The Deadlands of Maot

Today, the Deadlands of Maot are a wasteland of abandoned cities, haunted fields, and broken dreams. Yet it was not always so. In the days of prehistory, perhaps even before the Age of Wonder, the great empires of giantkind oversaw a society known as the Ordning. Bestowed upon them by the original father of all true giants, the Ordning placed all beings into a hierarchy of leadership and obedience with which to go forth and rule. For a time, perhaps far longer than any other race has been alive, the giants of Celasper held dominion over the land, but in their arrogance and desire to bring all things into a one true order. the giants of Celasper began a great and terrible war to subjugate the draconic race.
The soothsayers of Veles-Wrede have sung the tale of the Wraith-Maot for millennia, chronicling the breaking of the mirrors, the battles of stone and flame, and the sundering of the Ordning. Even after the giants had surrendered the destruction did not cease, and the giants were banished into the mountains of Ol'Aanaa in fear and exile. For a time the area that would become Maot stood abandoned, controlled by ancient dragons and their lizardfolk worshippers in ruined giant cities. But even the dragons could not control the land forever, turning on each other, being hunted by ancient Osirion and the masked scholars of Nantambu. Eventually the land was truly desolate, being proclaimed as "Maot" by the lizardfolk of Veles-Wrede, meaning "giant, or graveyard" in the lizardfolk tongue. With the exception of desperate clans of giantfolk, and rogue bandits, it would remain abandoned for thousands of years.
In time however during the Age of Heroes, tribes of halflings from the Song'o made the decision to migrate south due to disagreements in clan elders. While these halflings originally settled in Geweer, disagreements with the tribes of the Nazrimi and the Radomi caused their migrations to continue south, into the lands of Maot. There the halflings found entirely abandoned cities, fully built road systems, and fertile volcanic soil near the riverlands. While harvests were never consistent, they were sufficient to allow for the permanent settlement of the halfling people, and the kingdom of Tremorra was founded.
Discovering rules of law, and structure dating back to the age of giants, the kingdom of Tremorra grew rich and powerful, allowing for individual noble houses to establish themselves in the stylings of the old Ordnings of giantkind. Individual noble houses were established in Balbana, Andarra, Pyronna, and Castilia, each paying homage to the capital of Tremorra, along with the colony of Obsidia to the north. The wealth and privilege of the Tremorran dynasty only expanded when the halfling kings discovered the Shards of Annam, ancient artifacts that allowed them to command entire tribes of giantkind. With shards in hand, the noble houses of Tremorra swept into the mountainside, and even into the under crypts of the old cities. There they brought many giants under their control through powerful enchantments, enslaving these giants to the will of the Ordning itself. As if sensing this blasphemy, the Wrede to the east began raiding Tremorran settlements, attacking and raiding borderlands with abandon.
As the grandeur and control of Maot grew, more and more discoveries were made by nobles into the nature of giantkind. Records of what exactly caused the ensuing catastrophe are inconsistent, some claim the reclamation of the mirrors, others claim a greater Shard of Annam was uncovered. Rumors speculate of a traitor in the city of Andarra, though who or what they betrayed is lost to history. What is known is that Mt. Xumura erupted, shattering Castilia into ruin and casting a cloud of smog and dust over the plains of Maot.
Many of the halflings died in the ensuing tragedy, but not from the volcanic smog. In the land of the dust-covered sun the spirits of the dead rose from the earth. Summoned forth in rage and despair, the spirits of dead giants possessed the living, and slaughtered one another in the streets of Tremorra. Other halfling settlements were not spared the undead onslaught. Those who could fled north to Geweer, leaving assaults of lizardfolk, rebelling giants, and the spirits of the dead behind them.
Today, Maot has been abandoned for hundreds of years, the spirits of the dead still haunting the streets of the cities, holding halflings and giants alike prisoner to their unfinished business. The Wrede know not to cross the threshold of Ol'Aanaa, but increasingly halflings from Geweer have made the attempt, hoping to reclaim their border settlements. From the fortress of Balbana, they hope to find proof of heraldry, find hidden relics, and reclaim supremacy. Today Maot holds the secrets of three great civilizations, but only the dead linger to listen.

