~ Weywyn ~

[MissMilkMaid]

Weywyn
(Formally known as Glyndal)

Race: Elves
-- Long Lived: All Elven heroes start with an additional rank.
-- Slow Lives: Elves gain population at 10 food instead of 8.

Elves are a ruling minority in Weywyn. There are actually fewer than five thousand of them left. An enemy god cursed them so that they can never have children, meaning their population can not increase at all. Their goddess, Lestari, has managed to make them basically immune to aging and sickness, but hasn’t been able to break the curse.

The majority of the population is human, with chimera making up the second most common race. However, because the humans are enslaved and the chimera have trouble reproducing naturally, the whole population in Weywyn tends to increase slowly, so the Elven penalty fits well. Since the elves are the ruling elite and the favored race of the goddess, all the heroes will probably elven, so the bonus makes sense too.  


Leaders : Oligarchy with Elynd Landri as High Counselor

A small counsel rules the nation. The counsel is made up by the appointed leaders of each of the five elven guilds, with the Astra Guild leader and Glyndal Governor filling the roll of High Counselor. The currant counsel members are:

Name: Elynd Landri
Guild: Astra
Position: Glyndal Governor and High Counselor
Only 60 years out of his last hibernation cycle, Elynd rose to his position with astonishing rapidity. This was due primarily to his long history of leadership, his heritage, cutthroat efficiency, sharp wit, intelligence and silver tongue. Unlike many of the elves, Elynd does not cling to nostalgia, nor live in constant anxiety for the future. He lives in the moment and views both the past and future only as tools to shape and understand the present with. He was a driving force behind the immigration and essential in the organizing of the new cities and government. He is still relied upon as an important administrator and mediator for internal affairs and national organization.

Name: Jovyn Thrace
Guild:  Tarek
Position: High Commander General of the Chimera and Tarek Counselor
Jovyn has held the position of high commanding general for many years and has already put off his hibernation cycle longer than the priests of Lestrai recommend. He is very stern and an apathetically cruel and calloused elf, but no fool. Jovyn holds a cynical wisdom that has let him see beyond some of the prejudices of the rest of his race, but hardened his heart toward the world in general. Like many of the Tarek he feels a heavy weight of the responsibility, standing between the sheltered valley of Glyndal and the reality of the real world, where his people are all but dead.  He is skilled in magic, but views himself as a warrior not a wizard. While he is very loyal to the Elves, Jovyn finds he prefers the company of chimera, rather than the sheltered, arrogant company of Glyndal Elves.    

Name: Ambrosia Starwyn
Giuld: Stareti
Position: High Priestess to Lestari and Stareti Counselor
Ambrosia is a zealot and has been through all her history. She is one of the few remaining “true fighters” left alive and would surely have died in glorious battle ages ago, if she wasn’t so intent on prioritizing the breaking of the curse. As it is, she still views herself as a warrior fighting a battle, but she fights against bureaucracy, religious heresy and the apathetic despair, which poisons the Glyndal Kingdom. Many elves have given up hope and are simply waiting out the last days in as much luxury as possible, but Ambrosia has never given up and trusts in the power of Lestari. She believes that one-day, through Lestari’s power, the elves will rise again, the curse will be broken and their enemies will all either be eradicated or enslaved.        

Name: Novwyn Wystri
Guild: Thallassan  
Position: High Glyndal Defender and Thallassan Counselor
Novwyn is a very quite and reserved elf and a rather pour politician, who seldom tries to understand or involve himself in the many nuances and arguments of the counsel. He holds respect and got his position because of his past, his legendary skills as a fighter and a hero rather than his political prowess. Novwyn is extremely old, probably the oldest elf in the kingdom. Hibernation cycles have washed away any signs of aging and have even blued and buried most of his memories, but “His Soul Runs Deep” as the elves would say and he’s seen the Old Kingdoms and fought in many wars. According to history he single-handedly held off an army of humans at Novwyn’s Bridge a thousand years ago, allowing over 800 elven refuges to escape a slaughter. He is an expert in all the elven fighting techniques and their accompanying wizardry, including Regeneration, Possession and Telepathy. While he does little in counsel meetings, he is an expert teacher and leader to the rest of his guild and would be willing to die to protect the valley a sentiment that is extremely rare among the life-hoarding elves.      


