Scoria

Historia

Beginnings

The history of Scoria begins at creation, when the Elder Gods shaped the world into form. As one should know, there were seven Elder Gods, but the main god of focus here would be Cindrus, the god of fire and emotion.
It is said that when given the power to forge his own dominion, Cindrus wept tears of joy. His only desire at that point would be to create a people of passion and fury who sought to conquer not only the world he would give them, but their own internal minds and spirits as well.
It was then that he forged the realm of Scoria, and the first civilizations of the land.
As the gods had originally agreed on placing humanity at the top of the world's hierarchy, Cindrus would spawn four human tribes into creation. However, Cindrus found himself in ill-content with humanity alone. His nation was missing something. Finally, he was given the idea to create the perfect warrior race: the Orcs.
Once he was satisfied with his newest creation, he unleashed the Orcs upon the four tribes of humanity. It was a Darwinist experiment on his part; if humanity was to dominate the realm of Scoria, they would need to prove themselves as a worthy populace.
The Orcs were a terrible, savage people who brought terror upon the four tribes of humanity. After the Orcs had destroyed their homes and taken the lives of many of their people, the humans had enough. Around that time, a handful of humans from the third largest tribe would discover fire. While the discovery of fire was nothing immediately life changing for the other six realms, the discovery of fire for Scoria was a game changer.
The four tribes would come together, harnessing the power of fire and unleashing it upon the Orcs. The Orcs feared the humans' newfound power, and soon surrendered themselves to humanity.
It was then that Cindrus appeared to his creations, to the surprise of both sides. He commended the fiery spirit of humanity, and thus gifted them the ability to further control their discovery of fire: the art of Pyromancy. With enough practice, any Scorian could learn to harness fire and bend it to their will.
To the Orcs, he gave a different gift. Originally, he made Orcs an unintelligent race of savagery, but for initially proving themselves, and for the help they gave him in his endeavors, he gifted them with the same level of sentience as humanity.
From that point on, the society split into three kingdoms.

Vaporus

Vaporus was the first of the two official kingdoms of humanity to begin to focus on societal development. They believed that the key to creating a functioning society would be to master the terrain that was Scoria itself. To do this, they set out to explore the far reaches of the Scorian continent, charting its entirety, and settling down in many locations. The later, more sophisticated Kingdom of Vaporus eventually became the leading Scorian power. Dominating 55% of the continent, and effectively dividing the remaining 45% in two among either side of the continent.

Charculm

Curious and unsatisfied by the land that came to be known as Scoria, the Charculm believed that the key to a lasting society would be to venture off into the unknown. While the Vaporans believed that there was nothing out there, the Charculmites truly believed that there was life beyond what they knew waiting to be discovered. After initially venturing out and charting the western regions of Scoria, they agreed to possession of 30% of the land before beginning to plan out a trek of exploration beyond the seas. It would not be long before the first Charculmite to create a seafaring vessel was able to mass produce said ships, eventually settling on a fleet of twelve frigates. Each ship was meant for 20 Charculmites to effectively keep it running, and once the 240 explorers had been recruited, they ventured out into the world. They eventually hit the shores of Erodus.
The Erodanies welcomed the Charculmites to their land, with the leaders of either side quick to become the best of friends. Before the Charculmites had come, the Erodanies didn't even imagine the possibilities of other lands.
(For more information of the Erodanies and the Charculmites' engagements with Erodus, see the Erodus page).
The later, more sophisticated Kingdom of Charculm became the center of Scorian trade and foreign relations.

Drilgrakh

As a sign of good faith, the Orcish would be gifted claim to 15% of the land of Scoria. They settled on the eastern edge of the continent. Originally, the Orcish intended to unify under a single banner; however, political discourse forced the larger conglomerate of orcs to divide into four tribes.

The Bandagh

The Bandagh were the largest and most aggressive of the four tribes. They made up roughly 41% of the Orc population in Scoria. They actively fought against the tribes known as the Malthu and the Toghat, and the tribal wars, as they were called, lasted until the Year 0, when the Elder Gods disappeared. It was then that peace rang out among the four tribes.
Specifically, the Bandagh are known to be the most formidable of the four Orc tribes, and thus are referred to as the Orc Warrior Tribe.

The Malthu

Sly and mysterious, the Malthu are the most deceptive and are known for their strength in sleight of hand and deception. Rather than rely on physical prowess alone, the Malthu use stealth and guerrilla tactics to gain the upper hand.
Specifically, the Malthu are known to be the most deceptive of the four Orc tribes, and are thus referred to as the Rogue Orc Tribe.

The Toghat

Similar to the Malthu, the Toghat do not rely on their strength in combat. Rather, they excel in the art of precision. Instead of engaging a fight head on, a Toghat Orc will shoot from afar with bows, slings, or anything they can get there hands on.
Specifically, the Toghat are known to be the most precise of the four Orc tribes, and are thus referred to as the Orc Ranger Tribe.

