Geweer

The Federation of Geweer is a land not settled by a single race or a single people, but instead as a union of five races attempting to work in harmony within a very small sliver of land just south of the Great River Runway. The first to settle the territory historically were the ratfolk of Mt. Gaara, the black mountain. Within their underground settlement of Nazrimi the ratfolk thrived for a time, largely undisturbed by the chaos and war occurring all around them. From within their underground tunnels the Nazrimi people made contact with the people of Radomi, svirfneblin from far to the west who had settled in the old corridors of High Ol'Aanaa. Between their people on the surface settled the grippli, toad like amphibians who migrated over long centuries following the Age of Night. It was these grippli who first settled the Drakewood and learned the art of breeding and taming the drakes who lived within the forest. For a time these three peoples lived in relative harmony, with the Nazrimi even settling upon the surface and intermingling with the other races at a neutral haven today known as Davin's End, where permanent embassies from all three people were established to discuss mutual trade and defense.
Midway through the Age of Heroes, halfling nomads from the Song'o people to the north began settling in Geweer along the Ajori river. Disagreements with tribal elders and increased danger within the runway compelled these travelers to establish a new home and a new kingdom. The halflings made peaceful contact with the ratfolk of the mountain, who helped them to settle in the hills west of Radomi. The Radomians themselves gave the halflings rules of law with which to govern their settled nation, and the grippli gave them drakes with which to scout the surface.
The halflings exodus would continue south over the following generations, with the nomadic tribes eventually settling and founding the kingdom of Tremorra to the land of Maot. The newly proclaimed House Rosecloak remained behind to steward the city of Obsidia and settled the nearby riverlands with farming and trade. For centuries House Rosecloak grew independently of their southern neighbors in Tremorra, until cataclysm wrecked the southern halfling kingdom. Refugees from Tremorra fled back to Obsidia, petitioning the noble house for food and shelter. This was granted, although with some grumblings from both the halfling court and the Nazrimi, and the city of Okusha-Se was settled. The price for the Tremorran refugees was comparatively small, an acknowledgement of House Rosecloak as the chief line of halfling ascendancy, and the recognition of Impela Rosecloak as King of Obsidia. The Radomi took things a step further, suggesting a federation between the four great kingdoms of the area into a unified defense pact. At the neutral city of Davin's End, the four peoples proclaimed the Federation of Geweer. The word Geweer came from the grippli, as it means four in their tongue.
The most recent developments in Geweer have occurred since the Silence of the gods, with new refugees coming from two directions, both being of the same race. A tribe of goblins known as the Children of Dust fled from the Eldritch Scar southward toward Geweer, while simultaneously goblins from Kabout-Ral fled northward to flee human pursuers. In the tradition of their ancestors, the peoples of Geweer came together to grant their fellow smallfolk a plot of land on the eastern edge of the nation, where they have founded the city of Redford. As of today, a goblin representative has not been granted to the council at Davin's End, much to their annoyance, but they know their day will come in time.

Structure

Individual cities have their own methods of legislation, with the grippli electing a village elder by a democratic vote, the Nazrimi appointing one based on seniority and service, and with the peoples of Obsidia and Radomi electing them through an assemblage of the nobility when the monarch has no heir.

