Nomads of Aerethia (A fantasy nomad adventure)

What do you want to focus on the most?

  • The Nomad side of the fighting for control over Snowlands.

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  • The Snowalkers side of the fighiting for control over Snowlands.

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  • Everyday life in one of the independent settlements of the Snowlands.

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gamer5

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North Aerethia, more commonly known as Snowlands, covers the area roughly the size of Africa. Yet it's harsh colds and brief summers mean that only a few places are hospitable to permanent settlement, with our without the aid of the lush southern reaches of the continent.

For thousands of years great clans of nomads have roamed this land and when the snows started falling, ventured into the south causing great havoc during the Aerethian Middle Ages. But times have changed. Gun has replaced sword and bow, cannons mounted on steam boats patrol the Great Bordering River which separates the Snowlands from the south and trains allows the countries of the south to bring ever more supplies and construction materials further into the north.


We shall embark on an adventure in this time of crisis and who know maybes save the Nomads from destruction or allow the southern Aerethians to win over them once and for all.

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Massive snow storms, common in the spring and autumn in most of the Snowlands, can even force the mighty dragons to land and hold tightly to the ground.

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In some areas the old Aeternus paths are still usable and allow some form of transportation.

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A camp of a Nomad tribe.

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Many of the wonders of the Aeteruns civilization, like for example the now useless water pumping stations on the picture, still dot the landscape. In this particulurar case a Snowalker is standing next to a way-finding light (in case of a snow storm).

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Even in the harshest environments, like this mountains, some hardy Nomad tribes can survive.

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Many dragons have run to the Snowlands from the late Aerethia Middle Ages, fearing Dragon Hunters.

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The glaciers of Snowlands meet the Great West Sea (Ocean).
Words in brackets are the common Nomad names/words/expression. For a more systematic view take a look at the Nomad Words section.

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The map of the Snowlands. Colors of names tell the political allegation of each settlement, outpost and camp. Camps are noted with Su - Summer, Wi - Winter and Sp/Au - Spring/Autumn for the season in which they occupy that area.

The Nomads [Asi]


The nomads are the primary human native inhabitants which live in the Snowlands. Though, cunning and knowledgeable of the land they are forced to live on they. Now they face their grimmest moments, as their populations, already decreased in number from being cut of from their life saving winter migrations, is faced with the arrival of Snowalkers from the south; herb gatherers, hunters, adventurers and other seeking fortune in the Snowlands. But their activities are a direct treat to the Nomans as they are gathering the same plants and hunting the same animals on which the very survival or traditions of the Nomads lay.

Most nomad clans and tribes (one clan has multiple tribes) are lead by Warchiefs [Han] (Clans)/ Chiefs [Loh] (Tribes) which are military and everyday leaders while spiritual and magical guidance is provided by Shamans [Ya's] of different ranks. There are a few clans honoring the Aeternus democratic ways of direct democracy with every warrior or shaman having right to speak and suggest propositions on councils called by the current person with the title of Voice [Ua] (usually chosen by random lottery).


Current structure of the clans and tribes of the Nomads. Colors are for the clans Asi, Sor, Suna, Kona and Tasu. The look of the lines tells the period of the creation of each tribe - the first tribe (Asi), the first five originating from before written history (ex. Sonna), the ones which existed before Akser fell (ex. Eria) and in the end the new ones created after Asker fell (ex. Tama). The black one are tribes which died out.
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The New Nomads [Asi Aram]

Trough all the people of Aerethia have examples of those which left for Snowlands, not to harm but to study, learn and cohabit with the local life, sapient or not, the Felinae and Aeternus have shown a much greater amount of those which decide to become a part of Snowlands rather then to try to conquer it. Many of those new Nomads, especially Felinae, have formed families or tribes which live together with or within the clans of the older Nomads. Those new nomads are one small light of hope carrying the most powerful weapon - knowledge of southern tactics, weapons and magic.

The Snowalkers [Shakr]


The Snowalkers is a common term to all those from southern Aerethia which are seeking fortune. Herb gatherers, hunters, ruin explorers and many other. Usually grouped in small groups they posses one great advantage compared to the other groups in the Snowlands - technology and magic. With relative easy access to guns and supplies via the railroad to the Far Fort (main human outpost on the other side of the Bordering River) or the steam ships to the Outpost North (Canis outpost on the west coast of Snowlands) and backed by the south's growing industrial power, improved magic and new technologies outside of a duel they have a might that is hard to mach.

