Encyclopedia

[Sierra]

A wide variety of ancillary and background information will be included here. Some will be drawn from the initial posts made to advertise the game, but more will be added as it progresses. EDIT, 6/22: Added some basic info on the Watch. Intend to round out that section with some more information on the internal affairs of the Registry tomorrow.

Corentin

Geography:
   Macro
   Local
   Landmarks

Institutions:
   Bureau of Land Management
   City Watch
   Fyrdaellen Faith
   Honre Nathaline's
   Margranth University
   Morning Star
   Office of the Registry
   Peerless
   Reveille

   Clarion
   Morning Star
   Reveille

Kalbemarle

Laws and Law Enforcement

Mythology

Terminology and Errata

[Sierra]

Corentin

The adjective used to denote people and things originating from Corentin is Corentine

Corentin lies to the northwest of Avontyne, a port city on the southern shore of another continent and four to six weeks travel by sea. Its climate is roughly analogous to our Scandinavia. Its citizens are a bit paler than the average Avon but on the whole not significantly different in appearance.

Common knowledge about the city to the northwest is not extensive in Avontyne. It is at least well-known that it has access to vast expanses of pine forest largely untouched by the war and its aftermath and that, as a result of this fact, its chief exports to Avontyne and Kalbemarle are timber and furs. Corentin itself takes in much of Avontyne's agricultural surplus in return.

Corentin is governed by a legislative assembly of sorts. It is re-elected on a regular basis. The voting body is restricted to the major property owners. This crude form of democracy is sometimes advanced by Avon radicals as a form of administration preferable to the city's de facto oligarchy, a stance which usually earns the unwelcome attention of the Registry.

[Sierra]

Geography

Macro: Avontyne is situated in the northern hemisphere of the world, and its climate approximates that of continental Europe. Summers and winters are equally harsh. It is a port town, and the coastline on which it sits runs southwest to northeast. A semicircle of land approximately two-hundred square miles in area (much of it originally flat grassland) has been re-tamed for human use over the past two centuries. The vast majority of this territory is given over to farming, though at the edge of the southwestern sector rolling hills eventually give way to towering mountains. The River Avon spills from these mountains, arcing across the agricultural zone to eventually make a left turn and bisect the city along its southeast/northwest axis.

Beyond Avontyne's comfortable perimeter of arable ground lie the Outlands. Not quite tamed, not quite inhabitable like the true wastes, they are a strange place where civilization is a fragile thing. After the war, as Avontyne's reconstruction began, some people found themselves more suited to the rough task of reclaiming the wasteland than to life in the hyper-regimented and microorganized early Registry years. These people and their descendants became the Outlanders, fighting and hunting for a living and only irregularly interacting with the city proper (though the farming towns that sprang up in later years do frequently have commerce with them). As Avontyne's territory expanded, they moved with the frontier. Wilder than city folk in appearance and temperament, and loners by nature, Avontyne's citizens hold a wide array of opinions about them. The most extreme view them as savages. At the same time, others realize the benefit of having such people at the city's disposal. By necessity they possess considerable knowledge of the border zone, its wildlife, and the wasteland creatures that occasionally wander in for prey. The Bureau of Land Management frequently contracts them to scout out lands slated for purification and expansion.

And past the Outlands...are the true wastelands. Some Outlanders can survive for a time (a day at most) in the waste--having spent generations in proximity, some possess a modicum of resistance to the morphogenic properties of its taint. But no one can live there. Only the occasional, twisted scrub plant grows to break the monotony of the cracked, baked flats and hills. Two centuries of exposure to the mutagenic fallout that saturates this land has bred entirely new species of abominations which bear little relation to familiar terrestrial creatures and have no place among them. A similar fate typically befalls humans who venture in too far, if neither madness or the jaws of some beast claim them first.

Several days travel across the wastes, to the east, hills give way to a narrow range of mountains. In the midst of this range lies a valley filled with pristine white sand. A remnant from conflicts ancient even before the holocaust of two centuries past and quite impassible for a variety of reasons, the old Mallen empire constructed an elevated bridge to cross this gap and connect the empire proper to its new colony of Avontyne. In the days of empire Ausra Remei, the old provincial capital, lay on the other side of the crossing. If anything remains now, it is naught but ruins, though none brave the wastes far enough to find out.

