Balnibari Archipelago Cluster

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Atma
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Balnibari Archipelago Cluster

Post by Atma »

Perhaps 200 or so miles south, southeast of the Isle of Demise in the Sea of Sorrows is a quartet of islands called the "Balnibari," which translates as "Foolish Children" in Low Mordentish.

The largest, and easternmost of the Balnibari is Caina, an egg-shaped, rainforested island 10 miles long going from north to southwest, and almost 6 miles at its widest. The eastern shore of Caina is littered with an armada's worth of wrecked ships blown there by countless storms. Very few maroonies have been able to survive long in Caina's forests as they inevitably fall victim to the island's cats, which range in size from unnaturally vicious, blood-drinking wild cats smaller than tabbies to enormous sabertoothed tigers larger than horses. The largest cat on the island is a white-furred horror known simply as "The Great Beast." Those who seek shelter in Caina's caves, collectively called the "Tombs of Utopia," find that the cats avoid the caves at all costs, mostly because the cats, even the Great Beast, dislike encountering the original inhabitants of these tunnels.

As such, the only humans and humanoids found in Caina are either new maroonies who have not yet succumbed to the island's dangers, or are hunters and herb-collectors from the other three islands.

To the west of Caina, across a placid, mirror-like lagoon is Caina's inverse, inverted twin, Babil. Whereas Caina is beautiful with its feral, pristine wilderness, Babil is a hideous, blasted wastland of scattered ruins, pollution-sterilized badlands, and hidden pockets of toxic and malevolent vegetation. The ruins of Babil suggest that it was, at one time, a fabulous, populous nation of arcane might, but was laid low by a series of catastrophes caused partly by incompetent rulers and by uncontrollable disasters. Now, the descendants of this nation labor hard to eke out a living as subsistence farmers or scavengers in some of Babil's more sheltered ruins. The primary permanent settlement in Babil is Etemenanki, a rebuild remnant of a forgotten nation's fabulous capital. Unlike in the various scavengers' thorps, Etemenanki's citizens live in a self-sustaining paradise where all their needs are met and wants satisfied through arcane technologies. Of course, one can only become or remain a citizen of Etemenanki if one can prove their worth to the Immaculate Council, the ruling body, or the Marquise of Brilliance, the mysterious, tyrannical head of the Council. Anyone found wanting by the Council, or worse yet, the Marquise, for whatever reason, is taken to the upper floors of the Tower of Brilliance, never to be seen from again.

To the north of both Caina and Babil is Uhrinsel, a small, and lushly forested island with one settlement, Uhrenstadt. The languange, culture and architecture of Uhrenstadt appear to be Falkovnian in origin, and that the town guards wear avian armor identical to the Talons of Vlad Drakov apparently cements such an origin. But, besides the fact that no Falkovnian record mention a (lost) town of "Uhrenstadt," none of the Uhrenvolk dare speak of how they came, lest they be executed on the spot for inappropriate behavior. The town garrison swears allegiance to the Uhrenfuhrer, Vilhelm the 4th, who shares his rule over Uhrinsel with his grandfather and his grandson in an odd triumvirate.

Beyond the southern tip of Babil is the island of Kydonia. Like Babil, Kydonia is littered with ruins of an ancient arcane nation. Unlike Babil, Kydonia is covered in lush vegetation (though, no less malevolent or toxic than Babil's), so that the island feels more like a botanical garden run amok. In the north of Kydonia is Ichthyon, a Babil fishing settlement, while to the south is Conchtown, a Blaustienian colony. Both towns trade with each other, and with Uhrinsel, and both towns pay tribute to a being called the "Peerless Emperor of Resplendence," who claims to rule all life on Kydonia, and lairs in an opulent manor in the dead-center of the island. All Kydonians know the way to the Emperor's manor, though, all Kydonians also know that only those bearing gifts and tribute survive the perils of that trip.
steveflam
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Re: Balnibari Archipelago Cluster

Post by steveflam »

This really great. I love Demise. Thanks !
Atma
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Re: Balnibari Archipelago Cluster

Post by Atma »

tarlyn wrote:This really great. I love Demise. Thanks !
The Balnibari are something for your players should they survive their Demise.
Atma
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The Great Beast of Caina

Post by Atma »

