Antolikos

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Overview

The southwestern coast of Antolikos is a seething vault-jungle, the Aphxanamos. Ancient Arcadian cities stand, choked with growth, now home to the cannibalistic leukrotta. The bounty of the jungle, in charon, wood, herbs, ivory, and pelts, attracts would-be explorers and colonists from Potamia, but the green hell swallows many.

The high, glacial plateau of the Opagos holds the Vault of Ice. The harpy Key has crafted a city of ice for her people, but apart from this glimmer of civilization, the region is ruled by titancults, kyne packs, giants, and ice hags. Along the coast, endless icebergs calve off to create the Frozen Expanse, endangering ships along the northern stretch of Antolikos.

As the southern ice of the Opagos thaws, it gathers in torrents, creating the lush riverlands of Potamia. The Fated Queendom of Tapiseri, ruled by the Loom Enthroned, is the greatest power of the region; prosperous, but stiflingly ordered. She unleashed the Queensplague to spare her people from the corruption of Endless Night, but bitterness over lost immortality mingles with a yearning for freedom, and subtle revolutionaries maneuver against their prophetic sovereign. Surrounding nations and the warrior sects of the Hekaton see a chance to break free of her influence, endured for so long as necessary for the war effort.

During the war, the invaders' westward advance toward Potamia was halted when the Horn unleashed her power, turning the center of the continent into the Erimian Wild, a no man's land of Night-bred beasts, abandoned cities, and howling wilderness. So it remains, her private hunting preserve, populated only by savage tribes who worship her. Caravans buy passage across with heavy tribute, hiring members of the Brotherhood of the Hunt who have won the Horn's permission to act as guides.

Calcaria, the "Big Isle" of the east, was the heart of the Hegemony in Antolikos. The demonic nobility of the Bloodlines were recently overthrown in a coup orchestrated from within by the Shadow Guild, non-Bloodline officers, and the Cult of the Three. The new regime struggles with unbound demons, leftover spies and saboteurs, and the difficult prospect of making peace with the neighboring Pelithines.

The Vasileia--all the lands east of Erimia, from the isles of the Dragon's Tail to the lands around the Bay of Pearls and the cold forests east of the Opagos--was crushed beneath the boot of the invaders for over a century. Now they struggle to rebuild and secure their place in the new order. Hegemony soldiers, abandoned since the coup on Calcaria, have turned warlord or bandit. The Loom of Tapiseri sends agents, hoping to spread her influence over the new kingdoms, and the demonologists of the Manus Amantis who fled the coup have established hidden fortresses in the region, guarded by their tanari hordes.

The mist-shrouded peaks of the Synnephian Ori lie beneath the gyre of the vaultstorm. Truemetal extrusions of the Apparatus drift in the sky, creating islands, powerful temenoi now held by the Windfury titancult. Contesting their claim, the Old Dragon of Pelithos, bearer of the Jewel, makes its home in the mists.

Regions

The Cypress Coast

Cypress Coast - Antolikan coast of the Thalassa Velos, named for its great cypress groves, which yield a durable waterproof wood that is used widely in ships and buildings - swampy isles off coast - a number of mostly velosian cities, often called the Cypress Cities, or the Kyparissia; most of them are part of the Symmachia Velos - south, near the maelstrom, the land is marshy, contantly innundated by the tides from the vault, marsh kampoi live there, charon-rich stormwrack sometimes washes in.

Potamia

Potamia, the River Country - the middle of the continent west to the Cypress Coast - many sizeable rivers flow out of the Opago, from glacial runoff - two major watersheds, one running toward the Thalassa Velos, the other to the south coast and the jungle - lots of hills and valleys and exposed stone, impressive columns and arches of rock; kind of like some chinese landscapes - moist and green, lots of mists and mild rains, fertile and temperate - need some major river names - Nimae clans get quite proud of their machitechni, contest one another, World of Rivers and Lakes style bravos and contests; outsiders come too, but can earn some clan enmity if they win a lot

nectar & ambrosia - luxury flower/fruit based drink and food invented by the dryads long ago

