifetime, although this is not quite true. Once every two years are the people of the lower city allowed in for a festival, the most important day of the social calendar and one on which the population of the city is reported to double. The Autokratos may also declare extraordinary occasions when the gates are opened, whether seeking to increase their popularity, prestige, coffers, or out of a genuine sympathy for those usually trapped outside the walls.
Spoiler: Resources
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The most widespread and popular form of livestock in Issedonia is the trusty yak. They thrive best on the northern plateau, but some breeds have been brought down to the lowlands where they have also prospered.
Quarries in the mountains mean the region has a good supply of stone.
Also mostly in the mountains are the gold mines, for which the region is well renowned and from which it derives its wealth.
The warmer lowland areas are less comfortable for the Voreal people, and they desire True Ice to preserve a cooler temperature. The substance also has great spiritual importance and large quantities must be imported to meet demand from the church.
Spoiler: Religion
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The sole religion in Issedonia is that of Our Frozen Lady.
Despotate of Anavia
Regions: 109, 119
Anavia
109
Population: 1,020,000
Spoiler: Terrain
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The majority of Anavia is dominated by high mountains perpetually covered in snow and ice. Called the Jagged Peaks, these mountains have long separated the people of Anavia from those to their West as no pass remains snow free for much of the year. However, despite their desolate name, these mountains provide the majority of the freshwater for the people of Anavia, both Frosten and human alike. Melt water collects in streams and then rivers that cut steep valleys into the rock which provide a bountiful home for the Frosten Anavians. High above one of these fertile valleys stands the shining fortress city of Anav. The vegetation here consists primarily of conifer forests and mountain meadows, both of which are home to numerous varieties of wild flowers.
Anav is one of the true jewels of the West (or East). A metropolis and a citadel in one, it clings to a ledge atop a sheer cliff and is surrounded by walls sheathed in extremely rare blue marble. It is an ancient city and narrow twisting streets, quiet squares and covered bazaars lie at the foot of soaring temples and palaces, each ornamented richly with turquoise, lapis lazuli, blue marble and true ice, built by a long succession of rulers both foreign and local.
The Aradin Steppe compromises the strip of land along Anavia's Eastern border where the cool of the mountains meets with the heat of the Great Desert. The vegetation of this region is predominantly open grassland with a few stands of hardy trees and due to the higher temperature is not home to many Frosten at all and is instead roamed by semi-nomadic human horse herders.
Spoiler: People
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The people of Anavia, are divided into two main groups, the Frosten Anavians of the mountains and the human Anavians, or Aradites, of the Steppe. These two groups, despite their differences or perhaps because of them, coexist surprisingly well. Both are loyal to the Despot and his father and are strict adherents to the Doctrine of Frost. The Frosten of the mountains are a good half inch taller than average for Frosten. The humans of the Steppe are roughly 176 centimetres in height on average with predominantly dark hair, though blonde and even white occasionally show up due to Frosten ancestry.
When it comes to attire, the Anavese universally prefer blue for all formal occasions with the humans of the steppe preferring more flowing garments than their mountain brethren. However, due to the costs of imported dyes, regular attire tends to the more practical colours of brown or white.
Spoiler: Resources
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The herders of the Aradin Steppe are master horse breeders and their Horses (great) are in demand across the entirety of the Voreal Kingdom. With recent discoveries of more distant lands there are those who are interested in perhaps incorporating foreign bloodlines into the mix though most are confident in strength of the local herds.
On the very edge of the desert lie great "dunes" of Sulphur (good). More correctly, these dunes consist of piles of sulphur crystals washed downstream during a catastrophic flood in the past. When the source of the crystals is found Anavians scholars predict that it will be the greatest source in all of Telluris, but in the meantime, their miners are content with picking it up off the ground.
