Stormlands

Rough wildlands wrapped in eternal storms.

Alignment: Chaotic Good (some area’s Chaotic Neutral)

Capital: Thorncombe (40.000)

Notable Settlements: Danak Kur (20.000), Shipholm (1.000), Ruzzikgutt (800),

Government: Monarchy under the Valeran Empire

Rulers: House of Cornwall ; Russel Cornwall, the last Stormking

Habitants: 60% human, 10% dwarf, 5% Giant, 25% other

Export: steel, liquor, wood.

Religion: Amen, Tempest, ancient Cailean Gods like The Morrigan, Fagus , Ankou

Common languages: Valeranian, Old Cailean

The Stormlands are a group of 9 earthbergs at the outer edge of the Valeran Empire. Their name came from the constant bad weather that seems to surround the Earthbergs in a mysterious way. The locals have learned to live with constant storm and hail, and with time, some even tried to control these forces of nature.

Rugged mountains, dense forests and rolling hills cover the earthbergs. These lands are hard to travel and especially the smaller islands belong to the less populated places of the empire. The roads are few but well maintained, and seasoned sailors are plentiful in the harbors. But travels, even the smallest, within the Stormlands are never without risk. Not only because of the storms, but the less civilized parts are crowded with raiders, hags, harpies and even hill giants.

The largest island is called Chralaig and used to be the center of the Cailean civilization, better known as the realm of the Stormkings. For over a thousand years, the Caileans lived, fought and raided in these parts of the small ring. The Cailean where never really unified as one nation, but several small tribes and kingdoms where scattered through the earthbergs. The earthberg of Chralaig is without doubt the safest and cultivated of all the Stormlands, making it the cultural and financial center for civilized folk. Earthbergs like Cullodena, Crowair and the Greagoir Island have a little to few human settlements. Here life is a constant fight against the elements and the hostile other inhabitants.

Earlier inhabitants of the Stormlands have placed monoliths with ancient glyphs across the land and sky that attracts the lightning, making the storms a little les dangerous in the proximity of these lightning stones. There are even stories of great machines beneath the surface, of an ancient civilization which tried to wield the power of lightning.

The Stormlanders are known as tough, stubborn and passionate folk. They are regarded as the best sailors within the Valeran Empire, having no equals when it comes to predicting the weather and navigating through clouds. Their history of raiding makes them excellent fighters on ships and can always be found in the vanguard of naval warfare.

The climate is possibly the worst enemy of every Stormlander. Because of the never-ending storm, dry periods are almost unknown, only in spring the storms seem to lessen and days without rain are common. The winters are harsh, snow falls heavy and the wind turns dreadful cold. But the worst season is autumn, not only because of the frequent lightning storms, but hail the size of fists deal mayor damage to property and crops

Industry and trade
The Dwarves found out early that the mountains of the Stormlands are filled with precious materials. Iron, copper and bronze can be found everywhere, even in the shallow river beddings. This makes iron and steel the foundation of industry and trade, forges and smith workshops are plentiful in every city and mines dominate the lower slopes of the many mountains surrounding civilized lands. Steel from the Stormlands, especially from the dwarven forges, is internationally famous for their quality and is often the foundation of masterwork weapons. But the Dwarves have found an even more valuable resource deep within the mountains: mithril. Since the discovery of a mithril vine, the mountains of are packed with expeditions to find more riches, which angers the local hill giants as in invasion of their territories.

Another tradegood what made the stormlands famous, is their whiskey-like spirits called Drew. These strong alcoholic beverages are brewed in almost every village and highly popular by dwarves and humans alike. Made from the grain that had to withstand a life of rain, wind and storm, Drew is ripened in big crates and takes decades to come to the perfect taste. The alcohol percentage is between 30 and 60 percent and the color differs from caramel till black. The brewing and drinking of Drew is an important part of Stormlands culture and a lot of the inhabitants aren’t that happy that the bests batches are being deported to fancy establishments in Alagon or Midland.

The most important traderoute goes from Thorncombe to Alagon and back, Drystan is also an important harbor for the wood industry, but tradeships are a rare sight in the rest of the Stormlands. The only exception is the southern point at Danak Kuz, where sailors risk their lives to reach the fables mithril mines.

Life and society
Life in the stormlands is tough, weather dominates many aspects of life of the citizens and has a central place in Cailean culture.

Caileans are independed folk. Rural communities can be completely isolated from the outside world and none seem to mind, as long as they have what it takes to survive the next winter. They tend to savor the smaller things in life; a roof, a fire and a bottle of Drew can make every stormlander pleased. Caileans value friendship highly and they make friends for life. Sharing one’s Drew with another is seen as the greatest sign of friendship. The brewing of Drew is also seen as a noble profession, the brewers are often one of the most respected people in a village.

