Primer: Kirinal Concordance Zone

Welcome to the Zone

Day 1 at the Kirinal Pit

You file into the cool auditorium tugging at your newly issued, uncomfortable uniform. The other recruits fill the room's high ceiling with unfamiliar smells and sounds. A high-born tiefling in a bespoke tailored uniform sneers at an unwashed Alian barbarian fresh from the snows.

The room quiets as a white-robed figure with a face carved from marble glides across the stage. It stands at one of the podiums and begins to speak in a clean, smooth voice.

Welcome sophonts to the Kirinal Concordance Zone. My designation is 20,607, refer to me as Instructor of Recruits. My pronouns are they/them. I am soulforged, a lost soul of Kirinal given a new life in this constructed body."

"I see mortals from across our world along with recruits from other planes of reality amongst you. Today you will learn how to complete your period of service and earn your citizenship amongst the Concordant."

Instructor of Recruits by Chris L

A hulking figure lurches from the other side of the stage, dressed in the pristine uniform of a Concordant Sergeant. A surly growl emerges from a mouth full of tusks and sharpened teeth.

Sgt. Kill Flayer by Chris L

Look alive Pit-Meat! I'm Sergeant Grokzaz Kill Flayer. You will call me Sergeant Kill Flayer! I'm a full-blooded orc of Borthakar. None of that watered-down half-orc pansy feculence here."

"I don't care where you come from or who your daddy is. I'm here to let you know that no matter what monstrosity crawls out of the Pit, I'll be standing behind you to make sure you don't run!"

A Summer Camp 2020 Article

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The Glossary

The Kirinal Pit

A 30-mile wide hole in reality ringed by fortresses and armies.

Kirinal Concordance Zone

The area 20 miles around the Pit is a political neutral zone.

Concordance for Survival

The political alliance that administrates the Pit and the Zone.

Days of the Week

Every day a new plane manifests in the Kirinal Pit.

Shatter

Any random plane

Elemental

An elemental plane

Shadow

The Shadowfell

Prime

A prime material world

Bifrost

The Ethereal or Astral

Faerie

The Feywild

Heaven

An Upper Plane

The Manifest

The piece of another plane that has appeared in the Pit for tht day. This is controlled by the Navigator, using the Orrery of Worlds.

Cantons

Canton is the formal term for one of the eight independent political entities that make up the Zone. They are more commonly referred to as a slice

Embassy City

The capital city of each canton.

Zone Authority

The security and law enforcement organization that controls the borders and enforces the Concordant Mandates. Their officers, Zone Authority Police are referred to as zaps.

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The Days of the Week

The days of the week are named according to the Schedule of Planes, which is controlled by the Orrery of Worlds. As each day dawns, a new plane, the Manifest, appears in the Kirinal Pit.

The Navigator of Worlds carefully plots a course through the great wheel, choosing the safest possible path for our civilization.

Elemental

Shadow

Prime

Bifrost

Faerie

Heaven

Shatter

Shatter

Day of Shatter by Chris L - Midjourney

Shatter is a day of preparation, peril, and opportunity. The Manifest is a random plane from the Wheel, or beyond. A 1-day war with hostile sophonts, an uninhabited wasteland, or an invasion of fiends are all just as possible.

Shatter's when the feculence hits the frakking fan. I love Shatter. I usually get to kill something new!

— Instructor of Recruits

Elemental

Day of Elements by Chris L - Midjourney

On Elemental, a negotiated location from one of the Elemental Planes appears. We have trade treaties with the various elemental sultans and emirs.

With access to the djinn souks, many citizens make their fortunes trading on Elemental! Perhaps you will too!

— Instructor of Recruits

Shadow

Day of Shadows by Chris L - Midjourney

A location from the Shadowfell emerges. By treaty with the Lords of Shadow, shadow denizens do not cross into our world, but our residents must be allowed to enter Shadow, if that is their desire.

No matter how good the wards are, beasties and grumkins still get through. Make sure you keep up your apotropaic practices! I just eat my adobo!

— Sgt. Kill Flayer

Prime

Day of Prime by Chris L - Midjourney

The Manifest is plucked from another crystal sphere or mortal plane. Usually, it's an uninhabited piece of wilderness. Sometimes we get ruins, or sophonts, or even whole cities.

Depending on the nature of the Manifest, we can have Days of Harvest, Trade, War, Rest, or Vigilance. We'll get into each of those.

