Humans
Hairless Apes, as the many races like to call them. Humans are sapient primates that have always been driven into conflict with each other. Their culture comes from feudal ties, though unification was brought after the Blood Curse ravaged their homeland of Tregaron. Most of Humanity is also now united beneath the Faith Keepers, with a few exceptions.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
Kingdom of Mordencrast
The Kingdom of Mordencrast is one of the three great kingdoms that managed to survive through the feudal era. It controlled most of the eastern side of Tregaron, and was mostly known for its strategic position of being nestled between a coastline and a mountain chain. Mordencrast itself was the only passage that allowed people to safely navigate around the mountains to the opposite side of the island, which lead to the nobles levying tributes of other passing nations and mercenaries. This profit lead to Mordencrast prospering heavily, and in time, it grew to be one of the strongest nations during the feudal era. Whilst it was the first to rise, it was also the first of the three to truly collapse due to the vampiric nobles feeding upon the poisoned blood of the peasantry. Mordencrast is now a shadow of its former glory, left as a haunted wood with long-lost ruins that bear only the scars of its past.Kingdom of Vilstrung
Like Mordencrast, the kingdom of Vilstrung carries a dark past brought by its former vampiric masters. Unlike Mordencrast, however, the kingdom mostly recovered, becoming a small vassal state under the control of the Slayer's guild. Vilstrung is still widely considered a holy site due to its involvement with the city of Hagensport, which served as the primary port pilgrims took to sail off to the distant kingdom of Llyne. Vilstrung is a colder, harsher place, taking up most of the far northern half of Tregaron and was thus seen as a harsh place to be for most travelers. This, ironically, worked in the Villish people's favor. Vilstrung is also known for having a long lineage of warrior-kings. Their rulers were unlike many others, acting as supreme generals that joined the battlefield along with their subjects. Unfortunately, that legacy fell when the last King, Alaric von Hagen, died during the crusades.Kingdom of Ignan
Ignan is the last standing kingdom from the feudal era, and is often shunned or even eschewed by the Church due to their esoteric practices. While they remain faithful to Aine, most of Ignan is known for the dangerous practice of Devilbinding, an art that brings forth demons and forces them into servitude. They are also fond of darker magics, with their once-great ruler, Vespasian. Vespasian's conquest is known for being one waged through an army of the dead, which rose up to slaughter and assimilate any that stood in their path. It ended when Vespasian shattered the relic necessary to bind the army to his will, leading to them all melting into the ground. The Vanks assert he did this in order to prevent his power from falling into the wrong hands.Kingdom of Llyne and the Faith Keepers.
Llyne still stands as one of the last remaining kingdoms from the feudal era, even if it was created to leave war-torn state of their nation before. Llyne itself is the name of the kingdom that the Faith Keepers rule over, and while their rule extends to influence the human's ancestral homeland of Tregaron, it remains primarily under their jurisdiction.The Slayer's Guild
Created from a rift left within the Faith Keepers, the Poorfellow's Beast Slayer Guild was created during the Mordencrast conspiracy after a member of the Faith Keepers believed the persecution lead during the crusades were far too harsh. The guild was established solely to hunt vampires at first, but later grew to hunt and seek out the vile beasts that rose to ravage the landscape. The Slayer's Guild separates itself from the Church, believing that every abled body man or woman of any race capable of facing off the beasts and monstrosities rising from the world were welcome to the guild. The Slayer's Guild is later took control of Tregaron, establishing a base that grew into a walled off city at the northern center of the isle. While the curse has long since waned, the Slayer's Guild resolved to to act as sentinels, keeping an ever watchful gaze over the threat of the Blood Curse. Vampirism, surprisingly, while looked at with apprehension, has grown to be accepted among the Slayer's Guild due to Ignan's acceptance, so long as certain stipulations are kept between parties.Major Language Groups and Dialects
King's Torman: The universal human language, also called the common tongue. It was once the language used by Mordencrast, but later developed into the common tongue in time.
Villish: A language developed through Vilstrung, though mostly 'dead' due to the Church's use of the common tongue.
Vank: The Vank language was developed throughout Ignan, and is known for using bits of slang brought from the Abyssal tongue.
History
Mankind is an old race, though they've long been greatly divided due to their feudal nature. Most of mankind was once isolated upon a single isle of Tregaron, which was sectioned by multiple feudal estates that owned kingdoms and fiefdoms separate from each other. These kingdoms fought frequently, leading to many humans living in modern societies referring to this time as the 'Feudal Fuckpit'.
