Euressa

The sub-continent of Euressa is about three thousand kilometres long, and two and a half thousand wide. Split in the middle by the Withrican Mountains, it is mostly temperate or cold forest.

The human population of Euressa arrived here from the Old World about three thousand years ago. Arriving from the east, they settled in the lands known as Tarvallah, an eden created for them by the god Rorn as a refuge from the Ice which had destroyed their old civilisation. At this time, the Ice covered most of Euressa except for the southeast, where the power of the gods kept it at bay.

Over the next millenia, the Ice is gradually driven north as far as the coastal regions, though glaciers still flow down from the central mountains. Fertile plains are starting to give way to orest in the heartlands, and the first colonists begin to move westward.

About 1500 years before the present time, the first contact is made between Men and the Elders. The latter have sheltered beneath the ground to escape the great glaciers. They were a dying race even then, numbering in the thousands. What they do have though is knowledge, and they teach it to a few Men who are beguiled by them.

Around 1200 years ago, the followers of the Elders have become the Druids, and have a power base in Weidany. Most of the Elders are dead, but the Druids are already powerful enough to stand alone. The People of Rorn and the Druids seemed happy to keep apart, each in their own lands.

There was strife, however, and Rorn was slain, plunging the land into chaos and darkness. The death of Rorn was a two edged sword. Though it caused much grief, it also saw the end of the Age of Winter, and the further retreat of the Ice led to the gradual settlement of the northwestern parts of the continent.

The People of Rorn gradually moved into Weidany, and there was conflict between them and the Druids. Eventually the Druids are driven out, and the full settlement of Euressa begins.

Cultures of Euressa

Across Euressa there are five main distinct cultures which are found today, these being the People of Rorn, the Brytish, the Northern Kingdoms, the Eastern Kingdoms and Taneith.

Three of them - Rorn, Brytish and the Northern Kingdoms are quite similar, and are closely related to each other. Those of the Isle of Taneith and the Eastern Kingdoms are somewhat different however, being cut off from the others by geography.

The People of Rorn

The People of Rorn were the main core of believers who followed the god Rorn from the Old World across to Euressa, and who settled in the promised land of Tarvallah. All of the cultures of Euressa, with the exception of the Eastern Kingdoms, are descended from them.

With the fall of Tarvallah, they moved westward, and displaced the Weidanic people, who have now been pretty much subsumed into Rornic culture. Their culture is bordering on feudal, though a full feudal society has yet to develop. However, they do have an extensive legal system, and see the head of state as the final arbiter of justice.

The People of Rorn believe in individual freedom, the strength and generosity of warrior lords and a two way relationship with their gods.

The Brytish

The Brytish peoples, which includes Bryteland and Tanwall, are a highly individualistic warrior culture, believing in the might of the sword above all else. Justice is personal, and the law should not get in the way of revenge.

The Brytish have a strong system of government, but are even less feudal than the Rornic People, and there is a direct relationship between the King and the local lords of the land, with very few instances of a 'higher nobility' between the two.

The place of women is seen to be in the home, far more than it is in Rornic culture.

Isle of Taneith

The people of the Isle of Taneith settled there long before the colonisation of much of western Euressa. They have their own gods and mythology quite different to the rest of Euressa, believing in the Goddess as the ultimate authority in the universe, being the greatest of the Trinity of Powers.

They are close to the wilderness, and close to magic, believing that the Other World is close to this one and just as natural. They are the most accepting of magic of all the cultures of Euressa.

The Northern Kingdoms

The Northern Kingdoms are settled along the north coast of Euressa, and were originally something of an afterthought, being simply the people who didn't settle anywhere else.

They have grown to be quite populous, but also quite insular, and tend to keep trade and war between themselves. They are heavily feudalised, with large cities and towns being the dominent political and social centres.

Religious cults are common though tend to not get involved in politics, with the radical exception of Herzon, which is a theocracy.

The Eastern Kingdoms

The Eastern Kingdoms were settled long after the rest of Euressa. When the People of Rorn first came to Euressa, most of the eastern portions were covered by thick ice, and quite uninhabitable. After the fall of Tarvallah, the easiest route for people to take was westward, and so they and their descendents settled everywhere west of the Withrican Mountains.

Some time later, another wave of settlers came across from the Old World, and settled in what is now known as the Eastern Kingdoms. They are a different people - shorter and darker, with their own set of beliefs and cultures.

They have large, populous, city states, with large rural regions with low population. They are the only culture to have organised wizardry, and their scholorly and written advancements are far ahead of anything the western cultures have.