The Settled [Saimm]


The settled are the inhabitants of the rare places that are constantly settled in the Snowlands.

The Island To Which You Walk/Sakogen

Located off the east coast of the Snowlands this large island is located on a major volcanic hot spot and is riddled with volcanoes which if why it is why it is also the most populated place of all Snowlands. Using surviving knowledge from the Aeternus, volcanic heat and hot springs a massive system of greenhouses spreads around the three cities - Yunasi, Keyan and Sakogen. This way of live has lasted for millenums and as such resulted in a vast underground road/hot water aqueduct which connects the three cities without a need for exposure to the deadly cold.

The Anvil Peninsula

This small part of Snowlands is blessed with a warm current which hits it's norther shore sand allows for human settlement. Trough the live during the height of the Nomads it was a harsh place to live but now, without the pressure of attacks it is experiencing a new revival with many small settlements spawning along the ancient roads of the Aeternus all the way to the Anvil Outpost which is the first line of defense against Nomad raids. The name comes from the Anvil shape of the habitable part of the peninsula.

Asmis

Asmis is a city and village located on the chain on the volcanic isles of Asmis. Similar in origin to the Hawaiian Isles this means that a constant stream of isles is left as the tectonic plate moves over the centuries. But this also means that every few centuries the old volcano starts to die our as a new one starts to spawn and unleash molten lava as it forms a new island. So to keep up with this process every few centuries a new city is build up on the new island while the old one is left to ruin. The current city was build some 100 years ago and the old city is now almost devoid of life. Asmis also maintains a small trading outpost on the nearest peninsula. Just like the Sakogen island survived knowledge of the Aeternus and with own unique high percentage of mages Asmis can continue it's existence.

The Outpost of the Southerners

This small military outposts follow former roads of the Aeternus trough the south Snowlands. The largest of them is the human Far Fort which also oversees five other outposts. The Canis have a small strip of land spreading northwest from their main outpost of Outpost North.

Fisher's Village

A small settlement just a bit east from the eastern coast of Snowlands. Inhabited by a Aeternus nicknamed "Fisher" and his family.

The Village Between the Glaciers

Located between the glaciers of Sharp Peaks and the glaciers of Anvil Mountains this small settlement is a sacred place to the Nomads and the place of the biannual Nomad Council [Asi'ya] the only place where the Nomads have came together after the death of the last Great Chieftain. Inhabited by retired Shamans and clansman (collectively called Elders [Issah] those are those which reached 60 years of age and decided to live their post to someone younger), protected by nature and powerful magic and supplied with a mysterious source of never-freezing water it's a the sight where the culture of the Nomads is preserved the best and shown in it's best edition.

Frozen Pine Village

Located in the hotspot of a supervolcano this village owns it's existence to a unique sulfur-consuming mushroom which thrives in the area of the settlement providing not only nutrition but also fresh water by deacidifying the sources of warm water. With this a limited agriculture based around greenhouse cultivation and durable cattle husbandry allows it to survive in a unique location, a massive mixed forest which froze over when the climate of Snowlads suddenly turned harsh some 10 millenniums ago.


General Aerethia Information!

In times long past a single race, the Aeternus, ruled Aerethia and it's world Aethia with might and magic. But over 10000 years ago a magical experiment went wrong and most of the world of Aethia was ravaged by magic and most of the population of the world died or went crazy. Only Aerethia, protected by the most powerful magical shield, survived intact but cut off, by large magical vortexes which appeared on the edge of the magical shield which protected Aerethia from the harmful effect off the event.

During the next 10000 years civilization rebuild itself under the three races which were once ruled by the Aeternus: Humans, Canis and Felinae fought wars, build momentous and sought new knowledge. But then mistakes from the past were repeated again, when a team of mages unlocked the Shrine of Winter Mountain and recreated the event which destroyed the Aeternus on a much smaller scale, destroying the grandiose City of Asker and marking the beginning of a new era for Aerethia. The Asker Valley was closed off after all survivors left it. This event marks the beginning of the Aerethia calendar since the Kingdom of Asker ruled over all races of Aerethia.

A small group of refuges from Asker came to the Moon Lake and fearing that war will engulf the continent. They founded the core of what is to become the largest city of Aerethia, Moon City.

