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Loci

Page history last edited by Hal! 6 months, 1 week ago

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Dramatis Loci

Below are the significant domains of Occida and its imediate surroundings, detailed in very broad strokes to allow each GM and play group to fill in the details on their own as they go, if needed. It is anticipated and encoureaged that players will want to invent cities, important landmarks and battlegrounds during the character creation process and even in play through declaration and invocation. Following the brief description of each realm is a list of official languages (with relevant language groups listed for convenience) and the more significant minority tongues that residents might speak as a first langauge in the area. Note that most of mainland Occida uses Alannic as a language of diplomacy and religion, so it is not listed separately in most cases. This page is divided into regional sections.

 

Political Map

Occida map political

A straightforward map of the political boundaries of Occidan nations and regions, overlaid with the boundaries of the recently collapsed Heiligen Empire.

 

Religious Map

Occida Religious map

A political map of Occida overlaid with the major religious groups, illustrating which are the official religion in each nation, as well as disputed regions. Of special note is Ostrobach - technically there is no "official" religion in Ostrobach, but nearly everyone assumes that Restorationism is anyways.

 

Map of the Great Houses

Occida map Houses

A political map of Occida overlaid with the Great Powers among noble houses in mainland Occida. This map also shows how national boundaries and the holdings of their ruling families are not always the same thing. Most of those powers whose sphere is equivalent to their borders have not been colored in. Even though Othmark controls Danland, they themselves are heavily overshadowed in power by their ally the Kingdom of Swendia, and are not considered a Great Power and thus not specifically marked out here. Also, the Hassamic powers are not marked out since their borders are equal to their direct control.


 

Albannia

The tidal island of Albannia lies to the north and west of the rest of Occida proper. Albannia is the last stronghold of the once widespread Goedic peoples, to which they have been driven back across the past several millennia, and even here many regions are dominated by Suidothic and Nhoraidic groups.

 

The Kingdom of Alba

Alba is a proud realm on the tidal island of Albannia between the Othic Sea and the North Sea. It has been subjected to repeated rounds of invasion, conquest and assimilation by waves of differing ethnic groups and has formed a very unique identity of its own in the process. Danland to the south used to be under Alban control, and the Alban kings have made a generation worth of attempts to retake this territory. They are growing in power, and it is unknown how long the Dans can hold them at bay. The expansionist Alban king Eardwulf Beadu also has his eye on the Jotlaw to the north and eventually Badhb to the west as well. Alba is one of the great maritime powers of the day, and it is their powerful navy that may enable them to bring sufficient wealth from foreign colonies to claim the entire island of Albannia for themselves. The kingdom is split into six earldoms, including Cailnboirn (ruled by Wigmund), Eoforwick (ruled by Eadric), and Murria (ruled by Aefelfled).

Rulers: Eardwulf and Sifrida Beadu, and heir Hildiz.

Capital: Westernex. The city is inland, a bit east of the isthmus that connects Badhb to the rest of Albannia.

Lanuage: Alban (Suidothic, official language)

Minority Langauges: Cymrian (Goedic), Scadach (Goedic), Dansk (Nhoraidic)

 

The Kingdom of Badhb

The fiercely independent Kingdom of Badhb is all that remains of a powerful network of former Goedic kingdoms that once encompassed all of Albannia. Though the others have fallen to wave after wave of invaders, Badhb remains strong enough to retain its independence at least for now. Badhb is also home to large enclaves of Alanir, being one of the Church's great strongholds even though old heathen ways remain in the deeper countryside and fen-country which are haunted by fey and fomori alike.

Rulers: Queen Sionann, a young and fiercely independent monarch that managed to secure her crown after a bitter dynastic struggle with a distant cousin. She has already fought off one Alban attempt at forced marriage to Hildiz Beadu. Her enemies have spread salacious rumors that she has taken Bishop Yveren Illeis of Teamrach, an Alan that is her closest and most powerful advisor, for a lover.

Capital: Teamrach, which is in the northern portion of the country, at the base of the bay facing the islands in the North Sea.

Language: Badhban (Goedic)

Minority Langauges: Alban (Suidothic), Alannic (Alannic), Badhba dialect of Fomorach (Goedic/Sithee)

 

Danland

Danland is that section of Albannia that has been conquered by the Dannish people of Othmark across the Daggerland on the Occidan mainland. It is a province under that realm's control though it does have a degree of autonomy. The river Eane provides most of Danland's border with Alba.

Rulers: Vicekonge Tursten Oluffsen, and his wife Lene.

Capital: Cnutbury, a city on the Othic Sea coast east of Daggerland.