Further afield are Avontyne's two main trading partners, Kalbemarle and Corentin. The former lies several weeks' ocean travel to the west, and a little ways south so that its climate is warmer than Avontyne's as a result. Corentin is on yet another continent, north-northwest from Avontyne and a slightly longer journey than that to Kalbemarle. Corentin is a cold place, suffering harsh winters, but it was relatively untouched in the war (at least, in comparison to the fate suffered by most centers of civilization) and has access to huge swaths of pine forest. It's a small city, not having the resources to feed a population like Avontyne's.

Local

Avontyne is not a city of long, graceful boulevards and wide-open plazas. As a result of the chaos and hasty reconstruction after the war, much of it is cramped and ramshackle. There are exceptions, certainly--some neighborhoods have been rebuilt from the ground up in recent years, in a more organized and polished fashion--but the older and poorer districts remain a tangled maze of backalleys.

Avontyne's population has long since spread beyond the city's ancient defensive walls (now in thorough disrepair and frequently cannibalized for building material). However, the most important districts remain within this ring. Those being:

Landry District (Dockside): Almost never referred to by its actual name; every citizen knows what is meant by "Dockside." Occupying the northwest of the city and the majority of its waterfront, Landry District suffered much neglect after the war--though fishing continued, there was (supposedly) no outside world with which to have commerce and the area fell into disrepair as a result. Poverty has long been endemic to the region. After contact with Kalbemarle was established, organized gangs sprang up to take advantage of the sudden spike in traffic and shipping. Though this lawlessness has been fought successfully in recent years, the district remains dangerous, with prostitution and smuggling significant problems.

"Drowned District" Ophthaelen: Ophthaelen sits astride the delta of the River Avon. Unlike Dockside, it was left wholly to rot after the war--somewhat literally, as the foundations of many of its buildings have eroded. Those structures which do not sag display other major signs of decay. Time and again the powers that be have ruled the District unsalvageable (the most radical would suggest it be put to the torch, if only it could catch fire). The city guards enter the area as little as possible, generally only enough to ensure that ships passing through to go upriver can do so safely. Those desperate enough to live in the Drowned District are looked down upon even by the dregs of Dockside.

Morrister: One of the oldest areas in the city, Morrister District accounts for the bulk of Avontyne's northeast quadrant. While it housed the city's elite during colonial days, the glamour wore off somewhat after the war as the Registry families relocated power elsewhere. Morrister District now acts largely as a buffer between prestigious East Riding and the rest of the city, though this is not to say it has gone to seed--many businesses owned by the aristocracy are located here and provide employment for Morrister's residents, so the district remains prosperous. The district is named after Lizaveta Morrister, one of Avontyne's founders.

East Riding: Located in the northeast corner of Avontyne, East Riding contains the finest and most expensive dwellings in the city. The vast majority of the rich families descended from the early Registry leaders reside here. Once commerce with the outside world began again, many aristocrats also built their own private wharves in this District for the purpose of shipping their goods overseas without having to deal with the hassles of Dockside; many also relocated their businesses to Morrister District, and hence there are many close ties between the two areas.

Westborough: Something of a misnomer, as Westborough occupies a significant slice of the city's central north-south corridor as well as part of its western edge. Common and skilled laborers make up a significant portion of Westborough's population. Honre Nathaline's (the city's sanitarium) and the City Watch HQ are both located here, as is the Governor's mansion. On its eastern border is the River Avon, across which lies Morrister District.

Bazaar: Lying nearly in the exact center of the city, and neatly bisected by the River Avon, Bazaar District is aptly (if uncreatively) named. Its central market is one of the largest open spaces in the city. The district plays host to innumerable small shops and street stalls, mostly selling local produce and goods (though imports have been edging in lately).

Chalcedony: Sandwiched between the government offices of Elster and the riotous noise of Bazaar District. Chalcedony houses a variety of skilled artisans and specialists (jewelers, goldsmiths and some more vital professionals) which cater to the workers of Elster and the inhabitants of Morrister and East Riding.