Tapiseri, the Fated Kingdom - largest kingdom of the Potamchora, has some borders with the jungle and Erimia, but doesn't monopolize those borders - Argalia - capitol of Tapiseri, seat of the Loom - Sickle's citadel, training ground for her assassins - there was a topothesium in Tapiseri, but Thalestris subsumed it to test her theories of divinity; she is a topotheos within that location, and has built her capitol there; this isn't widely known or recognized for the significance it bears by most - Tapiseri has monster and tribal problems attacking out of Erimia - there are rebels who abhore Thalestris's constraining rule, they worship the Amphora and scramble their fates, the cult of the vine is synonymous with the rebels; anyone else was just eliminated too quickly; the amphora recognizes the significance of their efforts and Thalestris's goals, and opposes them, but is too weak to do much against the Loom Enthroned - sickle and loom's totalitarian kingdom

story - Thalestris seeks to extend her control and the borders of Tapiseri, to claim and reunite the three Mantles of the Weaver and take her place - rebels against the Fated Tyrant in Tapiseri - other Nimae clans seek to play off/resist the influence of Tapiseri and the Symmachia.

The Aphxanamos

Aphxanomos / Aphxanon ("The Growing") - huge lake - includes some small isles along the coast

- Elysian ruins swallowed by the jungle, charon, titancults - The Hungry One, lots of cannibalistic leukrotta - jungle life-fury-mutant beasts, rare plants and woods

- west of the dragon's mountains, sweeps along the south coast of the continent - ("the Growth") - jungle, mantikora realm, blends with Horn's wildlands - part of the jungle is claimed by the Horn as part of Erimia, she has no problems with mantikora living there, and some of them have even found a liking for her, swearing alliegiance - mantikora tribes and lots of wild titan beasts, great Elysian ruins snarled in the jungle growth - hot and humid, lower than the Potamchora to the north, cloud jungles, cliff borders were fantastical falls pour down from the Potamchora - runs up to the slopes of the dragon's mountains to the east, becoming higher and drier; some kobaloi settlements that trade with mantikora (very carefully) - not a lot of civilization to be found, a few jungle colonies hacked out, an old haunted elysian ruin, a few small island settlements, some pirate coves; the stronger settlements were founded by therianths - a topotheos mantikora in an Elysian city of stone, ivory, and gold, "the Hungry One", he rules a powerful tribe. Petitioners can come, as long as they're sufficiently humble and bring tasty things.

- when the Titanomachia came, titanic beasts came forth, and jungle sprung up in their wake (the Aphxanamos is bigger than it once was). Some were slain by the imitheoi, but others are believed to lie hibernating, within the vaultland or in the earth of the Potamia, perhaps in the seas off the coast.

The Opagos

Opagos ("the ice") - glacier, tundra plateau around it, surrounded in turn by mountainous taiga, falling down from great heights to everygreen hills - this was (and is) the Iceheart of Pelithos, but a vaultland has spread around it, greatly extending its influence on the environment - on the norther side, the glaciers calve off from vast height and plunge into the sea, filling the "frozen expanse" with icebergs and chilly weather that influences the eastern Boreals. To sail around the Expanse would take one very far out to sea, so those who cross split the risk and distance by weaving through the sparser, outer Expanse. - it is also home to seals and other arctic beasts, hunted by the eastern Boreal inhabitants and those of the northern Vasileia, as well as the inhabitants of the Opagos itself - oreads, kynes, harpies - the plateau blocks off a lot of the central northern coast of antolikos - the plateau cliffs (coastal and otherwise) are riddled with caverns and sharp-walled ravines, lots of weird things live there, but some are also outposts of the harpies and others - Red-winged Eurynome, the Key, founded a city of ice high on the Opagos with her powers (Pageton?). her civilized flock of harpies hunt in the tundra and taiga below, fly out to trade with caravans and tribesmen. There are satellite "ice keeps" around the city, places to meet halfway, or sanctuaries for her harpies to shelter in against freezing storms. Would-be fury savants make the long trek to this thin-aired city to study and join the Keywardens - the satyrs of Opagos are part of the winter titancult, fury-infused. - ice hags...they're a thing - when the Titanomachia came, the Opagos swelled and glaciers crawled inexorably forth. Great gouges mark Potamia and Erimia, Pockets of unmelting ice can still be found, weird microbiomes of ice-life.

