The World of Netzach

My friends, we will not go again or ape an ancient rage,
Or stretch the folly of our youth to be the shame of age,
But walk with clearer eyes and ears this path that wandereth,
And see undrugged in evening light the decent inn of death;
For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen,
Before we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.
- - G.K. Chesterton, "The Rolling English Road"

"'The world has changed. The ways we once knew are dust and ashes and all that is left is crumbling ruins and the unopened tombs of another age. The great libraries burned in fires as cities fell and the world seemed to change under the feet. The sky bled colours no one had seen before, and stars are said to have fallen from the heavens and changed into other shapes when they fell. Creatures and beings that had never been seen before roamed the lands, or appeared for moments and vanished as if they had never been. 'The world was changing, and no one was safe until it was over and the last storm cleared from the sky and the land ceased to groan like a thing in pain. The calm before the storm had been the Empire but nothing old survived the ushering in of a new age that mute ruins stand in testimony to even as the sea and wind erode away at their once-storied glory.' Or, at least, that is what the bards claim, the skalds, troubadours, the whole works of them. Fools. The truth of the matter is quite simple. There was a storm, big enough to rend the world, perhaps other worlds as well, and the Empire fell. Everything else, such as the demise of the gods (or decline, if you prefer) is all stories, and fables. We have no history of that time, just tall tales handed down from one generation to the next and ruins of the empire that was.’ "Something happened, somewhere, and our world was changed forever. That is undeniable. We live in the shadows of a great age and are no longer what we once were, our land no longer a thing of legend and wonder. Let us not repeat the mistakes of those who went before us, nor idealise the time that was as the foolish speakers of tall tales insist upon. We can forge ourselves a new future and if another storm comes we will meet it." - Delmichras of Manichee, in a speech to the Royal University of Valin. The whole point of society is to be less unforgiving than nature. - Arthur D. Hlavaty The world of Netzach is old, and was a place of high magic and learning for a long time, until the Shadow Storm to end all storms arrived via the Patternfall War. The Askhaton Empire fell in the wake of the storms that swept and defaced the land and a time of barbarianism followed as the darkness the storm had brought with him blighted the land. There are no histories of much of this time and the few stories that have come down to the present age in over two millennia are distorted and often flat-out lies. After the fall of the Askhaton Empire most of the cities crumbled into anarchy, a few even being reduced to rubble. The ones that remained were those with leaders who were clear sighted, quick to seize opportunities and ruthless. For the most part that hasn't changed at all in two thousand years. Attempts to build new empires have met a lot of resistance, since many blame the Empire itself for the Storm that wracked the world. Attempts to tell the people otherwise met with the same kind of resistance. The end result is a world of scattered city states with little real power in the area they claim to rule. For a good idea of the current world picture Conans Hyborean Age - lots of barbarians and a scattering of so-called nations ruled by tyranical rulers who may or may not be good and a large number of magicians, but few of them bother with mundane things like running kingdoms since they are after Real power. Most of them are terrifyingly powerful, but also spend most of their time defending their sources of power in Netzach (and power sourced from other Shadows) from rivals, and keeping their own strongholds running, trying new rituals and the like to really pay much attention to the world around them. Laws tend to be few and far between and someone’s word is their bond only if you're holding a knife to their throat, according to many. Some claim an Empire is needed again, but most of those tend to die very quickly. Religion "Speak as they please, what does the mountain care? Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" - Robert Browning, from "Andrea Del Sarto" Before the Reality Storm religion was simply. Every thousand years exceptional mortals in Ve were tested by the gods and the successors became the new gods for the next thousand years as their powers waned and they chose new successors who braved various trials to become the new gods. Then the storm came. The new gods, appointed by the old and anointed by the storm, were known to few, and as prayers and sightings became less frequent in the years that followed, belief in the gods became a thing of tradition, believing in our of habit rather than truth. Little is known of the ascensions a thousand years ago, save that all candidates were taken by the gods for reasons no one knows and all were tested. The dark road in the south was damaged, perhaps their work if the priests are right, but of the gods themselves nothing was known, not even their names. The next ascension comes soon, and already the gifted and strange are being drawn to Ve to be tested, or because they feel they must go. Some have refused to go, and been able to refuse. Will there be new gods? Are there any gods to even cause the ascension? No one knows, and most people don't really care - and a growing number feel the world is a better place with the gods gone. Geography . . . Therefore I am still A lover of the meadows and the woods, And mountains; and of all we behold From this green earth, of all the mighty world Of eye, and ear, -- both what they half create, And what perceive . . . - William Woodsworth, "Lines Composed a few Miles above Tintern Abbey" The geography of Netzach is rather simple. There is mountains in the north, hills, lots of plains. More plains. And, well, more plains. The occasional river. And more plains. Oh, and forests between the plains. There is said to be an ocean far to the west and a desert far to the east but no one has travelled to either and returned to tell the tale