Name: Enari Lowyna
Guild: Alano
Position: High Historian and Alano Counselor
Enari considers herself one of the few truly “noble” elves left and is known for fighting for the “lost causes” in elven politics. As an Alano she speaks for the old ways and cares more for traditions and principles than survival. Her knowledge is extremely vast and she is a living archive of the old world and ways. She views present Glyndal and the religion of Lestari as corrupt and tends to make trouble with the majority of the counsel, especially with Ambrosia. She speaks against the breeding magic used to create chimera and many other of Lestari’s darker rituals. Enari talks about returning to the morality of the Old Kingdoms and restoring traditions of courage and chivalry, but many elves accuse her of giving up on hope and survival and simply accepting doom by clinging to old and useless pride.  

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Governing Capital: Glyndal (Holy Sight Village)

Description: Glyndal  is the secret valley capital, where all the Elves live. Built in the shelter of the wide forest and partially underground in a system of caverns and crevasses, it is very hard to find it, unless you know where to look. Only Elves and human slaves with their tongues cut out are allowed access to the valley. The magic of Nature’s Wrath usually dissuades people from getting very close and accidentally discovering the hidden valley and Stareti magic is strong enough to banish memories of its location from people’s minds, keeping them from describing its location accurately. Guarded by Thallassan warriors and Sareti wizards, it is the Elves safest refuge. It is a place of artistic stone architecture, where luxurious mansions and gardens are built into the valley walls or carved within the caves. Deep in the caves there is a hot water aquifer and the holy sight of Lestari’s power, where the hibernation catacombs are hidden. A stream flows out from the there, and through the rest of the caves and valley. Not including the hibernating elves, Glyndal only has a population of about 3000 people.


Capital City: Thorwyn

Description: Thorwyn is the largest population center and is Weywyn’s primary port. The chimera navy and main forces will be stationed there and Thorwyn is the only the only place foreigners would be allowed. It shall maintain merchants, diplomats and trade agents and is the closest thing to a cosmopolitan city in Weywyn. On the shores of the bay, it is a bright, thriving city, especially compared to the other villages in Weywyn. The city is mostly run by and populated by chimera, with humans as slaves and possibility an elf or two as high rulers and overseers.

Other Villages
The majority of the human live in small rugged villages, ruled by and overseen by chimera sheriffs and governors. There is little effort put into the comfort and security of their lives and between the cold, rainy weather and hard work their lives are very harsh, but simple.  

Village: Moriah
Village: Flox
Village: Eyrol



Heroes

Novwyn Wystri
Novwyn is very old, likely one of the oldest people alive and rooted in the era before the elves were cursed or had turned to Lestari. Time and hibernation cycles have buried the memories beyond recollection, but the skills, dedication and old values are not so lost. There is quite nobility about him, which most of the others can’t even recognize, except perhaps for High Historian Enari Lowyna. For all his life, Novwyn has been soldier, willing to put his life on the line for the sake of the people. Now days the idea of risking an elven life is both horrifying and prosperous to almost all the elves, but Novwyn remains a true soldier. He has proved it in every war his people has been in for the past two and a half millennia, standing against whole armies for the sake of his people. His reputation is awe inspiring but it doesn’t reflect much in his personal presence. He is quite and not a particularly charismatic politician, despite having a seat on the counsel. As a general and a strategist, he is very good thanks to the amounts of experience he has, but it is not his strongest suit. It is his prowess as a warrior that is simply mind-boggling. Novwyn has studied and devised hundreds of fighting styles and has integrated martial prowess with wizardry in ways so subtle, the two arts are indistinguishable when he is in action. In the opinion of Enari Lowyna, Novwyn Wystri has a power that runs deeper than the magic of the Stareti priests and is the lingering power of gods and mysticism long since lost to the ages of time. Novwyn Wystri doesn’t say anything to that, he seldom tries to explain complexities, he simply does his duty, which isn’t to judge, or rule, or uncover the secrets of gods and powers, but simply to protect his people, no matter what their faults are.

