Va-ros

Vast Land of Ancient Wonders

Tone: Descendents of lost Lemurad
Timeframe: -3000 to Present
Artifice: Low to Standard
Region: Orizia
Capital: Bai-ling (greater metropolitan area, ~450,000; city ~190,000)
Notable Settlements: Qon (province, ~750,000), Jin'g (province, ~500,000), Su-ling (province, ~450,000), Bai-go (province, ~400,000), Mu-bai (province, ~350,000), Dao-lao (province, ~230,000), Te-bi (province, ~190,000)
Government: Provincial Multi-state Hegemony
Ruler: Blessed Va-Axumi, the Most High
Races: Human (~3,200,000)
Languages: Yin (official), Lum (southern Orizia), Dai (eastern Orizia), many misc dialects
Religions: Sholush, Siligh, Solit, Sziz, ancestor spirits
Coinage: Uu (3gp), Am-uu (1 gp), La (3sp), Am-la (1sp), Bi-la (.1 sp)

Synopsis

Lemurad was once one of the three great early Human empires, and was the least ruined by the cataclysms that changed the world so long ago. Rather than the quick, violent catastrophes suffered by Nemed and Atlad, the descendants of Lemurad instead suffered a slow collapse. In Orizia the once-mighty Lemuradians split piecemeal into splinter nations and provincial inefficiency that has fueled three millenniums of warfare, the rise and fall of empires and dynasties, and engendered separate ethnicities, heritages, feuds, and old hatreds sufficient to insure that the Orizians have became shockingly insular in their perspective, so concerned with the goings on of their pocket of the world that other peoples from beyond long ago paled to insignificance.

Their ethnocentrism is so great in fact that Orizians regard outsider Humans as being nothing more than uncultured savages at best, and non-Humans as monsters or "spirit folk" who are not to be trusted. Non-humans are barely tolerated in general and are actively persecuted in some provinces.

Slightly over a century ago a more capable than usual would-be Emperor of the nation of Bai named Va-ro managed to impose at least rudimentary rule over the great majority of Orizia via a combination of warfare, diplomacy, threat, and many state marriages of his multitudinous sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews. His son and grandson further grew their purview, and a strong centralized government and cultural identity was imposed. However the individual provinces of the newly forged Empire of Va-ros are many, and while some are entirely controlled by the Va Imperium, others are effectively independent nations in all but name. Though technically unified, the hundreds of generations of past history and long memories of the Orizians insure that each province displays many subtle and sometimes not so subtle cultural differences.

Thus, the Va dynasty was formed and still stands today. The current Emperor is Va-Axumi, the great-grandson of Va-Ros, has sat the Exalted Throne in the great Imperial City of Bai-ling for less than half a decade, but has already proven to be less iron-fisted than his predecessors. Some of the more independent provinces have taken greater liberties than they previously would have dared, and the powerful houses of the ruling elite across Va-ros wield ever greater influence. The Emperor still commands the loyalty of the Imperial Legions, but provincial ties could make that prove to be a lie some day as well.

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Magic

Many Varizians worship four ancient elemental powers, referred to collectively as the Celes. They are:

Sholush, the Lady of Waves who is depicted as a human-shaped body of water and believed to thrive on dampness and motion; she is worshiped by those who make their livelihoods on the sea or lakes or rivers, merchants, and also by some farmers. Her holy color is blue.

Siligh, the Lord of the Wind who is depicted as a human-shaped cloud and is believed to thrive on happiness, joy, and good fortune; he is worshiped by those who appreciate the brighter side of life and paid homage to by virtually all during holidays and special life occasions. He is believed to be the "husband" of Sholush. His holy color is yellow.

Solit, the Lady of the Firmament who is depicted as a human shaped body of dirt and stone and thought to thrive on solidity, order, stasis, rules, and law; she is worshiped as a hearth goddess, a nature goddess, a protector, and by those who seek peaceful existences. Her holy color is green.