In the city of Anav stands the Azure Academy. One of the oldest centres of learning in the far West (or East) and perhaps the entire world, it has graduated many of the most famous theologians, natural philosophers and jurists of the Voreal Kingdom. However, more famously perhaps is those few among its student body who master the secrets necessary to become Azure Magistrates (good). First and foremost teachers and priests, Azure Magistrates are famed for their ability to "extend" their sight. This is accomplished through the fashioning of an ice lens through Frosten Magic which they then wear over one eye. Through this lens, deception and concealment are revealed to them. But people are always hiding things so such an ability is useless without the skills to investigate. This is perhaps their more useful ability as even without their lens a Magistrate can usually be counted on to get to the bottom of things however mysterious they might be.
Despite the mountainous terrain of Anavia, there is a lack of good building Stone. This is due to a number of factors. First is that most of the stone in the region tends to fracture and is unsuitable for construction works. Second is that all the good stone has long been built on by the Anavians and to quarry it would risk their cities and towns falling into the valleys below. Third is a desire for decorative stone. Anavian architecture is highly ornamented and the local stone that remains is dull in colour.
Spoiler: Religion
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The people of Anavia follow the Doctrine of Frost, adhering to the Holy States rather than the upstart "priestess" in Sycia. The most important priests in Anavia itself however is the Metropolitan of Anav and his or her second the Archpriest of the Aradites. This division of authority works well for them as the lifestyles of the Frosten and humans of the region are quite different and while the Frosten are served well by priests who work in temples the human herdsmen need the services of priests who ride alongside them.
Arresia
Region 119
Population 689,000
Spoiler: Terrain
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Arresia is a region of contrasts, stretching from snow-topped mountains into the fringes of the Great Desert.
Diarein Pass in the west is the principal route through the Jagged Peaks. Even in summer it is considered treacherous, for landslides and avalanches are common, and in winter it is all but impassable, leaving the people largely cut off from the Iero Dominion.
A large lake, called the Boyash Lake by the She'er, is situated at the north-eastern corner of the region, high in the mountains. Although the She'er cannot easily travel the lake, they visit it occasionally as the lake's fish provide a welcome change in their diet.
The Aradin Steppe continues northwards along the region's eastern portion, and forms a barrier of sorts between the Peaks and the great expanse of the desert. The eastern border is ill-defined, for beyond the last areas where vegetation grows, what does it matter who controls the endless, lifeless sands? The most notable features of the steppes themselves are the mushroom forests. The mushrooms grow sporadically but in clusters, and can reach tens of feet in height.
Spoiler: People
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The native population of the region are called She'er. They are curious creatures, superficially resembling lions. There are a number of differences, however, most notably that they have six legs, and their faces are more manlike than feline and their mouths unnaturally wide and full of teeth. They have colourful manes, usually some variety of red or gold.
The She'er are largely nomadic, lacking any real facility with tools and, being carnivorous, having no need for grown crops. During the winter they tend to remain in the steppeland to the east, hardly venturing into the mountains.
There is a smaller population of Frosten, who live in the mountains and form most of the region's government on behalf of the Despot. They inhabit the only settlement of any size in the region, Akorosh, set on the shores of the Boyash Lake.
Spoiler: Resources
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In the absence of vegetation more significant than grasses and small shrubs, the colossal fungi provide one of the main sources of food from the region. The She'er do not usually eat the fungi themselves (although can and will if pressed) but they harvest them for shipment to the Frosten in the mountains and to other regions. The tallest of the fungi are said to be thirty feet or more in height, although the largest specimens are almost inedible without substantial preparation and those supplied for the table tend not to be larger than a couple of feet.
The main form of livestock – and food for the population - are their llamas. Most She'er are llama herders, driving their herds around the steppes and into the mountains. The llamas are useful and versatile creatures, serving as pack animals and the principal form of transport of goods and as a source of meat for the She'er. Within Asseria the diet of a typical She'er is usually more than 80% llama. Still, the llamas are plentiful and enough are maintained for trade.
