Rilumir (meaning "Moon's Gleam" in its native language, Rilumic) is one of the continents of Myzelis, located near the equator in the southern hemisphere. Its leylines were cultivated around the beginning of the Age of Clarity with the arrival of the Dirmek people. Since then, many waves of peoples have settled the region, giving rise to a great number of states and empires to feud over the land.
Geography
Rilumir has a wide variety of biomes, ranging from desert to tropical forests to frigid taiga. The islands surrounding the main landmass to the west, north, and east are primarily tropical and densely forests. The mainland stretches between two major mountain ranges, the Mrazily in the west, and the Bulutai in the east. Most of the coastline is tropical to temperate rainforest, while further inland are plains. The center of the continent features the Kibrati Desert, one of the largest known deserts in the world. Almost the entirety of Rilumir is surrounded by seas, except for its connection to the Varlheim Mountains in the southwest, which fade into the Brume.
Fauna & Flora
Rilumir's many and vast biomes give it incredible biodiversity, and millennia of magical phenomena and experimentation has significantly added to the list. There are many "spliced" or "hybrid" creatures along the lines of the Owlbear, such as the Bull-Cat, Hound-Drake, Turtle-Duck, Squirrel-Toad, and Ostrich-Horse. It has also been observed that creatures common to several regions alongside Rilumir that are normally seen as combinations of multiple distinct creatures tend to have more varied appearances, such as owl-headed griffins.
The Great Dokme Jungle in the east is home to uncounted types of creatures, and is noted for its number of large insects and amphibians. Comparatively large semi-sapient ants, called Acromyr, live in tree-bound colonies growing fungi and competing with each other and other species for territory and food. Massive plants, some with limited sentience and dangerous to humanoids, lurk in the shadows of larger trees. The many expansive river deltas of Rilumir are home to a large number of amphibious species not known elsewhere, particularly aquatic creatures that are capable of traversing land for a limited time. Each of the mountain ranges of Rilumir has a dominant large flying predator; the Mrazily feature many Wyverns, the Bulutai is host to many Griffins, and the smaller Urtemen range between them is home to many Rocs who use it as a seasonal roost. Lastly, the tropical islands to the northwest of Rilumir as well as the forested badlands to the far south are home to "Terror Lizards" known to some as dinosaurs.
History
During the Age of Stone, the area that would become Rilumir was home to Inaethri that sought to circumvent the Brume through massive engineering projects, several of which last to the present. One of the most prominent is the artificial plateau called Tashtep, sometimes referred to as "The Island in the Plains," which splits the Jieshi River in eastern Rilumir. Speculation about its purpose ranges from trying to make a home for Aethri above the mists, to being a massive arcane waterwheel to power other projects, to being a foundry for the creation of the titanic golems which dot modern Rilumir, and more besides. Artifacts of its intended purpose are hard to come by, disappearing before modern archaeology could investigate, and leaving behind massive caverns. Even more colossal in scale is the tunnel network of the Derinyol, which spans the upper Underdark of central Rilumir between the Mrazily and Bulutai mountain ranges. It is theorized that the Derinyol was an attempt to carve out a space below the Brume as both a living space and a fast-track between the leylines crossing the continent. That neither of these mega-structures ultimately kept out the Brume is believed to be the cause of the end of the Age of Stone and the beginning of the Mortal Era in Rilumir. In their frustration, the region's Inaethri are likely to have scoured the structures of their purpose, both to safeguard the new mortal races from temptation, and to hide their own failings.
Recorded history in Rilumir begins in the Age of Clarity, 10,800 years before the Age of Invention (BAI). The Dirmek people were what remained of the Aethri who had toiled in Rilumir during the Age of Stone, and their presence cultivated the area's leylines to suit their interests. They took control of the golems their ancestors had created, now known as the "Yurtesh," and began to migrate across the region to explore what had been left behind for them. It was in this time that the Enigma Conclave was founded as a way to preserve what knowledge remained of the past, and to document the re-exploration of the world. Their influence has shaped every new group that came after them to inhabit Rilumir, creating a framework of cultural understanding that made it possible for the leylines to stay cohesive, particularly in the form of the common Rilumic language and pantheon.