Feudal Era
Often greatly divided from the current era, the Feudal Era is one built upon strife and conflict. Tregaron's fields were often soaked in blood and left desolate from the countless battlefields marking the landscape. These times are often what many humans call the Dark Ages. The isle was fragmented, split into countless kingdoms lead by multiple lords vying for control. Conflict cycled throughout Tregaron, and between that, brigands and mercenaries formed roving warbands to profit off the endless wars that ravaged the landscape.The Great Pilgrimage
Sweeping across the lands of Tregaron was a faith and belief of a divinity named Aine, a creator God that had grown in popularity across the common men throughout feudal landscape of Tregaron. This faith promised to unite mankind together under one banner, casting strife, misery, and tension aside and forever raising mankind from the bloodied ashes of their feudal kingdoms. During this time, a Villish general named Svallin promised to unite mankind and deliver them away from their blood soaked land. Svallin raised a holy order of peasant-knights, using the funding he had earned in his service as a general to bring together a band of warriors beneath a new roving banner called the Faith Keepers. This budding organization lead a mass exodus away from Tregaron, where they were believed to to inevitably meet landfall that would be the deliverance from the woeful lands of their bloodstained home. The exodus had, surprisingly, proved successful, leading them into what Svallin had named the Promised Land. The Promised Land was later named Llyne, which became the grand capital for the Faith Keepers. Much to their delight, many of the land was left uninhabited by life, allowing the pilgrims to stake their claim in the new world and begin a new kingdom that would be united beneath one banner. After a long voyage of feeding on rats, sleeping to rickety floorboards, and apprehension of monstrous sea beasts, they had finally reached landfall at the edge of Llyne. This lead to a further exodus. Many had learned of Svallin's success in landing in new lands, prompting many faithful to Aine to flee for a port protected by the Villish-- the Villish fiercely protected the harbor from any invader that would dare stop the exodus from happening, leading to Llyne only growing further in size. In time, Llyne became its own country, separate from the woes and whims of the nations overseas.The Three Kings
In time, three kingdoms formed a pact. Thanks to the strategic positioning they held, they managed to swiftly close in on all rival nations. In time, this lead to the unification of all three kingdoms, leaving them caught in a ceasefire. Vilstrung controlled the entire north, Ignan the east, and Mordencrast the west. An uneasy peace fell across the once feudal states, leaving the three kingdoms holding a truce that began an entirely new era for mankind.The Mordencrast Conspiracy
Elves have always been a part of Tregaron, and likewise mingled closely with human society. They formed elite mercenary bands, renown for their mastery over magic and knowledge of druidic arts -- and most importantly, their immortal lifespans. Elves were renown for that above all else; and humans coveted this power. Fearing that the Elves would one day outlast all of humanity, the three human lords conscripted the Elves to provide their secret of immortality. Most do not know of why or how this happened, many still claim that the Elves betrayed humanity that day. Some believe that it was the Elves being forced to conduct a ritual that they would later come to regret, but the ritual invariably lead to the curse of vampirism to plague the noble houses. These houses had hid their vampiric nature for many years after, until the blood curse later rose to ravage the countryside of Mordencrast. This curse not only left the landscape filled with monstrous beasts, but revealed the vampiric nature of the nobles that ruled the country of Mordencrast. In time, more nobles were soon discovered to have been corrupted by not just vampirism, but the blood curse as well. This lead to a crusade held by the Faith Keepers that remained within Llyne, with the kingdom of Llyne later sending support to guide citizens in a second exodus whilst they brought able-bodied men to rout the vampiric influence-- And subsequently, drive out every Elf that they deemed responsible for their involvement with vampiric curse.The Crusades
The Crusades in on themselves are a whole other subject, but consist of a series of long, sprawling battles throughout all of Tregaron. The Faith Keepers scoured the landscape for any source of vampirism, later leading the desperately pushing aside any Elf that they blamed for the crimes that were committed against mankind. Elves were eventually driven out of Tregaron by the time the crusades were done, but it all ended with one last conflict. Ignan broke support with the Faith Keepers, and later lead a surprise attack upon their hold. This lead to a massacre that still haunts the shores of Mordencrast to this day, and more importantly, lead to the Faith Keepers halting the crusade shortly after Ignan declared its independence. Now, humanity is left within two places. Either those that managed to flee to Llyne to live a life under the Faith Keepers rule, or those that stayed behind within Tregaron, living within a war torn shadow of itself, now finally left to heal under the control of one of the three remaining kingdoms.Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Interspecies relations with humans have grown rather common due to the recent sinking of Llyne. Adventurers from across the world now see Llyne as a melting pot of opportunity.
Despite that, there is still apprehension when it comes to interspecies relations -- especially when it comes to Elves, who are often still looked upon with derision by particularly devout members of the Faith Keepers.
Scientific Name
Homo Sapien
Lifespan
60~80 Years
Related Organizations
Related Myths
Comments