I've started thinking about making a fantasy world when I was trying to come up with an original and unique fantasy setting for my role playing group with a different theme than the standard high fantasy, and also to have a different kind of religion than the "Active yet indirect" gods. As such, I will break it up into three sections: Religion, Geography, and Culture. As the history starts to be fleshed out, I may include some of that.
It is generally agreed upon by both the Priests of Prest, and the scholars and historians of Rakra, that before the current state of affairs, and before the ancient Mahr Empire fell, that six Tyrants reigned supreme. They were extremely powerful entities, and humanity (at the time referred to as "vermin") were subject to their whims. Most artifacts from the pre-Mahr period depict horrible tortures caused by the Tyrants as well as the "Immortality" of humans, and their constant unending pain (but this may well be a metaphor for humanity as a whole suffering.)
The Tyrant Stvart enjoyed playing games on an epic scale with the vermin, but he eventually encountered one that continually bested him. He devised a puzzle of such incomprehensible complexity, that no-one would ever be able to solve it. He presented it to this person, and said "If you can bring this to me solved in one week's time, I will grant you a single wish. And if you fail, you shall become my plaything eternally." The man accepted, and in a week's time returned with the puzzle solved. Astonished, Stvart asked how he solved it. The man replied "I did not solve it alone, no man could. But we are many, and we are driven." Stvart asked what the man wished, and the man replied "I wish the Tyrants' rule undone, and that they will never rule over us again." This was the end of the Tyrants, and the beginning of the Mahr empire. This man's name is lost to time, and he is now known as the Liberator. He lost his life to a traitor loyal to the old Tyrants, and he also became the first Martyr. There are currently four officially recognized Martyrs, with countless others passed down through family lines.
The Tyrants:
Sterosi, the Ageless - Sterosi is one of the two original Tyrants, along with Tevorak, and the mother of the four sibling Tyrants. She is most commonly depicted as the destructive force of time rather than a particular entity. When a statue turns to dust in the desert, or a corpse rots into bones, it is Sterosi's work. She is closely associated with demons, and the recently discovered and highly enigmatic Ash King. Cults to Sterosi are very few, much less common than any of the other Tyrants. The positive light they shine on her depicts her as destruction giving meaning, and that permanence is sacrilegious, and Demons are revered within her cults. She is actually completely uncaring toward her worshipers, but the demons may occasionally be controlled.
Tevorak, the Creator - Tevorak is the other original Tyrant, and the husband of Sterosi. He is commonly depicted as a spiderlike creature made of stone, or as an old craftsman. He is generally looked upon with less disdain than the other Tyrants, but poses the moral danger of becoming absorbed in one's work, to the exclusion of all else. He is closely associated with stone, craftsmanship, and gemstones. By his cultists, he is often revered for creating everything, and that people should aspire to be like him in making great crafts. He watches over his worshipers, and and protects them from magical and spiritual harm.
Velik, the Thousand - Velik is the first born of the Tyrant siblings, commonly depicted as five rats with their tails entwined, or as an oily-haired young man in flowing green robes. He is blamed for the locust swarms that periodically ravage Prest and Zvej, as well as disease in general. He is also the original creator of mankind, as a gift to his sister Kinjit. His cultists worship him as the communal spirit that binds humans together. His worshipers often sacrifice animals and crops to him, and plague and disease tends to avoid the pious.
Kinjit, the Tormentor - Kinjit is the second born of the Tyrants, depicted as a great flame, or alternatively as a blindfolded young woman with a stone tied to each hand. She is the creator of the afterlife realm of Raj, as well as the one to deliver punishment to wicked souls. She is associated with torture, iron, and fire. Despite her seemingly altruistic tendencies, she is hated for making the avoidance of punishment an impossibly difficult goal. Her cultists are by far the most prolific in the world, as they are more organized than any other. Her cultists see her as a force of justice, as well as a guide into the afterlife until one's reincarnation. She assists her followers, aiding them in the afterlife, though her rituals are often quite gruesome.
Nomag, the Beast - Nomag is the third born of the Tyrants, depicted as a gigantic plated snake, or as a savage woman wearing a necklace of bone. She is the mother of all beasts, and is responsible for the prevalence of Fae in the northern regions of Mahtia and Viirm. She is associated with predation and death. Her cultists worship her as a force of nature, and associate her with the strongs' prevalence over the week. She cares nothing for her followers, and does nothing to assist them, despite a substantial number of 'miracles' mis-attributed to her.
