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EKSTASIA
EASTERN CONTINENT GYRUSIA
In ancient times, during the Gyrus Dynasty (approx. 2000 years ago), the entire continent was unified under the conqueror Temporania Gyrus VII, until Anurathion the Frog God was awakened by the Vampire rebellion under the undead conqueror Ilium Guk and plummeted the continent into chaos. Now, it is a lawless and chaotic land. The Principality of Guk, whose sovereign leader Prince Guk maintains closed borders by employing mercenary Elites, with whom the government of Guk has a shadowy arrangement. Vampires are all but fully banished from Guk, except under the employ of his rule as an army for hire. The realms to the east of the continent remain largely neutral, and are united under the Confederacy of Zither. After being forced from their land, the Elven exiles of Abacus to the west settled the area known now as Zither. The various City States maintained themselves through strong defense and fortification until opening their borders once self-reliance was established. Now, they face political enemies from within, vying for power through corruption and chaos. Zither is plagued with a variety of ethos, some of which are elf-supremacist, which many argue is the result of generational traumas from imperialism unresolved.
WESTERN CONTINENT HOLLINDAGEN
Much of Hollindagen’s recent history was shaped by the emergence of the Chalkanium: a white human-supremacist empire hellbent on remaking the world in its narrow dogmatic worldview. At least, this remains central to its central ethos. The Chalkanium has fallen under decay in its 169 years of conquest. Its leadership, afflicted by multiple diseases and setbacks, has become weak and impotent in its ways. The rest of Ekstasia awaits the empire’s collapse; yet somehow, the empire always has found ways to further subjugate and conquer. The ancient kingdom of Abacus, a flourishing dark-skinned Elven ethnostate was wiped from the map 169 years ago when the Chalkanium ravaged its land and obliterated the Abacus way of life through calculated ethnic cleansing and genocide. It is said that the Chalkanian Empire worships the god of metal, war and supremacy: Industrios. This has had devastating consequences on the world of Ekstasia, namely the scattering of several ethnic and racial groups into an extreme diaspora that has all but completely eliminated the old ways of living as part of nature in that region. Over the centuries, the nationstates of Phaedra and Lauzeta, now split into two nations, in addition to the Sultanate of Niminya, have been able to resist the advances of the Chalkanium. This is because of their military strength, superior defensive strategy, and strong relations with each other.
Ekstasian Alliance:
Composed of the Duchy of Lauzeta, the Kingdom of Phaedra, and the Sultanate of Niminya. Lauzeta and Phaedra were originally one nation called Altawam or Altawama. Humans, halflings, tieflings, orcs, half elves and dwarves populate this part of the world. They exist consolidated under their respective national rulers; however, much of this part of the world is free from class distinctions and all the land and means of production are shared, especially in the Sultanate of Niminya which according to rumors as of 162 CE (Chalkanium Era) is getting ready to merge with its allies Lauzeta and Phaedra to become the Syndicalist Republic of Ekstasis, provided the Chalkanium collapse in on itself.
The Chalkanium:
A fascist empire consisting of human-supremacists, they convinced the tiefling tribes of Chaitius and Lablake to turn on their own people and thus began the Chalkanian Empire. Now those tribes, along with the orc tribes Lauzetaya, Ora, and Tousayl, have been subjugated and enslaved by the cunning Sorcerer Legions of Chalkania 160 years ago. For the last 160 years the Chalkanium has conquered the neighboring nations of Chaitius, Egebamyasi, Tousayl-Sona, the Dragonborn Isles of Unasz, and has sealed off the mysterious land known as the Whisper, which is the site of many unexplained occurrences such as the sudden disappearance of Chalkanian Legions who enter the lands in conquest. The Chalkanium has been held at bay by its neighbors to the northwest; the three kingdoms known as the Ekstasian Alliance. Most of the names of the towns and land features of the Chalkanium have been renamed after notable Chalkies, with several exceptions in which the original names were preserved as a way to falsely oblige treaties (land acknowledgment). Many of its natural resources in the provinces and colonies have been used up; the resource in the heart of the empire, Central Chalkania, is being hoarded by the Empire. Most of the climate in the Chalkanian Provinces and colonies are desolate and strangled earth; churned and burned by industry and warfare. Due to the low intelligence of its historians and politicians (yet extreme nationalist pride and ego) a lot of the names given to themselves and their conquered regions seek to empower themselves with mighty prefixes and suffixes belonging to dragons and other subjugated beings. However, they still have fragile egos that overcompensate, and often their successes in worldly domination is due to dumb luck. Or perhaps there is a larger plan at play in the shadows….