Later some five centuries after the destruction of Asker Aerethia reached the technology level of WWII Earth and old diffrences fueled by growing nationalistic and militaristic tendacies brought the last great conflict on Aerethian soil - The Great War.[/spoiler]
Humans, major race

Your ordinary humans. Unlike other races humans posses a variety of cultures and languages.

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A human gunner from the early 4th century A.A.F. Those made most of the armies until the introduction of rifles. Armed with a musket, pistol and sword they made a powerful force.

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An 4th century A.A.F. human Assassin. This stealthy killers utilized crossbows, blades, poison, magic and extreme athletic skills to kill their targets. Trough silent guns existed they were still not good enough to leave almost no sound so crossbows were still used by assassins long into the 5th century A.A.F.

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A human mage. The significantly higher amount of mages that humanity had compared to Felinae and Canis was one of the main military and economical advantages of humanity.

Felinae, major race
Felinae are humanoids which greatly resemble cats and are around 5 feet 2 inch tall. They are covered in dense fur, have cat ears, eyes and a tail. Their affinity for magic is smaller then those of the humans. They usually prefer agility over strength. Most Felinae live on the Catis Peninsula in south Aerethia or in the western part of the Moon Plato. Humans and Felinae can interbreed, giving a half-Felinae which retain their cat ears, eyes and a tail as well as some of the agility of the Felinae but have almost the same affinity for magic as humans; those are commonly called Nekos. Nekos can breed with humans, Felinae and other Nekos.

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A typical Felinian from the Southern Island of Moon City. 332 A.A.F.

Canis, major race


Canis are muscular dog-like humanoids which like aggression and warfare, their height varies greatly but most are around 5 feet 5 inch tall. Although their ears and tail have shortened greatly they still retain a dog-like nose and short fur. Canis are extremely loyal to their nation. Most Canis utilize strength in combat. Of the species which can use magic Canis have the smallest affinity for it. The largest part of Canis population lives in western Aerethia. The interbreed ability with humans is proven and a half-Canis will have have Canis ears and a tail as well as a much larger affinity for magic then the ordinary Canis; given the rarity of such cases and their sterility there is no common name for half-Canis.


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A Canis Imperial Guard in a ceremonial outfit. Those elite forces were deployed when there was no choice but to hold the enemy or face total annihilation of the Canis Empire. Strong and well trained they were usually made out of hand-picked 20 years veterans with no trace of any disloyalty to the Canis Imperator. The loyalty check they had to pass trough was so rigorous due to one more thing - they were the personal guard of the Imperator as well as the police of the Imperial City of Sarta.

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A Canis intellectual. During the late 4th century many of them were against the militaristic government and the aggressive outer politics and voiced this concern publicly leading to the execution of a large portion of them for faked charges.

Aeternus (Ancients), minor race
Ancients are humanoids which resemble humans a great deal. The main difference is the height since the average Ancient is 7 feet tall and their inhuman hair and eye coloration which ranges from light yellow to dark violet, as well as their pale skin. Most Ancients have weaker bodies then humans, but all are born as mages. Humans and Ancients can interbreed and the result is a human with a weak body but which usually is a strong mage.

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An Aeternus female using magic. The natural talent for magic that the Aeternus had resulted in many of them serving as magicians in various Aerethian militaries.


Lowers, minor race

Lowers is actually the term for a group of sentient species which are not intelligent enough to develop a civilization of their own but can fit in some roles of the Aerethian civilization since they posses some intelligence. Lowers are split by the magical element which dominates their habitat.

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An amphibian Lower. Common near most water bodies.

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A forest reptilian Lower. This particular species lives in the deep forests and is extremely territorial, especially males during mating season and females when they have children, attacking anything that enter their territory.

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A fish-like Lower. Most of those are considered delicacies or good fishing omens.


An avian Lower. Many of those were be enough to be ridden but the advent of guns removed them from military use.

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A desert insect Lower. Here being used by a nomad from the Great Desert as transport. Good for small groups of travelers but their cargo capacity is limited. Also they will never leave the desert making them only good from going between the oasis inside of the desert.

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A plant Lower. Trough not rare this slow creature is so good at hiding on the tree it decides to live on that finding one is really hard.

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A humanoid Lower Shaman. Shamans are the usual leaders of Lowers which form tribes. Many of them know some human language and work together with humans if there is a human settlement in the vicinity of their tribe.

Trough all words for the sake of simplicity will be only once mentioned on Nomad and then used in their south Aerethian (read: English) equivalent for those setting background savvy here are some words that are used by all Nomads for the same thing. Updated from time to time and will be part of the first OOC post (if one is ever made).

