Gormengast
Gormengast is a small but influential island nation in the mighty bay known as the Mouth of Ranarim, Coreward of the Broken Empire. It is comprised of one main island, where its namesake capital of Caer Gormengast is located, and about a dozen smaller islands, all along the Voidward shore of the Mouth. It is flanked also by Oztroja to the east, The Islands of Agåntyr Coreward, and Æthermark to the west.
Caer Gormengast is one of the oldest constantly populated cities on Waking Materia and, alongside Fauregand and Kintyria-Mors, remains one of the more populated on the archipelago, numbering some 160,000 people.Imagery
See also: Gormengast Fashion & Scenery Gallery (External)The islands of Gormengast are typified by rocky crags and temperate, mixed rainforests. The way weather systems are funnelled in the Mouth of Ranarim, clouds, fog and rain are common, giving the small arc a gloomy reputation.
Caer Gormengast
The nation is named after its capital, Caer Gormengast. The city is a marvel of Meranthic architecture, and a bizarre one. At the centre of the vast fortress city is an ancient but magnificently well-pereserved castle complex, but this isn't the unusual part: building around this complex seems to have proceeded at a fevered rate for centuries, and now the island is covered with towers, bridges, baileys, arcades... sometimes even just pointless mazes, dead ends and stairs to nowhere. The height of this mess slopes gradually outward from the Central Castle Complex (CCC), making the city look cone- or pyramid-shaped from afar.
Additionally, the artistic & architectural style of the Caer changes as one moves outward from the CCC, more or less equally in all directions. Put differently, when one maps out the city by historical district, each district is an increasingly wide "donut" around the CCC.
The reason for this unprecedentedly rapid and sustained development is a favourite discussion among Gondaran and even some Lorentian historians. It is, for example, a popular Faculty in the Dai'an Assertia in Nurin. Most popular is the idea this "building boom" was the result of a policy upheld by the Echidnan Dynasty's long and stable rule: to keep the people busy with work. They likely funnelled some amount of "stimulation" funds from their vast earnings as they plundered their way across the Gamma Quadrant. Add to that the New Rozsan use of undead labourers and you could see development that fast.The Central Castle Complex
The CCC itself likely dates to Late First Age New Rozsa, a culture well-known for their appreciation for architecture. In fact there is strong speculation this district was the military seat of the great Lichlord, Colonial Demigod and supreme commander of the Volgirre, Vierix Echidna. If so, it is this island that launched one of the most feared and storied navies in Material history, who at their height declared war on the Goddess of Sea Monsters herself (a choice they wouldn't live to regret).Rule
Gormengast is ruled by a council of representatives from its various islands and smaller cities, but decisions ultimately fall on the High Commander of Caer Gormengast.Heiral von Gormengast
The island nation's current ruler is Count Heiral von Gormengast. In an official capacity, Heiral is the High Commander of the Guard of the tired, sea-beaten old fortress capital. Unofficially, the Count is poised to become one of the more powerful individuals on the continent.
Several of the Islands of Agåntyr that rim the Mouth of Ranarim have fallen under Heiral's influence through a combination of debts, blackmail and protection rackets. The same is true is two major Oztrojan banners. He’s one of the most influential opponents to the Heralds of Gondara, who seek to unite the western continent as a peaceful federation, primarily to ensure a united front against another Lorentian invasion. That said, von Gormengast opposes western unification not because of any loyalty to Jura, but because he thinks Gondara is better protected under a single, strong ruler (himself) rather than a federation of bickering, culturally disparate families. Delaying the federation as long as possible has the extra benefit of allowing him to continue his aggressive hegemony of the lands surrounding the Mouth.
Heiral doesn’t know which of the many voices in his head are his own, his absentee Sire’s or the many stolen mind-lives his Sire fed him, but what he does know is they whisper of secrets Emperor Olcadan sought to solve in his occupation of the archipelago. Such secrets belong to warriors of steel like Heiral von Gormengast, not the foppish, preening Jurans, and so he will finish what Olcadan of Dhund began.
Gormengast
Quadrant: Gamma
Continent: Gondara
Region: Mouth of Ronom inland sea, The Midlands
Population: approx. 27,000
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