ISLANDS AND REACHES
The two main continents of Ekstasia, Gyrusia and Hollindagen, were once joined as one large continent in prehistoric times. Legend says it was referred to as the Mariposita, the small butterfly, because of its shape resembling such. This word was used by the gods Ekstasia (Creator of the world) and Industrios (counterbalance God of destruction), and their offspring Phaedranos, Lauzetana, Niminyaio, Higgsry, and Gyrusianas. Industrios created the demigods of the world called Hollind, Anurathion, and Unasz, with the intention of having them battle each other for his entertainment. His children, Higgsry of the Goliaths, and Gyrusianas of the gnomes, tried to stop the fighting and were killed by Industrios. Furious with this heinous act, Ekstasia killed Industrios. This then began an age of people, non deity beings with free will, the many races of Ekstasia, descendants of these gods and demigods. Ekstasia then created the demigods Eye (fox god of western humans), and the nonbinary siblings Adi & Aba (elf gods). With the death of Higgsry, his soul was split into the Goliaths who were then exiled to the northwestern most islands of Ekstasia. When Gyrusianas was killed, her soul was split into the gnome race who were then exiled to what is now called Rustwind. Hollind, a prankster god who is often referred to as the son of Higgsry, created the humans and specifically the Chal tribe who were then corrupted by the soul of Industrios, thus empowering them to become the Chalkanian empire.
RECORD OF EKSTASIA ADVENTURES
Part 1: Shipwrecked!
The Year is 169 Chalkanium Era (CE)
Ship name: the Waveform Runner, Captain Kalindyr, Port Magdalia, Niminya.
Guy (Aarakocra Bard) stowed away on board the ship following his nose to an amazing rare spice.
Dyana (Kalashtar Cleric) is roaming Ekstasia from another dimension looking for a place to bury her memory of her brother.
Aelun (Tiefling Druid) is searching for their mother and so boards the ship.
Daeryn (Half-elf Ranger) is one of the hired crewmates (security guard) for Captain Kalindyr.
Trolley (Halfling Bard) is travelling to Guk to help organize resistance and aid for the oppressed peoples there.
Randir (Half-elf Ranger) is roaming throughout the continent of Gyrusia.
The Waveform Runner redirects north directly into an unnatural storm to avoid Chalkanium weapons tests near the main Chalkanium coast; it is marooned in an unknown snowy coastal region.
Aelun wakes up on a floating rear section of the destroyed ship that has begun to float back out to see; the captain is impaled with a wooden mast at the wheel of the ship; she motions to Aelun to retrieve the captain's log and whatever she can from her quarters below deck; the captain then dies; Aelun retrieves the book and a small chest from below deck, which is half underwater; the segment of the ship they are on drifts back out to sea.
Daeryn, who wakes up on the shore, notices Aelun drifting away and tosses her rope to Aelun and pulls them inland.
Trolley wakes up among the wreckage and sees Daeryn trying to rescue Dyana, who is meditating on death while the segment of the ship she’s on starts to also drift out to sea.
Daeryn tries to wake up Dyana, who has resigned herself to death’s embrace while the wreckage drifts farther into the frigid ocean waters. After a second attempt, Daeryn wakes up Dyana and they both latch on to the rope.
Guy wakes up and flies over to help Trolley and Aelun pull the rope with Dyana and Daeryn in tow.
They successfully rescue them; Dyana resumes her meditative posture after thanking Anubis the God of Death for saving her, ignoring the team’s efforts.
Guy smells the spice again, and flies away into the snowy forest wilderness.