Warrior: II
General:
Governor:
Piety: I
Subterfuge:I

Traits:



Meryn Flynt
Meryn Flynt is physically in hibernation right now, his body frozen in stases, the magic of Lestari gradually undoing the effects of aging and supposedly perceiving and soothing the soul. However, while his body may be as rest, Flynt's soul and mind are very busy. Through direct communication with Lestari and some support among the priests and a few other elves, Flynt uses projection to work through the bodies of others, or by moving around the territory in astral form. He has a handful of primary identities, bodies of coconspirators who help him by allowing his to possess them when necessary and working to maintain a consistent identity when he is not. Among the elves his primary identity and ally, is Earak Dunn a member of the Tarek guild under the leadership of Jovyn Thrace, the Tarek guild leader, has appointed Earak the head of intelligence and the primary spymaster and in this form Flynt interacts with the elves and relates the information he has gleaned from his other identities. Besides Earak, Flyn has agents among the humans and chirmera and among some of the less prestigious elves. Very few  are aware of exactly how powerful Flynt is or that he isn't really in hybernation. Flynt likes it this way. He hates attention and wants to control things from the shadows. He's able to mislead, deceive and put on the personas of many people, causing others to greatly underestimate him if they take any notice at all. His sharp mind gathers information faster than a dry sponge soaking water in a wet bucket and he understands people well enough to perceive motives and character with only a few moment's observation. Besides his own skills, Flynt has gone to Lestari's section in the divine world, where she has told him secrets even the Stareti priests don’t know. He probably see's through the goddess and understands her in ways very few mortals ever could,  but they have an appreciation for each other. Flynt knowns what it means to serve a goddess who thrives on secrets, lies, cunning and subtleties and it makes him a powerful tool in the goddess's hand.

Warrior:
General: I
Governor:
Piety:
Subterfuge: III

Traits:


Deity
Deity Name: Lestari
Source: Trickery
Powers: Healing, Nature’s Wrath, Astral Projection, Custom Power - Breed Chimera
Description: Lestari is quite beautiful and she often appears as a tall elven maiden with long, flowing strawberry blonde hair and strange amethyst colored eyes that hold a strange almost feline shape to them. She seems vibrant with life and usually appears naked, displaying smooth porcelain skin and a luxuriously bosom. She is a goddess with access to the powers of life and death, able to prolong life, manipulate the living souls, mold physical forms and dominate minds. She is a seductress. She lures followers to her with promises of immortal life, beauty, magic and power over others, but her true concern is only for her own power and influence. She likes to work in subtle ways, through insidious plots, secret alliances, and long term plans where she slowly manipulates others into becoming her pawns. Open and obviously displays of power is not her style and she often uses rituals, magical plants and other aspects of living nature to pass her magic on to her servants. White roses and kypher (a leafy blueish colored herb) are especially magical to those who worship her.  Her Symbol is a white rose with a thorny stem wound around a dark seven-pointed star.        