Language: Alban (Suidothic)

Minority Languages: Dansk (Nhoraidic, official language), Cymrian (Goedic), Badhban (Goedic)

 

The Jotlaw

Albannia has been subject to numerous invasions by Othic peoples from across the sea and its northernmost reaches are no exception. The Jotlaw is that portion which is currently under the control of Jots that left their homeland when it was conquered by the Kingdom of Swendia. The Jotlaw has no one ruler, but consists of several uneasily allied kingdoms and jarldoms.

Language: Scadach (Goedic)

Minority Languages: Jotsk (Nhoraidic, official language), Alban (Suidothic)


 

 

Central Heiligen Lands

 

The Buijteatic League

A loosely connected republic of mostly self-governing yet allied coastal city-states dominated by powerful merchant guilds. Buijtendorp is the greatest of these and its burgomasters spearheaded the formation of this coalition. Until shortly before the Successor Wars, some of the city-states of the League were part of the grand principality of Geste and others were directly under the dominion of the Heiligen Empire. As their wealth and influence grew, each city-state gradually wrested ever-greater concessions and freedoms from their respective crowns. Their guilds had already banded together to form republican governments in place of the feudal order of old. Buijtendorp’s burgomasters eventually seized the opportunity presented by he Hohensturms’ decline and declared independence with the support of several neighboring cities as the emperor’s forces were required elsewhere to put down a wave of serious rebellions. Over the period just before and during the earlier portion of those wars, several more city-states joined in the new league.

Languages: Zuidisch (Suidothic)

Minority Langauges: Dansk (Nhoraidic), Nordothic dialect of Hoch-Othic (Suidothic),Yeshivic (Idumeic)  

 

The Dachs

A large region split into a bewildering array of petty kingdoms, principalities, duchies and counties but no one real central power. Alliances, feudal bonds and feuds change constantly here, and the larger realms that border the region frequently interfere in local affairs. Just why this region came to be known as the Dachs has been lost to obscurity. The Dachs is still technically a part of the Heiligen Empire insofar as such a thing can be said to exist, and in fact was the battleground across which a significant portion of the Successor Wars were fought as the major powers within and outside the Empire rampaged through this central region.

Language: Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

Minority Languages: Zuidisch (Suidothic), Bresian dialect of Alban (Suidothic), Nordothic dialect of Hoch-Othic (Suidothic), Yeshivic (Idumeic),  Dergenda dialect of Gannish (Gannic),

Map

Dachs map prelim

A loose map of north central Occida, centering on the Dachs, overlaid with segments that are officially property of the Great Powers.

Certain locations that have been important to the LoA online campaign so far are marked.

Notable Fiefs

The Kingdom of Falstein

One of the largest of the multitudinous petty domains in the Dachs is the Kingdom of Falstein. Falstein's King Otto is perpetually looking to expand his influence, and was an aggressive participant in the later stages of the Successor Wars, changing allegiances both political and religious several times over the course of the conflict.

The County of Neustein

A small county and junior ally to Falstein, known to be in a longstanding feud with the Duchy of Lassburgh owing to the fall of Count Adolfus' son in the massacre following the Battle of Meissner.

The County of Nordmark

Another notable fief is the county of Nordmark, which borders on the territory of the Buijteatic league. The forces of the fomor warlord Octavius Mors Gunderit recently overran Nordmark and have claimed it as their own. Nordmark groans under the yoke of its harsh new master, but he has already repelled several attempted invasions by neighboring fiefs. Nordmark is strategically located athwart where the river Alwe turns to cut through the rugged, densely forested hills known as the Fenwald, which comprise the border between the Dachs and the territories of the Buijteatic League. The river and the road along its banks are widely considered the most reliable passage through these barrow-riddled hills, which are widely regarded as haunted, fit only for baneful fairy folk and the mad. Accordingly, this is the primary trade link between Buijtendorp and the Occidan interior. With Gunderit running the place essentially as a bandit kingdom, both the League and parts of the interior have considerable reason to be concerned for their livelihoods. The Freiherrschaft (Barony) of Aising was subordinate to this sovereign fief, but has been essentially destroyed. A couple of small lordships in the surrounding area also exist, and their lords suffered a similar fate, as did the monastery of St. Dyvonna.

The Duchy of Karstenhof

Located in the southern portion of the Dachs, Karstenhof is a relatively small but favorably located domain rich in fine pasture for the raising of horses. The Karstenhofers are renowned breeders, and their magnificent and well trained beasts are highly in demand.

The County of Holswig

Holswig is located east of Falstein and south of Lassburgh, to the north of Karstenhof.