In time, more mortal peoples entered into Rilumir. By around 8000 BAI, the Shan civilization had coalesced around the Tashtep plateau, and quickly spread across the river systems of the east, meanwhile the Esgili civilization was thriving in the river valleys of the central Kibrati Desert. Both cultures were fond of constructing great ziggurats to both honor and rival those who had come before them, leading to two divergent religious traditions that have shaped the rest of Rilumic history. The Shan honored their Aethri forebears who had endured the trials of the Brume, particularly those who made efforts to maintain communication and unity, giving rise to the Witnesses of Trinen, a church that de-emphasizes the importance of the Inaethri as little more than guides or tricksters to those who would follow a righteous path. The Esgili established their own pantheon based on the elements and the omens of the stars, known as the Zanin, which are appeased with sacrifices of worldly goods.
By the year 4000 BAI, the Khazmag had formed out of the wandering traders and mountain peoples between the Shan and Esgili in the Bulutai Mountains, the Janeki were living in rural hamlets across the western forests and mountains, the Masinto had begun to herd great hosts of cattle across the grasslands of the southeast, and the Zamlisch started to gather into walled communities surrounding the Abglanz Sea. Local disputes in the east of the continent over access to rivers and trade routes led to war between tribes, culminating in the formation of the Empire of Quanhe in 3000 BAI, the first regime in Rilumir to extend its control through force over foreign lands. Through conquest and intimidation, the Quanhe rulers dominated most of the continent east and north of the Bulutai Mountains, carving great canals between the major river systems of the land in order to cement their control. After two centuries of rule, a coalition of subjugated peoples and rival states formed to topple the empire, but in the aftermath chaos reigned for nearly six hundred years.
Legends claim that in 2500 BAI, the union of the Summer Fey Minhuy Rootgrace and the Black Dragon Vohdin Tidebreaker created the Kingdom of Denglong out of the disgruntled peoples of the northern deltas, whose princes extended their control across roughly a third of Rilumir through the assistance of Fey Courts and revered dragons. The status quo they setup saw the creation of many small states dependent on the central court but who maintained limited local sovereignty, and the Deng peoples became those who followed in these mythic footsteps. The scheming of court members would cause the Denglong to collapse by the year 1800 BAI, after which several of the larger successor states competed between one another for primacy for eight hundred years, with intermittent periods of stability and warfare. Around 1000 BAI, the ruling dynasty of Iskandar established the Ranisharid Empire by conquering most of the lands west and south of Denglong, which required constant military campaigns to uphold. In 500 BAI, the Ranisharid Emperor began paying retired soldiers in land rather than gold, which would eventually lead to the settlement of the Martelais people in the islands west of Rilumir, the Wuapo'e people in the islands north of Rilumir, and Valcian people between the Abglanz and Denglong.
The final major culture to name Rilumir its home before the piercing of the Brume were the Giant clans of the Varlings, who arrived in the year 550 AI. At first serving as mercenaries for the Ranisharids, they determined that the "Smallings" (as they call most creatures of lesser stature than a newborn Giant) of Rilumir were just as vile as the ones who had slighted their beloved ancestor, and made a show of devouring the court of the emperor before using him as the target of a rock-throwing contest. The shock and loss of so many notables by one of the empire's most powerful groups of soldiers led to its rapid dissolution, and a power vacuum that would cause seven hundred years of strife as regions that had been dependent on imperial authority for centuries struggled to reassert themselves. Several states that would be recognizable to modern Rilumir have their roots in this era, including the Varling Triarchate, the Riatan Republic, and the Zamlisch Confederation. A further succession of empires followed, starting with the Liaoji Empire from 1300-1780 AI that sought to restore the primacy of the city of Quanhe, then the Empire of Rodezon from 1870-2130 AI whose expansion ignited religious feuding between the Zanin minority rulers and their subjects, and finally the Etanid Empire from 2140-2790 AI who at first began as a more moderate Zanin religious authority that the disgruntled Rodezon Empire's subjects could turn to, but whose rule eventually radicalized into theocracy. Once again, a large continent-spanning coalition of discontents joined forces to topple an empire, and for their tyranny, Zanin religion was banned by many states, its texts condemned to the pyre, and its adherents forced to convert or exiled.
