A Selection of Some of the Indigenous Creatures of Jaradia.

Like many of the other continents, Jaradia is not populated by only Humans, there are in fact many Indigenous populations that live around the continent and the world.  Here is a selection of a few.

The Illuminator Hatcheries 

The Illuminator are a strange race of creatures, and though they do not have a civilization in the same sense as that of humanity, it is apparent that they have a sophisticated understanding of magick, technology, and politics. The Hatcheries are a form of the Illuminator, and are as far as can be understood the only member of their species able to reproduce. The Illuminator is a being made up of light energies, bound tightly around a dense nucleus of unknown composition.  We know that the Hatchery drops these nucleus in open fields, where they attract radiation and energies from sunlight, until it reaches a certain critical mass and blooms into a youthful Illuminator. There are various forms of Illuminator, which form is created appears to depend on  the weather conditions and the amount of sunlight that was collected by the nucleus in it gestation period.  

The Ghastwould

The Ghastwould are a reclusive group of "Tree-Folk" (being of part animal and plant).  That appears to be mostly concerned with their own ends. What these machinations are exactly is not clear.  While not overtly hostile, the Ghastwould are not known for their welcoming accommodation to other races.  They have an interesting anatomy, with their outer skin consisting of plant cells and forming a thick bark which is connected to a form of animal-plant hybrid cell that forms a sort of secondary skin below the bark which then forms into animal cells and organs with a proper mammalian circulatory/regulatory system. As if this were not already an extreme curiosity, the Ghastwould's heavy usage of magick, has given them an almost ethereal nature, and many can float and use magickal abilities as second nature.  As a result of this, the Ghastwould live primarily upon Sun Tears, building grand cities atop the largest, and floating down like angels (or wraiths, depending on their current attitude towards your kind.) to walk in the "underland" as they call it.  The exact rituals and governance of their civilization is left to murky understanding to the uninitiated, but it seems that they have a form of Council or Tribunal, that handles many of the large national affairs of their 4 different nations. Ghastwould nationality can be determined by the facial carvings of the individuals.

Untergolens

Weather or not Untergolens are an actual civilization or just a small collective of creatures is not entirely known, as there has been no contact of a political form with them, or any contact with the creatures other than severe hostility for that matter.  If they are a civilization their homeland exists in the unexplored land to the far west of the Nexus.  There have been only three encounters with the creatures. The first was a Orpheian Allegience "Pioneer Battalia"  which was a brief square off with the creatures on the frontier with the two parties surveying one another carefully, until the Untergolens moved in to what appeared to be assault positions, which is when the Pioneers fled back to the East. The second and third sightings, were in frontier colonies, where the creatures executed surprise raids.  Few survived.  It is perhaps because of these creatures that the expansion west, has been so slow.   

Fungus Ogres

Fungus Ogres can be found in the damp forest lands to the north of the Nexus,  they grow from large mushroom like fungi, in small groups.  The Ogres themselves, are around 1 meter tall, and often bright shades of colors, with flamboyant patterns on their skin.  They have large mouths, and many sport small fungal growths on their bodies which provide all manner of beneficial chemicals to the ogre's bodies. The Ogres are fairly human in their civilizations having many tribes, kingdoms, and republics spread across their Forest homelands, They are primarily concerned with technological pursuits, over magic ones, and will often augment their bodies with steam parts, and use advanced rifles and equipment. When they go to war, it is in a vast horde of brightly colored halfings, sporting all manner of devastating weapons. It has often been said of their race, that, their civil wars, and national wars are often great displays of beauty with wondrous colors and fantastical explosions and rifle fire traded between both hosts. 

Mutants

Perhaps, not a race, but worth mentioning, many regions are hostile in their environs and many (such as the Moskan Lee's) contain radioactive areas or magick seepage that might cause a variety of nasty mutation to the errant adventurer.  The exact ramifications of this are varied, from race to race and country to country, but in general mutants are shunned and often from collectives of their own. It is such mutant collectives that started the "Genetic War of East Puro-Asika"  where a Mutant warlord had amassed so many Mutant followers in the radiation drenched wastes of Purosvka that he felt bold enough to carve out his own inter-continental empire, which very well might have succeeded had it not been for the combined strength of 13 of the strongest and most influential nations in Asika  meeting the Mutant armies head on in the mountains separating the two continental landmasses.  Exact reports of that battle and the wars of other lands is for a different time however. But since the time of that war, many nations enact purges of mutant populations, to keep the possibility of a large mutant population rising against a nation of "genetically pure" people.

More chronicles on the indigenous populations of the world to come later.  

-Art by Orpheian Alliegance head of pioneers, Aaron Reynolds

(100 p.n.) The Exchange of The Protectorate of Jandii

Since the defeat of the notorious Sardindada Pirates, the isles of the Sardindada have existed as a group of Sultanate Protectorates. This day marks a change in the policy of the Burnzined Sultanate. As a gesture of friendship and in the hopes of fostering trade with the Orpheia Allegiance the small chain of islands in the northern Sardindada will now exist as a Protectorate of the Libertus Wing.