English Nomad (Closes Phonetic Match) Meaning

Snowlands Masi Our Lands
Southern Aerethia Moravai The Lands Across the Water Snake
Nomads Asi Us/Our
New Nomands Asi Aram Us From Their Land
Snowalkers Shakr Trash (In the style of "Human Trash")
Settled Saimm Those Always on the Same Land
Wolf Faam Howling Roamer of the Lands
Mammoth Isark Great Hairy Beast
Dragon Ramrk Magnificent Beast of Fire
Ice I Ice
Glacier Oi Great Ice
Hello Hao Greetings
Hello (politer) Ihas Many Greetings

Note: The common expressions and words of Nomads have been build by their Shamans from runic letters. On rune has one meaning and a phonetic group to it, trough a rune sharing a phonetic group with another is no to common but not rare eather. That is why the context must be payed attention to.

Obviously this RP will be concentrated on the Nomads! But that doesn't mean that antagonist chracters are not going to be needed. Well we can discuss the details here. That is why this is a Group RP Plotting Thread! I will add the CS but have to switch PCs or my bro will kill me over the computer!
 
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So were here basically to do three things:

Discuss and decide on how will we start and when needed, how to progress with our plot.

Start thinking about ideas for characters. Be it characters for introduction later in the RP, be it to start off with them.

Get more players. Seriously I doubt we will get far with just four players plus me. We need people, hopefully a constant inflow of one per week up until have ten or twelve players would be nice to slowly and surely expand our RP. Naturally if you are dedicate enough we can say "screw numbers we got willpower" and create a massive RP just with us five.

Some other stuff.

I am thankful for you ladies and guys because each Aerethia RP I manage to start is a opportunity for me to flash out the world and thous make it better and more vivid! Hope we manage to get a few more players and have a nice RPing experience!
 
I hope we can at least get some good discussion for it going, I promise to skim through fully read through it all to get a better feel for it.

My only issue is that
...until we have ten or twelve players...

Whenever there are a lot of people I tend to lose interest due to sheer volume of posting.. It's so hard for me to read through all the posts and still want to add to it.
 
Like I said it is up to your wishes. So if you want it smaller no problem we can keep it to six or seven players. But for now I am heading to bed. It has been a long day for me so I need some sleep. Tomorrow ppl!
 
So any ideas on what kind of plot should we follow or you live that up to me?
 
Well, I personally already see myself as a nomad angry at the Southerners' ignorance of our ways and their wasteful squandering of the limited resources ofthe Snowlands, thus embarking on a quest to unite the clans and cleanse our ancestral home with the help of "the old ways". Ever since I saw the picture of a dragon on a snowy mountain, something of "the ancient art of dragon taming" has been haunting me. What do you think of this theme - clash of "the old ways" some of which (you gave example with the magic of the old Aeternus being preserved and used in some parts) although almost forgotten can rival "the new wave of technology and magic) in power. Maybe something about finding the last of the inhabitants of the fallen main race somewhere deep in the mountains? I don't know, really, your would is so awesome, so there are so many possibilities I can't even name them all! For example, the magical shield is somehow weaker at some parts of the Snowlands and creatures from the Void, deformed and twisted Aeternus might try to come into this world. For instance, playing on the minds of the weaker of the Snow walkers, starting some sort of a cult that force the southern civilisation to advance forth to some specific place where they would weaken the shield and let the horror from the outside into this world. So the "old ways" resurrected by the nomads must unite with the new ones carried over by the southerners to stop this from happening. Sorry, if I am spoiling your story with my suggestions, by the way, that is simply what I see from the top of my head when I read your story :D
 
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Wow! I like those ideas of your, but its not up to me, but you get my like for those ;D
 
I'm sorry... I'm afraid I'll have to drop out of this... and I was so eager... I'm really sorry. I hope you all can make it as fun and epic as possible *^*
 
To bad... well hope you stay around and we get a chance to RP some other time!
 
Here is the first version of the map of the Snowlands. Still lacks Nomad campsites and any names except those on the small area from the cut-out of South Aerethia but to give you an idea about the Snowlands here it is:
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*pokes head in*

'Ello! I am interested for sure from the bits I have been skimming through. I will definitely be watching this.
 
The completed map has been added as well as a poll that I would like you to answer ASAP!
 
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