- tribes dwell on the outer, lower, warmer ring of mountainous taiga beyond the glacial fields. the Erimian Wild cuts into these lands as well. The tribes carry some trade between Vasileia and Potamia (even the northern Cypress Coast).

The Erimian Wild

Erimia (former kingdom, now swallowed in the Wilds)

Erimia / The Erimian Wild - Nemerte, the Horn Enthroned, unleashed her power on this expanse of civilized Pelithos, the trade corridor between the Vasileia and Potamia, after the Hegemony conquered it. Night-bred beasts have overrun it, and nature is wild and savage. The Hegemony was never able to establish supply lines across the region to attack Potamia in earnest. - the region was rich, with cities, etc. Now those cities stand empty, lairs for beasts. - Erimia contains chunks from southern Opagos (mountains, taiga), northern Aphxanamos (jungle) and Ekatharisi (mountains), the western stretch of the inland sea, eastern Potamia (riverlands), and the light woods and plains that of the western Vasileia. - the Horn permits only nomadic tribes; most of those present worship her. they gathered, the desperate and savage to take vengeance on the Hegemony during the war, raiding out of the wilds. Now they threaten the new kingdoms. - The Horn treats Erimia as her private hunting reserve. Its borders are nebulous, more marked by the spread of the beasts and her influence than any precise markers. - She has taken in a few night-heralds from the eastern Hegemony after the coup, those who revere her savage path - She allows the Brotherhood of the Hunt to hunt there, and as reward for showing their worth, grants them and those they guide passage (as long as they can cope with the beasts and the trip; she just won't smite them personally), which they sell to merchants hoping to make the crossing. (the merchants are still expected to make many offerings to her) - Ciron is a city on the edge of the wild in Potamia (not part of Tapiseri), launching point for merchants looking to get a guide to cross, and home base for the Brotherhood. The Loom and Sickle seek to bring it into their domain, but the Horn would likely retaliate if they seemed to be trying to cut into her territory - at least one dragon has made its lair here, using Erimia as a place to hunt and a shelter to retreat to after raiding civilized lands - the Dragon also hunts here, possibly just to prove to the Horn that she can't keep him out. - oasis temenos, ruled by a council of Archons, doesn't like the Horn and grants sanctuary to travelers, the tribes of Erimia value the place too much for the Horn ostracize or punish it overmuch. The Archons "stole" a couple of her early monstrous sendings, now they are tame and guard the oasis - tribes: Nimae, Therianth, Satyr, Maenad - Might there be some of the Manu Amanti present here, in their hidden sanctuaries? Or is this too close to too powerful of an enemy? Maybe they'd prefer the Opagos, Aphxanamos, Potamia, or Vasileia?

- the Horn hosts a Wolvesmoot once each year in the middle days of the Month of Night. The Wolves of the Moon gather at one of the Night temenoi of Erimia (you can find it by the howling and the calls of the Horn). Brothers of the Hunt present the kills and she grants her blessing (a kyne fang demi-focus, and of course a mark of her approval). To be counted a true Brother, one must have attended a Wolvesmoot and received a fang (the more fangs you wear, the higher your status). If the Horn is displeased with you (generally for hunting quarry in an unworthy manner (ie with too much help)), she tears out your heart and eats it, and your body is torn apart and devoured by the kynes. She carries out other matters in the moot as well, kyne pack rites, orgies, etc. Other tribes come to make offerings and ask for favors (Brothers can also ask for favors, based on their fang tallies, she makes her decision). She performs rituals and breeds new beasts, releasing them into the wild. Huge monsters come to guard it and pay homage to their maker. Perhaps they too bring tidings of their kills. Since they joined, her servant night-heralds attend these moots too, and sometimes hold smaller ones at other times of years, often at the borders, to remind the border people of her power (and accept their offerings) and to infuse that power deeper into the land, strengthening and spreading the Erimian Wild.