The She'er do not mine and have little use for tools, but they like to wear jewellery when they can acquire it. As such precious metals are imported to satisfy the wishes of the population.
Spoiler: Religion
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The people follow the Doctrine of Frost almost exclusively. At least, that is what the government records say. Who knows what strange ancient and pagan beliefs the She'er keep to themselves out on the steppes? It is said that some years ago a polytheistic cult sprang up and became quite widespread for a short period, but is now considered officially extinct in the region after a vigorous period of reconversion.
Banished Kingdom of the Kell
Regions: P9, P10, P16, 129
Sovrassia
Region P9
Population: 340,000
Spoiler: Terrain
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Sovrassia is, for the most part, a frozen wasteland.
Few areas of the region are suitable for constant habitation, and the population is largely nomadic. Most of the people range around the north, in an area known as the Kataphin Dell. This is a broad area between two vast eskers, and the only part of the region that could in any way be described as hospitable. There are a few rivers, some shrubs and the occasional tree. It is also home to the overwhelming majority of the region's livestock: reindeer, moose, elk, muskox and a handful of even larger creatures. The Kell hunt these creatures, often in competition with bears and wolves, but the bulk of their sustenance comes from the rivers.
The largest river in the Dell is known as the Ribar and it is along its stretch that the largest populations of Kell can usually be found. There are a handful of small semi-permanent settlements along the Ribar, and a couple along its smaller cousin, the Zadost, usually established in times of mild winters and long summers. In lean times, however, these villages are the first to starve.
Further to the south is the area known as Blusdria. This is a harsh region of rocky hills, glaciers and permafrost. Most Kell would never come here, except that it is also the region's only source of ore and coal. Every year is a race against the sun to mine enough coal and ore to provide for the people throughout the winter, before the area becomes completely uninhabitable and the mining groups must retreat to the north for another cycle of the sun. Every year it becomes harder, as the miners must dig deeper, or seams are exhausted and new ones must be found.
At the southern end of Blusdria is the Paraxena. This is a huge pillar of unusually dense blue ice, some thirty feet tall, behind which is a pass through an otherwise impenetrable glacier, believed to lead to the pole. The Paraxena has an almost magnetic attraction for the Kell, and the handful of folk brave, formidable or foolish enough to brave the Blusdria in winter report strange lights and even sounds proceeding from it, or from beyond it. Some say that at the pole there is a source of great power, or even a portal to another land. The Kell are fascinated and unnerved by it in equal measure, and for the same reason that they are drawn to it, most attempt to avoid it.
Some have taken the pass beyond the Paraxena, whether seeking to prove themselves, to discover the truth of the odd phenomena, or simply attempting to reach the pole itself. None have returned.
Spoiler: People
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The Kell are a tall, powerful and strong-limbed people, with facial features that most other human cultures would find attractive, at least in their youth before life takes its toll. Their skin tends naturally towards the dark olive or brown, although except when very young or otherwise unclad, it appears almost universally brown, tanned by exposure to the sun. Their hair, when allowed to grow, ranges from the dark brown to a reddish blond. Men of Kelldria do not wear beards, and in most cases cannot grow them, so that even after an extended period without shaving their chins will remain hairless.
Kell men usually shave their heads, though during harsh winters when shaving becomes impossible they will attempt to tie it back when it reaches an inconvenient length. Women frequently wear their hair fairly short for practicality, and routinely tie it back, although the ability to maintain long hair is also a point of pride. A Kell woman with long, unbound hair in good condition is to be taken very seriously indeed.
A hard land has bred a hard people. Traditionally, every Kell man is trained as a warrior, although the women are no less formidable. Tales are told of how raiding parties have evaded Kell warbands and attacked apparently defenceless settlements, only to be routed by a ferocious defence from the womenfolk. It is said that no Kell woman has ever been taken as a prize in war save that she wished to be.