A full map of the Sardindadas.

New territorial borders of the Jandii Archipelago.

The sparsely populated Jandii Archipelago will now be considered sovereign territory of the Libertus Wing. Laborers from the nearby city of Sambala will be sent to help the new colonists settle the Jandii into a land that will be productive and prosperous.

(100 p.n.) Orpheia Allegiance Folklore - Unten Den Kirsten

The Story of Unten Den Kirsten  or  "The Sad Girl Kirsten"  was brought over by the original settlers of what is now the Orpheia Allegiance  The story starts with a family of three, a wife, a husband, and their daughter Kirsten. The Husband is called to fight in the wars, but refuses to answer the call. After the war the militias come to the families home to exact vengeance on what they see as a coward,  as they drag the father from the home and move to cut the wife's throat. The girl Kirsten offers herself to the militia in the stead of her parents and the militia take the crying girl away from her family.  Rather than killing Kirsten the militia leader is so inspired by the little girl that he adopts her for his own and raises her in the honor of a son. She grows to much glory in her kingdom, but every victory comes with an aura of sadness and listlessness for Kirsten.  The story will at times end there,  other renditions will continue with Kirsten either being reunited with her parents, slain by her enslaved father in a far off battlefield in a quirk of fate,  and even sometimes bringing a sense of happiness and closure to the girl-warrior's story as she becomes an arch-duchess and forms her own family. The ending will usually change from region to region and teller to teller. With the modern re-telling's often omitting the adoption and simply killing Kirsten.  In any sense the main idea of the folk tale is to stress the importance of heeding the call-to-arms and taking responsibility for ones own actions. While a usually dark tale, the veiled message of unity of arms and adherence to a system of crime and punishment, although a barbaric one, is a leading cause to the cultural identity of the Orpheia Allegiance which helps to form the glue that holds the often at odds states that make it up in a suspension of mutual cultural unity that keeps them from constant civil war,  in addition of course to political and economic concerns.
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A note on "Classica Orpheian Linguistics"

The basic linguistic form of Orpheian uses a base of simple root words that are usually 3 to 4 letters in length and a series of prefixes that are added to form more complex words, with a small section of conjunctions, such as "Den"  which, depending on their distance on a written page,  or time passed since the base word-prefix was uttered,  is either a verb or  the word "the".

so for instance in the phrase  "Unten Den Kirsten"

"Un"  is the prefix, meaning  the opposite of in this instance

"ten"  is the base word, which means literally in common tounge  "excited feminine child"

therefore the combination of Un and ten means "sad girl"  or the "Not Happy feminine child"  and "Den" placed as it is approximately 1cm away from the original phrase means "the"

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Of the Exotic Near West

THE GREAT BURNZINED SULTANATE

     The largest and most powerful land in the Near West is undoubtedly the Burnzined Sultanate. Its name stems from the ruling Sultan, Mezhemet the II of the long standing Burnzined dynasty. His family has sat on throne for more than twenty generations. The Sultanate has existed as an absolute monarchy since the unification of the realm under Gazim the Magnificent. The Sultanate is united by two things, the common belief in the Creator of Mankind, and the belief that the Sultan is his messenger on this plain. Sultan Gazim the Magnificent was able to unite the different kingdoms that make up the Sultanate today by proving his divine sovereignty through conquest. Since that time the Sultanate has been relatively peaceful, suffering only intermittent bouts of war with their Northern neighbors the Kingdom of Kashkar.

     Despite the peaceful history of the Burnzined Sultanate, the kingdom has always maintained a standing army of a significant strength known as the Jamayzhed. The policy stems from one of Gazim the Magnificent's decrees. The standing army of the Sultanate is comprised of orphans who after being sold to the Sultanate as slaves must spend their entire life as soldiers until they are killed in service or become too feeble to perform their duties. The system has endured the many reforms and technological developments with little change.

     In more recent years a system for levying troops has come to be in order to augment the standing army and ensure that the Northern border remains secure against ever mounting attacks from Kashkar bandits. Most levy troops are drawn from the farmers and foresters who populate the central Sultanate. These men are paid a sum of one ducat per year of service and rarely serve more than two years. While not as well trained as the Jamayzhed they are more easily replaced and often armed with more modern arms. It is likely that these levies will be needed more and more in the future.

A levy soldier armed with an
arquebus.

     The peace provided by the strong armies of the Sultanate have allowed trade and farming to flourish within the kingdom. The lands are fertile and starvation is not common among those able to work. Trade is taxed heavily but the revenues collected are often reinvested into the towns and cities of the Sultanate. This has resulted in most cities being large, clean, and filled with state sponsored schools and hospitals. A high value is placed on education and classical knowledge, but technology is not quickly adopted in the lands of the Sultanate. Most cities boast engineering colleges but those engineers are put to work maintaining and enlarging buildings, not inventing unusual contraptions. Gunpowder is widely accepted by the population of the Sultanate, however most Jamayzhed refuse to arm themselves with it seeing it as a way to wrap ones physical weakness in alchemical strength.