Duchy of Lassburgh

Lassburgh is located slightly east of the center of the Dachs, and its central position means that countless armies have tramped across its borders at one time or another. Lassburgh has switched allegiances several times within the past decade, and has fought both and beside Falstein several times.

 

The Grand Duchy of Ostrobach

A proud sovereign duchy currently ruled over by Grand Duke Oswald Aran, a hard-bitten veteran of numerous wars among and against neighboring realms. The duke is legendary (Legendary, in fact) for his tenacity and stubbornness, and has served sufficiently long that his coronation was presided over by Mordamund, the last Archon of Vision; only one other currently-reigning monarch can make such a claim. In fact, in his younger years before being named heir to his father’s realm, the Duke served as a Praetor of the Yenisarii, and has made a point of quietly offering asylum to some of his former order’s scattered remnants. The Grand Duke rules from Bachendorf Keep, a great fortress that commands the strategic confluence of the Oster and Rhon rivers.

Capital: Bachendorf

Language: Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

Minority Language: Alannic (Alannic)

Heraldic symbol: The Falcon

 

The County of Teurol

...

Language: Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

Minority Languages: Alannic (Alannic), Kantic dialect of Szekezic (Szekezo-holtic), Gannish (Gannic) 

 

The Kingdom of Zachsen

One of the largest and most powerful kingdoms in the continent, and the primary beneficiary and successor to the collapse of the Hohensturm Empire. This realm’s King Gustavus is young, aggressive and openly seeking to turn his kingdom into an empire to dwarf that fallen dominion. He reigns from the shining city of Breslig, on the shores of the Alwe river valley, near the Magran border. The Cathedral of the Nine Pillars and the Host, one of the most significant churches in Occida, resides in this city.

Language: Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

Minority Languages: Zachsisch dialect of Hoch-Othic (official) Osternisch dialect of Hoch-Othic.


 

 

Eastern Occida

 

The County of Brandmark

A marcher realm tributary to Zachsen, Brandmark is the product of a series of crusades by knightly orders from the late Heiligen empire against heathen Holtic peoples.

Language: Osternisch dialect of Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

Minority Langauges: Byeloholtic (Szekezo-holtic)

 

The Commonwealth of Domovar

...

Language: Byeloholtic

Minority Languages: Domovoy dialect of Byeloholtic (Szekezo-holtic, official), Osternisch dialect of Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

 

The Tsardom of Meskovy

...

Langauge: Meskovian (Szekezo-holtic)

Minority Langauges: Kevic dialect of Meskovian, Yeshivic (Idumeic), Yekhur (Yekhisic), Ashkazen (Yekhisic), Swendish (Nhoraidic)

 

Ukhar

(Meskovy satellite)

Langauges: Ukharic dialect of Meskovian (Szekezo-holtic)

Minority Langauges: Meskovian (Szekezo-holtic), Yeshivic (Idumeic)


 

 

The Heiligen South

 

The Episcopal Dominion

The territories directly around the Archons’ temple-fortress are currently under the direct civil and military control of the Great Sunedrion, a council of bishops that presumes to pick up where the Archons left off. This body once existed to administer the day-to-day affairs of this realm and the Church under the direction of the Archons, and now they claim that this makes this body the natural successors to the now-defunct Council of Archons. There is currently a great schism in the Church between those who accept the Sunedrion’s claims to legitimacy and those that do not. The head of this council has taken to styling himself the Archbishop. The Episcopal Dominion is modest in size, but wields considerable influence across the continent owing both to its wealth and the spiritual authority of the Church.

Language: Transaltan dialect of Latian (Lataic)

Minority Languages: Alannic (Alannic, official), Hoch-Othic (Suidothic), Vaudisch dialect of Hoch-Othic, Bourgian (Lataic),

 

The Confederacy of Cantons

...

Languages: Vaudisch dialect of Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

Minority Languages: Transaltan dialect of Latian (Lataic), Bourgian (Lataic), Feurish (Lataic), Eshic (Alannic)

 

Latium

Racked with constant warfare, Latium is a land where every petty merchant prince has a dagger ready for his neighbor’s back. This is not one unified political entity, but rather a region of disparate city-states that is connected by cultural and linguistic ties. It remains a prosperous region, however, due to the lucrative trading connections of the merchant families that have seized control of the region.

Language: Latian (Lataic)

Minority Languages: Hellesian (Hellesic), Numerous minor Latian dialects including Transaltan.

 

The Island of Melita

...

Language: Melitan dialect of Punic (Idumeic)

Minority Languages: Latian (Lataic), Corsadan (Lataic), Amhaddic (Idumeic)


 

The Nhoraidic Dominions

 

Othmark

The Dans that dominate Othmark are a fierce and tough-minded people...

