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Tuatha De
Danaan I'll
just start from the top of the legends section. The information
presented in the Tuatha De Danaan section is accurate. The "land
to the west" which they are from was intended to be a further
expansion to the campaign. I haven't done a bit of work on it so it is
pretty well up to each individual DM. The Tuatha De Danaan are simply
human, their flexibility and mastery of both magical and combative
arts was the unique trait that led them to eventually dominate the
land of Eyru. Their ambition and capriciousness, however may also be
their undoing. Tuatha
de Danaan simply means children or people of the goddess Danaan. It is
a reference taken straight from Irish myth. For any DM wishing to
detail this people, I would suggest looking to these sources for
inspiration. In
current Eyrian culture, all information about the land across the sea
to the west is near mythic proportion (though deciding what is myth
and what isn't in a fantasy world is quite an interesting task...). It
is a garden of Eden of sorts to them and its people larger than life
heroes and near omnipotent mages. Many of the heroes of these times
have crossed over to the Otherworld and become objects of worship to
the Eyrian people. (See the upcoming section on the Otherworld about
how these ancestors derive and provide their powers from/to the Eyrian
people.) The
High King The
first High King, Biccrhu Lirnaan was a very interesting fellow.
Chaotic in nature (chaotic neutral alignment) he was a very unlikely
leader. In many case though his personal charisma overcame his
sometimes quirky attitude and he surrounded himself with powerful
advisors. History
tells of a curse uttered by the Fomorian Princess Me'al. This is true
though the curse had no magic to back it up, nor is it likely such a
curse could have devastated his mind in the way it did. The truth is
far more shocking. It was in fact one of his own advisors who betrayed
him. Within
the Fomorian populace their was a split in the preferred method of
dealing with the rising power of the humans. The Fomorian king
officially recognized the new diplomatic ties despite his cultures
xenophobic tendencies. Among the ruling nobles of Fomorian society a
quiet dissent quickly grew. These Fomorians sought a dark ally and
gave their very souls to see to the destruction of the newly founded
diplomatic ties. The
Fomorians by all appearances are a land dwelling race. Their cities
and enormous palatial spires show a mastery of architecture not yet
achieved by human or giant. In truth they are a sea born race, their
true homes beneath the waves. Their coastal cities are merely a well
crafted diversion to hide the true homes of these xenophobic people.
It is little wonder that they are masters of the magical school of
Illusion as well and every Fomorian is able to change their appearance
via a natural change self at will. In their true form they are indeed
closer akin to fish than human. Their humanoid forms are covered in
scales, gills adorning their neck just below bulging eyes. Their
undersea kingdom is vast and stretches far to the east of Eyru. East
into an area seen by only a few humans and never viewed by the eyes of
giant-kin. Here live several races unheard of by the people of
Eyru. In a dark bog-laden land lives an ancient power known by the
inhabitants of the eastern relam as the Triumvirate. It
is to the Triumvirate that the rebel Fomorians turned in order to
dissolve the new diplomatic ties with the humans. The assistance was
gladly provided and came at a terrible cost. Baaro
Dewa oom Taari, a Fomorian Baron whom had let his disgust with the
diplomatic relations be known, was the first to suggest approaching
the Triumvirate. This decision seemed so desperate that it caused a
rift even among the Fomorian dissenters. Baaro would not be dissuaded
and in fact saw it as fitting that only three of the original nine
dissenting nobles traveled with him to meet the Triumvirate. In
the few days they were gone, a pact was made. Baaro accepted a host of
magical powers with which to undo the diplomatic ties with the humans.
Still he asked for more. The Triumvirate obliged but named their
owned price. Most speculate that Baaro in his lust for power did not
fully understand what they asked of him. Some assume that the powers already
granted to him had driven him over the edge. Regardless, Baaro
accepted. The Triumvirate augmented Baaro's own natural Fomorian
abilities, making real what was once illusion. The price required:
Baaro's servitude and the servitude of all those who sought to follow
his path. Here the second slave race was born, that of the
Doppleganger. New
as of 3-27-2003 Baaro
returned to Eyru, his past xenophobia now twisted into a terrible
hatred. He assassinated Bichru's top advisor and assumed his form.