The team starts a fire to keep warm, as the sun is setting beautifully melancholy among the carnage of the corpses of the dead crew members and wreckage of the Waveform Runner.
Dyana, who remains in meditation on the lapping frigid shoreline, does not break concentration as the team picks her up and brings her close to the fire so that she doesn’t freeze. (She’s not wearing very much) As they sit around and introduce themselves to each other, three blood hawks swoop in from the forest and attack Dyana.
Aelun dispatches two of the blood hawks with the ice knife attack, freezing the corpses of the birds in blocks of ice. The third blood hawk is scared off and flees.
They cook the hawks and take turns keeping watch, as there’s howling and screeching coming from the woods.
Trolley plays mellow tunes on their lute in the night camp.
***
In the morning they wake up to four bandits decked with blue bandanas / rags sneaking up on camp, weapons drawn.
One of them sees Trolley, a halfling, and moves up to attack at melee range; he lands a small amount of damage. Dyana completely obliterates the human bandit with a magic spell; this causes fear in the other bandit.
(two humans, one half-orc and one half-elf)
The party engages the bandits and one by one finishes them off. During the battle, Dyana reveals a raging hate specifically against the human bandits. The last remaining bandit pleads for his life but is ruthlessly cut down by Dyana, who explains that if it was the half-elf bandit that remains she would have held back. She won’t explain why she hates humans, just that she does.
The party spots a pillar of smoke in the horizon to the southeast and set off on a day’s journey.
They travel 20 miles and take a long rest with no incident.
***
The next morning, they come to an encampment of four bandits; two regular bandits and two bandit captains. One pair bandit / bandit captain is donning red and the other pair is wearing blue. They are arguing.
The party decides to engage in full stealth with a major stealth buff from Aelun’s spell, and watch the camp through the trees. Dyana notices that they are humans except for one orc, and starts to get enraged. (The orc is wearing red)
Daeryn successfully sneaks closer to the campfire and hears them arguing over what sounds like a weapons deal.
Dyana waltzes right in and confuses the bandits by exclaiming their leader sent her, who are uneasy but believe her because of their low intelligence. The captain in blue starts to pull out his dagger but is at ease when Dyana convinces them she really was sent by their leader, who the human in blue stupidly reveals is a woman named Juulestra.
As the conversation continues, the blue bandit blurts out that they “weren’t going to go behind juulestra’s and grum’s backs and split the earning of the fresh meat” which pisses off the red captain who insults the blue bandits. A fight between them ensues, and both the blue bandits are killed in the fight, especially when the blue captain is so angry he walks right into the fire. The red orc leaps over to the money chest and shouts that no one will take the money; the red captain attacks Dyana. Trolley yells for the orc bandit to flee, but the orc ignores them.
A fight has now broken out; Daeryn tries to back Trolley up and tell the orc to flee; the orc starts to realize this is a losing fight and flees to the other side of the camp with the treasure chest in tow.
Dyana and Daeryn fight the red bandit captain while Trolley tries to persuade the orc to surrender and join the team. The orc is almost convinced but still refuses. Trolley explains that Dyana is so prejudiced against humans that anyone allied with humans is a target of her wrath. The orc exclaims that he, Zarlog Bonesmasher, is not a Chalkie, and that he can tell they party are not Chalkies; but that the blue bandits have been seen working with the Chalkies. Zarlog also tells Trolley that he works for the Staggs, and that the other guys (in blue) were Morgans.
Aelun transforms into a direwolf and severely wounds and knocks down the orc. Trolley pulls Zarlog into the woods to get away from the fray.
Dyana establishes a psychic connection with Trolley to learn about the conversation they’re having with Zarlog, and gleans the same info Trolley does.
Dyana and Daeryn continue to battle the human red bandit captain; they eventually subdue him when Aelun helps them out. He pleads for his life, and says he can help them cover up; that killing the Morgans and Staggs will have to be explained in order to prevent all out bloodshed between the two families. He also spills the beans about trafficking humanoids behind the backs of his superiors, and that all he knows is that the trafficked beings are sold to people “in the south”. Then he tells them about how the Morgans have been spotted colluding with Chalkanian soldiers at the coast, and that they are potentially being harbored by Morgans in their town.