— Instructor of Recruits

Bifrost

Day of Bifrost by Chris L - Midjourney

The Ethereal Plane and the Astral Sea alternate. Travel to any other plane in the multiverse is possible if you know the right path.

One of the quieter days of the week. We also call Bifrost the Day of Returning. It's the most likely day for lost Kirinalos to find their way home through one of the transitive planes.

— Instructor of Recruits

Faerie

Day of Faerie by Chris L - Midjourney

By treaty, the Manifest on Faerie is always the Market in the Feywild. You can find anything you want at the Market, just beware what price you pay.

Don't let the bright colors and good manners fool you, Faerie is just as dangerous as Shadow. DO NOT eat anything! You won't be able to cross the border back into the Zone!

— Sgt. Kill Flayer

Heaven

Day of Heaven by Chris L - Midjourney

The Navigator has a day of rest. The Upper Planes send a Manifest of their choosing. Over the years, we have learned that they always send the right one.

On the seventh day, a heaven Manifests. Pilgrims dwell here in the Zone just to visit Heaven once a week. The Gods themselves remain behind the Divine Gate.

— Instructor of Recruits

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Ident-a-hedrons

Your Ident-a-hedron marks you as a legal resident of the Zone. As recruits, beginning your civic or military service, your hedron should be upgraded to at least an octahedron. The color will be changed to match your canton and fortress assignment.

It is linked to your soul, so you can never lose it and it can never be stolen. Nevertheless, they can be broken with enough force or eaten by soul stealers.

Your hedrons function as identification and they can send and receive 25-word messages. They also track time, work as a distress beacon, and can replace currency. For more details, refer to your orientation package.

Box of Ident-a-hedrons by Branden L

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Cantons and Forts

The fortresses on the edge of the pit predate all the cantons/zones, the cities, and the alliances. The continued success of the fortresses protecting the world has allowed enough stability for the trade, industry, and politics to thrive. The terms canton and zone are interchangeable. The eight geographic areas are formally called cantons in the Concordance for Survival Treaty, but they are just as often referred to as zones.

Zones, cantons, political alliances... it's a bit of a mess to figure out what to call them, innit? Always remember, the fortresses came first. They are the foundation of our way of life. No fortresses? No armies? Then you don't get your fancy hedrons or crazy maharlitech and we would all be at war with each other again.

Kirinal Concordance Zone

Created to guard the Kirinal Pit. Now a hub of interplanar trade and magitech industry.

Kirinal Concordance Zone

Open full size

The Kirinal Concordance Zone was created around the Kirinal Pit to act as a buffer zone to defend against interplanar invasions. The Pit is a 30-mile hole in reality that chaotically manifests a different world or plane at random times.

Eventually, the people of Erathia tamed the Pit, setting it on a schedule so that an ordered succession of planes would appear over the Days of the Week.

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Northwest Canton

The unlikely alliance of northern tribesmen and an orcish empire defend the Northwestern Zone. In Winter's Slice these traditional enemies discovered that their fighting styles complemented each other when they were forced to fight side by side after the Kirinal Explosion. They have since become close allies and brothers-in-arms.

Northern Canton

The Northern Zone, known as the Silver Slice, is home to an assembly of mages, heroes, and lords who balance their interests to make this canton one of the richest and most vibrant in the Zone. The father of the Concordance, Chagroth Durinhelm, also known as the Navigator of Worlds plots a course through the Great Wheel using the Orrery of Worlds.

Northeast Canton

The earth dwarves of the Northeast Zone have discovered the secret of renewable magical energy. In the Tortoise Slice they harness it to create incredible machines, and their trade in hex crystals has brought them enormous wealth in recent years. Young dwarves from the hills and mountains have come from those high places to learn from their brothers, to the dismay of their elders.

Western Canton

The Western Zone, the Garrison Slice to locals, belongs to the core provinces of the old Kingdom of Lozar. They took some of the heaviest casualties in the Kirinal Catastrophes, but never shirked their duty to defend the world, fighting wars on multiple fronts for decades.

The Kirinal Pit

Eastern Canton

Followers of the god Anam have the honor of defending the Eastern Zone of the Pit. Anam's devotion to progress led to the nation of Lozar's transformation from a kingdom to a sovranty, engineered the rebirth of the Soulforged, and championed the idea of the Withdrawal of the Gods.

