- Location
- my house
Any books in general on medieval jewry you would recommend, not just on this topic?
General Exalted Thread
Eldagusto
Voivode of Neterkhertet
- Location
- The Bleak Shores of Never in the Land of Naught
Care to explain?
Depends on how much you are willing to have spoiled.
Eldagusto
Voivode of Neterkhertet
- Location
- The Bleak Shores of Never in the Land of Naught
I've already spoiled things well before I played by deep diving a lot of lore. Are you saying Darksouls is racist, or my idea or Sanctaphrax? You comment wasn't clear at all.
It's racist only in the context of Dark Souls, rather than real life race relations.
The Gods made a point to keep Humanity down because Gwyn, the King of the Gods, feared that one day humanity would one day overthrow them.
"Soulless entities (humans) only have value when given a soul by another" would be an excellent propaganda piece to reinforce this notion.
"Soulless entities (humans) only have value when given a soul by another" would be an excellent propaganda piece to reinforce this notion.
Not gonna lie, I'm personally kinda skeptical of Gwyn fearing that humanity would overthrow the gods.
AFAIK, that information came from Kaathe when he's trying to convince the Chosen Undead to become the Dark Lord. And I don't particularly trust anything that shady bastard is saying, especially given what listening to him did to Oolacile and New Londo and the fact that he heads the Covenant of Darkwraiths.
There's also the Ringed Knight stuff about how the gods placed a "seal of fire" on them, but it's also called out as being because of the presence of the Abyss in it.
AFAIK, that information came from Kaathe when he's trying to convince the Chosen Undead to become the Dark Lord. And I don't particularly trust anything that shady bastard is saying, especially given what listening to him did to Oolacile and New Londo and the fact that he heads the Covenant of Darkwraiths.
There's also the Ringed Knight stuff about how the gods placed a "seal of fire" on them, but it's also called out as being because of the presence of the Abyss in it.
Yeah, there's a lot of double talk and shady goings on in Dark Souls. Personally I do think Gwyn feared humanity, but only because they had a connection to the Dark Soul, which was the true source of his fear.
Eldagusto
Voivode of Neterkhertet
- Location
- The Bleak Shores of Never in the Land of Naught
Oh yes I knew all that. It fits with the Exalted ideas I'm going with that the Prehollows that found the first Flame and the Lord Souls were essentially a spiritually lobotomized Primordial Race, The Exalted and the gods did a lot of crap like that, see Peoples of the Eyeless Face and other things banished that can be summoned with sorcerer.
Of course there is the fact that-
-those "Prehollows" were and continued to be a fully sapient race all on their own, without anyone needing to "gift" them anything to achieve that, right up until the end of the world.
Eldagusto
Voivode of Neterkhertet
- Location
- The Bleak Shores of Never in the Land of Naught
First of all nobody gave them anything, they found the Lord Souls and the First Flame. And that is the thing we have no indication they were sapient before someone found the first flame. The initial cinematic implies they were like Hollows, empty husks without anything but hunger. Only after the discovery of the Flame and or the Lord Souls do we have an indication they had thoughts. My theory is they are from a previous cycle and the Universe went Hollow, with a few achieving Nirvana by becoming Dragons.
.......I was referring to the "Pygmies".
Eldagusto
Voivode of Neterkhertet
- Location
- The Bleak Shores of Never in the Land of Naught
Well they weren't the only ones who found souls and were protohollows. Everyone was a protohollow before the Advent of the First Flame/Lord Souls. Gwyn was a Protohollow.
The Pygmies still obtained souls via the first flame, thereby gaining sentience.
It's just that the souls in question were from the Dark Soul.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The subject of this thread is Exalted. Please only discuss Dark Souls to the extent that it relates to Exalted.
- Location
- Ottawa
The idea that humanity, or the humanity-like race in question here, was suppressed by a godlike being who feared their potential seems very Exalted. I think it deserves inclusion in the adaptation.
Eldagusto
Voivode of Neterkhertet
- Location
- The Bleak Shores of Never in the Land of Naught
So one of the things I am at a crossroads on is should I treat Dark Souls Humans as the same as Creation's Humans? Like should a Mortal brought from Creation to Astoria be susceptible to the Undead Curse? Could they learn Miracles and Pyromancy? And What about the nature of the overlap between good mortal Equipment, magical equipment and full on Artifacts?
- Location
- Ottawa
If the crossover takes the form of two independent worlds, with the occasional character moved from one to the other, I say make the humans human.
If the crossover takes the form of something Dark Souls-like existing in Creation, I say make the humans a primordial race.
As you can probably guess from my earlier posts about Claymore, Bleach, and Blame!, I favour the latter type of crossover.
If the crossover takes the form of something Dark Souls-like existing in Creation, I say make the humans a primordial race.
As you can probably guess from my earlier posts about Claymore, Bleach, and Blame!, I favour the latter type of crossover.
HamSandLich
MEAT WIZARD
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The Lavender Palace, Abode of the Hierodule-Resplendent
In the jungles of the distant East, there once reigned a line of Dragon-Blooded Sorcerer Kings. They ruled by sorcerous miracles from atop a mountain palace, its central tower shrouded in magical weather. As the centuries passed, their blood began to thin, until only a single Exalt resided in the palace. Frustrated that none of his children bore the blessing of the Dragons, he turned to occult methods of reproduction. From the Demon City, he summoned a Neomah and from his own flesh and the bones of his predecessors she wove him an heir. Being unwilling to raise a child himself, he entrusted the care of the infant to the neomah and other bound demons. The child, a boy named Esz, grew strong and exalted as a Water Aspect upon his thirteenth year, learning sorcery from his father. But the sorcerer had been careless, Esz's neomah "mother" whispered the teachings of the Yozis in his ear as a child, and he bore the bound demon more loyalty than his own blood kin. The young man slew his father in his sleep and crowned his "mother" as Lady of the Palace. The neomah had grown beyond her function by then, learning to create beings with purpose in mind, rather than the senseless flesh artistry of her sisters in the Demon City. From the vaults beneath her nautilus tower, she brought forth servitor-beasts and savant-creatures to fill the halls of the palace, taking control in a swift coup. The palace's tower bastion was torn down and her nautilus shell tower erected in its place. She reigns there still, as the Hierodule-Resplendent, taking flesh from the lands that pay her homage and creating works of fleshcraft unrivalled by other Neomah. The sorcerer's manse is now called the Lavender Palace, a sprawling estate of gardens and koi ponds. Here, amidst clouds of incense, silk pillows, and works of living art, the Hierodule is worshipped as a goddess of fertility, offered pounds of flesh by the forest clans of the region.