Meanwhile Trolley gets Zarlog to agree to share the gold with them in exchange for convincing the rest of the party to spare his life. He also must bring them to the Koldensnoh Trading Post and introduce them to Grum Brewgunner, his superior, and that he will explain everything and try to clear their names, and tell him that the Morgans were eaten by a saber tooth or something like that.
Koldensnoh Trading Post is a two days' journey away.
Do they trust Zarlog, who is on death’s doorstep (1HP)?
Find out next time!
***
Part 2: KOLDENSNOH TRADING POST
The party continues south toward Koldensnoh Trading Village, thanks to the map they have and Zarlog's familiarity with the road toward it.
Along the way, the party encounters a group cleaning up a mess; their caravan was attacked by raiders; they declare that they are transporting aid to refugees in Guk, and that they were attacked coincidentally on the same day as the shipwreck of the Waveform Runner:
They are transporting foods as well as rare spices (the only thing they could get their hands on) and this was what Guy smelled when the Waveform Runner wrecked on the northernmost shores of the Northeast Kingdom and sent him flying away (being fixated on finding the ultimate rare cookbook he’s been sent to find). The crates carrying the spice were split open in the attack; Guy appeared and helped repel the attack. Guy had inquired about the spice and was told to find a certain ship (that was dropping off cargo on the coast near Harrington) that could be helpful in his quest.
By the time the party encountered the group smuggling aid for Guk refugees, Guy had already flown. Trolley, who’s quest to assist the oppressed peoples of Guk was interrupted by the shipwreck, takes interest in this group and declares that they shall travel with them, as well as seek out this flying bird character Guy who also seems interesting to them.
***
Aelun, Daeryn and Dyana take a rest that night, pitch the tent they stole from the deceased Morgans and Staggs who were trading goods with each other, and the next morning are refreshed from a long rest. According to their map, they have about 20 miles or so to go til they arrive at Koldensnoh village. Around mid-day (or slightly thereafter) the party encounters three docile bandits standing around looking clueless. Zarlog starts to tremble at the sight, and off handedly mentions “snow sickness”, something the other Northmen have heard from legends but in the last week or so, there have been reports of strange behavior that is similar to descriptions of “snow sickness”, where weary men attack other men.
Thinking that they are about to do battle with bandits like the previous battles, Aelun buffs the party’s stealth and Dyana makes a sneak attack. In doing so, they discover that the bandits are animated corpses: zombies. They battle the zombies, frustrated by the zombies’ inability to completely perish. Daeryn lands a killing blow with downward jam with her shortsword; this obliterates one of the zombies (who at this point is just a torso, head and arm crawling and refuses to de-animate no matter how many physical and magic attacks the party commits). This sends a splattering of gore and blood all over Daeryn and an extremely pissed off Dyana, who previously tried to punt kick the previously animated half-corpse. Aelun transforms into a direwolf and finishes off another one of the zombies with their party mates. Confused and frustrated by the zombies’ low intelligence, immobility and yet refusal to perish, the party continues on to Koldensnoh, arriving at the south gate after nightfall.
As the party enters the town of Koldensnoh Trading Post, they see a man in a dark cloak standing in the gazebo (built around a tree in the center of town) smoking a pipe and seethingly glaring at them as they approach. He sees Zarlog, and yells out to him. He jumps down into the town square on the ground with the rest of the party. Dyana sits in meditation and checks out; Aelun is still in the form of a direwolf, Daeryn appears as a travel-worn adventurer and Zarlog stands next to her, slightly frightened of the man. The man then reveals himself as Grum Brewgunner, wearing the color blue, and questions the party as to the whereabouts of his men that were with Zarlog. Zarlog explains that they perished after snow sickness took them. Grum pauses to think, exclaims that he can’t think without his Bloodgin, grabs Zarlog by the arm and takes him to house in town. At that same moment, a woman in a cloak with red edges shouts to Grum about him having to answer for his bullshit, and that he had betrayed his fellow thiefkin of the Northeast Kingdom, that he’s gone against his Thief King Tostig. She seems to be incredibly intoxicated, looks at the party, sighs them off and goes back into her cabin.