The Shulhug

The smallest and most peculiar of the four tribes is known as the Shulhug. While the Malthu, Toghat, and Bandagh all rely on martial skills, the Shulhug have a very powerful leg up on the three, as they are the only tribe with the ability to cast magic.
The previous three tribes all have one thing in common: they fear magic. Any Orc born with the ability to cast is simply cast away, and thus find themselves aligning with the Shulhug.
Specifically, the Shulhug are known for their ability to control magic, unlike the other three Orc tribes, and are thus referred to as the Orc Mage Tribe.

The Great War

When the Elder Gods died, the Scorians found themselves at conflict of interest with the Solar Empire of Revalia and their allies. As such, united alongside the Erodanies, the Scorians took arms against the forces of Wind, Water, Earth, and Light.
The Four-Nation Alliance had the upper hand against the Scorio-Erodan Confederate, as the Alliance had a 2:1 advantage. The war lasted five years, and in that time the Vaporans, Charculmites, and Orcs all united as one nation; it was beautiful. For the first time in ages, Scoria fought under a single banner, rather than divided kingdoms.
At the high point of the war, the Alliance dealt a devastating blow to the Erodanies, forcing them to pull out of the war. (Erodus would later become the Isolationist nation that we know today).
Eventually, Scoria was forced to surrender, and their incredible loss later sparked a divide between the Vaporans and Charculmites.

The Scorian Civil War

The Charculmites and the Vaporans went to war in the year 100, and the war lasted 24 years. The Orcish secluded themselves to their nation of Drilgrakh, and refused to get involved.
Not much is known about the war, as the Scorians refused to release any data to outsiders. Towards the end of the conflict, a powerful pyromancer decided to upset the volcano held in the heart of the nation; Mt. Cindrus. It devastated the nation, and destroyed the Kingdoms of Charculm and Vaporus.

Modern Scoria

Scoria today is a wasteland. 1,000 years have passed since its fall from grace. In the current age, Pyromancy is outlawed due to fear of its chaotic power.
As for the Orcish, their nation of Drilgrakh still stands, but like Erodus, chooses to Isolate itself from the rest of the world. Because of this, people assume that there is no life left in Scoria whatsoever.
Scorian heritage still continues, as the descendants of those who were absent for Scoria's destruction still remain, practicing pyromancy in secret and hiding from the world.

Geography

Ancient Scoria, a land predating centuries before our time, was a beautiful and lush region of rolling hills and bountiful springs. It was a red-rock region vaguely similar to that of the rolling dunes of Erodus, but was much less arid, and far more rich in minerals. The center of the continent was home to an active Volcano known as "Mt. Cindrus," appropriately named after the Elder God that once presided over the region. The continent is vaguely crescent shaped, similar to that of Chthonia, but far less rigid.
Scoria in its current day however is far less glorious. About 85% of the continent is covered in ash and ruin, atop the corpses of millions of Scorians of various races and species. The 15% of hospitable land that remains on the eastern edge of the Scorian continent is now home to a conglomerate of Orc tribes who have alienated themselves from the Six Nations.

Fauna & Flora

The mineral rich lands of Ancient Scoria were hospitable to a vast variety of plants and wildlife.
On one hand, the more stable regions of Scoria saw plant-life consisting of about a dozen different species of cacti, rhubarb, blooms, blue-dicks, and aster, as well as a couple different strands of yucca, alfalfa, and yerba. On top of that, the region was also home to a variety of plants unseen in the likes of Erodus (it's continental cousin) including the Crimson Columbine, the Mesquite Honey, and the Dune Primrose.
Aside from plants, the region was also home to various wildlife species, mainly reptiles akin to that of smaller lizards and snakes, as well as various toads, birds, foxes, and deer. Insects, however, dominated the Dunes, with about a hundred different strands of scorpions, moths, spiders, and dragonfly present to the majority of the continent.
Regrettably, the current regions of Scoria no longer possess the ability to support life. The hospitable 15% of Scoria lies upon one of its more arid regions, so one would be lucky enough to spot the occasional cactus. However, there is still a plentiful bounty of reptile that preside in this region, and such organisms are more than enough to provide food to the Orcs that preside in the region.

Natural Resources

Ancient Scoria was a mineral rich, red-rock oasis, and the greatest resource of the region was salt. The twin kingdoms of Scoria were able to sustain themselves of the export of salt, as it was a replenish-able resource that could be gathered for very cheap.
Aside from salt, the aforementioned plants of the region produced exotic fruits that people from across the seven realms saw as unique delicacies.
Underground, however, was where Scoria saw their greatest bounties. The intense compression of the land would allow the mining of a slew of visually appealing sedimentary, as well as a bounty of precious gems. Diamonds and fire rubies were especially common, and the upper crust of the seven realms loved their gems...

Maps

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  Ancient Scoria

  A map of the nation of Scoria in its glory days...

Type

Continent