Description: Weywyn is a cold, wet and rugged country in the forests, lowland moors along the southern most coast. The Nest River flows south from the forests into Ged Bay and the Silver Plains lay on the northeaster side of the territory. Farming on a significant scale is difficult due to a very short growing season, heavy rains and difficult winters. Hardy livestock capable of enduring cold weather have been domesticated, including breeds of cattle, sheep, goats and horses and are a common means of survival. Fishing in Ged Bay and small surrounding lakes is common and fish make up a good deal of the nation's diet. Away from the coast line, the river  goes through evergreen forests, which provide wood and shelter, but making traditional farming arduous and difficult. The Silver Plains are quite beautiful with open stretches of green grey moors, with tall grasses intermixed with a species of blue needled cedars that have tall ash colored trunks. More often than not the moors are covered in patched of thin ice and frost that clings to the grass reflecting the sunlight in all directions. It's the ice and frost that gives the Silver Plains their name. Because of all this it is hard to support large populations in one place, which has led to slow population growth and small villages. Many herding villages are forced to be semi-nomadic, shifting between summer and winter pastures and fishing towns are also subject to shifting seasons and migrations of sea life.      

Culture

The majority of Weyish culture, (that is human culture,) is simplistic rural villages, which most nations probably would hardly consider civilized. The people are uneducated, isolated, superstitious, poor and live in simple societies with little in the way of economy. They dress in simple wool and leathers, eat and drink simple fair (mostly potatoes, fish and beer). Their technology is not especially advanced and there isn’t much specialization of skills or craftsmanship. The people struggle against the hardship of a harsh brutal country, with long winders and seemingly constant rain and even more under the oppression and tyranny of other races that hate them, or have been taught to hate them. They are forced by their masters to worship Lestari, but around fires on stormy nights they some times tell stories of another god, a human god who cares for them and is searching for them. They say his presence can sometimes be felt in the comfort of the warm sunshine, or in the sweet smells of the earth after the summer rain. Someday he will find them and save them from their oppressors, giving them magic that will overcome the chimera and the will of the elves. Talk of such things is of course extremely dangerous and those who have become too bold in their word about the Searching God, have been horribly executed. However, it is the once source of hope and, whatever the consequences, the stories will always been whispered, passed on and remembered.

Chimera are still a developing race, only recently created and kept under the thumb of the elves. In many ways they are still discovering themselves and seeking a culture. However, there are a few things, which have significantly pushed them toward their own identity. Firstly is their monstrous/magical nature, which make them all so unique or “freakish” even among their own kind. They have come to embrace and even celebrate their hideousness, finding beauty in the bizarre,  strength in strangeness and individualism in malformations. This has led them to see the best in each other and appreciate that everyone is different. Compared to the strong prejudice of their elven masters, they tend to be very accepting of themselves and of others. A second defining trait of chimera culture is their short lifespan. Few chimera live far into their 40s and anyone who makes 50 is considered extremely old and probably extremely lucky as well. Because of this, They are forced to make the best of themselves in a short amount of time, so they live with fervor and dedication, never doing things half way, but putting their all into everything. Their personalities tend to be as extreme as their appearances. Courage, boldness and dedication are common traits and they also tend to be surprisingly honest, refusing to mask who and what they are. Chimera take fine things wherever they can get it, relish the good when it comes and endure the bad times without question or complaint. They are brutal, but not unreasonable monsters without humor or good will. Overall, they are a young and boisterous culture, capable of extreme cruelty, but also strong friendship and dedication, surprising optimism and unexpected honesty and honor.  

Elves live in luxury, served by slaves and socializing with each other in style and comfort. Glyndal is wreathed in stunning architecture, gardens and fields. They managed to transfer a surprising amount of their art and artifacts from Allis, including carved and painted art, tapestries of history to cover walls and ancient instruments of great beauty and lingering traces of magic from older times. The elves don’t work, but spend time studying arts, fighting styles, magic, religion or politics, depending upon their guild. Human slaves can be seen working in the few farms in the valley or making deliveries along the well-kept streets, but the valley is elven beyond a doubt. The spot Lestari picked is graceful in nature and the building the have carved blend seamlessly with the natural look of the valley and the caves. Despite being only a few years old, the nature of the people there fills Glyndal with an ancient, sad but beautiful since of loss.