They are a proud and, by their standards, honourable people. Their culture prizes strength above all else, and little else is respected. The leader of each group or settlement is expected to be the strongest among them. If a man cannot provide for his family, it is common for them to leave him for someone who can and none will condemn them for doing so. Equally, a woman seen as weak can expect to lose her partner, and a woman who has lost her man is expected to provide for her family herself, with little sympathy for those who do not. The feckless and the lazy are not tolerated; those who contribute nothing are left to starve.
In times of plenty, which are all too rare, exceptions are made for once-powerful warriors fallen on hard times through injury, or the elderly who were once mighty but have lost their strength due to age. They are respected for what they were and will be provided for so long as resources allow. Usually, however, when times are hard, such individuals will take their own lives when they are no longer fit to perform their duty rather than burden the group.
Infants are, for obvious reasons, tolerated more than the elderly, although in times of extreme hardship it is not uncommon for babies to be exposed, with only those proven capable of surviving being kept.
While parents will make an effort to encourage and support their own children as they approach adulthood, family attachments mean less than might be expected, and weak children are often effectively disowned, their parents preferring to adopt stronger orphans. As a consequence, while short dynasties among leaders do occasionally emerge, a leader being succeeded by his birth son is rare, and such happening for more than two generations in a row, vanishingly so.
The Kell have an institution like marriage, and unions are recognised and celebrated. There is no expectation of permanence, however, and while leaving one's partner is considered a bold step, it is often regarded as a necessary one if they are proven incapable. Mourning periods after the loss of a partner are short, for similar reasons. Polygamy is uncommon except among the very powerful, but far from unheard of. Similarly uncommon are same-sex unions. Although such relationships are widely viewed as unnatural, the importance of raising children with a partner is recognised and accepted, no matter the sex of that partner. Uncharitable remarks about the nature of such a relationship are not made lightly, and will almost always result in a duel challenge.
Questioning an individual's strength is considered an insult, and usually settled by single combat (or, in the cases of more general addresses, group combat). Although traditionally such fights are to the death, the Kell are not a suicidal people and it is not considered shameful to surrender in the face of a stronger opponent. Those who make a habit of casually insulting or questioning others and then refusing to back up their words in battle, however, are despised.
Above all, no Kell will serve another, and they hold their freedom dear, for they will consent to follow only those whom they respect. This has long acted as an obstacle to assembling any sizeable army, for taking orders does not come naturally to them and while their warriors may be individually fearsome and even cooperate well in small groups, it has generally proven hard to organise them on a large scale.
This attitude carries forward and informs their approach to foreigners. The weak are despised, fit only to be conquered and subjugated. This was the fate of the ancient inhabitants of the region, whose original name and culture is long since forgotten. Some of their descendants survive among the Kell, occupying the most menial stations within their society, little better than slaves, their labour cheap and their lives valued little more. The Kell call such people helots, without regard to their original tribe or land of origin. Weak and scrawny Kell children are sometimes passed off as the product of illicit unions between helot men and Kell women, although it is likely that most living Kell have some helot ancestry.
Powerful foreigners, by contrast, are treated with wariness, hostility, and in some cases, outright hatred. Whether this is a product of history, or the assumption that all peoples are in some ways like the Kell, those capable of overcoming the Kell in battle are viewed as aspiring to conquer and rule them, a fate that many Kell would rather die than endure. Such foreign peoples are therefore viewed as presenting a deadly threat merely for existing.
Spoiler: History
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The Kell maintain no written records of the past save those on their bodies, and those are of limited value for anyone seeking information about anything detailed. To describe them as illiterate would perhaps be ungenerous, for they have a form of symbolic runic communication used both for scarification and as a form of communication between groups, to mark territory, post warnings or even sometimes to pass on insults. This writing, such as it is, is however anything but florid and usually only temporary in nature. The Kell history is thus almost entirely oral, with all the unreliability that comes from that. The following is their history as they tell it.