Elster: Located in the eastern side of the city, Elster District houses much of Avontyne's government infrastructure. The Office of the Registry and the Bureau of Land Management are both located here. Housing for rank-and-file bureacrats also takes up much of the district. Elster's streets are typically orderly and quiet.

Calia: Long a bulwark of Avontyne's narrow middle class, the profile of which has risen sharply in recent years. A significant portion of the new rich (merchants, businessman and assorted professionals) that have in recent years risen to criticize the Registry faction's influence reside here. The area is named after Cyrus Calia, another of the city's founders. Calia District is in the western area of Avontyne.

Lotus: Lotus District occupies the southwestern quadrant of the city. This district is inseparably associated with the University, which lies near its northern edge. Unsurprisingly, students, scholars, and researchers from all fields make up a disproportionate share of its population. Through a kind of urban natural selection, Lotus District has some of the safest streets in Avontyne--muggers have learned to stay away from the district with the highest concentration of magic users.

Brangwin: Located in the southeast, with the River Avon marking its western border with Lotus District. Much of the small-scale commerce between city-dwellers and the countryside goes through here. The central shrine of the Fyrdaellan Faith is located in Brangwin District.

Landmarks

Governor's mansion: A pre-war relic, this lavish (and architecturally anomalous) structure lies in Westborough, just north of Bazaar and not far from the river.

Senate Plaza: Just across the river from the Governor's mansion, in Morrister. Senate Plaza is the largest public gathering place in the city. As the name might indicate, this ground was originally cleared for the construction of a local representative government back in the colonial days, but only the foundation had been made when the war broke out. Squatters crowded it in the chaos of the Long Winter, but once relative prosperity returned to Avontyne it was cleared again, paved and tiled, and dedicated to civic events and festivals.

Merrigan's Tower: Another pre-war relic. Constructed to mark Avontyne's fiftieth anniversary, this clock tower was a synthesis of neolithic stature, infinitely elaborate arcane scrollwork, and the best modern engineering. Intended to represent and bring together disparate eras in the old empire's history, its chimes rang out the five opening notes of an old Mallen anthem on the hour. The machinery inside wound down and fell into disrepair after the war; only five years ago did Avontyne recover the technical expertise needed to fix it. Merrigan's looms over Senata Plaza in Morrister District.

Lewenwold Island: Not much more than a jut of rock in the bay, Lewenwold Island was alternately used as a prison and a garrison back in colonial days. It fell into ruin after the war, though. There has been talk of repairing it and stocking it with guards once again (since Avontyne apparently isn't the last outpost of humanity after all), but such notions have thus far come to naught.

Exeter Annex: A plot of land established a decade or so after the war for those who could afford to privately keep and ride a horse of their own (breeding stock remained low for some time after the war) could do so collectively, with the most efficient usage of land possible. It also helped serve to repopulate the species. As conditions in and around the city generally improved, it was no longer needed for this purpose, but remained in place as a popular recreational area. Eventually bedrooms, kitchens, dining halls and a ballroom were added, along with other facilities for indoor and outdoor sports. If it helps, think of it as a country club. The Annex is located approximately five miles south of Avontyne's city limits.

Reclamation Dams: One of the first orders of business immediately after the war was ensuring that Avontyne had access to clean drinking water. With mutagenic toxins being washed into the river with every rain, this was not an easy task. Purification stations were set up across the river to filter the water before releasing it further downstream, with magic-users demonstrating an affinity for water being dragooned into service to clean it (and often worked past exhaustion). The dams were successively demolished and reconstructed upstream as the surrounding land was reclaimed; the only one remaining in use today is the one near the river's source in the mountains (high-altitude snowmelt being relatively clean), though ruins of the abandoned stations still litter the riverside.

Honre Claudine's: Not far from this last facility is a hermitage staffed by the Fyrdaellan Faith, the nearby lake being perceived as the source of life for Avontyne and a blessed site. It is mostly staffed by those who joined the Faith to escape the pressures of normal life and tired of the metropolitan bustle.