Without the ability to have children and very little signs of change or age, most elves don’t live in families, but form groups based on interests and master/apprentice relationships. Marriages still exists, but has lost much of its meaning and is considered void if the couple do not renew their vowels after a hibernation cycle. Sex is generally treated in a lax manner, left to individual tastes. Incest is no longer considered taboo, but relationships between masters and apprentices are frowned upon. Sex as a means for political favor and social advancement is considered base and crude. Generally, sexual relationships are judged more by their reason than by who is doing what with whom. “Families” and households are often formed around a teacher or leader and those most recently out of hibernation that are studying under them, or by a group of friends with common interests and activities, more akin to a club than a family.  

Respect, authority and wealth are important in determining social rank. Ancient heritage and past accomplishments are a big factor in how much respect an elf has and their authority is earned by favor and accomplishment under the masters of their guild. Having the right friends and advancing far in their study contributes to elven success, as well as displaying lavish wealth in the form of fashion, parties, the amount of slaves they own and the size of temple donations.

Overall elven culture is generally high-class, soft and sheltered. Their lives hold little meaning, but they value them tremendously, surrounding themselves with lavish relationship, political and social drama, or loosing themselves in studying arts or martial practice. They think very little about the world outside Glyndal and despise all other races. For all their pomp, circumstance and eternal lifespan, most elves have trouble finding purpose or fulfillment. Suicide is not especially common, but it is currently the leading cause of death among the elves. Depression is the only sickness they really need to worry about, but is a prevalent threat that haunts the valley like the stench of something dead and out of sight.  


History
Back in Allis the nation of Weywyn was known as the Elven Alliance of Glyndal.  They were a fairly isolated nation located in the wilds of a small continent that was separated from the larger continent of Allis and away from the major fall out of the First Sundering. However, they had their own problems to deal with.

In the Elven Golden Age, thousands years ago, there were several Elven kingdom spread over the continent, with similar languages, culture and a sheared pantheon of gods. They had highly developed advancements in magic, art, warfare and architecture, but their civilization went into a steep decline when, for an unexplained reason, the gods who empowered them began disappearing. Links and empowerments faded to nothingness, prayers were never answered and prophets and priests could discern nothing from the realm of the gods to explain their problems. The elves were left without the protection, magic or guidance they had relied on and were essentially abandoned.  Civil war, and chaos broke out between them and strife and conflict began tearing the kingdoms apart.

Around this time humans began immigrating to their continent and slowly establishing a presence. Until this time, the continent had only ever been populated by elves and in desperation of something to blame and a goal to restore order, the elves blamed the humans for their woes and were able to unite the remaining kingdoms into an empire with the express purpose of eliminating all the humans. Unfortunately for them, the humans worshiped a god who was in attendance and quite powerful. When it was obvious that the elves intended uncompromising genocide on his people, the god laid a powerful curse on the elves and with no gods to defend them there was nothing to protect themselves from his wrath. Ever since the curse was cast about 900 years ago, none of the Weyish elves have been able to bare children. They became completely barren and so doomed to eventual extinction.

Over the next several centuries, their numbers dwindled and the elves became increasingly desperate. Eventually, they were driven by the human civilization to the northern wildernesses of their continent, where they hid in secret cities and valleys. This was when they turned to a worship of Lestari. She offered them extension on their lives and access to dark magic, which could manipulate biological forms and nature and dominate spirits and souls. They saw in her a hope of breaking the curse, or at least finding a way around it and didn’t care if it meant devolving to a darker existence. With her help they began rebuilding power, staying hidden and insidiously taking human slaves and experimenting on them with the dark magic their goddess was teaching them. They’re last fortress where they hid was Glyndal and they build a new civilization from there, becoming greatly feared.  By the time the Second Sundering happened they had only a few thousand surviving elves, but held a strong grip on dark magic, and an empire of slaves and monstrous minions. They’d learned to create and control chimera, learned healing magic to make them essentially ageless and were well delving even deeper into the dark powers available to them. They were a magical nation once again, though their magic was now terrible and insidious rather than the beautiful wholesome magic of the lost Golden Age.

