Soma
The southernmost province is entirely under the thumb
of the Crimson Court, a cabal of vampires that have ruled
the land for centuries. From their capital of Nov Ostoya,
the Court projects their power across its borders, backed
with undead soldiers and necromancy.
Nov Ostoya sits at the southeastern end of the
province. A natural harbor, it was once a popular port
for trade ships. However, an Empire blockade currently
prevents most trade to and from the city, so Nov
Ostoya must do with what raw materials the outlying
towns can extract from their mountains and forests.
Nov Ostoya is a walled city, known for its tall
spires, stained glass windows, pointed arches, and
stone gargoyles. The tallest structure, Blackharbour,
is the fortress stronghold of Grand Duke Drago
Koshevek. The Karstein Market serves as a central hub
for goods and services, but one will be hard-pressed
to find weapons and armor of quality—most of these
have been co-opted by the nobles for their own armies.
Other places of note are the docks, where a local unit
of the Ebon Syndicate operates, and a small temple
devoted to Solyma, goddess of righteous vengeance.
Newcomers are warned to avoid the now-desecrated
Vosantra Cathedral. Apart from being haunted, the
Cathedral houses the Grand Duke’s greatest weapon, a
monstrous bat known as the Chiropteran Behemoth. The
Behemoth’s presence has long deterred the Bürach navy
from attempting an assault by sea on Nov Ostoya.
Soma’s wealth is concentrated in the capital; each day,
the goods from farms, workshops, forges, and fishing
boats wind up here, as do taxes from all provincial
towns. An underground economy does exist—the Ebon
Syndicate does brisk business here when it comes to
smuggling and human trafficking, but even they are
obligated to pay a cut to the nobility.
The Court’s vampiric nature is universally known by the
citizenry but never spoken of, especially not to outsiders. In
fact, despite the prodigious cloud cover blanketing Ostoya,
which allows vampires to walk about for short periods
during the day, neither the Grand Duke nor his Crimson
Court is often seen in public. Instead, the aristocrats prefer
to hold lavish masked balls every few months.
Any adventurer of high renown certainly receives
an engraved invitation to one of these gatherings. The
festivities are a form of test, a way for the nobility to see
what use they can extract from these heroes. Doubtless,
the adventurers will be asked to undertake a task in
exchange for the aristocrat’s favor. Depending on the
noble, these tasks may carry a suitable reward, but the
attention rarely ends well for adventurers in the long run.
The further one goes from the capital, the more the
wilds take over. The lush forest runs rampant along the
hills and even up the mountainsides of the Grey Spine.
One finds fortified towns with farms, lumber yards, and
mines—all mired in grinding poverty.
The Ostoyans are not ones to question their lot in
life. They remain loyal to the nobility who protect them
and their families and who keep them safe from the
dangers the Soman nights bring. And if anyone thinks of
the aristocracy as oppressive, they do well to keep that
opinion to themselves.
Structure
Soma’s is a closed aristocracy, and most of its
citizens live in grinding poverty.
The Crimson Court rules every aspect of Soma.
Even the local branch of the criminal Ebon
Syndicate does not operate without the Court’s
tacit approval, and take great care not to bite the
hand that feeds.
The Crimson Court is composed of the seven leading
nobles of Soma. While they are allies, no true
loyalty exists among the vampiric ruling class. Each
noble vies to sit at the head of the table, employing
schemes that can take decades to bear fruit.
Currently, the Court is ruled by Grand Duke Drago
Koshevek.
Assets
Soma is a feudal society. The vampire nobility
who hold Soma’s wealth have divided control
of the mines, the lumber, the craftsmen, and
the fisheries amongst themselves. Meanwhile
the human peasantry makes their living as best
they can by fishing, mining, or farming. Trade
typically flows through shipping lanes to distant
lands, though of late there has been trouble with
Bürach naval blockades.
History
When the first immigrants arrived in Ostoya, they
immediately staked out certain areas for their
own. The Volker family chose a place where the
jagged seaside cliffs gave way to a beach and a
natural harbour. It was a windblown area with
strange red earth which they assumed to be clay.
They founded the town of Nov Ostoya and raised a
keep by the restless sea.
In time, Nov Ostoya became a hub for sea trading,
fishing, and whaling. Lumberyards were erected
at the nearby forests. As the roads lengthened and
grew more developed, wealth began to flow into
the town, which soon turned into a dense city
filled with ornate towers and brooding sculptures.
Nov Ostoya came to be known as the City of
Gargoyles.
When the Bürach Empire invaded Ostoya, Soma
was at the front lines of the war. While wealthy,
their army was not as experienced as the Empire’s
seasoned soldiers, and they lost more battles than
they won. The Bürach’s encroachment into the
province grew with each passing season, before
retreating for the winter.
Matters worsened when the Darkfall led to
widespread destruction. The inciting earthquake
unearthed an ancient metropolis that the Somans
had unwittingly built over. The City Below gave
up its dead: hordes of zombies, wights, ghouls,
and vampires emerged from the abyss to ravage
the countryside.
Without drastic measures, it was clear that Ostoya
would fall to this new threat. The nobility came
up with a plan: they ordered a young Soman
captain named Morgen Hund and his company to
fight their way into the largest chasm and hold
back the tide of undead.
Hund’s company dutifully descended the crevice,
destroying scores of undead along the way. When
they had carried the battle deep into the abyss,
the Raevo wizards used their most powerful spells
to collapse the sides of the crevice, sealing both
the undead and the soldiers within.
With the horde dealt with, the nobility took one
day to honour their soldiers’ sacrifice before
turning their attention back to the Bürach.
But this was not the last they saw of
Morgen Hund.
The Ostoyan captain had survived the collapse.
He wandered deep in the underground city to
escape the undead horde. During his travels, he
found himself in a strange shrine dedicated to a
forgotten god. The shrine spoke to him, offering
him his fondest desire in exchange for his
servitude. Hund replied, “I wish for the power to
destroy my oppressors.”
The shrine glowed in the dark like a votive candle,
then struck Hund down with a blast of sinister
magic. “Granted.”
When he awoke days later, Hund had been
changed into a vampire lord. He spent the better
part of the year gathering an army of undead
before returning to the surface.
Upon emerging Hund sought the Soman nobility,
turning each one into vampires. He killed the
Grand Duke and took his place, renaming himself
Klaus Vorgen, Lord of Soma.
Once the gentry and nobility were all turned, they
formed a united front against the Bürach. Bürach
soldiers were shocked to see their dead comrades
rising from the frozen battlefield and shambling
towards them. After a single bitter season of war,
the undead forced the Bürach to abandon their
forts in Soma and return to their homeland.
After this victory, Grand Duke Vorgen continued
to consolidate his power. He established the
Crimson Court, the highest ruling body of Ostoya,
and placed his closest allies in the highest circle
of power. They ruled the land unchallenged for
years until the Raevan Secession.
To date, some small fissures to the City Below
remain open, and none really know what passes
through. Come nightfall, the citizens lock
themselves in their homes and taverns and wait
for dawn. All travellers are warned: above all, do
not wander Soma at night.
Head of Government
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