Sziz, the Lord of Flames, who is depicted as a human-shaped flame and thought to thrive on energy, power, and dynamism; he is worshiped by blacksmiths, warriors, some artists, and those who favor deliberate and bold action. He is believed to be the "husband" of Solit. His holy color is red.

All four Celes have formal religions with priesthoods associated with them collectively called Celesti.

Ancient Lore and mysteries hint at a fifth member of the Celes concerned with souls, death, and the unknown, but this is considered heretical by the Celesti and is actively stamped out as a dangerous falsehood.

Some of the spiritual and martial disciplines practiced across Orizia have mastered the internal arts most men call Mentalism, but which the Orizians call "Wu-shi", which loosely means Hidden Way or Inner Strength depending on context and dialect.

Some of the provinces have a strong and recognizable tradition of Alchemy.

Some black hearted folk called Tufi practice Daemonology, but they are widely regarded as unclean, evil, and despicable villains who should be opposed by the bold and upright. They operate in secrecy or as part of shadow cults.

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Details

Exports: Silk, Cotton, Fruits and Vegetables, Rice, Jade, Iron, Copper, Coal, Timber
Imports: Varies by area

The endless wars of Orizian history have lead to the development of a plethora of exotic fighting styles using a staggering array of weaponry and also unarmed styles. There are even exponents dedicated to the pursuit of different styles and there are several spiritual oriented "religions" that are often closely tied to specific warrior ethoi.

Several "houses" of assassins with different M.O.'s exist in Orizia, and are known of in more distant lands where they are sometimes employed by wealthy individuals and rulers.

The major cities and a few isolated pockets of civilization have impressive artifice, but the majority of the population lives in rural areas that are much more humble. Thus the default Artifice level for the region is Low, but the Imperium, members of greater ruling houses, and the wealthier inhabitants of key places are assumed to have the Standard Artifice perk. For a variety of reasons both economic and cultural, items of Standard artifice are quite expensive (+25% to 50% premium over normal), keeping them in the purview of the privileged. There are also some surviving ancient Lemurad relics of High Artifice here and there within Orizia.

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Adventure Seeds

We Live In Troublesome Times
Baku: Within almost all the lands of Orizia there is a secret tradition of self-avowed hero-warriors stretching back, according to legend, to far lost times before the collapse of the previous age. Any man or woman may swear an ancient and terrible oath before an altar of Yi-Yan, shedding themselves of earthly goods and concerns including all other previous oaths and loyalties and vowing to serve the will and secrecy of their enigmatic patron even unto death. In return for their dedication those who are accepted receive many blessings from Yi-Yan. The main concern of the Baku seems to be to effect a certain kind of celestial balance, righting wrongs, punishing inequities, but also acting against those who are overly blessed. Baku are rare and secretive, acting indirectly or without witnesses and if at all possible in such a way for their deeds to seem circumstantial or the effect of ill or good luck. They leave many odd mysteries in their wake, and can be used to spice up any affair. The Celesti are their natural enemies.
The Te-bi are Restless: The barbaric horse nomads of the rugged Te-bi steppe-lands have never rested easy under the yoke of Imperial rule of any flavor, and the current Va Imperium is no different. Though considered a "province" of the Empire, the Imperial tax collectors visit this realm rarely and in the company of a large armed contingent of the Imperial Guard. The worship of Yi-Yan is an open secret in this land, and the Celes are given only lip service at best.

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GMs Notes

Yi-Yan: The reputed fifth power of the Celes is actually the combined worship of the Elder Gods Ket and Voit, combined into a single half-white, half-black dual-gendered entity known as Yi-Yan, with combined Concerns of Healing, Death, Luck, Magic. Secret worship of Yi-Yan is common amongst many esoteric brotherhoods, warrior monasteries, and spiritual societies; there is also a small secret priesthood dedicated to keeping the worship of their patron quietly alive. Conceptually, this parallels the "fifth" dimension of Spirit or Void found in some versions of elementalism.

Humans