Esz is long dead, but the Hierodule repurposed his corpse in the flames of her tower, and now a small lineage of Dragon-Blooded who all call her mother resides in the Lavender Palace, attended by indentured servants offered as tribute by the Hierodule's worshippers. She is careful to have only a few Dragon-Blooded children at a time, carefully watching them for any sign of disloyalty. Her children spend their lives indoctrinated into the worship of the Yozis and their own mother, their loyalty secured by a combination of measured familial affection and boons from the Demon City. The rest of the Palace is inhabited by Demon-Blooded and beastmen of the Hierodule's own making, mutants swathed in robes of fine silk and cashmere. She has learned sorcery, and grown strong in the ways of the occult. Far more powerful than the average First Circle Demon, she has become a shapeshifter, sculpting her flesh and hiding amongst her own subjects to gauge their loyalty. Over the years, she has used her offspring as champions and high priests. Barren couples beseech the Hierodule for children, youths beg her to make them look beautiful, and the leaders of the forest clans hire her Exalted children as mercenaries. For these services, the denizens of the Lavender Palace demand worship in the form of elaborate rituals and offerings of wealth and flesh. Her worshippers waylay caravans in the jungle, offering exotic spices, silk, and silver ore to the Hierodule in return for her boons.
The dragonlines of the surrounding lands have been subtly tainted with the essence of Malfeas. The Hierodule has carefully created hybrids of elemental and demon(usually Metody) capable of blighting the essence flows. She orders her minions to do this quietly and sparingly, fearing that the rustic deities of the land will confederate against her. Though she has seduced and enthralled a few minor spirits, her grip on the lands outside the view of her mountain is tenuous. She has chosen caution in this matter, but that just makes her influence harder to detect. Instead of projecting her power through violence, she influences the spirit courts with whispered promises, lavish bribes, and subtle blackmail. No longer a sexual plaything, she now only lays with those of her choosing in order to advance her agendas, having other means to secure the flesh that is treasured by Neomahs.
A few foolhardy god-blooded and outcastes have heard of the demon-goddess of the Lavender Palace and sought to slay her. More often than not, they themselves are slain or seduced by her Exalted offspring. Should these methods fail, the Hierodule brings forth demonic abominations from the vaults beneath the Lavender Palace, lesser behemoths she views as works of art.
Early in her reign, the Hierodule secured the patronage of several Demon Princes, most prominently Octavian and Berengiere. It is through their influence that her Exalted children are cowed and she is protected from the eyes of Yu-Shan. In return, her worshippers offer prayers to them as well as the Hierodule, and the Lavender Palace gives its aid to the infernalists of the East, renting out Exalted muscle and unique demon-beasts.
In the jungles of the distant East, there once reigned a line of Dragon-Blooded Sorcerer Kings. They ruled by sorcerous miracles from atop a mountain palace, its central tower shrouded in magical weather. As the centuries passed, their blood began to thin, until only a single Exalt resided in the palace. Frustrated that none of his children bore the blessing of the Dragons, he turned to occult methods of reproduction. From the Demon City, he summoned a Neomah and from his own flesh and the bones of his predecessors she wove him an heir. Being unwilling to raise a child himself, he entrusted the care of the infant to the neomah and other bound demons. The child, a boy named Esz, grew strong and exalted as a Water Aspect upon his thirteenth year, learning sorcery from his father. But the sorcerer had been careless, Esz's neomah "mother" whispered the teachings of the Yozis in his ear as a child, and he bore the bound demon more loyalty than his own blood kin. The young man slew his father in his sleep and crowned his "mother" as Lady of the Palace. The neomah had grown beyond her function by then, learning to create beings with purpose in mind, rather than the senseless flesh artistry of her sisters in the Demon City. From the vaults beneath her nautilus tower, she brought forth servitor-beasts and savant-creatures to fill the halls of the palace, taking control in a swift coup. The palace's tower bastion was torn down and her nautilus shell tower erected in its place. She reigns there still, as the Hierodule-Resplendent, taking flesh from the lands that pay her homage and creating works of fleshcraft unrivalled by other Neomah. The sorcerer's manse is now called the Lavender Palace, a sprawling estate of gardens and koi ponds. Here, amidst clouds of incense, silk pillows, and works of living art, the Hierodule is worshipped as a goddess of fertility, offered pounds of flesh by the forest clans of the region.
Esz is long dead, but the Hierodule repurposed his corpse in the flames of her tower, and now a small lineage of Dragon-Blooded who all call her mother resides in the Lavender Palace, attended by indentured servants offered as tribute by the Hierodule's worshippers. She is careful to have only a few Dragon-Blooded children at a time, carefully watching them for any sign of disloyalty. Her children spend their lives indoctrinated into the worship of the Yozis and their own mother, their loyalty secured by a combination of measured familial affection and boons from the Demon City. The rest of the Palace is inhabited by Demon-Blooded and beastmen of the Hierodule's own making, mutants swathed in robes of fine silk and cashmere. She has learned sorcery, and grown strong in the ways of the occult. Far more powerful than the average First Circle Demon, she has become a shapeshifter, sculpting her flesh and hiding amongst her own subjects to gauge their loyalty. Over the years, she has used her offspring as champions and high priests. Barren couples beseech the Hierodule for children, youths beg her to make them look beautiful, and the leaders of the forest clans hire her Exalted children as mercenaries. For these services, the denizens of the Lavender Palace demand worship in the form of elaborate rituals and offerings of wealth and flesh. Her worshippers waylay caravans in the jungle, offering exotic spices, silk, and silver ore to the Hierodule in return for her boons.
The dragonlines of the surrounding lands have been subtly tainted with the essence of Malfeas. The Hierodule has carefully created hybrids of elemental and demon(usually Metody) capable of blighting the essence flows. She orders her minions to do this quietly and sparingly, fearing that the rustic deities of the land will confederate against her. Though she has seduced and enthralled a few minor spirits, her grip on the lands outside the view of her mountain is tenuous. She has chosen caution in this matter, but that just makes her influence harder to detect. Instead of projecting her power through violence, she influences the spirit courts with whispered promises, lavish bribes, and subtle blackmail. No longer a sexual plaything, she now only lays with those of her choosing in order to advance her agendas, having other means to secure the flesh that is treasured by Neomahs.
A few foolhardy god-blooded and outcastes have heard of the demon-goddess of the Lavender Palace and sought to slay her. More often than not, they themselves are slain or seduced by her Exalted offspring. Should these methods fail, the Hierodule brings forth demonic abominations from the vaults beneath the Lavender Palace, lesser behemoths she views as works of art.
Early in her reign, the Hierodule secured the patronage of several Demon Princes, most prominently Octavian and Berengiere. It is through their influence that her Exalted children are cowed and she is protected from the eyes of Yu-Shan. In return, her worshippers offer prayers to them as well as the Hierodule, and the Lavender Palace gives its aid to the infernalists of the East, renting out Exalted muscle and unique demon-beasts.
Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
Husani looked up from the bar as the door opened, letting in a gust of Gem's scorching heat. A disheveled, dirty woman in a stained kufiya stood there, taking in the room. What few patrons there were at this hour looked, back, scowling as the hot air pushed away what chill could be gathered in the tavern's underground common room.
Stone floors and stone walls did a decent enough job in protecting the glorified basement from the grueling light of the sun, but even this brief exposure made the corners of the room mist. Scarred men and women grumbled as the sipped at their drinks, wooden benches shuffling as a few debated what to do with this newcomer.
"Either come in or leave," Husani shouted. "Just close the damned door!"