Aelun and Daeryn question what just happened and then hear a man coughing from the other side of the gazebo in the center of town. The man, who realizes his cover’s just been blown, runs away to the northwest part of town.
They catch up with him and startle him; he exclaims that he’s harmless and just out to pay respects to his late partner Clemb, and pours out some of the brandy he’s carrying to the grave where the tombstone reads “Clemb”. Next to that is a tombstone that says “Mick” and is a little newer looking. The man takes a giant slug of the swill, introduces hismelf as Lium Cloudgurney, and invites the party to his house so as to escape the dark cold. They oblige.
In Lium’s house, they learn from him that his partner Clemb had died while out on an expedition / mission with Grum. Clemb never came home. His body was found a few days later by Father Milton, and appeared to be slightly shriveled, which was odd to them. Lium, getting more upset, begins to drink faster and heavier; he starts blathering about how “Mick coulda gone the same”. They also learn that Lium is the town facilitator, that he had moved there about 16 years ago after retiring from the service of a previous Thief King, and that he had grown up a refugee whose family escaped Guk when he was young. He coordinates between the Morgans and Staggs, who previously used to fight each other over possession of the town. Lium has got them both to agree to collaborate and keep the town running by equally contributing; this allows either gang to access a settlement while they run smuggling and transporting operations in the north. (The northernmost coasts of the NEK is where pirates and smugglers make landfall, offload their shipments, go hunting, rest, receive payment, and set sail again. Other than Koldnesnoh, there are no permanent settlements. The wilderness is home to travelling hunting nomads, beasts of the wild, and occasionally fiends of evil origin. And now, as recently as a few days ago, the undead, which are extremely uncommon to the area.)
Earlier in the night, Lium had offered to show the party to Mick’s former house and invited them to stay there, but he passed out before he could tell them where the house was. Fortunately he had it written down on a scrap of parchment clasped by his hand as he slipped into drunken unconsciousness. The party finds Mick’s house, breaks in, and lights a fire with magic.
They discover a history book on Gyrusia with a page missing. The book was open to a page about the history of Guk; Ilium Guk was a vampire who conquered the Gyrus Dynasty by summoning Anurathion. He was then overthrown by Shavinatus Hama, who was a good vampire, (Guk being an evil one), and thus established the 500 Years’ Peace, during which the realm was renamed Gy-Guk. The following page in the book had clearly been torn out.
Other than that, Mick’s house doesn’t hold any clues or indication of anything of interest, mayhap except for the fact that all money, or things of value (if it had anything of value to begin with) are absent from this place.
***
They take another full rest, and the following morning wake up to Dyana attempting to exhume Mick, digging at his grave with her shield. Aelun helps with their “mold earth” spell, and they both are successful in digging down to the coffin lid. When opening the lid, the party are shocked to find no body or remains there, except a strange artifact made of a human femur and flesh gluing a glowing Giant’s eye at the top. A tag inside the coffin next to it says “Bone Rod of Shavinati”. The glowing eye pulsates slowly.
At this moment, from behind them they hear a voice scolding them for desecrating the grave of Mick Yaegerbom. A priest, much much older in age and a half elf, frantically asks what they are doing. Dyana swings the rod at him, threatening him to mind his own business; the rod’s eye stops glowing. It stops glowing when it is directed at any of them; otherwise it idles at a faint pulsating glowing. The party asks the priest where the body is, and why there is such a strange artifact in place of a fresh corpse. The priest recommends that they speak with Grum and Juulestra, that they were probably using the grave to smuggle a rare magic item. They can tell he’s lying. The priest then turns tail and runs back to the chapel. As the party pursues him, a half-orc bandit captain interrupts them and warns them not to enter the chapel, as the last several travellers to step foot into the chapel have never been seen again. She then tells them her name: Juulestra, and invites them to join her at her house where she can explain more plainly.