Culture

Nazrimi: The ratfolk of Nazrimi are welcoming, friendly and secretive. The Nazrimi have lived here longer than any other people and collect secrets and knowledge that has kept their people alive through many hardships. They are expert farmers, cultivating the lands above and below the surface and are even familiar with the taming of drakes, though less proficient than their grippli counterparts.   Radomi: The svirfneblin of Radomi are the minters and miners of Geweer, extracting opulence from the ground to enrich themselves and their personal lifestyles. Law and governance emerged from Radomi and a king has ruled under the black hills for millennia. The deep gnomes are hardy, serious and believe whole heartedly that one should not aspire too high or you will fall into the sky itself.
Chempaka: The grippli of Chempaka are a quiet people, content to their study of wordplay and love of drakes, grippli can wander through the forests for days contemplating on new and clever riddles in silence before discussing with their friends and neighbors. To outsiders the grippli may seem alien, but they are often simply deep in thought, and quick to offer friendship. The grippli maintain an almost psychic connection with their domesticated drakes, who can react to their desires on instinct once fully trained.
Redford: The goblins of Redford thrive on hardship. Having survived to reach the safety of Geweer from two harsh and terrible calamities, the people on the river's edge have worked to build a new home for themselves, and to defend it against specific threats. The superior intellect and engineering of the goblin peoples has resulted in the creation of numerous inventions, weapons and tools that they believe may help them to buy into the Geweerian federation. Individual goblins are split on their relations with the lizardfolk across the river, with some emphasizing cooperation and understanding, while others emphasize a need for more explosives.
Obsidia: The halflings of Obsidia and its surrounding cities have over the course of many centuries abandoned their nomadic tendencies learned under the Song'o and instead embraced a more rigid hierarchical structure more like the city of Radomi’s approach to governance. This means that a number of the halflings rituals are relatively new historically but draped in historical pomp and heraldry. Noble houses can trace themselves back to the original Song'o settlers, or by relatives and ancestors who performed great deeds in the service of the monarchy and its people. A traditional Song'o first name is often accompanied by a house's title to accompany it. Though Obsidia is the largest city in Geweer upon the surface, Okusha-Se is quickly catching up, becoming a metropolitan powerhouse of diverse peoples and ideas. Notably, the noble houses of halfling society are seriously divided, and while there is unity amongst the 5 races of Geweer, the kingdom of Obsidia is deeply split internally.
The Noble Houses of Obsidia include:  House Rosecloak: (the ruling monarchy)  House Elderbloom: Rulers of a number of the farmlands south of Nazrimi  House Glowsky: Distant cousins of the Tremorran royal dynasty  House Sunheart: Most powerful noble family in Okusha-Se  House Eightwoods: Seafaring rulers of Stoutland  House Wisespell: Current stewards of Davin's End

Demography and Population

Halflings, Ratfolk, Grippli, Svirfneblin, and Goblins make up the overwhelming majority of the population. A few rare Lizardfolk exiled from their tribes in Veles-Wrede will occasionally settle at Redford, but they number about two dozen at most.
The buildings of Geweer are made for people of a smaller size, with any visitors from taller civilizations often struggling to stay in buildings that fit them anywhere outside of Obsidia.

Territories

Capital: Obsidia: Capital of the Kingdom of Obsidia and seat of House Rosecloak.
Nazrimi Below-the-Sun: Home of the Ratfolk of Geweer and ancient tunnel network stretching into the heart of Mount Gaara.
Radomi Above-the-Wings: Home of the Svirfneblin of Geweer and ancient tunnel network stretching through the black hills of High Ol'Aanaa.
Chempaka: Home of the Grippli of Geweer. Chempaka largely exists within a number of ancient trees on the eastern side of the Drakewood, with an individual tree often being home to a half dozen families at a time.
Redford: Home of the Goblins of Geweer. Redford is quickly becoming the most advanced city in Geweer due to goblin ingenuity.
Davin’s End: Who Davin was or why the city is named after them is now lost to all but the grippli who named the city, but this small town serves as the central meeting place for all of the founding races of Geweer to conduct business, as well as the center of the Drakewood's trading operations.
Okusha-Se: The New City: Built by the returning nobles of Tremorra, Okusha-Se has attempted to restore much of the old opulence of the ancient cloud giant capital the Tremorrans once called home. Okusha-Se is quickly becoming the wealthiest city in Geweer, and is expanding faster than its population can support, leading to perhaps the greatest surge of criminal activity in Geweer currently.
The Drakewood: An ancient ancestral forest where the grippli and ratfolk call home. Drakes have been native to the area longer than anyone remembers and have largely been domesticated by the grippli to serve as mounts for their courier services. Ancient threats do exist within the Drakewood however, including tribes of manticores, trolls, and ravenous hydras.
Mount Gaara: The seat of the ratfolk of Nazrimi, much of Mount Gaara has been hollowed out by millennia of constant tunneling. Numerous homes have been discovered and lost over the long history of the people who live there. Recently, tombs of a lost line of ancient ratfolk thought lost has been rediscovered and many are eager to explore their ancestor's tombs, while others believe that their rest must not be disturbed.

