The Ostoyan Empire
East of Grey Spine Mountains, surrounded by forests
of pine and cold, pale mists, Ostoya stands in challenge
against the Bürach Empire. It’s a testament to the
magnitude of the Ostoyan threat that despite the
Empire’s extensive military, they are reluctant to wage a
full-scale invasion against their neighbor.
Ostoya is a haunted nation, steeped in necromancy
and secret, unholy pacts. Beneath the surface of the land
lies a vast sunken metropolis, the City Below, through
which untold hordes of undead roam and often reach
the surface. This undead plague has created the Crimson
Court, the vampire aristocracy that now rules the
southern province of Soma, and have thus far held all
challengers to their power at bay.
The northern border of Ostoya is similarly formidable.
Raevo is a secessionist province that has defied the
Crimson Court with the help of powerful allies: the
mages of the Ravencourt Sanctuary and the undead
hunters of the Order of Dawn.
Despite their efforts, the wilds of Ostoya still teem with
undead that boil up from the City Below. Its necrotic pow-
er has covered the skies with black clouds that block sun-
light. And after sunset, Ostoya is even more dangerous.
Points of Interest
The Ravencourt Sanctuary
Miles from the Raevan shore, a permanent blanket of fog called the Mistwall obscures the horizon. This is the first line of defence of the island that holds the Ravencourt Sanctuary. Little is known of the Sanctuary itself, and the mages who return from it will not be drawn into discussing it. All that historians have gleaned is that the Sanctuary is an academy and haven for mages. Some mages have alluded, with a longing sigh, to its vast libraries filled with tomes and spellbooks, or its laboratories with all manner of instruments primed for magical experimentation. Then they catch themselves and fall silent once more. Until now, none have been able to uncover the secrets of the Sanctuary. Yet every seven years, like clockwork, a boat comes through the Mistwall bearing those who have graduated from the academy. Invitations to others deemed worthy are given out as well, and the boat bears them away. Those who, by accident or design, end up in the Mistwall without an invitation wind up hopelessly lost in the fog. If they linger within, they are soon beset by monstrous sea serpents. The sheer number of broken ships that wash up at the Dire Shore stands as a testament to the dangers of the Mistwall.The Black Mire
In the eastern portion of Ostoya, near the Dire Shore, a forest of aspens, willows, and oaks give way to fetid wetlands full of slow-moving, brackish water. The Black Mire has not been thoroughly explored. Most cartographers are forced to turn back due to the treacherous terrain, bad weather, illness, or swamp monsters that accost them as they travel. Many an adventurer has met their end in the swamp’s murky embrace. Stories persist that covens of hags dwell within the far reaches of the swamp, and that they are willing to make bargains with those who come searching for them. One must beware when dealing with hags, however—often the payment they demand issomething one is not willing to part with.The City Below
Anyone who walks through Soma long enough will encounter a deep fissure in the earth. Those brave enough to descend find themselves in a labyrinthine ruin running throughout the land. This is the City Below, an ancient metropolis whose original name is now lost to time. Those who brave the broken streets and ruined buildings of the necropolis will find much to discover. The entire city complex lies in a massive cave system. On the cavern ceiling dwell large glowing insects that form strange constellations. The city itself is filled with ruined buildings: temples, arenas, parks, docks, even orphanages. But nothing lives in the City Below itself. A strange negative energy pervades the entire metropolis, sustaining its massive population of undead. Zombies, ghouls, wraiths, and ghasts abound—worse still dwell in its central districts. Few who enter the City Below leave it unchanged. According to legend, an ancient intelligence dwells in one particular glowing shrine somewhere in the city. This entity was responsible for turning the Soman Aristocracy into vampires. One can only speculate about what further dark designs it has for OstoyaCulture
Ostoyans are a hardy folk, having long accepted
the likelihood of a short life thanks to the ever-
present threats of war, sickness, the cold, and
the roaming undead. They value the simple
life—a hot meal at the end of a long day’s work
and a mug of mead is reward enough for the
lower classes.
Most Ostoyans are clannish, putting familial
honour and bonds above life itself. The people
suffered much under the Bürach Empire, now
many of them consider the Soman nobility
heroes for driving out the invaders. They follow
the nobility without question, with only the
secessionist Raevans as an exception.
A plethora of Seraphs have retained a foothold
across the Etharis, but in truth, Ostoyans have
faith in only one idol: Solyma, the Lady of
Vengeance. Revenge is the only true religion
in Ostoya. No Ostoyan believes in turning the
other cheek. Indeed, forswearing vengeance is
considered a weakness of character, bringing
shame and a loss of face before society. An overly
forgiving Ostoyan would surely be driven out of
town by their own family.