Through this trusted position he began to twist the High King's mind.
Baaro's weapons: a sadistic mixture of surreptitious enchantment,
illusion, and even allowing the High King to see through the
Fomorian's own abilities. At
the apex of Fomorian-Human relations, Bicchru had agreed to wed the
Fomorian King's daughter, Me'Al. Many said it was merely a marriage of
convenience, however Bicchru was beginning to fall for the beautiful
princess. The High King was not pleased with the "official"
arrangements (requiring they not...fraternize...) and he secretly met
with Me'Al on several occasions. As
part of a twisted plot, Baaro used his now close connection to the
High King to slowly poison his thoughts. Baaro knew that outside
of Tara, away from the Lia
Fail, Biccrhu was at his most vulnerable.
Baaro, feigning concern for the King's safety, began to accompany him as the
"trusted advisor". For
months, Baaro had used his own formidable understanding of magic to
concoct a unique curse. Based upon the illusionists spell
"Phantasmal Killer", this curse was designed to cloud Bicchru's mind. The true
Fomorian form was planted in Bicchru's subconscious as a nightmarish
being. During one of Biccrhu's secret rendevous Baaro unleashed the
dark magic and at the same time, gave Biccrhu the ability to see
through the Fomorian's innate Change Self. Bicchru, seeing his bride to be and his worst of
nightmares as one in the same, was horrified. (Sound familiar
guys/ladies? Serious case of cold feet..) Baaro
was not satisfied with having destroyed the beginning of diplomacy
between the two cultures. He had begun to blame his people for his own
enslavement and he grew to resent them. So Baaro took his plot a step
further. Making sure that Biccrhu did not return to Dun Fail,
Baaro used his guise as Biccrhu's advisor and the hooks implanted by
the malicious enchantment to drive Biccrhu's mind from confusion to
hatred. This began a chain of events which led to the Fomorian-Eyrian war. In
the end, the first High King, Bicchru Lirnaan disappeared at the
conclusion of his military campaign against the Fomorians. His fate is
unknown (even to this DM...hey, you guys gotta come up with your own
stuff sometimes. I've tossed around several ideas but haven't really
settled on one yet...) The
Fomorians returned to their empire beneath the sea. There, in their
natural element, they have nurtured their xenophobia and no longer
wish to explore the land above the waves. They despise surface
dwellers and believe them all to be treacherous, dangerous beings. The
Golden Age The
Golden Age of Eyru is not very detailed in either of the background sections,
but it is an exciting time in the history of Eyru. It is an excellent
time period for a campaign as it is the classic "fantasy
adventure" setting. A great empire (Eryru) suddenly finds itself
alone on the continent. The Fomorians have abandoned their coastal cities, the
giant-kin have disappeared into the Northern-most mountains, the
Druids have become frequent visitors to the Wood Between and
befriended its quirky faye inhabitants. The High King issues an edict
to settle the newly open lands for the glory of Eyru. The opportunities for
adventure are limitless. The
North, once ruled by the giant-kin, is littered with their cavernous,
abandoned castles. It is an unhospitable land. Freakish monsters roam
the Broken Lands (the land of the ancient Giant-kin king who upset the
Manterlaug) and monstrous predatory beasts search the plains for
their next meal. Settling these lands is dangerous and often requires
hardy adventurers to secure and even maintain settlements. In many
cases nobles are willing to pay hefty sums for escorts to help them
stake their claim. The
Wood Between is a place of strong magic and dark secrets. In its
depths live some of the most ancient creatures on the planet. Dire
animals abound in this Wood where nature seems to have no limit on
size. No human would dare try to call this place home (except the
greater Druids, who are only arguably still human). However, brave and
foolhardy adventurers of the time often venture into its depths.