of what may lie beyond and those who go too far south find more mountains and eventually glaciers. Ashkaton Wood, The: The Ashakaton wood is a large, thorny forest grown by the Empire (and with the aid of magic, most likely) to create a very dangerous barrier between it and the city of Torus, one of the few cities not in the Empire. In present times the wood is very dangerous and few travel in it willingly. It is said that the Storm changed it more than other places and that the Black Road in the south was said to somehow be in it as well. Ashtir: The fortress of a long line of magicians, Ashtir is ruled by, well, Ashtir, a magician said to have been alive before the Empire fell. It is one of the darker keeps and few go there to learn magic unless they have a distinct leaning towards necromancy and killing small animals. Most people tend to avoid it if they can. The rumours that Irkan is allied with it are silly, of course. Barren Reaches: An area of hills, fog and swamp, the reaches are largely inhabitable and inhabited mostly by hermits, bandits and outcasts. There are legends that claim Ashtir created the reaches, but few give them any real credence. The Ruins south of the barrens were once the city of Codai and fell during the Storm and is now inhabited only by the dead and creatures from the barrens. Car'riq: This city is one of the few to have its ruling family survive The Reality Storm. As such, it has held together better than most. Or worse, depending on how one looks at it: many refer to it as the political capital of the world. The rather large royal family has their hands in everything here, from commerce to militia. It is difficult to deal with one person without upsetting another. Drear Wood: One of the few forests to have escaped the massive wood needs of the Empire, the Drear Wood is protected from outsiders by unknown means. Few have entered it and returned and none of them have any memory of the wood or what they found in it. Entire legions of the Empire vanished into it a long time ago and even the gods left it alone, though some claim it is really the door to the domain of the gods and protected by their power. Empty Lands: An area of plains where nothing grows or thrives. Not quite a desert since it does get regular rain, but the rain never helps. According to legend a city trying to disobey the Empire was there, once. And then the city was burned to ashes and the ground salted and cursed as a warning to all who would defy the Empire. Hills of Morl: The hills are basically a large, hilly region suitable only for grazing goats or sheep and not much else. The people who live there tend to be hard and grim with an attachment to their land that is almost obsessive and generally considered confusing, if not outright demented, to travellers. The Morl are said to be a race of beings who live under the hills and torment travellers but they are seldom encountered in this day and age and many believe the Storm destroyed them. The Ruins south of the hills were the city of Arlien, which vanished into myth and legend long before the Empire rose. Irkan: The city of Irkan was a small village of no importance in the north, which is why the Imperial family fled to it when the Empire finally fell a good 400 years after the Storm. Since then it has become a large, walled city with many trade routes but without the age of other cities and it's lack of distance from the rest of the world make it's claim to be the true capital of the Empire largely without merit, even if the remains of the imperial family do live there. Keep of Tiramisu: One of the oldest sources of power in the land, the keep has changed hands over the centuries and is currently a ruin of what it was in ages past. The identity of the current owner is unknown, excepting that he always wears a mask. Lorden Keep: Perhaps even older than Tiramisu, Lorden keep is actually ruled by a group of magicians working (mostly) together and serves largely as a library of texts, both historical and magical. It's also unique in that may scholars tend to live their as well. It's not extremely well defended, but since it's vital anyone trying to take it over would be assaulted by most other keeps and magicians. Manichee: A trading city, Manichee is noted for it's staunch support of Ve and its massive standing militia. Few cities can claim as much land as Manichee and fewer still have enough calvary to support their claim. Rulership of the city is fragmented into three ruling bodies, the Church of the Fallen God (a religion based on one of the gods two thousand years ago), The Church of the Unfallen God (same deity, different beliefs) and the military. It makes for an interesting time at the very least. Morgadon: Situated between the major centres, Morgadon has excelled in belonging to none of them through a succession of politically astute rulers who come to power via a long established method of killing whoever else is in power and taking over. Well, it stimulates the economy if nothing else. Northern Barrier: Mountains. Lots of them. And glaciers. A few magician keeps. Not much else. Torus: The city of Torus was never a part of the Ashkaton Empire and was at war with it for a long time. Then the Storm came, and after that the city's reason for existing vanished and most of the notables there left. It's now rather cold, scummy, and a haven for many of the less savoury people in the world, and ruled by a magician said to have been exiled from the north and raising a great army. Valin: The capital of the old Empire, Valin is now a trading city ruled by a very influential merchant class. Their claim to be the centre of the Empire is mostly because the city was the capital. Unlike the more rabid pro-Empire types in Irkan, they just say it because people expect it. It's rather (in)famous for its guards and strict laws. The Ruins south of Valin were the imperial palaces, homes, gardens and the like. Ve: The city of Ve is where the gods come. If there are even any gods anymore. The city is mostly noted for very gothic architecture, a lot of stone, and the wars that break out among the various faiths and religions of the city. It is nominally ruled by a High Council but for the most part tends to somehow run itself via a very pro active city guard and a lot of luck.

Index		Exegesis		Microcosm
Macrocosm		Game Stuff		Trump