The woman flinched and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind her. As she came down the stairs Husani noticed she was surprisingly tall, easily the height of any man in the room, and settled down by the bar. Faded red hair poked out from beneath the folds of her headdress, and when she finally looked up at him her green eyes glittered dully.
"Strongest wine you've got," she said, her voice rough. "Give me the whole bottle."
"That's not cheap," Husani replied. "You sure…"
His words died when she laid down a silver obol on the counter. For a moment he could only stare at it, and when he looked back at her he had to keep from recoiling. The woman's eyes alight now for the first time since she'd stepped into the room. She took in a deep breath, letting it out with a growl.
"Just give me the damned bottle."
Husani rushed to comply, fetching a bottle of palm wine from the shelf behind him. By now everyone in the room was watching, and he couldn't help a trickle of sweat pooling down the back of his neck. All it would take is one man or woman deciding to stab this fool for her money and all hell would break loose.
She snatched the wine from his hands, and his eyes grew wide as she put her lips on the top and drank the whole thing down in less than a minute.
"This is vile," she said, wiping her mouth with a dirty sleeve. "Get me another."
Eight bottles later found Husani awkwardly letting the woman cry onto his shoulder, embracing him so tightly that he was beginning to lose feeling in his left arm. With his other he tried desperately to push her away, but she didn't budge. It was almost like trying to move a block of marble embedded into the earth.
"I've fucked everything up," she wailed. "Why couldn't I just tell Ashera I loved her? Would that have been so hard? No wonder she left me."
By this point Husani gave up on decorum and reached for his knife. He didn't get even halfway there before the woman grabbed his hand and gently twisted, sending a shock of pain up the limb that sent him rigid. This, unfortunately, gave her enough time to enclose his other arm, leaving him helpless.
"And my children!" she went on, shaking her head back and forth as if to embed her face into his torso. "Why didn't I pay more attention to my children? Almost all of them are dead and their own children hate me! Why did I even have them if I was going to just let them go running off to their deaths so I'd notice they existed?"
Three men came up behind the woman and clasped hands around her arms and shoulders, putting their full weight behind them as they tried to pull her off. She twisted, just slightly, and sent them sprawling to the ground in a heap.
"I even banished horses from the Blessed Isle, for Heaven's sake!" she shouted. "All because so many of them died when the Raksha showed up! I can still hear their screams… Gods, I'm such a mess."
In this Age of Sorrows the Realm is in crisis. The Scarlet Empress, undisputed ruler of this global hegemon, has disappeared. The Great Houses vie for supremacy, and in the wake of their squabbling monsters pick away at the edges. Cries for deliverance go unheard, and many believe this may be the end of days.
But in truth, such a fate was inevitable. The Realm reached too far, too fast. All empires must expand or die, and in the end perish anyway when they grow beyond their own capability to control. Corruption leads to further malfeasance, until all that remains is a far cry from what was intended.
It was only a matter of time before the Scarlet Empress, her gaze so discerning and her mind so sharp, realized what she created was but a reflection of herself. Seen not as a monarch but a conqueror and deity, everything within the Realm bore her touch in some manner. She held a hand in all of its triumphs, but more importantly all of its tragedies.
Unable to bear this burden any longer as the full weight pushed down upon her shoulders, the Scarlet Empress fled to parts unknown. In the years hence there are rumors of a strange woman wandering the edges of the world, clothed in rags and caked in dirt from the road. Sometimes she will aid those in need, casting judgement upon the cruel and unworthy. More often, however, she merely finds some place to drink herself into a stupor and collapses into a fit of tears.
Some of her children chase after these rumors in pursuit of their errant mother. Mnemon is foremost among these, desperately hoping to bring her parent home before she hurts herself or, even worse, winds up dead to any of her myriad enemies. So far the former Empress has managed to stay ahead of them, avoiding the throne and all its responsibilities with a fear greater than death.
---------
Inspiration for this silly drabble came from a discussion a few months back between @ManusDomini and @Gargulec on a Discord server we're all on, and I felt compelled to write something for it. So if you enjoyed this, or simply wish to throw rocks at me, make sure to keep them in mind.
Stone floors and stone walls did a decent enough job in protecting the glorified basement from the grueling light of the sun, but even this brief exposure made the corners of the room mist. Scarred men and women grumbled as the sipped at their drinks, wooden benches shuffling as a few debated what to do with this newcomer.
"Either come in or leave," Husani shouted. "Just close the damned door!"
The woman flinched and stepped inside, pulling the door shut behind her. As she came down the stairs Husani noticed she was surprisingly tall, easily the height of any man in the room, and settled down by the bar. Faded red hair poked out from beneath the folds of her headdress, and when she finally looked up at him her green eyes glittered dully.
"Strongest wine you've got," she said, her voice rough. "Give me the whole bottle."
"That's not cheap," Husani replied. "You sure…"
His words died when she laid down a silver obol on the counter. For a moment he could only stare at it, and when he looked back at her he had to keep from recoiling. The woman's eyes alight now for the first time since she'd stepped into the room. She took in a deep breath, letting it out with a growl.
"Just give me the damned bottle."
Husani rushed to comply, fetching a bottle of palm wine from the shelf behind him. By now everyone in the room was watching, and he couldn't help a trickle of sweat pooling down the back of his neck. All it would take is one man or woman deciding to stab this fool for her money and all hell would break loose.
She snatched the wine from his hands, and his eyes grew wide as she put her lips on the top and drank the whole thing down in less than a minute.
"This is vile," she said, wiping her mouth with a dirty sleeve. "Get me another."
Eight bottles later found Husani awkwardly letting the woman cry onto his shoulder, embracing him so tightly that he was beginning to lose feeling in his left arm. With his other he tried desperately to push her away, but she didn't budge. It was almost like trying to move a block of marble embedded into the earth.
"I've fucked everything up," she wailed. "Why couldn't I just tell Ashera I loved her? Would that have been so hard? No wonder she left me."
By this point Husani gave up on decorum and reached for his knife. He didn't get even halfway there before the woman grabbed his hand and gently twisted, sending a shock of pain up the limb that sent him rigid. This, unfortunately, gave her enough time to enclose his other arm, leaving him helpless.
"And my children!" she went on, shaking her head back and forth as if to embed her face into his torso. "Why didn't I pay more attention to my children? Almost all of them are dead and their own children hate me! Why did I even have them if I was going to just let them go running off to their deaths so I'd notice they existed?"
Three men came up behind the woman and clasped hands around her arms and shoulders, putting their full weight behind them as they tried to pull her off. She twisted, just slightly, and sent them sprawling to the ground in a heap.
"I even banished horses from the Blessed Isle, for Heaven's sake!" she shouted. "All because so many of them died when the Raksha showed up! I can still hear their screams… Gods, I'm such a mess."
o\O/o
In this Age of Sorrows the Realm is in crisis. The Scarlet Empress, undisputed ruler of this global hegemon, has disappeared. The Great Houses vie for supremacy, and in the wake of their squabbling monsters pick away at the edges. Cries for deliverance go unheard, and many believe this may be the end of days.