Long ago there was a grand Kell kingdom further to the north. This was a fertile and pleasant territory where their people flourished, and which came under attack from the Salterri, a nearby people jealous of the Kell's prosperity. The Kell sought allies to defend against the Salterri, but few answered. Most infamous among them was the Kingdom of Lyradis, a nation of cowards who chose to flee before them rather than stand and fight.
The Salterri were powerful warriors of endless number, and they ultimately pushed the Kell people to the verge of extinction, driving them almost to the ends of the earth until they came upon Sovrassia. Millions of Kell were lost in the war, slain or enslaved, and hundreds of thousands more perished in the first months and years in the new land, killed by the cold, exhaustion and starvation.
After the Great Betrayal, the Kell were reduced to a pitiful shadow of their former selves, their golden age ended, never to come again. Their best and bravest had been killed in the war, and the accumulated wisdom and history of their people perished with their elders on the long trek south. Those who survived were the best of the remnants, but remnants nevertheless.
They dedicated their efforts to establishing themselves in the new land. The native people were quickly killed or subjugated. Mines were established in the hills, and fishing camps along the rivers. It was a long and painful process, but slowly, cut off from the world, they began to rebuild some of their strength, creating their banished kingdom of Kelldria. Still they never stopped dreaming of the land they had lost.
After hundreds of years of exile a powerful warrior named Vapeema became Argulus, and assembled the largest army the Kell had mustered since the days of the old kingdom. Under his leadership they ventured northwards in search of their old lands. The scattered tribes they encountered in the south were no match for the ferocious Kell warriors, with those who tried to resist quickly cut down, and thousands of the wild folk were driven ahead of the advancing Kell army. When they reached the north, however, the Kell were confronted by an allied army of their ancient foes, the Salterri and Lyr. Hopelessly outnumbered, their bronze spears set against mithril, the Kell army was destroyed, Vapeema himself taken prisoner and those who had followed in hope retreated south in disarray.
A new Argulus was chosen, named Evander. It was under him that the crisis was compounded, for he received an offer from the Salterri to allow the Kell passage to fertile lands to the west. Evander himself took the offer for an insult, but tens of thousands wished to accept. After months of debate which threatened to shatter the assembled tribes altogether, Evander agreed to allow those who wanted to accept to leave. From that day forward the Kell people would be sundered, with those who had turned their back on their people and their traditions to live subject to a foreign power henceforward known among the people of their birth as Kalkell. The Kalkell were given a distinguishing mark and sent on their way. Their desertion remains a sore point with many of Evander's people.
Their contact with the world having proved nothing but disastrous, the grand army lost, and tens of thousands of Kalkell having gone into exile, Evander reinstated the long-held policy of isolation, refusing all but the sparsest contact with foreign kingdoms. And so it remained until such time as explorers from the north-east penetrated into Kell territory in the early sixth century.
Much of the older Kell history is in the form of legends, usually centred around great heroes. Of course, like any such legendarium, some of the stories are almost certainly the amalgamation of the deeds of several individuals, or created to explain some phenomenon the true cause of which is otherwise forgotten, as suggested by their adoption in some cases of rather archetypal roles. Such heroes include:
Kellan
The founding father of the Kell people, usually described as a giant, and sometimes as the son of the gods. He conquered a hundred cities and took twenty brides from each; from his thousands of children the Kell people are descended, and from him they take their name.
Argor
The first king of the old kingdom of Kelldria, who, depending on the version in question, led the Kell people to the green lands, or united the Kell tribes into a single kingdom. It is from his name that the Kell leader is said to derive his title of Argulus.
Heero
The martyr. The last Argulus to die while still ruler of the grand kingdom. Valiantly defended his lands and people against everything the Salterri could muster, before being slain by treachery.
Gilgara
The saviour of the people. The Argulus who took charge of the migration following the Kell's final defeat by the Imperium, leading them to Sovrassia and conquering the useless natives. Led an expedition beyond the Paraxena, attempting to find solace for the sorry tribes, and will return in their hour of need. According to some versions, was a woman.