Braving the odd and oftentimes incredibly annoying faye is as much a
challenge as surviving the deeper depths of the Wood. Inhabitants of
the outer Wood include all the Faye (Fey), animals of all varieties
(and size), treants, and other typical enchanted woods creatures. In
the deeper woods, the canopy is so dense in places light never reaches
the forest floor. This provides an excellent home for a variety of
monsters. (Use your imagination but among the known beasties:
Displacer Beasts, Dragons, Trolls, Carrion Crawlers, Hags, Nagas,
Nightshades, all sorts of Fungi etc....the adventurers of my campaign
even ran into a Redcap.) The root structures of the gigantic oaks can
create twisting labrynths in many places as well leading to natural
"dungeons" of a sort. The
coastal regions of Eyru where the Fomorians once lived lay vacant for
centuries. Though at one time they were willing to consider a very
cautious diplomacy, after the war with the humans any Fomorian still railing
against the culture's natural xenophobia was quickly quieted. In many
cases the Fomorians completely destroyed their above sea settlements.
Reports of magical explosions ripping apart the ivory towers of these
cities are in fact true. (See the Witch's Needle for an example...run
a search..)
The xenophobia returned with such a wave that many felt not even a
shred of their knowledge should fall into human hands. For the most
part, humans avoid these areas fearing them haunted. In fact, Fomorian
patrols from the sea often returned to these sites to harrass any
passer-by's and reinforce this mistaken belief through adept (and
often deadly) illusions. Up
Next: The formation of the Council of the Stone...This section reveals
some of Eyru's biggest secrets and details the Triumvirate
New
as of 5/2/2003
Well, this is undoubtedly the biggest secret in Eyru. Mostly
because history has actually been altered to hide the truth behind
these disturbing events. The greater Druids of Eyru themselves saw to
this. Only a select few living beings know this centuries old
information in its true form. Those who witnessed these strange events
were sworn to secrecy or else lost their lives.
The Council of Stone has it’s origins in a loose gathering of
warriors, bards, and spell-casters who were the elite of Eyrian
adventurers. Greatest of them all (arguably so of course) was
Connacher. Connacher owned a keep at the center of Lake Meath and here
the 100 heroes of Eyru met every festival day to swap stories, compete
(fiercely and playfully), and impress the select nobles who were
invited. The group was only loosely affiliated though membership was a
sought after accolade for any adventurer. They met in peace on these
festival days and made important connections with Eyru’s
aristocracy. These same connections often saw these heroes and
heroines competing outside festival days or at times working together
in small groups to attain a common goal.
Roughly 700 years ago during the middle of the Golden Age, High
King Horace Lirnaan of the North sat upon the throne of Eyru. He
controlled a vast domain, from the southern most coasts to an area
just North of the Wood Between. Everyday, Horace’s domain grew as
adventurers pushed further north, taming the land that once belonged
to the giant-kin. The Eyrian mainland had been at peace for centuries
and it seemed the Golden Age would last forever.
That peace was shattered by the Fomorian invasion. The horrified
fisherman that related the tale to High King Horace could barely
speak. Having run from the eastern coast to Tara, the man refused to
speak to anyone but the High King. Literally dying from exhaustion the
fisherman related a story which Horace took for delirium. He believed
the fisherman’s tale of an attack but its details were
"nonsense".
Horace at once suspected the Fomorians, returned from the sea after
all of these centuries. He called upon Connacher to assemble the 100
warriors of Eyru to meet this Fomorian force. In less then two days
(through magical means of transportation and communication) Connacher
granted the High King’s request. The host of Eyru’s greatest
assembled on a hill overlooking what was to become the Plain of One
Hundred Wounds.
The High King was wrong.