Because of the harsh life, people of the stormlands don’t have a lot of free time. The recreational time they have or often spend on drinking and storytelling. There are a couple of traditional festivals during springtime to celebrate the dry days. During these festivals there are peculiar contests to test the strength of young men, like a running contest while lifting a young female, catching a greased pig on a hillside or throwing giant logs at each other.

Stormlanders still have a strong tie with nature; they are good hunters and herbalists, respecting the balance within the forces of nature. Druidism still lingers in some parts of the wilderness, where druid circles meet to worship the ancient god Fagus. These druids are greatly respected among the Caileans and are a source for counsel and wisdom for the common folk

Government and politics
There’s a great contradiction when it comes to the Caileans and authority. They have a lot of admiration for their elders, local rulers and druids. But they seem uncaring for the bigger picture. Even when the Valeran Empire finally united the stormlands under the rule of the House of Cornwall, hardly any Cailean outside of the great cities see themselves as part of a big nation, let alone an empire.

Before the Valeran dominion, small kingdoms and tribes ruled over their territory and wars between them where as common as the storms. There where 14 stormkings in total, and 3 claimed the great throne in Thorncombe. To ensure peace during control of these lands, the Valerans slaughtered all the stormkings and their bloodline with the exception of one. The House of Cornwall was saved because they aided the Valerans with their invasion. Some folk still think this as treason, and look at their current vassal king with revulsion, indifference or silent contempt. While the others see the Cornwalls as those who ended the war early, and that dominion of the Empire was inevitable. It is however common knowledge that the current ruler, last of the stormkings, is a shameless vassal of the Empire.

But not everybody dislikes the influence of the empire. Since the dominion, economy has flourished, people in cities have become richer and more exotic goods are available. Health and education has also been improved drastically thanks to the church of Amen. Even the conflicts between local clans have been as good as eradicated. According to a lot of folk the quality of live has improved thanks to the empire, making the stormlands ready for the modern times. Yet other traditionalists would rather see the empire gone forever, and are eager to pick up arms when the time is right.

Religion
In older times, inhabitants of the Stormlands had a wide variety of Gods, the pantheons where vast and even differed from tribe to tribe. They also took other gods from Dwarven or Sertian culture and implemented it in their own. These days, only a few of them survived and have to be worshipped in secret. The Valeran sovereigns have forbidden the practice of any other religion than Amen. The inhabitants where first defiant against the new religion, but the organized and wealthy church of Amen proved in time to be a valuable asset in life of the common folk. Learning from their mistakes made in the Great War, the transition to the new faith wasn’t done with violence, but with generosity and kindness. In the modern day, only a few traditionalists still worship the gods of their forefathers. Most of their places of worship, often stone circles or humble altars, are corroded and forgotten; a mere memory of a primitive time. But a lot of statues of the old gods are also still undamaged; a famous one is the huge bronze statue of The Morrigan in the center of Thorncombe.

Next to the church of Amen and the old gods there is also the fear and worship of the beast of storms: the Tempest. To be guaranteed of a save journey across the storm, sailors still have daily tributes to this elemental god. The tributes can differ to small song-like prayer, or a sacrifice of water, flowers and bronze items. The Cailean name for Tempest is Taranis and he’s seen as one of the Stormlands older gods. Ancient Cailean gods

The Cailean Pantheon

The Morrigan The mother of Valkerys, the warrior queen of the Cailean gods and Deity of war, strife and sovereignty. She used to be one of the mayor gods of Cailean pantheon and is these days popular with rebellious groups against the dominion of the empire. She is depicted as a winged woman in a plate mail, holding a spear and a shield.

Fagus The spirit of the wilderness. He is the Cailean deity of nature, fertility and growth and still popular with druids, woodsmen and farmers. He is depicted as a wise old man with a beard that hits the ground, and always in the company of 4 eagles, one for each season.

Ankou The collector of the dead. Ankou is the guardian of graveyards and protects spirits when they are passing through the other side. Neither good nor evil, Ankou is the eternal caretaker of the dead and he is still often worshipped in times of great mourning. He’s also popular among those necromancers who are trying to find a balance between life and death.

Agrona Also simply known as the carnage, Agrona is an ancient evil that terrorized the Caillean over the centuries. Known as the jealous mother of Hags. She is the deity of madness, murder and magic. Not only worshipped by the hags en evil fey, but also by various cults, assassins and sorcerers.

Bolar The prime deity of the hill giants roaming in the storm lands. Bolar is a god of strength, tyranny and survival. He is depicted as a Giant with an armor of skulls and a cape of human skin. As a deity of unquestionable strength and mercilessness, Bolar is also popular with the cruelest of human mercenaries.

Short history
-1000 Ancient Stormlands Hill giants ruled over the Stormlands with Bonehold as their capital.

