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 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.

Government

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.

Industry & Trade

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

Type

National Territory

Location under

The Ostoyan Empire