Synnephion Ori

The Synnephion Ori - Vouna Ekatharisis (Ekatharisi) ("the Winding Mountains") - the dragon's mountains - known for the many folds and hidden valleys, the fjords, and the straights between the isles - lots of kobaloi, the Old Dragon - steep isles and fjord winding into the coast, seagoing communities down there - biggest city is in the bay; it and other isle/fjord cities are important ports on the south - pirates hidden away in the isles and fjords, dealing with the kobaloi (or they are kobaloi) - tail of mountainous isles thrusting out into the southern seas (what's this called? dragon's tail?) - the Dragon's "rules" over the mountains, Margaritari, and the kobaloi outposts in the jungle - Sennaphon / Senephon - when the Titanomachia came, the vaultstorm spun off child gyres which wandered the land, sowing devestation. They have unraveled since then, but strange, malicious zephyrs can still cause trouble, and sailors curse them. Occasionally enough gather to spawn a temporary vaultstorm, until they scatter again. - truemetal extrusions drift above the Synnephian peaks, isles in the sky, powerful, unstable temenoi. Lightning sometimes arcs from the storm above, through the temenoi isles and down into the mountains, delivering charges of weird, supercharged authority transformations.

- Ouranon / The Great Observatory / High Temple of Destiny: high in the peaks, now below the Gyre. Ouranon was a wonder of the Arcadian Age, a city high in the mountains, with floating isles, around the temple, capital of the oreads. Observations to aid realmjamming and chart the skies were done here. prophecies were recorded; rarely Dooms placed upon those judged guilty, brought here for sentencing. - the oreads ruled the peaks, floating isles, graceful bridges, high mountain fastnesses and stupas, a breathtaking mythic Tibet.

- once had a port in the hills on the west of the Bay of Pearls, but it is now too threatened by harpies and the Gyre. This is what opened the way/need for Margaritari in the east-side marsh, founded by Belephar in the Shattered Age.

<oread Tibetan mountain kingdoms>

The Ekatharisi were once lower, it's as if the Sennephon has pulled them upward towards it.  The mountains are strange, airy and insubstantial seeming, full of mist currents and layers, windy chasms, and towering spires of rock.

Polla Vasileia

Vasíleia ("the kingdoms") or Polla Vasileia ("many kingdoms") - this land was captured by acrolon, their rule was thrown off during the Reconquest - Myrmidons arose here, their crazy temenos is here - Strakapolis

Siranges ("tunnels") - mining city on the cold slopes of the eastern Opagos - oreads, aletheiads, minotaur?, myrmidons, other populations. A population of dryads have traditionally cultivated foods in the farm caverns, though in good times, most food comes from the surface. - hub for tribal trade from the surrounding opagos slopes; trading ice Charon, furs, ivory, etc for metal. - endless warren of tunnels from old mines - one crazy lord tried to carve a tunnel through the under-mountains to Hespeloy in Potamia (when was this? what vague rationale prompted this?). He actually made it, but now its an abandoned, frigid maze full of cryophilic monsters. Leads to a subterranean glacial sea of sub-freezing-yet-liquid waters, with ice fish and weirder things. Dim light leaks down through glacial fissures in the cavern roofs. - managed to hold out beneath the earth through the Acrolonian Invasion, doors sealed. Everyone went a little weird, culturally. Insular and convoluted.

The Formīcāria (the collective term for the myrmidon "mansions") - named Formīcārium X (where X is a virtue for which the hive is named) - Constantia (Perseverence), Provisio (Foresight), Sophia (Wisdom), Artis (Craft), Judicatum (Judgement) - central holy site is the temenos that changed them, very unstable, but kept in balance by their efforts, a source of power should they choose to use it. Also the seat of Lucerna, the current Beacon. - some are dead, killed by the Acrolonians, directly on by starvation and siege; others held out below the ground, tunneling and making guerilla strikes. Now they are emerging and asserting themselves. - a few big ones, several smaller ones)

<people of the big lakes?>

Bay of Pearls

- inland sea, straight, Margaritari, marshy coast - tritons, white tree cult - Bay of Pearls: inland sea, broad but less than 72 mile channel leads from coast inland - the minotaur were granted lands in this region way back in the gilded age. they rule Margaritari?