Military

Geweer maintains little in the way of a professional military, though each house of halfling and svirfneblin society maintains personal armed guards and small militias. Only the goblins of Redford have anything close to a standing army, with the citizens of the town primed for attack from lizardfolk at a moment's notice.

Religion

Among the ratfolk of Nazrimi Lao Shu Po remains the first and greatest of the gods of Celasper, with her worship persisting even into the silence. They also respect Abadar as god of trade, and Mazludeh as the hearth mother.
The grippli largely venerate Erastil as god of the hunt and farming and the taming of beasts, but respect Uvuko as the protector of their drakes. Their patron deity is Immonhiel, known as Mother Toad in their tongue, of whom they speak little of to outsiders.
The svirfneblin of Radomi largely worship Abadar as the lord of laws and Mazludeh as the matriarch of the home. An increasing number of them are turning back to the Queen of Air and Darkness, who has begun answering their prayers once more.
Among halfling-kind a patron deity may vary by house, but Abadar and Mazludeh remain of prime importance. Increasingly, many of them have begun turning back towards the god Corynbek as rumors of the elder god's return spreads across Celasper, a matter that has caused religious rifts within communities.
The goblins of Redford are perhaps the least religious in Geweer, with some even worshipping the Goddess Semuanya out of a hope that it will allow for greater relations with their lizardfolk neighbors. Some venerate Mazludeh, but they are a minority.

Foreign Relations

Geweer has had frequent border raids from the people of Veles-Wrede over the centuries, though recent peace with Veles-Drazda has led to a de-escalation of some tensions between them. Many of the goblins from Moeras are still distrustful of their Wrede counterparts, recalling in horror how many of their taller cousins were killed crossing the Rainbow Jungle by lizardfolk hunters.
Geweer maintains polite relations with Susa and keeps an embassy within their capital. Who the Susans are supposed to communicate with is a point of contention between the four races, as each vies for trade agreements and authoritative status with their neighbors.
Obsidia maintains a small fleet to deal with the pirates of Bloodcove, though it has not nearly the naval strength to dislodge them. Instead, the fleet does little more than maintain the harbor. Adding insult to injury, the people of Nazrimi trade with the pirates, undermining Obsidia's attempt to choke their flow of trade.
Spiro Spero and Kiutu have ancient trade agreements with the grippli of Chempaka and the ratfolk of Nazrimi, with the Grippli in particular acting as key merchants through the use of their flying trade caravans.
Many monarchs have made it their intention to reclaim Tremorra and explore the lands of Maot, but this has so far been unsuccessful, with hundreds of halflings dead or displaced from their attempts to cross over the mountains. Only the fortress of Balbana has been occupied, and few think it shall be for long.

Trade & Transport

Trade is largely facilitated by the people of Obsidia by sea, the Nazrimi and Radomi by land, and the grippli of Chempaka by air. The Nazrimi and Radomi maintain deep tunnel networks leading all the way to Susa and Bloodcove that are utilized to trade good in between the nations of Geweer. Obsidia and Susa trade via sea, along with Geweer’s island colony of Stoutland. The bulk of trade to cities further in the Great River Runway comes by way of the Chempaka couriers, great flying drake scouts who will fly long distances to trade for knowledge and light materials in exchange for the treasures of the mountains.
Obsidian replaces gold as the standard currency of the area, with limited amounts of electrum also being used. Coins are minted to reflect the leaders of the four great races at any given time, usually combining one on the front and another on the back of a given coin.

Four in Unity

Capital

Obsidia

Training Level

Untrained

Veterancy Level

Recruit

Demonym

The Nazrimi, the Tremorrans in Exile, The Radomians, The Chempakans, the Obsidians

Leader

Queen Izula of House Rosecloak

Head of State

Queen Izula of House Rosecloak

Government System

Monarchy, Constitutional

Power Structure

Federation

Economic System

Mixed economy

Currency

Obsidian Coins

Neighboring Nations

• The Deadlands of Maot
• The Kingdom of Susa
• Veles-Wrede