Politics/History
Major Happenings: This section will include things that you the players know, but your characters may or may not know. They are major events in the world that are prophecied, obvious, rumored, or calculated by the wise. Many of these things will happen during the course of the game. More to come as I think of them.
1.) The Imadigo are working on resurrection magic
2.) The Arthurians are becoming united.
3.) A major war is imminent between a powerful orc clan/warlord and the imadigo and their vassal saurians.
4.) The Karthayans plan to annex the Bouan tribes.
5.) The southern faerie kingdom nears total destruction.
6.) The Eburon leaders and their school of magic are searching for some very powerful spell or magic object, long lost.
7.) There is some talk of civil strife among the dwarves to the east.
8.) It has recently become known that 3 Hag Queens (or Witch-Queens) are currently alive and well, more than ever before at one time. More surprisingly, the three seem to be at peace with one another, and have decided to each take on two apprentices.
9.) The bouans and saurians, who have long held each other in high regard, plan some sort of diplomatic ties.
The Island of Caminus: Your Island! Caminus is a medium sized island, about 250 square miles. At its western edge, in an excellent natural harbor, sits the city, Amoris. The island has a mountainous spine at it's center, where there is an excellent mine for base metals: the mine is the property of Lord Cimon, the ruler of the island, although its administration is left to the merchant Hassan El'Hajjaj. Although not of noble lineage, El'Hajjaj is considered among the nobility on account of his fantastic wealth.
The shores of the island are, as a rule, well suited for ships, and as such, several coastal villages exist, host to the non-city population. In these villages, sustenance is 1/3 fish, 1/3 farming, and 1/3 herding/hunting/gathering. The interior of the island is heavily forested, and the forest has a prodigious bounty of game, hardwoods, and other resources. Lord Cimon, breaking with his forebears, has set aside every 7th day as a day where all men may hunt in the forest. The deep forest, on the eastern edge of the mountain, is said to be home to a small conclave of faeries, that once troubled the villages from time to time, but in the last generation, the great warrior Tom b'dail, called The Fool, sought them out while on Caminus and since then they have kept to themselves. They are only known to remain by the small gifts they leave at the castle every time a member of the Cimon line bears a child.
The northern edge of the island is relatively flat and used for farming, while the southern edge slopes steeply into the mountain, and hosts primarily grapes and olive trees. Overall, the island can sustain itself, but given the fame of Amoris, it has little need to.
Not far to the west is a smaller island by the name of Caminulus.
The fame of Amoris derives from the Cult of Regina Camini there. The Goddess of the Forge is a deity who has been honored for many generations on the island: Caminus has extensive forests that grow rapidly, so that it has had, until recent times, sufficient resources for charcoal to run the forges.
It is said that when the island was settled, none of the tools the people made would stay intact. Then, the daughter of the chief at that time had a vision from the goddess, telling her that she should work the iron. Her father permitted it, and, having realized that on the isle of the goddess only women might forge metal, they flourished: for under the blessing of the goddess, the women smiths of the island made the best tools in the isles. But greatest of the smiths were, and are, the priestesses of the goddess. 7 in number, there are six priestesses and one high priestess.
The tools forged on Caminus are sold at significant profit to traders that come from all over the isles, and it is this that is the island's main export. Chief imports are charcoal, wood (for charcoal), and iron ore. Much of the island's industry revolves around supporting the many smiths in the main city: in fact, the most powerful guild (smiths do not have a guild: their concerns are represented by the holy temple) is that of the charcoal burners, who also, by divine right form the attendants to the priestesses. Because of Amoris' brusk trade, it has now become a trading hub for all manner of other goods, helping the city flourish further. As such, the second most powerful guild is the merchant's guild: their influence is heightened by the presence of a sea elf trade embassy on the island, a very high honor only bestowed in the time of the current Cimon monarch.
Amoris has a population of perhaps 15,000, of which perhaps 1,500 are foreigners at any given time. The rest of the island has perhaps another 15,000. The high degree of urbanization is due to Amoris' role as an industrial and trade center: the population is overall very high due to the bounty of the island and the wealth accumulated through trade.
The priestesses of the Goddess of the Forge reside in a temple in a valley above Amoris that looks out over the harbor. The temple compound is well constructed, surrounding the central temple with a wall, dormitories, and six forges, where the six priestesses forge items. These items are of the most exquisite quality and are highly sought after by the nobility of the isles, and even further abroad. The temple is primarily sustained by the sale of such items. Auspicious sales were, previously, determined by a council of Attendants and the High priestess, but in recent times the latest high priestess has taken more and more of this responsibility on herself.
Although in ancient times, the high priestess worked the great forge in the main temple, it has been a long time since this was the case. The high priestess was originally marked through the auspices by the goddess, but such marks were often more than a lifetime apart: furthermore, the high priesthood is an important position in Caminusian politics, and as such it was desirous for the nobility to gain a monopoly on it. As such, a young royal lady with close auspices is selected for the position and guided in her role by her attendants. the six priestesses are still drawn from all over the island, although this decision is largely influenced by politics as well.
Everything has changed in this generation, however. Fifteen years ago, rumor began to spread of a child in one of the villages who was marked by the auspices of the Goddess. The rumors grew into a movement, and the child was brought to the temple, where the auspices were taken again, confirming that the girl was marked by the goddess. As such, for the first time in twenty generations, the priestess was not of royal blood. This was not all that was about to change.
The new priestess, shrugging off convention, worked avidly at the forge, showing remarkable skill at it. As she grew, she showed herself to be willful and independent, significantly reducing the influence of the Attendants in the high temple. At the age of 15 she forged her first sword, a masterwork of craftsmanship presented to Lord Cimon's son and the immediate envy of all the royal youths. With this, her position and fame were secured, and visits to the temple for blessings and requests for manufactured items increased fivefold.
Island Culture
A brief note on the auspices: At birth, a child has a sky sign, depending on the time of their birth, an earth sign, which depends on the place (forest, city, coast, island, etc: many of these overlap in many areas), and a spirit sign, which is usually determined through the locally preferred form of divination. Although the names for the signs vary, they are similar throughout the isles and in several of the larger kingdoms (notably Csara, Imadigo, Karthay, and Arthuria). Other cultures have similar auspices, but they vary enough that a notable scholar is needed to draw out the corresponding meanings.
In the central isles, it is believed that very similar auspice signs make for increased compatibility between people. At this time, this is more strongly followed in rural or boorish/superstitious areas, but there is a very strong belief that identical Spirit signs between two (or more) people that actually meet suggest intertwined or connected destinies. Identical Auspice signs are, well, very auspicious.