Aleister Dunkirk was the son of a woodcutter in Dunkelheit, Lamordia. As a boy, Aleister was a good son, though, he was a habitual daydreamer who always pretended to be the hero of the fairytales his parents told him. One day, Aleister finally got his chance to be a hero when he rescued another boy, one Janos Deifon, son of a travelling herbalist from Darkon, from the town bullies. The two boys became fast friends, though Aleister became Janos' protector, the larger boy's presence did little to discourage the bullies. Eventually, Aleister decided to put an end to the situation when he broke both arms of one of the bullies, who was also the mayor's son, causing both families to leave Dunkleheit in a hurry, each going in an opposite direction. Aleister missed Janos greatly, especially no other child he met appreciated letting him become their protector, and how adults would scold him for engaging in such silly fantasies. Growing bitter, Aleister started daydreaming about what it would be like to be the monsters of his fairytales. The years passed, and Aleister became a student at the University of Il Aluk where he was reunited with his dear friend. At university, the situation was, to Aleister's horror and anger, reversed. Back home, he was the great knight defending his faithful squire from bandits, here at university, he was merely a woodcarver's son, no better than a clever mule or a large parrot being shielded by his tutor. While Aleister did appreciate Janos' tutoring, at least outwardly, inwardly, he was mortified how he was totally helpless to defend his own academic career, being totally reliant on Janos to protect him from their peers' venomous gossip. One night, while studying in one of the campus libraries, Aleister came across texts about monsters, in particular, treatises about werebeasts, and about liches, and was inspired. Aleister then decided to leave the school, and convinced Janos to come with him back to Lamordia, where they joined the Syndicate of Enlightened Citizens as monster hunters.
Their career as Syndicate hunters was quite fruitful, they traveled up and down the coast of the Sea of Sorrows, with the aid of other Syndicate members, and hired mercenaries, capturing and dissecting monsters, especially werebeasts. While Janos assumed that they were capturing and studying their quarry for science and the betterment of (man)kind, Aleister had more sinister motives, very carefully trying to examine what made these monsters "monsters."
While onboard their schooner, after their latest successful hunt, Janos looked through Aleister's journals, and not only discovered that his dearest friend was dissecting their quarry so he could experiment on himself in order to transform himself into a monster, but was also plagiarizing Janos' notes to help with his "evolution." Janos confronted Aleister, and the two friends quarrelled: Aleister tried to convince his friend that he was on the verge of evolving into a higher lifeform, and intended to have Janos by his side as his equal. Janos tried to convince his friend of his insanity, and when he tired of failing to do so, tried to seize Aleister's journals. In response, Aleister flew into a rage and hurled his friend overboard. Upon realizing what he had done, and gathering his wits, he lied to the crew that he discovered Janos poisoning the provisions and "dealt with him."
The next day, the schooner was caught in a sudden squall, and ran aground on a tropical island apparently not too far from Demise. Aleister felt the urge to call the place "Caina." The other surviving crew were not as enthused as Aleister. He told them to begin building a raft, he, on the other hand, he told them, would go hunt for food. The forests of Caina were filled with horrible beasts and frightening monsters. A sabertooth tiger stalked and pursued him well into the night, and he barely survived to kill it with its own fang. As he butchered the beast, he found himself eating its heart, and as he did so, Aleister then found himself mutating into a sabertooth, completing his "evolution" he was boasting about. So engorged with new found power, he wandered back towards the shipwreck, killed and ate all of the survivors, and eventually reverted back to human form come sunrise. Aleister remembered everything, and while he did not regret killing and eating his companions, he did found himself mourning his murder of Janos. He found himself longing to become the beast again, so that the flood of power would wash away this remorse, wash away the need to feel guilty.
For over sixty years, Aleister has been lord of Caina, alternately shepherding and preying on other maroonies who come there. When human, he is a large, tall man, apparently in his early 30s, his skin tanned a dark bronze, his hair bleached bone white, and carries himself with a teenager's vitality. He never gives or answers to his real name, preferring, instead to claim he is some famous person, often proclaiming himself "King Azalin" or "Doctor Victor Mordenheim."
Sometimes, when he meets someone who reminds him of Janos, he'll befriend that person as his companion, and eventually reveal the truth of himself to that person, and try to convince that person to let him transform them into a monster, like himself. These never end happily.
As a man, Aleister wastes his time either pretending to be the king of his domain, lording over and protecting his charges, when he isn't trying to devour them, or wallowing in self-pity over how lonely he is.
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