They all go to Juulestra’s house. Daeryn is on edge, because Juulestra was revealed to be a Morgan captain who collaborates with Chalkanian soldiers. (The Chalkanium took Daeryn’s home and killed her entire family). Juulestra explains that Father Milton, the man who confronted them at Mick’s grave, has been under her watchful eye and seems to be involved in some nefarious deeds, though she has no evidence of anything specific as of yet. He’s been seen working with Grum, and that the last time Mick was seen alive was entering the chapel on a day when several travellers entered town and stayed the night before. Two days later Father Milton found him, slightly shriveled, just like Clemb. “And poor Clemb,” Juulestra belched as she continued to daydrink her preferred booze: wheat ale from Rustwind.
Daeryn confronts Juulestra about working with the Chalkanium; Juulestra explains that she and the Morgans have been working with Chalkanium troops that have abandoned their posts, deserted their ranks and defected from the empire, most with hopes of being warlords or accumulating riches of some kind. The leader of the Morgans see it beneficial to try and hire some of these deserters as sellswords. She also explains that the Chalkanium is under major internal chaos; the leaders of the empire are weak, and there is much turmoil as the empire seems to be consuming itself. The majority opinion is that the empire soon will collapse; but there is no clear picture of what’s actually happening, other than platoons and squads of Chalkanians posted in far away places have begun to jump ship.
They decide to confront Father Milton at the chapel after preparing themselves. Juulestra tags along as the party comes to a locked front door to the chapel; after searching for ways to break in, Juulestra knocks on the door and Father Milton answers. “Come in, my children…”
On their way in, Daeryn’s foot hits an empty bottle of Bloodgin with a paper crinkled up inside of it. She breaks the bottle and unfolds the paper: it’s the missing page from the book, a page about the variety of Vampire factions of olde.
Inside, they see the back of a man in a white-grey robe with the hood up prostrating fervently, muttering prayers in old Gyrusian with sibilant Sss sounds sprinkled throughout; a bad vibe is growing from the altar at which he prays. It is incredibly dark inside the chapel, and once everyones’ eyes adjust, they see Grum sitting in the pews on the side of the chapel. Father Milton leads them into the chapel; the door behind them shuts, and the man praying at the altar’s hood falls off, revealing an incredibly pale and veiny bald head. Father Milton begins to exclaim chants and prayers along with the man; a dark light starts to slowly expand from the altar. Father Milton calls out to the man: his name is Brother Zed, and Father Milton urges him to go harder with the intense and creepy praying. A deep, loud ringing sound starts to emanate from the altar.
Dyana and Daeryn approach Grum, to question him. Dyana, in disgust of a religion that offers no veneration to her patron god Anubis, god of Death, and so spits at one of the glass window depictions of the frog god, hoping to offend Grum and watching for his reaction. Grum, profanely picking his teeth in irreverence, takes a huge gulp of his Bloodgin and spits it onto the floor as well. He and Dyana get into a spitting contest.
Behind the pew that Grum is sitting in (in the very back corner), is a crate. The crate starts to shake, and Daeryn and Aelun hear a muffled gagged voice inside the box. In the chaos erupting from the altar of the chapel, Grum rushes over the box and starts banging on it with the blunt end of his rapier, yelling “shut the fuck up!!”
Aelun, Daeryn and Dyana close in on Grum and the crate, right as all the sound in the room is whisked right out, a deadly silence and evil presence dominate the space. Brother Zed is motionless and the room dead silent when Father Milton shouts, “It is done!”
What will happen next?
Find out in part 3!!!
***
Interlude:
Escaping his tortured past and searching for a purpose and brighter future, Randir has been travelling north to the Northeast Kingdom from the place where he’s from: south Zither.
Guy, searching for a ship he was told could potentially provide info on his quarry, the ultima cook tome (not its real name), is pursued by hunters who think that he’s a really big chicken.
Trolley spends time travelling with the aid convoy en route to the Guk border and learns some shit about Guk and its history, including that of the vampires Guk and Hama and the various factions. (All caught up) Receives Cloak of Protection and Doss Lute (previous common lute was damaged in the fight with the Mangled Fist).
***