But in truth, such a fate was inevitable. The Realm reached too far, too fast. All empires must expand or die, and in the end perish anyway when they grow beyond their own capability to control. Corruption leads to further malfeasance, until all that remains is a far cry from what was intended.
It was only a matter of time before the Scarlet Empress, her gaze so discerning and her mind so sharp, realized what she created was but a reflection of herself. Seen not as a monarch but a conqueror and deity, everything within the Realm bore her touch in some manner. She held a hand in all of its triumphs, but more importantly all of its tragedies.
Unable to bear this burden any longer as the full weight pushed down upon her shoulders, the Scarlet Empress fled to parts unknown. In the years hence there are rumors of a strange woman wandering the edges of the world, clothed in rags and caked in dirt from the road. Sometimes she will aid those in need, casting judgement upon the cruel and unworthy. More often, however, she merely finds some place to drink herself into a stupor and collapses into a fit of tears.
Some of her children chase after these rumors in pursuit of their errant mother. Mnemon is foremost among these, desperately hoping to bring her parent home before she hurts herself or, even worse, winds up dead to any of her myriad enemies. So far the former Empress has managed to stay ahead of them, avoiding the throne and all its responsibilities with a fear greater than death.
---------
Inspiration for this silly drabble came from a discussion a few months back between @ManusDomini and @Gargulec on a Discord server we're all on, and I felt compelled to write something for it. So if you enjoyed this, or simply wish to throw rocks at me, make sure to keep them in mind.
Last edited:
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Big posts? Large posts and text full of reading? Effort? What if that... but more? Yes, that's what we need: even more text:
Ghenhassai
Ghenhassai, oh Ghenhassai. Your banners flap in the wind above your vast harbour and they display your fish-tailed and ursine patron, your ships set sail and ferry goods to and fro every port in the Inland Sea, your rulers guide you wisely through adversity and peace alike. Ghenhassai! Oh Ghenhassai! Your temples are in the hundreds, your soldiers in the thousands, but your destiny alone is without end. So ends the famous Ghenhassa poem Oh Ghenhassai written by the Mufla Hamsu in the style of a romantic poem. The richest Scarlet port in the Inland Sea, Ghenhassai is truly a wonder for the eyes. Uncountable temples rise, whether they be the enormous temple-complex of Ahlat-Daqna that catches every eye or the small Immaculate shrines in Heavensward Perfection Quarter. The wealth of Ghenhassai is evident in every street corner and every district, whether that be in the form of golden statues or weeping beggars.
The history of Ghenhassai begins in the murky shadows of history, but compared to the ancient states that surround it, it is a youngling on a playing field of the ancients. After the chaos of the Twin Troubles, the disparate peoples of the Hassa Lagoon began uniting in confederation for mutual defence against the nearby state in western Harbourhead, then subject to the great conquests of Gerath the Great, who had his vast capital in the city Athaba. The families of those he slew in his conquests fled to the malarial marshes of the lagoon, where they mingled and spread the worship of Ahlat. In time, they elected a leader to rule them and lead them in common defence, and the Scarlet Empress of the nascent Realm sent emissaries declaring her formal recognition; a personal challenge to Gerath himself.
Ghenhassai would outlast Gerath. It would outlast many more and now it plans on outlasting even the Realm itself. A wealthy port that controls access to all the eleven Great Lakes of Hassai, its long history of de facto independence from the Realm has blessed it with a spirit of opportunism and freedom and its strategic location and mercantile nature has given it the ruthlessness and will to carry out its schemes in freedom from the satrap's prying eyes. As the Houses built by the Scarlet Empress sink to the sea like anchors, Ghenhassai will rise and sail the tumultuous waves of the Age of Sorrows. Uninhibited. Unchained.
The Lagoon of Flies and Marches
The land of Hassai is characterized by wide-reaching marches, vast lakes, warm climate and hilly hinterlands. On the Blessed Isle, it is considered a savage land where no one in their right mind would ever want to live. However, quite in opposition to the derision of the Blessed Isle, many people live in Hassai. The great lakes and rivers that criss-cross the land provide rich opportunity for human life to grow and cities spring up like flowers upon the fertile land, only limited in their ambitions by the hills that block the empires that do not learn to master the sea. Trade posts and smaller cities founded by Ghenhassa expeditions dot the coasts, a spider's web on which wealth falls like rain, pearls hanging from the necklaces and veils of Ghenhassa women like so many drops on spider webs.
Diseases are common here, whether they are typhoid fever, malarial mosquitoes or the dreaded sleeping sickness which kills people and their livestock with equal measure. Insects swarm around people and cluster in the marketplaces of the city and trade posts, where they either serve to annoy and distract or to slay families with the sicknesses that they bring. Lions, leopards, elephants and zebras populate this region as well, the latter of which is ridden by the nobility; why use the breeds of the Blessed Isle that those Dynastic lords pride themselves on, if the sicknesses of Hassai bring an end to them in days? In the First Age, many lords whose names and faces are now forgotten, tried to tame it with a plethora of measures from the Fire-Flowers that grow in the Old Lord's Valley to the Myriad-Beneficent Egg, which treasure hunters still set sail into the lakes to find, never to return.
Hassai has been inhabited for longer than anyone can remember and the weight of history can feel all too real on the land. Ancient palaces have been stripped clean of their wealth and value long ago. All that has not been stripped away entirely was either not worth the price of effort or not worth the price of life. From across the narrow Straits of Ghenhassai, which controls the entrance to the lakes, the gazes of two faceless, ancient kings meet each other. A sorcerer who controls one of these great statues can split the sea and force a land bridge to open between the straits, blocking access entirely. The bridge is full of muck and waste now and the way is dangerous, but the one who controls the bridge controls the straits entirely. Much younger than the bridge is the vast lighthouse that now stands in Ghenhassai proper. Built during the Shogunate by a triumvirate of warlords, storytellers say that it used to turn night into day with its power and - when focused - set whole armadas on fire with its wrathful gaze.
Government and Culture
The politics of Ghenhassai are complicated and intricate. The many tribes of the lagoon that confederated had their own Dragon-Blooded ruling families, with blood about as strong as muddied freshwater. Over time and during the stewardship of the Realm, these slowly became a single Cadet House in name if not in reality; the Sunbaraqim. The Sunbaraqim form the political backbone of the city through their hereditary membership in the Sanhedrin of Ghenhassai, the legislative council that rules the city. The Sanhedrin is composed of seventy regular members and a single Shofet who acts as executive on the Sanhedrin's behalf and is chosen by random lottery among the members. Finally, there is the Secret Sanhedrin, chosen in secret by the Shofet. Their number is seventeen and their duty is to investigate and judge the other members of the Sanhedrin. Membership in both the Sanhedrin and the Secret Sanhedrin are for life, so is the position of the Shofet.