Stvart, the Gambler - Stvart is the youngest of the Tyrants, depicted always as a poor young man, but usually with a large sack of gold. He is considered a symbol of greed and shortsightedness, and is even hated by the other Tyrants. It is not necessarily taboo to be in possession of a token representing him among gamblers, and his cultists are often just that. The only positive light usually shed on him is as a god of luck. He very rarely helps his followers, and does so on a whim, but one never knows when one might get lucky.
The Tyrants are the original beings on Prog Nasik, and as their name implies have gained a very negative association. Despite what the Majority believes, each Tyrant other than Sterosi has substantial cults, though most are confined to one or two regions of Prog Nasik. What they lack in numbers they make up for in tenacity.
The Martyrs:
The Liberator - His name has been forgotten, but his deeds have not. He ended the Tyrants' Reign, and brought an era of learning and peace to the world. With his three bishops, he established the Mahr Empire, which at one time stretched all the way from Prest's western peninsula, up through Viirm, and into the far reaches of Zvej. He is generally agreed upon as being of the Prestolej race, and what remains of art at the time show him as being bald, and having dark, ashy skin. He is most prolifically worshiped in Prest, in the Tower of Misthaddi, the Tower of Liberation. Despite his universal reverence, most families have their own Martyrs, and official temples are usually devoted to one of his bishops.
Otho, Bishop of Youth - Otho is generally depicted as a young man, wearing a suit of armor, and a curved kilij in hand. The kilij has become a symbol of Valor all throughout Prog Nasik, and is the preferred sword in Prest armies. His tenets involve the annual spilling of blood of all non-soldiers, to represent their support for those that fight for them, as well as a general code of honesty and well-wishing. His feast day is just before the summer is at it's hottest, and is a day that soldiers are allowed to come home to eat with their families. Historically, he was the commander of The Liberator's army that defended Mahr from the Mahtian and Roosc barbarians, as well as the Drekavac that were so common at the time. He allegedly died in a heroic last stand against invading Demons, just before Mahr collapsed.
Chirul, Bishop of Wisdom - Chirul is depicted as a middle-aged man, with a driftwood staff and blue and white robes. He is closely associated with the sea, and as such water has come to be associated with wisdom, as well as future sight. His tenets involve the sharing of stories and the maintenance of the Liberator's legend, as well as general literacy among scholars. His feast day is after the last harvest of the season, when the waters in the Rakran sea are most turbulent. This is a holy day among sailors especially, and most refuse to go out until a week after it's passing. Historically, he was the Liberator's adviser and dealt with the politics of Mahr. He is thought to have died in a great flood while evacuating the Themental Basin.
Morana, Bishop of Power - Morana is depicted as a black haired woman with pale skin, fitting the description of the ancient Roosc race, which later became Rakra. She is closely associated with the use of magic, and as such is most revered in Rakra. Her tenets include the sacrifice of livestock and crops to the various wells throughout Prog Nasik, which is where all magic is drawn from, as well as general perfection of oneself in any possible way. Historically, she was thought to have used magic to solve the Liberator's puzzle given by Stvart, but this is not at all widely accepted outside of Rakra and a few parts of Prest. Because of this fact, and the plague resultant from the magical attacks on Mahtia, a brief but very bloody war was fought in her name, which broke apart the Prest and Mahtain nations, as well as distanced Rakra from them. Morana's War is the most recently fought war. She is thought to have died splitting the Rakran Isles off from continental Prog Nasik to repel the Roosc invasion at the time.
There are of course countless others, with each family having it's own traditions, the only thing in common being that said Martyr died for a cause, and despite generally being opposed to the Tyrants, there have been a fair few Martyrs that died in their names, but they have been concealed by organized religion. The Prog Nasik afterlife is completely independent of one's worship. When one dies, they are punished according to their evil or selfish deeds by Kinjit, then reincarnated into a family according to their merits. Martyrs are exempt from reincarnation, but their actual presence on Prog Nasik after death is yet to have been proven.
Soon I'll post the general Geography and Culture.
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Topic: My Fantasy World - Prog Nasik (Read 556 times)