Southwest Canton

Elves and druids oversee the Southwest Zone, the most bizarre region of the Pit, the Vindicator Slice. Here, the Kirinal River rises, in defiance of gravity, out of the Pit. It's waters carry life from all the worlds that Manifest, creating the Anomalous Forest an evolutionary riot always on the verge of becoming a nightmare.

Southern Canton

House Molndal and its attendant powers own the Southern Canton, coloquially called the Golden Slice. Their influence arises from the vast wealth produced by their gold mines and the unequaled fertility of Molndal's grain fields. Their unrivaled ability to direct the narrative through newspapers, bards, and the Cavaliers of Light serves to cement their power.

Southeast Canton

When the Call for Concordance went out over Erathia, no one expected the dark mages of Kiris to answer it. But they did, with an army of goblin slaves, arcane engines, and puissant spellcraft. Their involvement turned the tide, but their arrogance still lives. The other Concordant powers begrudgingly acknowledge that they deserve their place in the Southeast Zone.

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The Concordant Mandates

All residents of the Zone are bound by the Mandates of the Concordance for Survival. They are administered by the Concordant Conclave and enforced by the Zone Authority.

View the Mandates

The Duty of Defense

All residents of the Zone have a war assignment. When two horns blow, everyone must prepare for a Day of War.

Soldiers must report to their assigned fortress and prepare for battle. Civilians prepare to shelter in place and may be called upon to back up the troops or flee.

The Treaty of Trade

Sophonts within the Manifest are entitled to negotiate a fair price for goods that they own.

On Days of Trade, residents enter the Manifest to buy and sell unembargoed goods. Licensed merchants may conduct trade on a large scale.

The Treaty of Passage

Those bearing the correct identification may enter the Zone and cross any non-military borders.

This includes residents of Erathia, residents of the Zone, and sophonts from the Manifest. However, sophonts of Shadow and Faerie shall not enter the Zone in exchange for allowing passage to any who want to enter Shadow or Faerie.

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The Right of Salvage

When the Manifest does not contain sophonts, it's natural resources may be salvaged by licensed salvagers.

Harvest Days are highly regulated. The quota is determined by the Manifest Authority, the quotas are auctioned, off and the Salvager Guilds vie to gather the most resources.

The Right of Return

Everyone is entitled to return to their place of origin. Lawful sophonts of the Manifest must be allowed to return before it leaves our world.

Sometimes people get left behind. Those who tarry too long in the Manifest or in Erathia get trapped in the wrong world, but some do it on purpose.

The Right of Pilgrimage

Anyone following the laws of the Zone may enter the Manifest on Heaven. No religions are outlawed in the Zone.

The gods are kept from Erathia by the Divine Gate, but those eager to visit their domains just wait for the heavens to Manifest once a week. Always a Day of Rest, no conflict has ever defaced Heaven.

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The Right of Justice

Every mortal in the Zone has the right to a swift trial and humane treatment.

Every canton in the Zone has a separate judicial and prison system regulated by the overall Zone Justices.

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech, press, and other forms of expression are guaranteed.

The concept of freedom of expression was novel when introduced, seen as an interesting experiment by some and as an insidious otherworldly infection by others. It has led to the rise of the newspapers, a dissemination of knowledge, and the flowering of civilization.

Abolition of Slavery

The gods' final decree before they withdrew was that all mortals should be free, sophonts shall not own each other.

The founders of the Concordance made the end of slavery a precursor to membership, thinking that their traditional enemies would not be able to survive without it. To their surprise, Borthakar and Kiris both ended the practice and they are now thriving members.

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Rule by Representation

Now that the Divine Mandate of Kings has withdrawn, power now resides in the mortal peoples of Erathia.

The right of mortals to select their own leaders is another extraplanar idea that has taken root in the Zone. The idea has spread on Erathia, leading to the end of most of the monarchies in the world.

Bear the Ident-a-hedron

Every sophont within the Zone shall carry official identification, the ident-a-hedron, at all times. They shall present it to the Zone Authority upon request.

The newest mandate was enacted after the creation of this almost fool-proof soul-based identification system.

Independence of Cantons

Within their borders, the governing bodies may enforce any laws that do not interfere with the Mandates.

The fractious alliance of former enemies could never hold together without their right to operate independently within their borders. Only the Mandates are universal over the entire Zone and the Concordance only claims authority for overall security and intra-Zone activities.