Ghenhassai is also a satrapy. The satrapal palace stands opposite to the glorious hall in which the Sanhedrin meets, an unimpressive building in comparison. Unlike many other subjects of the Realm, the satrap of Ghenhassai is in effect an ambassador who ensures that the influence of the Realm in the city is felt and symbolically oversees the transfer of tribute. The Realm has absolutely no fears that the eternally loyal Sunbaraqim or their city, would ever revolt. As a result, the current Satrap, a young man of V'neef descent by the name of V'neef Kovak, has grown lax and lazy with the tribute. He is not a lazy man by nature, oh, he is quite energetic in his purchases for his lover; the Shofet's son Azruba Melqit. The two are rarely, if ever, seen apart and the relationship is certainly politically advantageous for both. The Shofet listens to his son and the satrap listens to his lover.
The banner of Ghenhassai is scarlet red and bears a bull-headed man with a fish's tail for legs. This is the banner of Ahlat-Daqna, a syncretic meeting between Harbourite Ahlat and the lagoon-god Daqna, a traditional god of Ghenhassai. They are often worshipped as the same deity and the Realm tolerates this indiscretion, for the city's inhabitants at least agree with the Wyld Hunts and contribute both ships and soldiers for Anathema-hunts. There is also a small and lively Immaculate community in the city. Residing in the Heavensward Perfection Quarter, their neighbourhood is surrounded by a high wall so that the followers of the Immaculate Faith do not have to look at the heathen temples that surround them from all sides.
As Lightnings Gathered
The Sunbaraqim are a Cadet House of the Realm. Originally, they began as several smaller clans, each at the head of the tribes that populated the lagoon before urbanization. When the city was conglomerated from these tribes, the Realm arbitrated a compact between the families that they would be as kin-blood to each other and name one ancestor above all. Since then, founded on this compact, later called the Charter of Confederation, the Sunbaraqim have been one family with one ancestor. Their name stems from the mythical figure of King Baraq, a king alleged to have once ruled the lagoon and all around it. Certain Immaculate scholars have repeatedly raised suspicion of hidden anathema-worship in this figure, but this is uncertain.
Unfortunately, the Charter of Confederation only requested that the Sunbaraqim be as kin-blood to one another, and as any person with siblings know, brothers and sisters fight. The Sunbaraqim is a cat's cradle of lineages and bloodlines, each inheriting different traditions and histories. The two greatest Sunbaraqim branches are the Azruba and the Shrama. These branches compete viciously with one another, both by suborning lesser branches to their agenda and by lavishly funding ceremonies, colonies and the construction of new temples, statues and public works. The Sanhedrin frequently turns into a battleground for their agendas.
The Sunbaraqim are buried in the Tomb of Daqna; a great tomb-mausoleum from the First Age. Who built the tomb is unclear, for it contains no names or titles, but the grandeur of its construction is self-evident. In Ghenhassai proper, it is common wisdom that the cyclopean construction of the tomb must have been by Daqna himself. Use of the mausoleum is comparatively recent and only a few hundred years ago, therefore it is not hard to see how the scores and scores of Dragon-Blooded buried within might be taken to be ancestors of the modern Sunbaraqim. Curiously, the devil-gold orichalcum is almost as common among their grave goods as jade.
The Ocean Wedding
Religion in Ghenhassai is a public matter. The state ensures the performance of Immaculate rites, the rituals of Ahlat-Daqna, sacrifices on their allotted times, the following of the prayer calendar and much more. As first magistrate, the Shofet participates and presides over all the rituals of state and funds for them are allocated by the Sanhedrin for the Shofet's spending. However, it is a common arrangement by various Sunbaraqim branches to supply them with additional wealth for certain rituals in exchange for being given a valuable position in that ritual.
Of great importance to the city is the syncretic festival of the Ocean Wedding, an annual festival stretching from the twentieth day of Descending Fire to the last day of Calibration. During the ten-day festival, poems of glory are recited in the first days. Over the next seven days, this transitions into contests of first song, then dance, then prayer, then theatre and finally an interwoven combination of all. On the ninth day, a procession open to all citizens of the city passes from the outer boundaries, stopping only four times, where a small ceremony is held, symbolizing the rise to power of the city.
At its midnight end, the procession breaks out into a grand masked carnival of enormous festivity and joy, lasting until the dawn of the next day, at which point the carnival proceeds to the harbour, still feasting and celebrating until it is interrupted by a solemn procession by the Shofet, rowed into the lagoon by their most trusted men. Here, the Shofet addresses the city directly and speaks of the city's hardships and tribulations and how they will be overcome. At the end of this ceremony, a hecatomb of one hundred cattle to Ahlat-Daqna is made by slitting their throats and casting them into the sea. It is also customary for the Shofet to announce the presence of any Exalted in the city, that will be staying on a longer basis during this ceremony. Many Sunbaraqim consider this announcement their ritual of coming-of-age.
Economy
Ghenhassai is rich and wealthy beyond measure. The single wealthiest port in the already wealthy southern satrapies, the city controls a truly massive series of trade ports all across the eleven great lakes and has founded several colonies ruled by their own Shoftim and their own, smaller Sanhedrins. All these serve the purpose of expanding the influence and trade power of Ghenhassai. The tributes on Ghenhassai are heavy and would put even the vast economy of the city under a yoke just as heavy. However, due to the love affair between V'neef Kovak and Azruba Melqit, the tribute has been low-balled and frequently parts of it "disappear" due to "piracy" on the way to the Blessed Isle. Admittedly, most of that piracy happens in the city itself and tends to manifest as jewelry on Melqit's neck and arms, but that's what the documents say. After all, as long as Ghenhassai controls the straits which lock the lakes, the Realm must be happy, reasons the satrap.
The bounteous wealth of Ghenhassai is built on a foundation of trade. First and foremost, its dominance of the lakes allow it to set prices more or less as it wants to, secondly, traders from frequently frequently venture deeper into the southernmost lakes to purchase slaves or outright raid for them. Ghenhassai participates in this market from from the western Lap to eastern Port Calin and northern Pneuma. In all the southern ports of the Blessed Isle and the Imperial City itself, Ghenhassa ships are present, containing everything from slaves in bulk, salt now cheaper than the god-inflated prices of the Blessed Isle and exotic animals for dynasts with luster in their eyes as they gaze upon broken zebras and exotic elephants. Grain, draperies of silk and luxurious glasses make their way from Ghenhassai to all the Inland Sea.
By far the most important industry in the city is shipbuilding, where labourers construct ships frame-first, outfitting them in rows with whatever they need. Thousands of shipwrights work in the Grand Harbour, producing the galleys and rowed ships with which the city has subdued the lakes. This shipbuilding operation is of a scale unmatched by any other power in the Inland Sea, only outdone by the sheer population of the Scarlet Realm itself. This shipbuilding enterprise is owned by the Ghenhassa state, an unusual arrangement in the city where the Sunbaraqim branches and mercantile colleges either own everything else or do their best to set a price on it.
The Neighbours of the City
Far to the south from Ghenhassai lies the trading colony of New Harbour. A divided city of two languages, this city was once a rival of the city, but Harbourite mercenaries hired by Ghenhassai defeated it in battle and as a reward for their services, they were simply given the city and all within it. These warriors introduced Ahlat to the city and slew every man within and took the women to be their wives. The city is split in two between the new upper class of warriors and their slave-wives. But the wives are not content to be slaves and rebellion simmers under the surface. A secret order of spear-brides to Ahlat, wives by day and warriors by night, ferments the dream of revolution among the city's women. How long will New Harbour send willing spears to Ghenhassai before the young men that form its strength never wake up again, their demure wives having slit their throats?