A period of relative peace and stability followed the violent collapse of the Etanids, as the previously subjected peoples breathed a collective sigh of relief. A shared sense of newfound freedoms led to thriving trade and cultural ties. For over four hundred years, the states of Rilumir worked together to keep conflicts small. There was still competition and hardship between them, but no one wanted to be the spark that would set off the next continent-spanning war or cruel imperial regime. In 3210, a series of horrific natural disasters rocked the continent that ruined the new status quo. Colossal tidal waves battered the coasts, fierce storms with wind speeds able to rip a house off its foundations tore through the lowlands, massive firestorms turned forests and hillsides to cinder, and terrible earthquakes buckled buildings and rent fissures in the ground, exposing the Derinyol to surface-dwellers for the first time since the Age of Stone. On top of the elemental destruction and its lingering effects, the new exposure to the Underdark led to a new era of terrible monsters laying waste to the countryside everywhere. The Khazmag were the most displaced by this, and so began to rally those who were able to fight back. Communities across Rilumir called out for help, and many answered. As the threat of monsters was pushed back, however, squabbles over now-limited resources surfaced, and the conflicts of old mixed with the needs of the present to brew more conflicts. In short order, petty tyrants rose to grab what was left of the still-reeling world, fueling their wars with promises of food and safety. With their homes mostly destroyed by the winds and earthquakes, and their aid already sought out by many people, the Khazmag vowed to restore the peace by whatever means necessary, ultimately declaring the creation of the Khazmag Khaganate in the year 3300. The next century saw bitter conflict between the states of Rilumir as the struggle to survive was joined with the struggle for legitimacy.
Now, in the year 3517, the Brume has been pierced, with fresh contact established to a myriad of civilizations. A shared Rilumic consciousness re-emerges from the legacy of the Dirmek and the centuries of little strife in response to the expansion of the known world, but to many this further cements the need to place themselves on top so they may deal with the outsiders as they wish. The Khaganate weakens as realms both young and old rise to meet it, and ancient feuds and traditions mingle with modern problems. A new age of warfare is on the horizon.
Languages of Rilumir
While many languages are known to the peoples of Rilumir, the following are the most commonly heard:
- Rilumic (Common) - The most widespread language in Rilumir, it is cultivated by the sages of the Dirmek in an effort to allow all newcomers to understand one another. Compared to other regional languages, it has a somewhat start-and-stop flow. Any player character may start with Rilumic in addition to their other languages.
- Shan - Originally spoken by the people of the “Island in the Plains” Quanhe, Shan has spread to large parts of eastern and northern Rilumir through conquest and cultural spread. Compared to other Rilumic languages, it has an airy feel to it.
- Esgili (Primordial) - Spoken by inhabitants of the central desert of Rilumir, Esgili is a language derived from Primordial, the speech of the elemental planes. It tends towards long intonations.
- Deng (Draconic, Sylvan) - A fusion of Draconic and Sylvan influences into Rilumic, Deng is a dynamic language that flows between hard and soft tones.
- Khazmag (Dwarven) - Spoken by the mountain peoples of eastern and central Rilumir, Khazmag was derived from pre-Rilumic Dwarven languages. It has many consonants with a few long vowels.
- Dirmek (Celestial) - Spoken between the Dirmek sages amongst themselves and as an introduction to Outsider languages, this derivation of Celestial combines forceful loan words with lighter and flowing Rilumic.
- Giant - The speech of the Varling Giant clans is relatively new to the peoples of Rilumir. It is guttural but controlled, and spoken best in bellows.
- Draconic - True Dragons thrive in both the wild and settled lands of Rilumir, and so their language has been preserved through the ages. It has also been found in ruins of some ancient realms who sought the favor of Dragons for their own ends. Rilumic Draconic is a deep and rumbling language where the length given to one’s words is a reflection of their temper.
Maps
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Rilumir Topography Map
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Rilumir Cities Map
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