Sunday, August 30, 2015

World of Eave: Krusad

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Krusad is a somewhat desolate land known for its rich deposits of red sands that hide under the usual amber colored sand.  A bulk of the sands that make up the colored in series of red.  From bright red of the sand near the rivers to the dull reddish brown closer to the mountains. It may not look like it, but it is a rich land.  Close to the mountains the sand is made up of iron ore, the red becoming rust.  Along the rivers, rich veins of hematite and corundum.  Because of the riches are heavier than the normal sands that blow in the region, often the rich deposits are lost only to be found again when the wind blows.  It is hot, the temperatures can range up a hundred and forty degrees during the day and freezing at night.  Krusad is known for their amazing steel of their weapons, their incredible glassworks and their use of slaves to create their incredible domes that they use on all of their major buildings.  The domes are white and the color white appears in the sheer, white cloaks that are prevalent to keep the sun off during the day and keep a body warm at night.

Krusad is ruled by a mighty Caliphar Saik, Penwar saik'Amelhute.  The most powerful wizard, he controls the rivers from the coastal city of Bagrhamdi, the largest city in Krusad.  He rules the other cities that lie long the coast and up the Elin'sora River with armies that mainly consist of light cavalry mounted on war camels, archers and mounted giant vultures.  The most fearsome of the Krusad troops however are his Elementals.  Around two-hundred years ago, there was the wizard by the name of Elhian Amelhute.  Looking around he foresaw the destruction of the Nerath Empire.  Already there was fighting among the Empire that extended into Krusad.  Elhain and all the wizards in the court of Aklar saik'Rama, struggled with the problem to keep Krusad safe.  Through great efforts he battled and bound the four great genies of the Elemental Saiks inside four magic rings of Elemental Command.  Using the Elemental Saiks, he would be able to stave off the destruction that was facing Nerath and the entirety of the two continents.  He returned the Bagrhamdi to coo about his success for Krusad would be safe with the four great Elemental Saiks at his side.  He returned to find Bagrhamdi in a civil war for saik'Rama was dead.  Dead for a week along with his entire family of two-hundred thirty six men, woman and children.  There were nine pretenders to the throne.  The damage that he feared, the destruction of Nerath had come to Krusadi shores.  It was then that he could hear the genies laughing at him.  One genie, the efreet Paas saik'al-Khatan, whispered something else in his ears.  Why not take control and become a Saik himself.  The Caliphar Saik and save Krusad.  That is what he did.  Along with efreet, the dao Gemmolad saik'al-Remlah, the djinn Veriti saik'al-Quarash and the marid Jurjun saik'al-Faroush, the took the Red Cathedra of Krusad himself.  They brought forth their mighty genasi legions from the elemental plains and placed them under Elhian's control, all bound to the rings that once bound them.  Their vows kept, they were freed.  All except for Paas.  He saw an opportunity and a new deal was struck.  He would keep supplying him with troops and all it would cost him is ten-thousand gold, a thousand slaves and a child of his line every ten years.  Paas would supply Elhian additional genasi troops, salamanders and elementals.  Elhian was no fool and  insisted on a hostage of Paas' own line.  Pass gave to him his most trusted daughter,  Arosha al-Khatan.  She was not a mere hostage, but soon became one of Elhian's most trusted generals.  Penwar keeps the Ring of Fire Elemental Command, but offers the other three to his most trusted generals.  The magic ring gives him the ability to control even the efreet's daughter.  The Ring of Water Elemental Command belongs to Saif el-Idrid, the Admiral of Krusad's small but potent navy.  Saif is a tall and handsome man of middle years with a well-maintained mustache and beard.  He usually goes about shirtless and is the envy of men and the fantasy of women.  He is happily married however.  The Ring of Earth Elemental Command is given to the earth genasi General MarĂ¼k, a dragonborn warrior who guards the western borders along the Lavacrown Mountains with his genasi and Krusadi legions.  Loyal to the Caliphar Saik and keeps the borders well-guarded from aarakocra wingraiders, halfling headhunters from The Jungles of Tanno and bandits in the lowlands.  The Ring if Air Elemental Command was given to the halfling woman General Kaih Skygreen el-Maan.  She leads the Vata with arrow and lance from atop hippogriffs.  She is totally free atop her mount, raining death upon the sands.  Of the generals that command the rings, Kaih has been contacted by her elemental patron.  Veriti has been watching and she is saddened by the deal they have struck two-hundred years ago when she gave up control of her legions to a man clearly listening to machinations of Paas.  She has asked Kaih to keep watch and try to determine what Paas is up to.  Whether Kiah does as Veriti asks is another question.  What Paas is doing is setting up his own dynasty to take over Krusad if and when he line of saik'Amelhute would die out, become weak or fail.  He has been siring children with the scions of Amelhute and keeping meticulous records of the deeds.  Penwar suspects something though and has elven wives and countless children.  He is a powerful wizard like his predecessor and plays a game of cat and mouse with Paas for the control of Krusad.  Veriti suspects something and is trying to prepare for the coming civil war.