Structure

Maot today exists in a state of total anarchy, with no ruling bodies or places of true safety.

Culture

In the days of the ancient giant empire, the peoples of the world were ranked in the Ordning as follows:   The Titans or Primordials  Storm Giants  Cloud Giants  Fire Giants  Frost Giants  Stone Giants  Hill Giants  Ettins  Giant-Kin  Ogres Non-Giants
Within the nation of Tremorra, many noble houses fashioned themselves in the stylings of individual clans of giants, with some emulating the blues and golds of storm giants, or the rustic crimsons and browns of hill giants to reflect their own positioning within the nobility.
Giant culture revolved greatly around order, and their architecture reflects this. Squares are used frequently in their architecture, as is the number four to reflect a state of equilibrium. Giants also valued prophecy to foresee the future if they remained upon their righteous paths. It is said that the first mirrors were created by giants and were used as a symbol of status to reflect not just the future, but themselves.
Within Tremorra, many of the traditions that originated from the Song'o were abandoned, such as their nomadic lifestyle and refusal to settle permanently. Halfling culture in Tremorra thus assimilated into a strange reflection of the giant empire’s standards, including the creation of a nobility and caste system, a reliance on prophecy, and a hatred of dragonkind.

Assets

The components for glass are common in Maot, as are obsidian, gold, dragon scales, dragon bone, and great quantities of stone of all types.