Vapeema
The heroic warrior. Argulus during the recent great migration, during which the Kell conquered much territory and came within sight of the lost lands before being defeated, in a struggle against impossible odds, in a ferocious battle where he took the head of the opposing commander. A true Kell to the end.
Spoiler: Religion
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The Kell are a superstitious people, but with only a vague and disorganised corpus of belief. The spirits they recognise and the practices they follow may well vary from group to group. One thing common to all groups, however, is scarification rune culture.
Soon after birth each Kell child is marked with a knife on the chest, which leaves a pattern of scars representing their name. In theory, each mark is unique, though among the tens of thousands of Kell there are likely duplicates. When a Kell reaches the age of majority, at fifteen, they undergo a ceremony which draws a further pattern around the first, signifying their new status. From there on, the story of a Kell's life is recorded on their body through scarification. In most cases, this will record marital unions, children born or adopted, particularly memorable or noteworthy feats of hunting, and, above all, combat. Defeats of warriors in single combat are recorded, along with the number of foes slain or captives taken in battle.
As a Kell grows older, his list of accomplishments usually does too, spreading from the chest to the stomach, arms, hands and the back. During the warmer months, menfolk tend to go bare-chested and bare-armed so that their scarring pattern can be seen. The very proud even attempt this during the winter months, though more than one has frozen to death as a result.
Women's scars tend to be more limited, since they more rarely participate in hunting or combat, and it is rare for their scars to be displayed so openly. Some women with scars to their wrists do go bare-armed as a silent statement of accomplishment, although relatively few attain such levels of renown.
These scars are partly autobiographical, and partly decorative, forming one of the few identifiable forms of Kell art. They also have a spiritual significance, however. The name rune serves not just to mark the child as an individual, but to protect it from the spirits who might seek to steal its soul, possess it or otherwise do it harm. Further scars serve not just to inform other Kell of the wearer's accomplishments, but also as a notice to the spirits. The record of deeds on a Kell's body serves to attract friendly spirits to impart blessings upon them and their families, but also to ward off evil spirits.
On union, a combined rune is carved on the flesh of both participants, which places each under the protection of the other. By distributing the rune across two bodies, it also confuses malign spirits, who will not know which individual is which. For the same reason, parents will mark themselves with the runes of their children. Such protection is diminished if a couple separates, although most retain the runes regardless. A Kell who has many partners is protected multiple times over; conversely, however, the longer a partnership lasts the stronger its protection, so a lifelong couple are ultimately considered one soul in two bodies.
This rune culture is the most prominent manifestation of Kell spirituality. Usually each group will have at least one shaman, an expert in the runes, to advise on the most effective way to record them; as a consequence, they end up being the principal guardians of Kell culture. Some shamans advise other ways of communicating with the spirits, such as sacrifice and prayer, though this is uncommon (although exposure of infants is in some groups seen as an offer of sacrifice). Most Kell are too concerned with survival in the physical world to worry overmuch about the spirit realm. If they give offerings to any spirits it is usually to their ancestors and the heroes of their people, to watch over them and increase the strength of their arm.
Spoiler: Resources
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Although the Kell hunt for much of their food, the only creatures present in enough abundance to consider exporting are fish, taken from the rivers in the Dell, and the Ribar in particular. When the Ribar freezes over completely during hard winters, the Kell die in their thousands.
From the mines in Blusdria the people are able to extract enough minerals to smelt bronze, both for their own weapons and armour and even to ship to other regions.
Although there is enough vegetation to support a reasonable variety of fauna, at least in some areas and for some of the time, there is little to no arable land. The Kell desperately require food crops for import in order to sustain their population.
Re: Empire! The Lands of Telluris (the fluff beyond the crunch)
Originally Posted by Kornaki
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