One result of their experimentation through out the centuries was the creation of the Toven, which are a race blended from wolves and elves. They proved impossible to control and became an independent species about 600 years ago. Another god named Lafah adopted them. Lafah and Lestari were well known acquaintances and had worked together at times, as well as been occasional rivals. Lafah was in love with the wife of the human god who had cursed the elves and when she spurned him, refusing to betray her husband, Lafah was willing to make a secret alliance with Lestari for the sake of revenge. Together they began building up power, looking for an opportunity. Through the alliance the elves and the Toven grew more dangerous and steadily empowered Lestari and Lafah. With the apocalypse of the Second Sundering the two gods saw their chance. They made an unexpected and powerful strike at the human civilization, just as their god was getting ready to transport them from Allis to the safety of the Refuge world. Because of this the transport failed and the whole civilization got stranded on Allis and doomed to complete destruction. The ancient elven goal of genocide against their neighboring human civilization was fulfilled and the slaves bound to the Weyish elves are the only remnant left and the knowledge of their native god and culture has been all the completely stamped out of them.

Pleased with there work, Lafah and Lestari hastily retreated to the Refuge and hid their people in the new world, knowing the human god would surly want revenge. This is why the nation will be known as Weywyn rather than Glyndal, Lestari doesn’t want to be found out and she tried to pick a place well away from other nations to hide her people. Lafah planted his Toven nearby. They are not so civilized nor developed enough to really count as an organized nation or fraction, but the nomadic Toven tribes range the forests and swamps north of Weywyn, occasionally doing trade and acting a kind of buffer, between Weywyn and the rest of the world. For now they are still allies, but neither Lafah nor Lestari are known for their loyalty and both expect betrayal will eventually happen. It’s just a matter of when and who betrays whom first. At the moment, their common fear of being discovered by their enemy is holding them together.      

Starting Resources
-5 Locked Resource: Sacred Sight at Glyndal Village
-7 Additional Hero: Meryn Flynt
-5 Additional Village: Glyndal
-1 1 Stone Resource
-2 2 Population
+5 Enemy Deity: The god who cursed them


Starting Location: Southern coast of the continent, south of the Long river flowing east along the little river flowing south into the ocean, by the forest and the swamps.  
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Unit Templates:

I am saving my six templets and will design the units as needed, before I recruit any professional troops. But all military units in Weywyn will be made of Chimera, which the elves use to control and govern the human population and protect the nation from foreign envision and the possibility of Toven raids.

[Admin]

Accepted.

Resources:
Capital: Gold Ore
Gyndal: Sacred Site
Forest Village: Wood
Lake Village: Fishing Waters
Plains Village: Sacred Site

Hero Traits:
Novwyn Wystri - Attendant Seer (+I Subterfuge, +I Piety)
Meryn Flynt - Genius (+I Subterfuge, +I General)

Enemy Deity: Antarus, god of poetic justice and balance.

Custom Power:
Breed Chimera - Your god can twist man and animal into a strange hybrid of both. For 8 Divinity you may convert 1 population into Chimera with a randomly selected but weaker version of the Sylph, Avian, Merfolk, Giant, Centaur or Orc traits, or a chance to receive no trait at all. Chimera Regiments cannot reinforce.

[MissMilkMaid]

Unit Templates:

The Watch

Armor: Light Armor - 1 gold
Weapon: Warbow - 2gold, -1wood
Movement: Light Cavalry - 2 gold
Training: Elite - 4 gold
Misc: Scouts - 2 gold

11 gold
-1 wood
need stables
-2gold/turn

The Watch serve as elite scouting and police forces across the kingdom, moving quickly and in excellent coordination. They patrol large areas seeking out any sign of foreign threat or internal rebellion. They're very good as striking quick and unexpectedly and disappearing again just as fast. They utilize the long range of their bows and calvary to encircle enemies and pepper them with arrows, while maintaining distance and avoiding melee engagements.

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