The Holy Order of the Righteous Watchmen of the Waves reside in their great fortified monastery off the coast. Originally, they came to Ghenhassai to convert the inhabitants, but to the people of the city they were much too aloof and it made no sense that to embrace the Immaculate they had to sacrifice Ahlat-Daqna. Gradually, the Holy Order retreated to their fortified monastery, which becomes an island when the tide is high and connects to the land when the tide is low. The Holy Order maintains a massive fishing fleet, with which it helps supply Ghenhassai itself and so the monks there have become wealthy themselves; wealth that they spend on furnishing the monastery for they can own no riches under their oaths. Under the leadership of Nellens Amaka, the Holy Order has also taken to smuggling under the noses of Ghenhassai, for Amaka smoulders with anger on behalf of his family, to whom he feels the satrapy should properly belong.
Under the yoke live the Sadikoi. In the past, their deeds were many and their culture was great and Sadikoi kings sailed on the waves with pride. Thus, they were scattered in a steady diaspora across the many islands in their lake, but now they have been reduced to paupers in their own land. The Contagion swept away their greatness and left nothing but memories, now they say it was a great betrayal, that they became weak and decadent. It was never their fault; the proud citizen-soldiers of the Sadikoi were stabbed in the back by weak kings. Now they settle the colonies and trade posts of Ghenhassai, exporting olive oils and muttering about a glorious overthrow. Their lines of Dragon-Blooded which they trace to mighty hero-kings are are weak, but still occasionally give rise to Dragons to champion their cause or flee the sinking ship of Sadikoi to the wealth of Ghenhassai. Recently, a drowned woman in a strange sea under strange skies has started appearing in the dreams of Sadikoi leaders, promising them salvation and a glorious rebirth. The only price is their obedience.
History
In the Shogunate, the marshy climate began reclaiming what had been built in the Shogunate and several new, deadlier diseases spread here. Inhabitation of the region slowly decreased until it was effectively only a forward base with a garrison for greater empires, who made use of the lighthouse and lagoon-bridge. When the Great Contagion came, the lagoon itself was relatively untouched due to its low population density and while the Balorian Crusade did reach southern Hassai at times, their impact on the region is low.
In the early Age of Sorrows, the Hassa Lagoon was inhabited by several tribal clans who slowly confederated as a defence against the warlord Gerath the Great, who had conquered most of Harbourhead from his capital of Athaba, today a tiny village. After negotiation with the Realm, the Scarlet Empress assumed the title of protector of the trade and the wealth that now flowed into the Hassa Lagoon caused the previously nomadic tribes to centralize around the straits, helped by edicts from the Realm that forcibly relocated and urbanized the tribes as well as wiping out many of their native traditions. In these days, Ghenhassai was effectively a colonial port and direct extension of the Realm.
The power of the satrap was never strong. The elected leader of early Ghenhassai was effectively a puppet, eager to follow imperial decrees. As time went on, the city demonstrated itself to be loyal and the forced relocation of its populace had created a heavily urbanized lagoon metropolis that freely utilized its power in the region and exceeded Harbourhead in both wealth and usefulness to the Realm. In several Harbourite revolts, it became Ghenhassa ships that ferried soldiers onto the coast of Harbourhead and Ghenhassa soldiers that led the initial engagements against the Harbourites until the Realm arrived.
Now Ghenhassai is rich and powerful and its history of independent action emboldens it. The Realm is weakening and soldiers are drawn back to the Blessed Isle itself while the matriarchs of the Great Houses sharpen their knives. Ghenhassai has never held ports in the Inland Sea itself, but the Shofet and Sanhedrin know alike that the navy would be more than powerful enough to seize them. The arguments in the Sanhedrin have become more closed-off and more heated than ever, for its members know that the discussions that go on behind the doors of the palace would sound like treason to any listener. If the Realm grows too distracted to defend the ports of the south and east, then Ghenhassai might just have to step up to seize them. For the security of the Realm of course.
Ghenhassai
Ghenhassai, oh Ghenhassai. Your banners flap in the wind above your vast harbour and they display your fish-tailed and ursine patron, your ships set sail and ferry goods to and fro every port in the Inland Sea, your rulers guide you wisely through adversity and peace alike. Ghenhassai! Oh Ghenhassai! Your temples are in the hundreds, your soldiers in the thousands, but your destiny alone is without end. So ends the famous Ghenhassa poem Oh Ghenhassai written by the Mufla Hamsu in the style of a romantic poem. The richest Scarlet port in the Inland Sea, Ghenhassai is truly a wonder for the eyes. Uncountable temples rise, whether they be the enormous temple-complex of Ahlat-Daqna that catches every eye or the small Immaculate shrines in Heavensward Perfection Quarter. The wealth of Ghenhassai is evident in every street corner and every district, whether that be in the form of golden statues or weeping beggars.
The history of Ghenhassai begins in the murky shadows of history, but compared to the ancient states that surround it, it is a youngling on a playing field of the ancients. After the chaos of the Twin Troubles, the disparate peoples of the Hassa Lagoon began uniting in confederation for mutual defence against the nearby state in western Harbourhead, then subject to the great conquests of Gerath the Great, who had his vast capital in the city Athaba. The families of those he slew in his conquests fled to the malarial marshes of the lagoon, where they mingled and spread the worship of Ahlat. In time, they elected a leader to rule them and lead them in common defence, and the Scarlet Empress of the nascent Realm sent emissaries declaring her formal recognition; a personal challenge to Gerath himself.
Ghenhassai would outlast Gerath. It would outlast many more and now it plans on outlasting even the Realm itself. A wealthy port that controls access to all the eleven Great Lakes of Hassai, its long history of de facto independence from the Realm has blessed it with a spirit of opportunism and freedom and its strategic location and mercantile nature has given it the ruthlessness and will to carry out its schemes in freedom from the satrap's prying eyes. As the Houses built by the Scarlet Empress sink to the sea like anchors, Ghenhassai will rise and sail the tumultuous waves of the Age of Sorrows. Uninhibited. Unchained.
The Lagoon of Flies and Marches
The land of Hassai is characterized by wide-reaching marches, vast lakes, warm climate and hilly hinterlands. On the Blessed Isle, it is considered a savage land where no one in their right mind would ever want to live. However, quite in opposition to the derision of the Blessed Isle, many people live in Hassai. The great lakes and rivers that criss-cross the land provide rich opportunity for human life to grow and cities spring up like flowers upon the fertile land, only limited in their ambitions by the hills that block the empires that do not learn to master the sea. Trade posts and smaller cities founded by Ghenhassa expeditions dot the coasts, a spider's web on which wealth falls like rain, pearls hanging from the necklaces and veils of Ghenhassa women like so many drops on spider webs.