Language: Dansk (Nhoraidic) 

Minority Languages: Bresian dialect of Alban (Suidothic), Zuidisch (Suidothic). 

 

the Kingdom of Swendia

Swendia is a Nhoraidic kingdom whose power has been expanding over the past several centuries. About three hundred years ago, the Swends conquered their aggressive neighbors in Jotland, driving many of its mightiest warlords to what is now the Jotlaw in Albannia. More recently, the Swends have been casting their eyes southwards. Reformist theology has taken deep root in Swendia, and the Swends aggressively came to the aid of some of their southern coreligionists during the Successor Wars, which not coincidentally greatly increased the power and influence of Swendia in continental politics. Their current ruler is King Gudbrand Claesson.

Language: Swendish (Nhoraidic)

Minority Language: Jotsk (Nhoraidic)


 

 

Southeast Occida

 

Alannáth

One of two extant nations on the continent ruled over by alanir. This realm, unlike the more remote Alanesh, has a human population that in fact threatens to outnumber its alan residents within a few generations. This has come to pass as the dynasts of Alannáth have allowed men to settle in the region so long as they have sworn fealty to their lordship, paid their taxes and obeyed their laws. They had not anticipated the number of human settlers that would flock to the place, which has extremely rich natural resources and considerable natural beauty. Several neighboring nations have of late cast covetous eyes on this valuable land and the rattling of sabers with the pretext of protecting men from oppressive alanir has already begun.

Languages: Alannic (official language), Old Alannic (dialect),

Minority Languages: Hoch-othic (Suidothic) 

 

The Voivodate of Bolga

The beleaguered voivodate of Bolga wages a constant campaign either against the expanding threat of the Ubayyad Yekhurs or its Schiavic neighbors, and has been known to be tributary to both sides at various times...

Language:  Bolgaric (Szekezo-holtic)

Minority Langauges: Ukharic dialect of Meskovian (Szekezo-holtic), Schiavic (Szekezo-holtic), Gannish (Gannic), Hellesian (Hellesic), Yekhur (Yekhisic)

 

The Duchy of Hocht

...

Language: Hoch-Othic (Suidothic)

Minority Langauges: Szekezic (Szekezo-holtic), Magric dialect of Szekezic, Gannish (Gannic)

 

The Banates of Kant

Kant is a loosely connected region consisting of numerous small fiefdoms held by durgan lords known as bans. All of these bans theoretically owe fealty to the durgan król (king) of Skór, but each is functionally independent. The król in turn is tributary to the king of Szekezy.

Language: Gannish (Gannic)

Minority Langauge: Kantic Dialect of Szekezic (Szekezo-holtic)

 

The Kingdom of Magra

...

Language: Magric dialect of Szekezic (Szekezo-holtic)

Minority Languages: Szekezic (Szekezo-holtic), Zachsisch dialect of Hoch-Othic

 

The Voivodate of Schiavos

...

Langauges: Schiavic (Szekezo-holtic)

Minority Languages:

 

The Kingdom of Szekezy

...

Languages: Szekezic (Szekezo-holtic)

Minority Langauges: Laturian dialect of Latian (Lataic), Gannish (Gannic), Kantic Dialect of Szekezic (Szekezo-holtic) 

 

The Ubayyad Empire

Only a small portion of this powerful empire is within Occida, but the expansionist Ubayyads figure powerfully in the political and military map across eastern Occida and so they are listed here...

Language: Yekhur (Yekhisic)

Minority Langauges: Hellesian (Hellesic), Hayelezow (Hellesic), Ashkazen (Yekhisic), Yeshivic (Idumeic), Amhaddic (Idumeic), various Szekezo-holtic languages.


 

 

Western Occida

 

Alanesh

A small realm almost exclusively peopled by Alanir in an inaccessible region of craggy hills and deep forest, Alanesh is fiercely isolationist, though it does retain ties with its more open cousins (and only real ally) in Alannáth. There are few settlements of any particular note, and the area is almost completely forested or mountainous.

Langauges: Eshic (Alannic, official language), Old Alannic (dialect)

 

The Grand Duchy of Bourge

a moderate-sized realm near Ostrobach, Geste and Zachsen. The Bourgians have fought numerous wars with all, though at present they enjoy an uneasy peace with these neighbors.

Languages: Bourgian (Lataic, official), Hoch-Othic (Othic)

Minority Langauges: Transaltan dialect of Latian (Lataic)

Heraldic symbol: The Golden Hart

 

The Kingdom of Feura

Another large kingdom, rich in fertile land. The Feurese kingdom has grown considerably over the past decade, having absorbed several of its smaller neighbors by either sword or marriage. It's current monarchs are King Guillaume Merravone and his Queen Alys.