-800 Cradle of Gailean culture First signs of primitive human settlers within the stormlands, possible escaped slaves hiding in the valleys from the Gill Gallad slavers.

-300 The storms layer According to legends, Athdar the stormslayer defeated Tempest on the mountaintops, making him the first Stormking.

200-900 The reign of the hag Freira Thornqueen The hag queen terrorized a large part of the Stormlands until she was defeated and her fortress sunken in log Naela.

500 – 1500 Raiders The Gaileans rose in numbers and raided along the wetlands and Valeran.

1200 Wealth of Danak Kur Dwarves found Mithril within the mountains of Corwair.

1530 – 1558 The Great War Gailean mercenaries fought with Valeran in the Great War.

1660 Stormland campaign The Valeran empire brought the Stormkings to their knees. The Emperor slaughtered all the royal houses of the storm kings except the house of Cornwall.

1705 current day

Power groups
House of Cornwall The Vassal rulers for the Valeran Empire led by Russell Cornwall, the last of the Stormkings. The Cornwalls have a long history as one of the many Stormkings before they helped the Valerans with their conquest. Now they are the only big noble family left. They don’t meddle a lot with the daily life on the countryside, knowing that a lot of Caileans still see them as traitors to their kin. The Cornwalls mainly focuses on economic progress and identifying the major treats to the lands. Although the Valeran ambassador is always on their heels, it is known they still seek guidance with the druids. The Cornwalls are one of the best combatants and brawlers within the noble families of the Valeran Empire. Non-heirs have a tradition to become a high-ranking officer in the Iron counsel.

Druids of Fagus Although the Empire officially forbids their religion, the Cailean druids are still respected among all inhabitants of the Stormlands. When in need of counsel and guidance, even the nobles search for these woodsages. They meet in secret druidic circles on ancient holy ground, often forgotten places of worship of the druid god Fagus. The druids also function as intermediaries when dealing with giants, fey or other primitive inhabitants.

Morrigans rising A group of outlaws that are fighting for the independence of the Stomlands and preservation of their culture, religion and history. The movement is inspired by the freedom fighters in Erbanuur and preys on Valeran patrols and institutions. The opinion of the common folk about this revolutionary group is varied, but their numbers are slowly growing.

Clan Var Banrimm The immense wealthy dwarf clan Var Banrimm rules the mithril mines of Danak Kur. They are born traders and money handlers, and are founders of the international Bronze Bank. The clan has an elaborate network of relatives, having kin in the courts of Alagon, Cedil and Midland to handle the family business. Within the stormlands, the name of Var Banrimm is famous. The dwarves have a reputation to be generous with their wealth towards friends and allies, making sure that everyone wants to be on their good side.

The hill giants The mountainous areas of the stormlands are crawling with small hill giant tribes. These tribes often keep to themselves and stay within their territory. But there are tribes that act more aggressively, attacking each other or even coming down the mountain to terrorize the countryside. An ambitious shaman or sorcerer often leads these tribes towards glory and prosperity. The greatest shamans even try to make multiple tribes work together, creating small giant kingdoms. These small kingdoms never last very long; internal betrayals are frequently the bane of these giant kingdoms.

Mayor Cities
Thorncombe The ancient seat of the Stormkings is way beyond its glory days, but the capital of the stormlands is still a unique sight to behold. It’s build on top of an enormous dam that splits the river Arval into two small waterfalls. The dam creates a small lake that sustains the city that’s build next to it. Lately the city has been expanding on the lake. In the center of the dam stands the grand feasting hall and its Thornkeep. The name comes from the many small and pointy parapets that rise over the main tower. There are stories the city was build on top of an ancient machine that, once in a forgotten time, could control the storms that ravage the surrounding lands.

Drystan The second biggest city of the Caileans, Drystan is the center of timber industry in the Stormlands. The city and surrounding villages have always been troubled by the wildlife in impenetrable forest of Anarawd. Not only dire animals and spiders prey in these woods, but harpies often nest in the cliffs of the earthberg, compromising the city as a tradeport.

Shipholm When the weather and the wind are as traitorous as in Stormwinds, ships fall victim to the sharp cliffs of Shipholm. Over time, the hundreds of ships who tried to reach Thorncombe and failed, piled up in the canyon to be a safe haven for birds, animals and monsters. Eventually smugglers and adventures got attracted to the site to hunt for lost treasure. Recently some folk settled within the maze of shipwrecks of Shipholm. It became a small but important smuggler town within short distance of the Valeran capital. But the maze of ships still holds many secrets, for its inhabitants have mapped only a tenth of the graveyard.

Ruzzikgutt The island of Corwair is commonly known as the land of the hill giants. Ruzzikgutt is the largest known settlement of these primitive inhabitants. It’s home of the Krag clan, led by the shaman Bargrett the Deamonbinder. Bargrett his feared by other giant clans because he is known to summon and bind demons to his will. This power made sure the Krag clan dominates its territory, and if we have to believe Bargrett, the rest of the Stormlands will soon follow.