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Institutions

Bureau of Land Management: The second significant agency established in the early days of modern Avontyne, after the war. The BLM was founded in order to coordinate the requisition and disposition of what open land remained arable outside the city and ensure the food supply remained sustainable. Given the profoundly drastic food shortages of the early post-war years, this was an important office and organized rationing as well. While still monitoring the city's produce, it has, over the last two centuries, picked up additional duties as the city's condition stabilized and relative prosperity returned, so that it now resembles a census bureau, IRS, and department of agriculture all rolled into one. In some ways this was a natural fusion, as an agency whose business is to take detailed stock of what citizens own is in prime condition to levy taxes on that property. However, as one might guess, it has become somewhat unwieldy, and an entrenched (and nearly hereditary) bureacracy resists all attempts to reform or break the agency into its component parts.

City Watch: The regular patrolmen who walk Avontyne's streets and deal with daily crime. The watch is one of the few institutions to linger from before the war, though the scope of its responsibility has been greatly decreased over the last two centuries--a fact which galls many who join out of a drive to keep the peace, and particularly those for whom the occupation runs in the family. The prime cause of this is that the Registry, as the de facto judicial body in Avontyne, can and does suborn the authority of the watch at will. While the watch is free to conduct much of its small-scale business undisturbed, Registry officials will not infrequently whisk away suspects (usually those involved in magic-related infractions, or simply those some aristocrat has taken an interest in for whatever reason) without justification--and the watch has absolutely no jursidiction to deal with what we would term "white collar crimes." The result of this is that there is a long-standing departmental rivalry (or so the watchmen see it) and enmity that causes many watchmen to sympathize with the Registry's opponents on political matters. The present Captain of the watch is Jeremiah Groughton, the son of two veteran BLM desk jockeys who were most distraught to see their son take what they saw as a peasant's job. NOTE: "City Watch" is a placeholder. I intend to come up with a more distinctive name.

Fyrdaellan Faith: Avontyne's dominant religious organization. Pre-war Avontyne played host to a panoply of deities that existed within the same body of mythology. Fyrdaella, a goddess of the harvest and fertility, was preeminent in Avontyne at the time of the war, and her priesthood took active steps afterwards to discourage worship of competiting gods and goddesses. Doing so was not terribly difficult, as Fyrdaella's chief interests suited the agenda and purpose of the reconstruction effort. The post-war Faith essentially had tacit permission from the administration of the time to close down rival shrines, though this effort never approached the level of unpleasantness associated with, say, the Spanish Inquisition. As a result of this, anyone who delves into the old mythology and finds a deity they would prefer to worship must do privately. The Faith still actively discourages the publishing of texts promoting worship of other entities (a simple task, given that printing is still costly and difficult in Avontyne). Beyond some paranoia about maintaining its monopoly, however, the Faith's day-to-day duties seem largely benign.

Traditionally neutral in political matters, the Faith has thus far refrained from openly supporting any side in the city's ongoing social drama--much to the annoyance of those in both major factions, as well as to some within the priesthood's infrastructure. Some cynical observers suggest the priesthood is waiting for one side or the other to gain an obvious advantage. Others note that it has been able to operate freely only because of governmental noninterference and that neutrality is an effort to avoid endangering this luxury. The current high priestess is Kryla Virana Sesyie.

Incidentally, the symbol most often associated with Fyrdaella is a ring with four zigzagging spokes within it, spaced ninety degrees apart and not quite meeting in the center. Quite frequently the ring is twisted upon itself to only have one side (think of an O-shaped Moebius strip). She is also sometimes linked to image of a swan in mythology and remains associated with it despite the fact that the species is, to the best of everyone's knowledge, quite extinct.

Fyrdaella's priests and priestesses traditionally wear green and blue, and they are a common sight on Avontyne's streets. Not only are they permitted to marry, but higher officials within the organization are traditionally expected to be mothers. The fact that the present high priestess is not (she claims to be a virgin) is a matter of some consternation among some of her subordinates.

Honre Nathaline's: The city's sanitarium. Although better off citizens who have no wish to care for senile relatives may deposit them here in relatively fine apartments reserved for that purpose, much of the establishment is a dumping ground for vagrants. The conditions for many patients are none too pleasant. Think of the place the elderly Salieri wound up in Amadeus and you've got the right idea.