- in the crook between the Ekatharisi and the and the mainland, a large bay, rich with sea life and especially many pearl beds - tritons visit, and there are sometimes troubles with the kampoi - the city Margaritari ("Pearl") stands at the head of the bay - kobaloi merchants come down from the mountains to trade, caravans from eastern Antolikos and from across Erimia come here - it is a major ports for traffic along the southern coast - occupied by acrolon during the war, but they were routed during the reconquest, burned out by the Old Dragon; the people regard the dragon as a patron and are sure to tithe generously - the pearls are the fame of the city - there is an isle sacred to the white tree in the Bay of Pearls, this brings pilgrims of the Dreamer, cultists, and tritons to the area; supplicants study here with the cult priests; graceful elvish ruins stand on the isle, formerly belonged to the Dreamer's people in the Silver Age. eastern coast - the coast and inland to the Erimia is a land of fractious young kingdoms (the Mikrá Vasíleia) and city states, Nimae, Velosi, Therianth, Maenad, struggling to develop trade, power, and security - the cults of the vine, unseen, and rose are active here - some large forested lands claimed by Satyrs, agitating for the Horn to absorb them into Erimia, clashing with others who want to settle/use them - kobaloi merchants, nomads, and thieves are common here - some dense old growth forests in the north, the lands rise in hills to the north and west, toward Opagos - drier toward Erimia, some desert? - a family of lamia have taken over one of the notable kingdoms, manipulating the rulers and feeding on the people, assassinating rivals who threaten the kingdom; they're on the outs with the Vouna families and the Mirror - the Dikastes are active here in their bounty hunter mode, fighting against acrolon's spies, but also trying to keep the rulers on the straight and narrow and the people safe from the results of disorder and corruption in the land

story - Big Isle clings to power, allied with the Cult of the Three - young kingdoms arising where the acrolonians have withdrawn, seeking trade across Erimia, by sea along the south - demonologist sorcerer-lords setting themselves up in the wild, build up of unbound demons - give it a bit of a persian flavor? what races? myrmidons

The Dragon's Tail

Dragon's Tail Archipelago - tail sweeping down from the eastern isle, steep mountainous coast and isles, kobaloi lands - Old Dragon in the mountains (origin of the name) - the nations of the tail are politically contiguous with the Vasileia - local pirates fought the Acrolonians, but it was really the Old Dragon's periodic devastating attacks on ships and settlements that kept the Hegemony from colonizing the Tail much, or sailing along the southern coast regularly

- there's one old Arcadian city in the middle, neriad

- in the far south, there is a cultural very different kingdom (intrusion from another Realm? was this in the Arcadian Age or Shattered? Demonic? Strange? Fourth Realm? Fury? Just a subculture of Pelithos?)

Calcaria

Calcaria / Big Isle (Apovivas, "Landing", Appulsus in latin/acrolonian) - Aporo(-n) (wonder), Ergastirio (-n, -a) (laboratory), Morphi (-on, -a) (form): the largest city is built around the High Temple of Pattern. The city lines the crescent harbor of the isle, the temple is on the slopes of the forested mountain, with auxillary sites elsewhere on the isle once used for pattern testing and reading - this city was the hub of magical training, with a number of schools and traditions, often rivals (like different kung fu schools).