Capital: Brousé

Language: Fuerish (Lataic)

Minority Languages: Hasson Dialect of Fuerish (Lataic), Boscan dialect of Hispaian (Lataic)

Heraldic symbol: The Red Hart

 

The Grand Principality of Geste

This is a western realm that divides the Dachs on the east from Feura on the West. This land, the westernmost branch of what was once the Heiligen Empire, is currently in the midst of sectarian strife that is for now kept to a low simmer. At this time, The Grand Principality is held in regency by Isabelle Meravonne-Artannes, the Princess Mother and widow to the last Grand Prince and Regent for their minor son and heir. She reigns from the Palace of Merode, in the capital city of Flessing. Some of their eastern provinces show a majority of Suidothic speakers rather than Gestian, but these are now fewer than they had once been, several having broken free to either join the Buijteatic League or to go their own way in the Dachs. One of the remaining Hoch-Othic speaking fiefs is a little lordship called Beck.

Capital: Flessing

Other cities: Turon, Amersfoort, Ille

Language: Gestian dialect of Feurish (Lataic)

Minority Langauges: Hoch-Othic (Suidothic), Feurish (Lataic), Zuidisch (Suidothic), Bresian (Zuidisch)

Heraldic symbol: The White Hart and Rampant Lion (The Meravonne Regency)


 

 

The Yberran Peninsula

The Olmayyad Sharifate of Corsada

A wide and diffuse empire divided into three non-contiguous landmasses and many ethnic groups centered around the island of Corsada, this is the realm of the Olmayyad dynasty of sharifs. These people fared across the sea from the south of Occida and concquered the island as well as parts of Latium and the Yberran peninsula, spreading the religion of Hassam with them as they went. They have controlled the region from their island stronghold for several centuries, but their grip is weakening in the face of renewed vigor in on the part of their neighbors and conquered peoples. This land has seen a flowering of scholarship and the mixing of cultures as well as advancements in the medicinal arts, but its days appear to be numbered.

Language: Corsadan (Lataic)

Minority Langauges: Hispaian (Lataic), Amhaddic (Idumeic, official language), Latian (Lataic), Punic (Idumeic), Yeshivic (Idumeic), Ydenno (Gannic)

 

The Kingdom of Yberra and Bosca

... (ruled by the House of Hansbach, which is another of the near relative lines to the fallen Hohensturms, and scions of this house rule in many provinces or realms large and small across Occida)

Language: Hispaian (Lataic)

Minority Languages: Boscan and Puertian dialects of Hispaian, Ydenno (Gannic), Yeshivic (Idumeic).


 

 

Beyond Occida

 

The Sharifate of Almaraj

These are the lands from which the Olmayyads to the north hail, being the last portion of a dynasty that once ruled Almaraj as well before its current rulers arose to overthrow them. The overthrowing gurgur coalition claimed that the Olmayyads had grown soft and decadent, lax in their enforcement of the tenets of Hassam...

Language: Punic (Idumeic)

Minority Languages: Amhaddic (Idumeic, official), Gurguric (Kimic)

 

The Ptolentine Empire

This realm actually refers to itself as the Hellesian Empire as it does maintain a direct line of succession back to the Hellesian Empire of old, but it is at best a shadow of its former glory and holds none of the territory that was the original homeland of the Hellesic peoples and instead controls the ancient land of Kimi. Academics and potentates of Occida tend to refer to this crumbling empire by the name of its current capitol Ptolentium, in order to distinguish it from its historical predecessor - a practice that does little to endear them to the proud Hellesians. This city is also occasionally referred to by its ancient Kimic name Hekauptah. Even in decay, this is a mighty and imposing realm, a storehouse of the learning of the ages and a bastion for Sentierism against the encroachments of Hassam. Ever since the fall of the northern and western parts of their empire to other Occidan and Yekhisic peoples, the Ptolentines have maintained a separate and parallel Church to rival that of the North. This is a cosmopolitan and wealthy land, and within its borders lurk secretive mystery cults hearkening back to the ancient days of Kimi and the old Idumeic peoples.

Language: Hekupt dialect of Hellesian (Hellesic)

Minority Languages: Kemmari (Gannic), Alannic (Alannic), Kimic (Kimic), Punic (Idumeic), Amhaddic (Idumeic), Yeshivic (Idumeic)

 

Comments (1)

Hal! said

at 10:05 am on Jun 4, 2009

To-Do List: details, details, details.

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