These were not the Fomorians, they were something far more
sinister. And the ramblings of the dying fisherman were precise in
every detail:
"They came on great serpents that
floated above the waves, their sails full in a dead calm sky. We
stopped and stared as they landed. Walking snakes that struck with
fist and foot. The few who tried to fight were left mangled inside
their skin-arms bent behind them, heads limp on top of pulverized
spines. We surrendered to their might and I closed my eyes and
prayed to Brigit of the healing touch to be spared. Slowly the
wailing and lamenting of those that lived ceased and deathly silence
fell upon all of Harknon. I turned to run, eyes still shut tight
from horror. It was then I ran into my wife. She stood there staring
blankly back, her skin, hair, even her eyes from edge to center were
coarse and dull as if her form had been plucked from the womb of the
earth. I couldn’t scream, nor even weep, all I could do was run.
As I ran through town I saw them….all of them….just as my
beloved."
Unknown to the High King, the Triumvirate had taken an interest in
Eyru. No Eyrian had ever heard of them, none except the High Druid and
he only in mystical tale and divine augury. The High Druid knew of
their spawn from the Fomorian War, the slave race of the Doppleganger.
Their form without nature was among higher druids a secretly observed
threat, but it’s source had never been determined.
The Triumvirate works slowly, methodically. They are a force that
has been since the beginning of time some say and will be there until
the world is destroyed. They have time. This was a simple
expeditionary force sent to test the Eyrian people. It proved to
almost destroy the Eyrian civilization.
Connacher’s 100 as they were known represented the elite of the
elite. In little less than an afternoon, they were slaughtered.
History tells of a battle that lasted one hundred days. In truth it
took this long to drag the Eyrian empire back from the brink of
collapse. Connacher’s hundred met the forces of the Triumvirate in
the open plains and initially appeared to fare well. The robed,
unarmed serpent men were unorthodox but fell to steel and magic just
as well. As their ranks thinned, they seemed to become faster and more
agile but Connacher’s men held fast.
Among the fray shouts were heard from several of the magic wielders
on the field. Unseen figures had infiltrated the melee and placed
themselves among it. As the warriors took steel to the serpent men, a
battle of willpower erupted between the spellcasters and the unseen
foes. Spells were cast only to be countered, magics unleashed only to
be tamed by the enemy or redirected. At the peak the great mage Fergus
Killian roared in exasperation and began to recite an incantation of
his own; a heavily augmented Greater Dispelling.
As Fergus began his enchantment Ciall O’Clerigh, wisest cleric of
all Eyru studied the battlefield carefully from behind a Sanctuary
screen. His spells were nearly spent trying to keep up with the damage
dealt by the rapid blows of the serpent men. Something had struck him
as odd about the battle. So he sat down to think it out and simply
observe. As he watched the battle within the battle between the
opposing spellcasters he noticed that it appeared that the unseen foes
were simply taunting the Eyrians. He also noted that they were taking
little action against Fergus’ spell which would surely end their
Invisibility Magic. In fact, they tightened their circle, exposing
themselves to the spell. They wanted to be seen.
Ciall stood and as he shouted a warning Fergus’ spell was
unleashed. Their foes were fully visible and those faces would be the
last any of the hundred, save Connacher, would see.
The host of heroes found themselves face to face with a new foe,
that of the Medusae (see session
28 for our own party's encounter). Few understood the source of
the Medusae’s power. The Medusae in turn were incredibly canny with
the use of their powers being accustomed to foes that understood the
danger of their petrifying gaze. The unwitting Eyrians were no match.
Connacher alone escaped and fled into the nearby woods. Exhausted
he called upon the great Dagda for guidance and was soon visited by an
earthly manifestation of this deity. The Dagda led him to the Grand
Druid and communed with the two for the space of a day. Through power
granted by the Dagda and his triplet daughters, the Grand Druid began
crafting a powerful incantation to help overcome the Medusae force.
Connacher in the meantime began to gather a new army and entirely
new tactics. The powerful druids from the Grand Druid’s inner circle
pledged their assistance. Men of the woods and even faye folk were
called upon to join this new force. Unlike any army ever seen before
its emphasis was to be stealth and its weapon distance. Avoiding the
close gaze of the Medusa was the key to Connacher’s strategy. He did
not seek decisive battles or routing of the foe, only to delay their
drive inland while the Grand Druid completed his incantation. This
group became known as the Gynfakyn
or "the Unseen".