Visitors from other lands would do well to
acquaint themselves with local customs, and
to keep wandering eyes and hands far from the
peasants’ daughters, lest they make an enemy for
life. Even the vampiric nobility, who hold absolute
sway over the lives of the peasants, take pains not
to make their cruelty personal. For once wronged,
Ostoyans pursue retribution single-mindedly.
Folk tales and sagas abound of entire families
wiped out by disputes over land and grazing
rights. To this day, long-standing family feuds
occasionally require intercession from the
nobles themselves, to prevent further loss of
warm bodies.
History
A Land of Our Own
Ostoya was founded centuries ago by Bürach secessionists—migrants who fled the fledgling Bürach Empire’s tumultuous early days to find a more peaceful country. A nobleman named Elias Beralt led his family and followers through the treacherous passes of the Grey Spine, emerging on the other side to find a country lush with pine woods and rolling hills. He named it Ostoya, which in the ancient tongue means “Our Own.” Over the years, a loose confederation formed among the communities trying to carve a living out of the wild lands. The most successful of these became the provinces of Soma to the south and Raevo to the north. Other settlements of note include Malkovia, Fallowheart, Riven, and Voyd. The Ostoyans worked hard to tame the land, clearing forests for livestock and lumber. With the discovery of coal and precious minerals in the foothills of the Grey Spine, mining towns soon opened, followed by roads and byways. Further to the east, explorers discovered a break in the seaside cliffs that led to a natural harbour. Here they founded the coastal city of Nov Ostoya, which became the seat of the Ostoyan Aristocracy. While Ostoya was not known to have large populations of natural predators such as wolves and bears, every now and then people were known to disappear for good, often with signs of a struggle.War Against the Bürach Empire
After spending two hundred years taming its borders, the Bürach Empire turned its attention towards expansion. Since the Ostoyans were descended from the Bürach, the Empire deemed them its citizens, ordering them to pay taxes and turn over control of their mines. When the Ostoyans refused, the Bürach attacked. The Ostoyans hastily forged their arms and mustered their men. The wealth drawn from their mines allowed them to bolster their army with mercenaries such as the Free Swords. Despite this, the Ostoyans were not adept at war, having lived too many years in peace. Were it not for the natural borders of their forests and the Grey Spine, Ostoya would have been overrun long ago. Still, the Bürach gained a firm foothold in the region.The Darkfall
Two decades into the Ostoya-Bürach war, a terrible earthquake shook the Soma region. Something sinister underneath the ground was making itself known. The skies darkened over Ostoya as necrotic energy poured out of cracks in the earth. To the shock of the local populace, the fissures that opened revealed long-buried ruins. The city of Nov Ostoya had apparently been built over the bones of an ancient metropolis that had sunk beneath the earth ages ago. The Soman nobility sent expeditions to investigate these underground structures in the hopes of uncovering treasure or magical secrets that would help the war effort. Most of these groups did not return; the few that did had been reduced to stragglers, babbling hysterical tales of maze-like ruins, ravenous undead, and a dark shrine that spoke to their minds. Eventually, the missing explorers returned, though as many would soon find out, they had been changed forever. They marched with an undead horde that rose in full force into Soma. The desperate Ostoyans then found themselves caught in a war on two fronts. Stretched to breaking, the Ostoyans fell to drastic measures. A specialised company of soldiers descended into the abyss and held off the horde. Then, mages from Raevo collapsed the largest of the fissures, sealing the undead back underground. With that, the Ostoyans hoped to turn their efforts back to repelling the Bürach. But the undead, it seemed, were not finished. One year later, a strange malady began to spread among the nobility. They died only to rise again— as vampires. The undead quickly overran the government and suppressed all opposition. Then they moved against Bürach. In the winter of the war’s 25th year, the Bürach abandoned their forts in Ostoyan territory and retreated to their homeland. To this day, Ostoya and Bürach remain at war, but now as rivals of equal strength. For every step one side takes into the other’s territory, they are driven back. The two great powers stand at a deadlock. Even now the supernatural darkening of Ostoya’s sky persists. The youngest generation of the city of Nov Ostoya have never seen the sun. A perpetual night covers the whole land, only weakening to a dismal twilight near Ostoya’s borders. Indeed, the people of the neighboring Charneault Kingdom consider Ostoya to begin where the light ends—though some fear that the border is encroaching year by year.The Raevan Secession and Civil War
The knowledge that vampires had taken over the nobility created a deep schism among the Ostoyan populace. Despite efforts to suppress them, the entire province of Raevo seceded from the Aristocracy. The Ostoyans began an unusual civil war. While Raevo and Soma exchange violent skirmishes, the two sides still have a symbiotic relationship—for while Somans and Raevans hated each other, they hated the Bürach even more. Both sides took care not to annihilate a potential ally in the event the Empire should attempt a second invasion.
Founding Date
27 BR
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Leader
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Myths
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