Diseases are common here, whether they are typhoid fever, malarial mosquitoes or the dreaded sleeping sickness which kills people and their livestock with equal measure. Insects swarm around people and cluster in the marketplaces of the city and trade posts, where they either serve to annoy and distract or to slay families with the sicknesses that they bring. Lions, leopards, elephants and zebras populate this region as well, the latter of which is ridden by the nobility; why use the breeds of the Blessed Isle that those Dynastic lords pride themselves on, if the sicknesses of Hassai bring an end to them in days? In the First Age, many lords whose names and faces are now forgotten, tried to tame it with a plethora of measures from the Fire-Flowers that grow in the Old Lord's Valley to the Myriad-Beneficent Egg, which treasure hunters still set sail into the lakes to find, never to return.
Hassai has been inhabited for longer than anyone can remember and the weight of history can feel all too real on the land. Ancient palaces have been stripped clean of their wealth and value long ago. All that has not been stripped away entirely was either not worth the price of effort or not worth the price of life. From across the narrow Straits of Ghenhassai, which controls the entrance to the lakes, the gazes of two faceless, ancient kings meet each other. A sorcerer who controls one of these great statues can split the sea and force a land bridge to open between the straits, blocking access entirely. The bridge is full of muck and waste now and the way is dangerous, but the one who controls the bridge controls the straits entirely. Much younger than the bridge is the vast lighthouse that now stands in Ghenhassai proper. Built during the Shogunate by a triumvirate of warlords, storytellers say that it used to turn night into day with its power and - when focused - set whole armadas on fire with its wrathful gaze.
Government and Culture
The politics of Ghenhassai are complicated and intricate. The many tribes of the lagoon that confederated had their own Dragon-Blooded ruling families, with blood about as strong as muddied freshwater. Over time and during the stewardship of the Realm, these slowly became a single Cadet House in name if not in reality; the Sunbaraqim. The Sunbaraqim form the political backbone of the city through their hereditary membership in the Sanhedrin of Ghenhassai, the legislative council that rules the city. The Sanhedrin is composed of seventy regular members and a single Shofet who acts as executive on the Sanhedrin's behalf and is chosen by random lottery among the members. Finally, there is the Secret Sanhedrin, chosen in secret by the Shofet. Their number is seventeen and their duty is to investigate and judge the other members of the Sanhedrin. Membership in both the Sanhedrin and the Secret Sanhedrin are for life, so is the position of the Shofet.
Ghenhassai is also a satrapy. The satrapal palace stands opposite to the glorious hall in which the Sanhedrin meets, an unimpressive building in comparison. Unlike many other subjects of the Realm, the satrap of Ghenhassai is in effect an ambassador who ensures that the influence of the Realm in the city is felt and symbolically oversees the transfer of tribute. The Realm has absolutely no fears that the eternally loyal Sunbaraqim or their city, would ever revolt. As a result, the current Satrap, a young man of V'neef descent by the name of V'neef Kovak, has grown lax and lazy with the tribute. He is not a lazy man by nature, oh, he is quite energetic in his purchases for his lover; the Shofet's son Azruba Melqit. The two are rarely, if ever, seen apart and the relationship is certainly politically advantageous for both. The Shofet listens to his son and the satrap listens to his lover.
The banner of Ghenhassai is scarlet red and bears a bull-headed man with a fish's tail for legs. This is the banner of Ahlat-Daqna, a syncretic meeting between Harbourite Ahlat and the lagoon-god Daqna, a traditional god of Ghenhassai. They are often worshipped as the same deity and the Realm tolerates this indiscretion, for the city's inhabitants at least agree with the Wyld Hunts and contribute both ships and soldiers for Anathema-hunts. There is also a small and lively Immaculate community in the city. Residing in the Heavensward Perfection Quarter, their neighbourhood is surrounded by a high wall so that the followers of the Immaculate Faith do not have to look at the heathen temples that surround them from all sides.
As Lightnings Gathered
The Sunbaraqim are a Cadet House of the Realm. Originally, they began as several smaller clans, each at the head of the tribes that populated the lagoon before urbanization. When the city was conglomerated from these tribes, the Realm arbitrated a compact between the families that they would be as kin-blood to each other and name one ancestor above all. Since then, founded on this compact, later called the Charter of Confederation, the Sunbaraqim have been one family with one ancestor. Their name stems from the mythical figure of King Baraq, a king alleged to have once ruled the lagoon and all around it. Certain Immaculate scholars have repeatedly raised suspicion of hidden anathema-worship in this figure, but this is uncertain.
Unfortunately, the Charter of Confederation only requested that the Sunbaraqim be as kin-blood to one another, and as any person with siblings know, brothers and sisters fight. The Sunbaraqim is a cat's cradle of lineages and bloodlines, each inheriting different traditions and histories. The two greatest Sunbaraqim branches are the Azruba and the Shrama. These branches compete viciously with one another, both by suborning lesser branches to their agenda and by lavishly funding ceremonies, colonies and the construction of new temples, statues and public works. The Sanhedrin frequently turns into a battleground for their agendas.
The Sunbaraqim are buried in the Tomb of Daqna; a great tomb-mausoleum from the First Age. Who built the tomb is unclear, for it contains no names or titles, but the grandeur of its construction is self-evident. In Ghenhassai proper, it is common wisdom that the cyclopean construction of the tomb must have been by Daqna himself. Use of the mausoleum is comparatively recent and only a few hundred years ago, therefore it is not hard to see how the scores and scores of Dragon-Blooded buried within might be taken to be ancestors of the modern Sunbaraqim. Curiously, the devil-gold orichalcum is almost as common among their grave goods as jade.
The Ocean Wedding
Religion in Ghenhassai is a public matter. The state ensures the performance of Immaculate rites, the rituals of Ahlat-Daqna, sacrifices on their allotted times, the following of the prayer calendar and much more. As first magistrate, the Shofet participates and presides over all the rituals of state and funds for them are allocated by the Sanhedrin for the Shofet's spending. However, it is a common arrangement by various Sunbaraqim branches to supply them with additional wealth for certain rituals in exchange for being given a valuable position in that ritual.
Of great importance to the city is the syncretic festival of the Ocean Wedding, an annual festival stretching from the twentieth day of Descending Fire to the last day of Calibration. During the ten-day festival, poems of glory are recited in the first days. Over the next seven days, this transitions into contests of first song, then dance, then prayer, then theatre and finally an interwoven combination of all. On the ninth day, a procession open to all citizens of the city passes from the outer boundaries, stopping only four times, where a small ceremony is held, symbolizing the rise to power of the city.
At its midnight end, the procession breaks out into a grand masked carnival of enormous festivity and joy, lasting until the dawn of the next day, at which point the carnival proceeds to the harbour, still feasting and celebrating until it is interrupted by a solemn procession by the Shofet, rowed into the lagoon by their most trusted men. Here, the Shofet addresses the city directly and speaks of the city's hardships and tribulations and how they will be overcome. At the end of this ceremony, a hecatomb of one hundred cattle to Ahlat-Daqna is made by slitting their throats and casting them into the sea. It is also customary for the Shofet to announce the presence of any Exalted in the city, that will be staying on a longer basis during this ceremony. Many Sunbaraqim consider this announcement their ritual of coming-of-age.