The Gynfakyn were successful in their objective and kept the
minions of the Triumvirate from its main goal, the capitol of Eyru,
Tara. As the Gynfakyn and the Medusae skirmished, Connacher assembled
a second 100 man force, hand picked from Eyru’s most promising
adventurers, many blood relatives of the lost 100 heroes. These
adventurers would form the basis of the Council of the Stone and would
be woven into the fabric of the Grand Druid’s incantation that would
save all of Eyru.
Couldn’t just spill the beans all in one sitting could I? Next
time: More info on the Council of Stone, the Triumvirate, the Elves,
the city of Tach and more!
New
as of 6/9/2003
Connacher and his men finally triumphed over the Medusae
expeditionary force. Their victory was secured by the secrets unlocked
by the druids. It was not simple inherited skill that found a large
number of blood relatives replacing the original fallen 100 warriors.
True many were bred to follow in their parent’s footsteps. However,
they also possessed a kinship, a blood bond which would serve in the
Druidic magic that would ultimately secure victory.
Each of Connacher’s original One Hundred now lay encased in stone
on the original battle site. At this site, while the Gynfakyn
harangued the Medusae expeditionary force, the elder Druids met. The
standing stone had always figured prominently in the Eyrian culture.
They marked sites of great importance, places where normal space and
that of the Otherworld had conjoined to
create miraculous events. It had always been the task of the druids to
care for these sites and over time the druids developed an affinity
for the magic these stones channeled.
Unwittingly, the very destructive power that the Medusae used to
overcome the Eyrian heroes had created a power which the Eyrian Druids
could tap into. The heroes were not dead but caught between the world
of the spirit and the material realm. The tokens left behind, their
earthly forms now trapped in stone created a powerful conduit for the
Druids own magic. The druids began a long series of complex
incantations which stretched on for days. In the end, they provided
the means of defeat of the medusae forces.
Rooted to the earth, these hundred heroes of legend began to call
forth from the stones. Their voices channeled by the firmament and
carried to all corners of Eyru. Their progeny, tied closely by blood
and strong ancestry that carried into the Otherworld, heard the call.
None have clearly been able to describe this call. It was best put
by the elder son of Fergus Killian as "a deep, musical, awe so
rich it is palpable." With this clarion call ringing in their
ears, Connacher’s new One Hundred donned eyeless masks and helms of
ferocious appearance. They were now able to take the battle straight
to the Medsuae and cripple their force on the field of battle. As they
did, the Gynfakyn retreated back into the shadows to protect the
source of this power: the grove of stones which the original One
Hundred had become. To this day this remains their solemn duty and no
one save the greater druids are allowed near them.
Never were the Eyrian people made aware of how close their
"Golden" civilization had come to annihilation. History
itself records a very different event, blaming the Fomorian
"Witch’s" and their illusions. Presumably druids crafted a
magic stone for each of Connacher’s men to help them defeat the
illusions. Once Connacher’s men had the Fomorians on the run,
history tells of how they mastered the Fomorian’s trickery and thus
left their magically crafted stones on the final battlefield. and
adding that Connacher’s Hundred had pursued the Fomorians into the
sea and beyond and would continue that pursuit for eternity to insure
the safety of all Eyru.
Connacher’s new one hundred went on to form the Council of Stone,
a force dedicated to the protection and unity of all of Eyru.
The Triumvirate was not pleased by the failure of its force. Many
of the Medusae who led the expedition were brutally punished. Unnerved
by the defeat and unsure of the true source of the Eyrians sudden
ability to turn back their minions, the Triumvirate kept a close eye
on Eyru. Over the following centuries it infiltrated Eyru with a
network of spies made up of its first slave race, the Dopplegangers.
Meanwhile, as the years past, Eyru continued its Golden Age,
unaware of the clandestine dangers it faced. Vst portions of the land
of Eyru were tamed and expansion led explorers like Tacthta Lirnaan
east across the once impassable "Dragon’s Spine". Here the
glorious city of Tach was established. The
city becomes key to events that ultimately lead to the Divide but
first a little background of the area around Tach.