Ever since the pact Elhian made with the genies over two centuries ago, the study of the elements have gone more mainstream in the wizarding realm.  There are four great wizards, each specializing in a particular element.  Josol el-Marik leads the fire mages in Bagrhamdi.  Fire has become very important to the Krusadi and to be taken in by el-Marik is a badge of great honor, even if he is a pompous ass.  As such, he is enchanted by Arosha al-Khatan and would do just about anything for her.  The water mages are led by water genasi by the name of Dulcina the Undine.  Their school is located on a series of barges on the Elin'sora River and floats up or down stream as dictated by Dulcina.  She is beautiful but a little vapid when it comes to matters that do not deal with her pleasure.  Grombur, just Grombur is a short, squat man, more akin to a dwarf than a man.  With an oiled mustache and beard, he is always covered in soot and rock dust.  Besides being a master wizard, he is also the administrator of the town and penal colony of Kumata'sor, the seeming endless deposits of the red sand and iron ore that lies in Lavacrown Mountains.  He is a cruel master but should he take you on, you can be assured a first rate education in earth magic.  The penal colony has prisoners enough for experimentation.  Finally, the master of air magic is a man not much older than a boy by the name of Ishra.  He became high wizard at the behest of the djinn and while he lacks power now, the djinn who guard him expect great things of him.  His school is located near the city Dol'alor the last city along the Elin'sora River before it turns to a series of rapids that last for twenty miles before it runs into a waterfall.  The Steps to Heaven are a series of seven earth motes that go up into the sky.  They are the real floating garden as green cascades down along with the water gated in, that keeps it so verdant.  Djinn live freely among the Steps, including the Air Saik Viriti.  The djinn teach Ishra as well as the air mages.  Dol'alor's mayor is a fat man by the name of Pashi.  Once a (in-)famous desert raider he is now cowed by the troops of fire genasi from the capital and their leader Vala Firehair, so name for her mane of red hair looks always to be aflame.  Dol'alor is so far from the capitol, that there is a large collection of fire genasi troops there. 

But Krusad is not a safe country outside the cities and the verdant grain belt that lies within the banks of the Elin'sora, it is a blasted wasteland of sand and rock.  The merchant caravans that travel the desert are a brave sort as they face packs of vicious gnoll brigands that patrol the wastes, sand krakens that live in the deep desert, demi-human cutthroats that traverse the roads, bands of cyclopes and the occasional lamia that lives in the various ruins that are uncovered when the sand dunes shift on the winds.  The various citystates, eleven to be exact, that remain Krusadi, do so out of fear of the Saik's Elementals.  The marid, Jurjun saik'al-Faroush returned to the ruins of Calispee, a city that sank below the waves when the Great Earthquake remade the world millennia ago.  Gemmolad saik'al-Remlah, the dao, curses the efreet for his foresightedness an is slowly rebuilding in secret to one day take over and enslave all of Krusad for the .  He has taken over a rocky plateau in that lies in the deep desert as his base.  The base is a secret as many dao, elementals and genasi train there in preparation for when they will kill the line of the Amelhutes.  If Paas new about this, he would probably let Gemmolad go along with his plan.  After all, he has near two-hundred years of Amelhute's heirs to call upon.  Of the sand krakens there are four that live only in the deserts of Krusad.  The largest and most cruel one is known as the Demon of Krusad.  Even the elemental saiks fear him for his regional effects on his lair are huge and can expand to eighteen miles.  The Demon of Krusad is very old and very crafty and extremely powerful and he plots something in the depths of his cave.  The gnoll marauders are crafty bunch and as such, a constant thorn in the side of the Krusadi military.  The most fearsome band is the one that is led by Vash the Ravenous.  Vash is a scrawny gnoll but makes up for being scrawny in guts and intelligence.  He has one of the largest packs and is looking at attacking one of cities along the Elin'sora.  The greatest of the lamia is the one they call the Lamia Queen, Ill'vae'naas.  She controls a magical Crown of the Red Sands, that lets her control the sand and has built up the ruins of an ancient Krusadi city.

Besides Bagrhamdi, Dol'alor and Kumata'sor, Krusad has eight more grand cities and countless smaller settlements.  Kob'kit lies along the shores of the Morning Sea and is known for the incredible fishing along with the Krusadi navy.  There is Theles, a city that lies in the desert and is a waystation for caravans travelling from the river cities of Rehket to Kumata'sor and Su'bakiMosuul is another city that lies on the Elin'sora River along the confluence of the Te'hemat River.  Along the western cities, besides Kumata'sor there is the city of Su'baki.  That city lies along the top of the Jek Plateau and the Te'hemat River flows over the cliffs in a large waterfall.  It guards Jek Plateau which is the low-land entrance between Krusad and the Tanno Jungles.  They have a few settlements along the river that goes into the jungle.  The Crimson Whip, a large slaving group operates in this area.  Tek'reet is desert city that is centered on a large oasis and is the home to many ruins.  The city is built upon the sand covered ruins of ancient times including the .  The eastern cities of Bondbai is the farthest east and there is Mubassa that is located on the Dry Steppes when the sand where the sand give way to endless rolling hills.  Mubassa is important to the Kruasdi for it is the only city that lies on the Great Yota Ocean.

NOTES

  • Saik, leader, ruler
  • Caliphar Saik, great ruler of Krusad
  • el- noble affectation among the mortals
  • al- noble affectation among the genies
  • Elementalist archetypes for the wizard (coming soon)
  • Elementalist archetype for the cleric (coming soon)
  • Elementalist archetype for the sorcerer (coming soon)
  • Red Sand Steel
  • Red Sand Glass

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