Economy
Ghenhassai is rich and wealthy beyond measure. The single wealthiest port in the already wealthy southern satrapies, the city controls a truly massive series of trade ports all across the eleven great lakes and has founded several colonies ruled by their own Shoftim and their own, smaller Sanhedrins. All these serve the purpose of expanding the influence and trade power of Ghenhassai. The tributes on Ghenhassai are heavy and would put even the vast economy of the city under a yoke just as heavy. However, due to the love affair between V'neef Kovak and Azruba Melqit, the tribute has been low-balled and frequently parts of it "disappear" due to "piracy" on the way to the Blessed Isle. Admittedly, most of that piracy happens in the city itself and tends to manifest as jewelry on Melqit's neck and arms, but that's what the documents say. After all, as long as Ghenhassai controls the straits which lock the lakes, the Realm must be happy, reasons the satrap.
The bounteous wealth of Ghenhassai is built on a foundation of trade. First and foremost, its dominance of the lakes allow it to set prices more or less as it wants to, secondly, traders from frequently frequently venture deeper into the southernmost lakes to purchase slaves or outright raid for them. Ghenhassai participates in this market from from the western Lap to eastern Port Calin and northern Pneuma. In all the southern ports of the Blessed Isle and the Imperial City itself, Ghenhassa ships are present, containing everything from slaves in bulk, salt now cheaper than the god-inflated prices of the Blessed Isle and exotic animals for dynasts with luster in their eyes as they gaze upon broken zebras and exotic elephants. Grain, draperies of silk and luxurious glasses make their way from Ghenhassai to all the Inland Sea.
By far the most important industry in the city is shipbuilding, where labourers construct ships frame-first, outfitting them in rows with whatever they need. Thousands of shipwrights work in the Grand Harbour, producing the galleys and rowed ships with which the city has subdued the lakes. This shipbuilding operation is of a scale unmatched by any other power in the Inland Sea, only outdone by the sheer population of the Scarlet Realm itself. This shipbuilding enterprise is owned by the Ghenhassa state, an unusual arrangement in the city where the Sunbaraqim branches and mercantile colleges either own everything else or do their best to set a price on it.
The Neighbours of the City
Far to the south from Ghenhassai lies the trading colony of New Harbour. A divided city of two languages, this city was once a rival of the city, but Harbourite mercenaries hired by Ghenhassai defeated it in battle and as a reward for their services, they were simply given the city and all within it. These warriors introduced Ahlat to the city and slew every man within and took the women to be their wives. The city is split in two between the new upper class of warriors and their slave-wives. But the wives are not content to be slaves and rebellion simmers under the surface. A secret order of spear-brides to Ahlat, wives by day and warriors by night, ferments the dream of revolution among the city's women. How long will New Harbour send willing spears to Ghenhassai before the young men that form its strength never wake up again, their demure wives having slit their throats?
The Holy Order of the Righteous Watchmen of the Waves reside in their great fortified monastery off the coast. Originally, they came to Ghenhassai to convert the inhabitants, but to the people of the city they were much too aloof and it made no sense that to embrace the Immaculate they had to sacrifice Ahlat-Daqna. Gradually, the Holy Order retreated to their fortified monastery, which becomes an island when the tide is high and connects to the land when the tide is low. The Holy Order maintains a massive fishing fleet, with which it helps supply Ghenhassai itself and so the monks there have become wealthy themselves; wealth that they spend on furnishing the monastery for they can own no riches under their oaths. Under the leadership of Nellens Amaka, the Holy Order has also taken to smuggling under the noses of Ghenhassai, for Amaka smoulders with anger on behalf of his family, to whom he feels the satrapy should properly belong.
Under the yoke live the Sadikoi. In the past, their deeds were many and their culture was great and Sadikoi kings sailed on the waves with pride. Thus, they were scattered in a steady diaspora across the many islands in their lake, but now they have been reduced to paupers in their own land. The Contagion swept away their greatness and left nothing but memories, now they say it was a great betrayal, that they became weak and decadent. It was never their fault; the proud citizen-soldiers of the Sadikoi were stabbed in the back by weak kings. Now they settle the colonies and trade posts of Ghenhassai, exporting olive oils and muttering about a glorious overthrow. Their lines of Dragon-Blooded which they trace to mighty hero-kings are are weak, but still occasionally give rise to Dragons to champion their cause or flee the sinking ship of Sadikoi to the wealth of Ghenhassai. Recently, a drowned woman in a strange sea under strange skies has started appearing in the dreams of Sadikoi leaders, promising them salvation and a glorious rebirth. The only price is their obedience.
History
In the Shogunate, the marshy climate began reclaiming what had been built in the Shogunate and several new, deadlier diseases spread here. Inhabitation of the region slowly decreased until it was effectively only a forward base with a garrison for greater empires, who made use of the lighthouse and lagoon-bridge. When the Great Contagion came, the lagoon itself was relatively untouched due to its low population density and while the Balorian Crusade did reach southern Hassai at times, their impact on the region is low.
In the early Age of Sorrows, the Hassa Lagoon was inhabited by several tribal clans who slowly confederated as a defence against the warlord Gerath the Great, who had conquered most of Harbourhead from his capital of Athaba, today a tiny village. After negotiation with the Realm, the Scarlet Empress assumed the title of protector of the trade and the wealth that now flowed into the Hassa Lagoon caused the previously nomadic tribes to centralize around the straits, helped by edicts from the Realm that forcibly relocated and urbanized the tribes as well as wiping out many of their native traditions. In these days, Ghenhassai was effectively a colonial port and direct extension of the Realm.
The power of the satrap was never strong. The elected leader of early Ghenhassai was effectively a puppet, eager to follow imperial decrees. As time went on, the city demonstrated itself to be loyal and the forced relocation of its populace had created a heavily urbanized lagoon metropolis that freely utilized its power in the region and exceeded Harbourhead in both wealth and usefulness to the Realm. In several Harbourite revolts, it became Ghenhassa ships that ferried soldiers onto the coast of Harbourhead and Ghenhassa soldiers that led the initial engagements against the Harbourites until the Realm arrived.
Now Ghenhassai is rich and powerful and its history of independent action emboldens it. The Realm is weakening and soldiers are drawn back to the Blessed Isle itself while the matriarchs of the Great Houses sharpen their knives. Ghenhassai has never held ports in the Inland Sea itself, but the Shofet and Sanhedrin know alike that the navy would be more than powerful enough to seize them. The arguments in the Sanhedrin have become more closed-off and more heated than ever, for its members know that the discussions that go on behind the doors of the palace would sound like treason to any listener. If the Realm grows too distracted to defend the ports of the south and east, then Ghenhassai might just have to step up to seize them. For the security of the Realm of course.
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Imrix
Periodically Malevolent QM
I remember a long while back ES talking about the value of 'Heroic First Circles' and reading this brings that sentiment back in a good way.
- Location
- my house
I love this. Importing it into my campaign
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Awesome mate! I think by now you've got enough homebrew to merit a hub threadmark.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Oh-ho-ho, I didn't notice the Apocrypha tab. You are entirely to blame for the fact that I'm not going to get any actual work done.He already has one.