Margranth University: Founded fifty years or so before the war to be an institution exclusively devoted to the instruction and study of magic, its business nowadays is somewhat different, now training those able to afford the attendance fees fields such as medicine and law. However, for those demonstrating unusually high affinity for the use of magic, University attendance is mandatory by law, at least long enough for the staff to certify them as being fully in control of themselves. While instruction for such people is nominally free (it being primarily intended for the benefit of the city rather than the student), such is not precisely the case. In order to ensure that these powerful individuals are never forced to exploit their abilities for mere survival (that is, to make sure the University doesn't wind up training high-powered bandits), they are also trained for employment in administration or business to improve their prospects afterwards (this sometimes proves a ticket to the good life for those born in mean circumstances). The University expects graduates to eventually pay it back for this training if they were not able to do so in advance, and sometimes helps place them in new occupations to ensure this. Oftentimes, this practice has the effect of binding the outgoing trainees to the establishment (not an unintentional side-effect).

The Peerless: The elite guard assigned to protect the Governor at all costs, impartially and in spite of prior allegiances to any family or other governmental body. Their standard dress is crimson armor, with helmets, gauntlets, boots, scabbards and various buckles tinted gold. Their present commander is one Farley Darrell, the first woman to hold the position. The Peerless have no direct connection with the city watch, though many former watch officers do apply for a position on account of already having the requisite martial training.

Avontyne also has three major newspapers. Printing for non-governmental purposes was, until very recently, highly illegal (with exceptions for those associated with the University). The present Governor lifted this ban not long after taking office but, in order to not unduly alienate Registry hardliners who relished having a monopoly on the flow of information, implemented a significant fee for those seeking a printing license (one to be paid regularly as long as the license lasts). Occasional underground rags and broadsheets are circulated or pasted by night on public buildings, but obtaining, concealing and using anything as bulky as a printing press illicitly is not an easy task. The three legitimate city papers are as follows:

Clarion: The official mouthpiece of government policy. Clarion generally refrains from social commentary; its concern is relaying the ongoing business of government to the populace at large, spreading awareness of important health concerns, and motivating people to take an active part in the civic life of their city, in a mostly unostentatious and businesslike fashion. It was the first of the city's newspapers to begin circulation when the ban on printing was lifted, and did so at the behest of Governor Seljut himself--it is still written and edited by his longtime friends and supporters. It can generally be relied upon for dry, straightforward reporting, as long as one doesn't mind the fact that it never questions Seljut's policies. It more closely resembles a community bulletin than it does the mass media we're used to.

Morning Star: Began circulation not long after Clarion, much to Seljut's irritation. Funded by Registry stalwarts, critics argue that its stock-in-trade is towing the party line. It lacks the stylistic flair of its ideological opposite, and hence often lags in circulation as well, but naturally has a loyal audience in those who like to see their own opinions in print.

Reveille: A rabble-rousing rag to those who disagree with its founders, The Reveille entered production immediately after Clarion's debut but saw mass circulation after Morning Star due to funding issues.

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Kalbemarle

The adjective used to denote people and things originating from Kalbemarle is Kalben.

Kalbemarle lies to the west of Avontyne and a bit to the south, typically four or five weeks journey across the ocean. Its climate is warmer than that of Avontyne and its people are noticeably darker-skinned as a result. A full-blooded Kalben will generally stand out as such in Avontyne.

Kalbemarle's primary trade goods to Avontyne and Corentin are wine, exotic fabrics such as silk, and other luxury goods, some homegrown, others brought in from even more distant cities to the west or the south.

Kalbemarle is ruled by a hereditary monarch styled Prince or Princess, presently the former.