Territories

The High Ol’aanaa Range: Today the high mountain ranges separating Geweer from Maot are filled with bandits from the five races of Geweer, trollkin, ettins, and the undead. However, atop the pinnacle of Ol'aanaa still remains one clan of frost giants, unaffected by the spirits of their ancestors, but more than willing to use them to achieve dominance in the region. Geweer has for decades attempted to man outposts on the mountain ranges to protect against aggression, with limited success.   The Lower Ol-aanaa Range: The lower range is significantly less populated than its upper counterpart. Lizardfolk have placed totems upon the trailheads warning against passage, and for good reason. Spirits of fire giants haunt the ranges, including the spirit of the great fire giant general Vawvir the Crusade Aflame. For years scavengers have speculated that a few halfling nobles died in the mountain ranges attempting to flee into the savanna, but none have located any remains thus far.
Mt. Xumura-Place-of-Endings: The songs of the Wraith-Maot tell that the father of the Giants, Annam the Titan was imprisoned within the heart of Mt. Xumura that his flesh would feed the clutch of five bloodlines for a hundred generations. Whatever the truth, Mt. Xumura is home to day to at least one brood of gold dragons, a problem that has persisted ever since the time when Tremorra still stood. Notably, the great paladin Zenne Glowseeker renounced her faith upon the mountain's summit and embraced Tiamat, authoring a holy book on the Goddess' wisdom. Some Lizardfolk consider the mountain a holy site, and a few young hatchlings will bet one another to approach the summit on a crazed dare.
The Desert of Wasting: The dead float throughout the desert of wasting. To compound the dilemma, the desert's name is not exaggerated. The ground itself feeds upon the energy of those who tread upon it, creating an earthen curse to drain the vitality from any creature to feed the dirt below.
The Deadlands: What remains of the farmlands and settlements of Maot have been infested with the spirits of dead giants, and the rotting corpses of those who could not escape the necrotic agony of Maot. The only creatures immune from this trauma are ironically giants themselves. Those freed from the tyranny of Tremorra are treated as natives by the dead of the region, though many are driven mad by the memories of nearby spirits, making them just as dangerous as any specter.
Andarra: The Broken Fortress: There have been rumors for centuries of a great betrayal at Andarra, perhaps even the cause of the uprising of the dead that now has taken place. Andarra was once a prominent city, known for an ancient giant fortress built by Storm Giants. The bones of several ancient dragons remain on display within the great keep upon the Black River. Even in the days of old Tremorra, the undercroft beneath the fortress was never fully explored. Now the spirit of Trutas the Warden of Thunder has returned in triumph to judge the living and the dead of Andarra and prepare for wars that have yet to come.
Balbana: The Dead Gate: Balbana remains the sole settlement in Maot reclaimed by Geweer over the long centuries. The fortress is manned by a force known as the Fifth House. Stationing here is grueling, with clerical wards needed constantly to ward against the dead. Lord Meram Tenbeam has long wondered how to traverse the deadlands safely, much less explore Tremorra.
The Weeping Field: In this spot close to 300 years ago, the greatest battle between organized lizardfolk of Veles-Wrede and the Kingdom Tremorra occurred, resulting in a costly Tremorran victory. What no one at the time understood is that the battlefield has been the home of multiple decisive battles, with stone giants famously combatting against the brood of Haspeth the Freezing Maw in a terrible last stand. Now the phantoms of both armies haunt the battlefield, including the phantom of Haspeth herself.
Tremorra: The Shaken Dream: The beautiful jewel of halfling kind, Tremorra was converted from a sunken cloud giant city into a kingdom without peer anywhere within Mana-Jalqabaa. Ancient tapestries and carvings from the original Song'o people were placed within the palace throne room, the swords of giant emperors, and the teeth of ancient dragons being used to forge the throne of the halfling crown. Before Tremorra fell, special shrines were built to the old Halfling Gods, including Corynbek, and Gorre based on notes discovered in the ancient library of the seers. The body of the final ruler, Queen SilentLeaf still rests somewhere within the city, along with all her noble retinue.
The Three Traitors: Halflings of Tremorra debated in times past who the three traitors might have been, or who was buried underneath the great mounds of earth in the middle of the deadlands. To enter the tombs of the unknown giants, the name of the traitors must simply be spoken, but not a man alive remembers them today.
The Pinnacle: Not all dead in Maot are ancient giants, the unholy Dracolich Jazzeirra, Avatar of Fraud has taken residence over the Pinnacle, bringing nearby treasures into their horde and overlooking the graves of traitors as their domain. There the Dracolich performs blasphemous rituals to empower new traitors, and sow discord in the hearts of men, be they living or dead.
Sorrowtown: Sorrowtown was a slum even when Tremorra was alive and well. In the modern day, an unusual number of trolls have seized the settlement as their own, digging into the nearby hillside with urgency, and seemingly unaffected by the undead around them.
Pyronna: Stone’s Secret: The ruins of ancient stone giant structures litter the remains of Pyronna, where many stone giants entered immortality not through death, but by simply merging with the walls themselves, whispering insights and wisdom to those who pass through their ancient halls. While these insights helped oracles in Tremorra's heyday, they may still speak to travelers in the modern era, offering in perfect memory wisdom from the days of the ancient past.
Castilia By the Sea: Castilia was largely destroyed by fire and smoke when Mt. Xumura erupted. While most of the residents of the city were killed, a secret order of forgemasters survived within the undercroft of the castle. Their mission, passed down by Queen Silentleaf before her death: to build a weapon worthy of the titans.
The Cave of Embers: Known as a place of enmity in the days of the old giants, a place of riches in the days of Tremorra, today the Cave of Embers is nothing less than a cave of revelation. Within, one of the last known Mirrors of Annam remains, stolen in ancient days by a covetous dragon of unknown origin. The cave is filled with a number of traps, false passageways, and the prisoners of the ancient dragon whose souls have been molded into servitude.

Alternative Names

The Kingdom of Tremorra

Demonym

Tremorrans

Government System

Anarchy

Power Structure

Autonomous area

Economic System

Barter system

Neighboring Nations

• Geweer