Danak Kur Perhaps the largest Dwarven stronghold within the borders of the Valeran Empire. Danak Kur is a mining complex, which grew enormously when they discovered mithril deep within the mountains. The mining for this precious material made Dwarves of Danak Kur a bit more traditional, imitating the architectural grandness of ancient Dwerrendall. The dwarven clan Var Banrimm, which uses the wealth of the mines as the basis of their banking industry, rules the city. Although the dwarves of Danak Kur are not fond on visitors, they are having a hard time holding back the various monsters and bandits that are after their wealth.

Points of interest
Bone hold Known by the giants as Rargott Tzagarkkum, these frozen ruins used to be the center of Giant civilization. The area around bone hold are scattered with ancient statues of monsters and heroes of Giant folklore, functioning one of the few documentations of their mythology. Bone hold itself was a huge temple dedicated to their patron deity Bolar, and the above ground construction is mostly built out of bones and skulls, ranging from small animals to huge dragon-kin and other giants. The structure lies in ruins, and only the bravest of Giants dare to come in its proximity. Legends say Bone hold is haunted, and the wealth and riches of an ancient Giant culture lies hidden in endless caverns deep under the hold.

Citadel of Storms The Stormkings came by their name because of the legend of Athdar the stormslayer. The legend tells of a great battle where Athdar bested Tempest on the peaks of the mountains. The place of battle is now the site of a citadel dedicated to the legacies of the Stormkings. It used to be inhabited by the stormseers, the wisest of priests and druids with prophetic powers. But the Valeran Empire killed the last and destroyed this ancient tradition. Now the common folk believe that the vengeful spirits of the stormseers haunts the tower, condemning the citizens that they didn’t avenged their deaths.

Log Naela Long ago, the powerful Hag Freira Thornqueen ruled over humans, giants and all other things in the stormlands. Her seat of power was a fortress in the misty lake of Log Naela. With these times long forgotten and her fortress sunken to the bottom of the deep lake, the area was quiet for a long time. But strange stories came lately from the earthberg of Cullodena. It is whispered that a group of powerful hags who call themselves the Thornqueen Sisters are trying to resurrect the fortress and its former ruler, and that strange monsters crawl out of the lake at night.

Greagoir islands At the edge of Stormland sky, there is a group of islands where the eternal storm is at his fiercest. According to folktales, these islands are the nesting grounds of the stormbirds, enormous eagles with lightning soaring from their wings. Adventurers often search for their nests, because their eggs are worth its weight in gold. Small dwarven outposts are scattered across the smaller earthbergs. Most of them function as a part of a defensive line to protect the Mithril mines against large forces. But some of these outposts have fallen into decay, making it a hiding spot for harpies and other monsters.

The great machines Deep under the surface of Chralaig, weird mechanism of epic proportion can be found. Historians are uncertain about their age and function. A popular belief is that these machines where made by the first elves, the Halarim, to control the weather. But others claim that the machines are far older, made by an unknown civilization prior to the golden elves. The machines seem to collect and store the lightning, using it for various weird contraptions. Others seem to store storm elementals to harvest these energies. The machines differ in size and function; most machines have the size of a small village, with tubes and pipes large enough for humans to walk through. While others, like the one hidden deep beneath Thorncombe, seems to go one forever. If you sail beneath the earthberg, it’s possible to spot some entrances of these machines. Excavation expeditions are common, but most of them don’t return at all.

Adventuring in the stormlands
The Stormlands is an area filled with dangers; even the climate seems hostile to its populations. Travels are always dangerous, and preparations for the worst are always mandatory. Thunderstorms, hurricane-strength gusts of wind, hail and snow can slow travel greatly. Even the best-trained gryphon seems to have a hard time flying through the storms. The isolated villages in the countryside deal with all kind of troubles, from raiding hill giants till hags that slowly corrupting the countryside. While the locals may seem indifferent about strangers who come and go, they can express great gratitude when they are relieved of their troubles. What the locals lack in wealth, they often compensate with food, beer, drew and company. Great feasts are given to those who can bring a moment of peace to the valley, and it isn’t unheard of that the village leader tries to marry his daughter to one of the hero’s; ensuring him of a strong offspring. In the more densely populated area’s, especially around Thorncombe, political unrest is still evident to those who know where to look. Supporters of Morrigans Rising are always looking for weak spots of the Empire to disorder. While agents of the Empire infiltrate to locals, searching eager for rebel-sympathizers. The Empire makes sure that the situation wouldn’t escalate to become a second Erbanuur, where open rebellion is a part of every day life. They pay a lot for the whereabouts of the revolutionary leaders.