Due to the difficulty of the seas between Tach and Eyru,
communication was sporadic. By all accounts it was a thriving city
though the officials who made these reports never quite told the
entire truth for fear of the mainland losing interest in their
outpost. While the city was in a fertile land and it grew with amazing
speed it was constrained. Constrained politically for the new
continent it found itself on was settled mil lennia
ago by others.
In the southern marshes of this land live a race of cruel and
devious beings known as the Medusae. The Medusa are more similar to
the second edition Medusa as opposed to the third. They are human in
every aspect aside from their horrible visages. This female race are
the lieutenants of the force known as the Triumvirate. The Medusae are
in turn served by the first slave race, that of the Lizard-folk. The
simple Lizard-folk view the Medusa as gods and serve them as
fanatically as one might expect.
The Medusa have been locked in an eternal war with the elves of the
northern forests. It is in fact the elves who may have unwittingly
awakened the Triumvirate several millennia ago. Wandering elven
hermits had traveled to the southern marshes to spread the Unity (a
form of monotheism) to the simple lizard-folk that lived there. They
elves met with some success and found the lizard-folk to be a very
curious people. They were in fact excellent students of the Unity of
Body and Universe taught by the elven monks.
After the Triumvirate was awakened however they drove the elves
from the marshes and convinced the Lizard-Folk of their status as
gods. (Some among even the elves attest to the veracity of this
claim.) In the process the Triumvirate gave birth to their worldly
stewards, the Medusae. These Medusae share the serpentine features of
their masters though it is unclear what the Triumvirate truly is (For
the DM’s I envision them as Greater Medusae though powerful Naga or
even, Yuan-ti might make excellent choices.) These Medusae are the
eyes, ears and mouths of the Triumvirate.
As for the elves, the elves live in a relatively open society. In
general, they are meditative and thoughtful and follow a religion
which might best be compared to that of Buddhism. They seek
enlightenment among the universe and try to live in harmony with all
living things. They are also accomplished spellcasters due to their
patience and sense of connection to the world and its forces around
them.
Now, back to the city of Tach. As peace began to take something of
a toll on the mainland of Eyru, the High King and his people grew
restless. The clandestine forces of the Triumvirate sensed this
growing agitation among the people of Eyru and chose it as their new
weapon. It had been centuries since their defeat by the Council of
Stone, but the Triumvirate is accustomed to adopting patience as a
strategy (hey when you normally fight meditative elves….). The
Triumvirate skillfully manipulated a long forgotten foe, the Fomorians.
Long ago, the Fomorians had retreated into the sea content to
nurture their xenophobic tendencies. With the Eyrians pushing across
the sea, the Triumvirate delivered disturbing (and not entirely true)
information to the Fomorians, through clandestine means. Dopplegangers
planted in the Fomorian ruling class began to warn that their
"skies" (the surface of the sea) would soon become a
frequently traveled shipping lane for the Eyrians. They began to
agitate the populace into a war frenzy. Meanwhile, through similar
means, the Triumvirate began to push the inner circle around the High
King to establish a steady trade route to Tach. It was in fact a
Doppleganger agent that supported the High King himself traveling to
Tach to prove the safety of the journey and to put an end to the
growing Fomorian raids on their shipping lanes.
The High King’s fleet left the harbor along with a contingent of
50 of the Council of Stone. Unknown to them, several doppleganger’s
traveled with them. Fomorian resistance grew fierce as they neared
Tach. The Fomorians had "gained information" about the High
King’s fleet. The high seas battle was costly on both sides but the
Fomorians eventually secured victory and the High King’s ship limped
into Tach’s harbor. The ensuing undersea blockade mounted by the
Fomorians around the city of Tach saw to it that word never reached
Eyru of the fleet’s fate.
The Eyrians were suddenly adrift without their High King and the
ensuing clan rivalries that resurfaced led to the Divide
and the establishment of the four High Clans.
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