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Laws and Law Enforcement

The Watch

The Watch is one of the few city institutions to remain functioning essentially unbroken from before the war. This fact is a source of some pride among its members, a fact which nurtures a considerable feeling of professional rivalry with the Registry--which is only compounded by the fact that the latter agency has usurped many of the Watch's functions. The Watch nominally has jurisdiction over all common crime, from simple pickpocketing to murder, but Registry officers reserve the right to take over any investigation and whisk away any prisoner if there's the slightest hint of magical involvement. While the Watch has the authority to execute citizens for grievous crimes like murder or rape, the fact that all which we would deem "white-collar crimes" are under the jurisdiction of the Registry courts significantly limits the amount of social change the Watch can effect--and who it can prosecute.

The situation has provoked a great deal of ire and done much to raise the stock of the city's social upstarts in the eyes of most watchmen, although the Watch commanders have refrained from openly taking sides (and shouldn't, short of the outbreak of full-scale civil war--as such an action could otherwise cause one) and the Registry's opposition has thus far failed to take advantage of the situation.

The Watch's ranking scheme proceeds as follows, from top to bottom: Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, Guardsman (catchall term for anyone with no administrative or command duties--the mooks). The Watch hires men and women, though its roster is skewed towards the former. There are some among the Watch who can use magic, though since this trait generally implies University schooling as well, magic-users tend to be collected in the ranks of the higher officers.

The standard Watch uniform is all grey. Perhaps inevitably, they are often referred to as "The Greys."

The Registry

Details to come.

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Mythology

It's important to note that while the Fyrdaellan Faith does officially have a monopoly on spirituality in Avontyne, it hasn't yet expunged all traces of the old Mallen pantheon from the popular mindset. The Faith has existed for two hundred years, but overhauling the thought-processes of a society is a monumental task, and one that remains incomplete. The average commoner on the street will certainly not know the bulk of old Maelle's collective mythology, but references to such will linger in their consciousness even if they do not recognize them as such (possible examples will be included in the Deities section when it is complete). Others perhaps will know a few of the old stories secondhand, if not necessarily ramble about them out in the open. A few defiant ones with a long-running family secret or access to rare texts may actively (if in private) worship a deity declared defunct by the Faith.

The Fyrdaellan Faith, as the old order of Fyrdaella rebranded itself in the wake of the war, was not simply a new religious organization--it was a new way of looking at religion and spirituality in their own right. Imperial Maelle's standing body of mythology often saw its gods and goddesses behaving like unruly celebrities--which, in many ways, is what they were in the populace's collective consciousness. The grandiose, outsized conduct of Imperial Maelle's deities was fitting enough considering that these terms could just as easily apply to the society as a whole. The old Mallen civilization was not one we would think of as profoundly spiritual. Certainly there were among its population the devout and dogmatic, but this did not define the society as a whole. (This is not to say that the Mallens were a lot of carefree agnostics who used their deities as philosophical window-dressing and nothing more--it simply notes the difference between daily affairs in the old empire and the modern-day Faith, which will be clearer when notes on the latter are posted).

The role of gods in Mallen society in general (and in much of the world at that time) was affected profoundly by the spectacularly high level of magic available to growing civilizations before the destruction and taint of the holocaust dampened arcane abilities worldwide, not to mention the fact that the rise of civilization in this world was, by our standards, meteoric and often resulted in significant gaps between new developments in thaumaturgy and the ability of philosophy to reconcile these changes with daily life. A defining characteristic of the Mallen pantheon, for example, is that individual deities do not typically represent obvious earthly phenomena. When simple humans can manipulate ocean currents and the winds at will, there is little need to posit the existence of an unearthly hand behind such matters. Imperial Maelle's gods and goddesses came to be associated more closely with intangible forces, concepts and emotions, as well as particular facets of human civilization.

It should also be noted that, in any era, these are not deities who interfere obviously in the affairs of man on a regular basis. They do not conveniently prove their existence by manifesting themselves amongst their flock. The question of whether or not they exist at all (or, perhaps, which one exists), is essentially left up to each individual believer.

Major Deities of the Old Mallen Pantheon: To be cmpleted.

Dornath/Cuesniet:

Engmaen:

Fyrdaella:

Haenglin:

Lakshrima:

Pasnik:

Demigods and Mortal Myth Figures: To be completed.

Inuga the Betrayer:

Fyrdaella in Avontyne and Life In the Faith

To be completed.

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Terminology and Errata

To be completed.