- the Hegemony captured the isle and used it as its eastern staging area - after Lascivia's death, the Cult of the Three approached the Shadow Guild, Night Heralds, and non-Bloodline nobles, ministers, etc. Collectively, they assassinated the Bloodlines and executed the demonbloods. Some Manus Amantis demonologists fell, but most of the big ones escaped and fled into the wilds of Antolikos, building hidden fastnesses with their apprentices and demon retinues. - most of the Night Heralds (and servant devils) signed on with the Eye, some left to follow the Horn (as did the more powerful devils, though some went indie). - The guild, human leadership, and cult of the three now rule the isle, proclaiming it free of the Hegemony. They've still got a big PR problem with the locals of the Vasileia (and Antolikos in general), but they are at least giving them pause to reevaluate the rulers of Big Isle. The captive populace is dubious about their still-mostly-foreign rulers, but they are a big improvement without the demons and Bloodlines being horrible to everyone. there are rebels who still aren't willing to make peace, and the old nobles-in-exile who want their power back. - the rulers are adopting some Pelithine ways, making offerings to the imitheoi to buy goodwill, etc. they still have to maintain strict order, lest they be overthrown or chaos consume the isle - none of the Enthroned are looking this way, so they are holding out, their spies work in the coastal area to keep them informed and upset anyone looking to finish them off - a young dragon has formed an accord with them in secret, helping them secure their grip, while they help shield it from the Old Dragon and it amasses wealth to try to steal the Jewel, it's also a political force - they have the patronage of the Three, her cult studies the guild's Shadow magic. her cult has taken over the role of intelligence, with the succubi gone - with the deaths of several Manu Amantis demonologists, there are many unbound demons roaming the isle, being a pain in the ass. Further, secret remnants of the bloodlines lurk, looking for revenge, or to recapture the isle (spies, saboteurs, bandits, etc).

Settlements

Ilion

Ilion - wreath's home city, stands at the outflow of one of the great rivers from Potamia, gets lots of trade up and down the river, outpost of kobaloi traders, wreath is politically embattled, his attention was away from the symmachia for a long time with the war and aftermath, and now the Viper is stirring corruption in his city. - fairly far south on the Cypress Coast, in a river delta. Everything stands on built up earth and stone works. Canal city with a bayou feel (Angkor Wat meets New Orleans meets Venice) - Gradually sinking, buried layers (in places, particularly exacerbated by earthquakes, such as those from the Fall/Titanomachia) - threat of kampoi, who often lurk in the marsh. also leukrotta; though a few tribes have established patchy trade with certain merchants of Ilion (is that a good thing, or a Dylath-Leen kind of thing?)

Hespeloy

- cypress city to the north, in sight of the Opagos, some mines in the highlands, trappers and hunters up in the taiga, kyne troubles, major port along the northern coast of Antolikos and also for Boreal trade, rival with the Limani and Naos, visited by the harpies - it dates back to the Arcadian Age, when it was comfortably far from the Iceheart (though still cold). As the Opagos has spread, it's become more engulfed by harsher weather; its harbor more ice-locked and ships must cross the fringe of the Frozen Expanse to reach it. - old pilgrimage road up to the High Temple of Winter (now broken and perilous)

Strakopolis

a city with the White London vibe, cruel and predatory, thirsty for blood and power

Strakapolis, the Strakasian Kyriarchy - founded by Strakas, neriad Helm, on the coast of Vasileia, who named himself Kyriarch. a lord (notable powers of the city) is a Kyrios (or Kyria, fem, or Kyrioi, plural) - kind of like sparta + legalism + confuscian bureaucracy, a place of ruthless House politics and a touch of oriental cruelty, but not batshit evil. has always had a strong navy. - Vasileian northeast coast? or southeast, near Calcaria? Or in the Dragon's Tail? - it was conquered by Acrolon, but endured and has thrown them off. - guarded by treacherous reefs off its coast, they do their best to limit charts and knowledge of how to pass them, using local pilots and half-way ports on some barrier isles. - Strakas raised the Seleniakos by the power of Night, a nega-Lighthouse of Pharos which contains a fragment of the moon. It eats light and brings darkness to the surroundings, can be focused in a beam. The reefs become all but impassable without clear sight, and the great black devil-bats (the Nychteridia) that roost in tower sweep out to harry their decks, unhindered by the dark. - the great houses of Strakapolis have some of the bat-binding lore, can field bat-riders.