     One notable exception to the Burnzined aversion to technology is the Sultan's War Balloon Fleet. Having been established under Sultan Mustafah the Mad the airborne ships proved invaluable in repulsing the attacks of the Sardindada Pirates. Every year the victory over the pirates is celebrated across the Sultanate with the release hundreds of small balloons from the many coastal towns and cities.

     It's unclear what the future holds for the Burnzined Sultanate. The Sultanate has been threatened more and more by outside dangers, and during the reign of the previous Sultan Bahram the Lethargic most diplomatic efforts were halted as a cost cutting technique. His nephew and ruling Sultan Mezhemet the II has made several efforts and expanding the Sultanates foreign influence and trade. It is even whispered that he may have designs on conquering nearby lands in a bid to restore some of his families lost honor. If this is true the Sultanate might be headed for a long and turbulent reign under the young Mezhemet the II.

THE HARDY MEN OF THE KASHKAR MOUNTAINS

     The other notable land in the Near West is the Kingdom of Kashkar. Who the reigning king of the Kashkar is depends on who you ask. In the Northern Kashkar Dahbis Zandri proclaims himself the King and is widely supported, while in the Southern Kashkar Zibmeht the Blood Sodden rules with an iron fist. Within the lands of the Burnzined Sultanate they say that the men of the mountains have no true king and that they are little more than bandits. All this aside the Kashkar people are fierce warriors determined to govern themselves and their homeland as they see fit.

     Unlike the Sultanate to their South the Kashkar have no god, they instead see the natural world as simply a place to inhabit. They believe themselves no different than the animals that live beside them. This extreme difference is belief is often a source of conflict between the two peoples. They view war and crime as legitimate enterprises and good ways to elevate oneself from poverty, this also creates much conflict for the people of the Kashkar Mountains.

     The Kashkar Mountains are arid and difficult to farm, but their are a few valleys famed for their fertility and blessed with fast flowing rivers. These rare environments are highly prized and often the sight of conflict among the Kashkar people. The towns that exist in these valleys are guarded by civilian militias and usually swear allegiance to a local warlord or King. In this time of unrest it is not uncommon for a town to be sworn to both King Zandri and King Zibmeht in the hopes of staving off attack.

A Kashkar footman.

     The poverty of the Kashkar people makes their views towards technology pointless. Even if they wanted to embrace the new inventions of the day they simply don't have to means to make or buy them. It is not uncommon however for particularly successful bandit chiefs to have some or most of their men armed with firearms, but these are undoubtedly loot acquired from unlucky merchants or Sultanate troops.
     It is certain that there will be more conflict between the people of the Kashkar Mountains and the Burnzined Sultanate, but whether this is the result of banditry or a Sultanate invasion is unclear. Only the passage of time and the shedding of blood will spell the fate of these two kingdoms.

Guillton Merchantdom 

The Guillton Merchantdom has existed since the earliest years of what they refer to as the realm 

though not always a power trade might they are now.

It, like most other factions, started small first being a semi-nomadic caravan village that traveled the entire expanse of the golden brush, the only faction known to have done this to date. The first family to establish dominance over the caravan and form the style of government that would become the Merchantdom was the Vileploons, a family of hard working lumber jacks, this giving guillton it first big break into the trade world being at the time all starting nations required vast amounts of lumber to build with and none had seen as much of the golden woods as the ,Vileploon Merchantdom. 

the Guillton Merchantdom has not always held the Guillton name as you have gathered from the passage above, this is because periodically the ruling family will change due to either some sort of political upheaval, dyeing out of a family line or means of assassination, whatever the means the jest is the same the ruling family does not stay forever.

After the Vileploon families reign ended the rule of the merchantdom passed through several family hands not all of which were ever pertinent the most notably one following the Vileploon however was the Rudion family whoms main interest was ores, jewels, and metal working. this being important due to the Rudion family ruling during a time of war for the realm creating yet another form of trade that the Merchantdom that they would come to have total control over the deal making here in the realm.

The next most notably family being the Tortrikon which ruled duringone of the longest times of peace for the realm. They believed strongly in "pleasure over pain" so they became quite knowledgeable of items of ecstasy such as drugs and tools of a "sexual" nature and of course in the selling of the flesh. Though viewed as the least morally inclined family it is perhaps this family that would do the most to cement the Merchantdoms position in the world as the central hub of all trade for the realm.

And finally the currently ruling family the Guillton whom came to power by means of a small battle with the family preceding them the Douconies in the conflict know as "the fields of bloody doves" the battle takes it name from the crest of the Douconies family being a dove. as we know now the Guillton won however we were unaware to what degree, they slaughtered the entirety of the Douconies family in a well coordinated assassination plot, in which the main body of the family and its underlings were killed on the battle field and the heads of the family were killed in varied ways back in the city during the conflict in the golden fields. A fterwards the Guillton took power and taking the ideas of the past three major ruling families made up the new system of trade goods and bartering permanently sealing the Merchantdoms place as the trading might of the realm for the decades to follow.