Unterland

Unterland

The easternmost region of the Bürach Empire, Unterland is a warrior society that seeks to broaden the Empire’s reach and renew its flagging momentum. Of all the provinces, Unterland holds a particular bitter rivalry with their neighbour across the Grey Spine, the Ostoyan Empire.

History

Unterland began as its own citystate long before the other provinces had united under one banner. Once a weak tribe of hunters living among the marshlands, the Unter people had the misfortune of being surrounded by hostile tribes. With their best soldiers lost to countless skirmishes, the Unterfolk raised their prayers and offerings the heavens and begged for salvation. It was the god Maligant who answered them.
Maligant proved to be a god of strategy and intelligent warfare. Under his tutelage, the Unters selected adapt generals to lead their troops. They learned to forge strong alliances and dissolve them when they were no longer useful. They also learned to win with surgical precision instead of relying on brute force, and to break the enemy’s spirit as well as their armies.
Their greatest conflict was undoubtedly the Etienne War, when the Vorkan tribe marched across the border to try and take their lands. However, the Vorkan made the mistake of invading during the wet season. While the Vorkans camped beside a river, the Unterfolk released the water from their dam to flood the banks. More than half the invaders drowned, and the rest were forced to retreat. Thus, the Unterfolk won the Etienne war without losing a single soldier.
Soon after, the allied Unter tribes consolidated under one territory: Unterland. They founded their capital of Olstenburg, where rose their most important institution: The Academy of Swords, where the citizenry could learn the military sciences. Every able-bodied youth was sent to the Academy for two years of training and military service.
Thus, Unterland managed to grow a trained citizen army that they could field at a moment’s notice. Like the other provinces, Unterland joined under one empire when Indorious I came into power. They served a critical function: to defend the nation and expand its borders. In battle, the Unterfolk fielded their heavy cavalry, and infantry composed of pikemen, swordsmen, crossbowmen. When needed, they also employed their hunters to wage guerrilla warfare in forested regions. Theirs was a fighting force without compare.
However, there were some in Unterland who refused to follow the Empire, seeing it as a form of imprisonment. They left Unterland, crossing the Grey Spine into a new land that they called Ostoya. Their secession would plant the seeds of bitter conflict.
The Unterfolk sage who joined in the assassination of Emperor Leopold was named Dmitri Speir, a retired general who formulated the plan and led its execution. Once the deed was done, he wrote a signed confession before committing suicide with his own sword. The Hearthkeepers named him a traitor, but defying their edict, Speir’s countrymen buried him with full honours.

Economy

The Unterfolk are skilled hunters and trackers, capable of living off of the wilds--a necessity given the limited arable land in the province. Their tracking skills have been sought for mercenary work, even by foreign nations. Raised by Maligant to be the most powerful of warriors, the Unterfolk have made soldiering their main profession. Such is their ability that even common foot soldiers from Unterland make good combat instructors in other provinces.

Notable Individuals

Lord General Vassily Roemer — The current leader of Unterland, Lord General Roemer is a staunch follower of the imperial government. Selected for his loyalty, military record, and bravery in battle, the wiser of the Unterfolk note that he is not as capable as his predecessors at recognising the threats within his own province— specifically, the Cult of Tormach.
Instead, Lord General Roemer’s greatest concern is winning the war against the Ostoyans, who have long defied imperial rule, but he is distracted by demands to hunt down and destroy the Beast that has been plaguing the provinces.
Speaker Coran Schlei, Leader of the Cult of Tormach — In Maligant’s absence, a new deity of war, Tormach, has taken on the fallen god’s followers. But Tormach is a daemon of wrath and brutal force, a blunt weapon compared to Maligant’s keen blade. His perpetual demand for sacrificial bloodshed has kept Unterland at war for years. Speaker Schiel dreams of putting the entire province under his rule, but must bide his time and curry favour with the imperial government first. Many fear he will try to undermine General Roemer’s command.

Other Locations of Interest

Lake Osea — According to legend, this body of water first formed on the spot where Aurelia’s first disciple struck the ground with her spear to create a spring. The miraculous water gave life to what once was barren land. Today, the sprawling city of Altenheim sits at the edge of this lake. When the goddess Aurelia fell to Earth, most of her body was burned away by her descent. What remained was her head, which fell into Lake Osea.
Today, her gigantic stone face rests at the bottom of the sacred Lake, where it can barely be seen through the murky waters.
According to legend, the water of Lake Osea was once capable of healing diseases and injuries, but no one would attempt to consume it now. The Hearthkeepers have declared it holy ground and have forbidden anyone from approaching the lake itself. Gräff endam — Nestled within a plunging valley sits a vast man-made dam. Spanning the breadth of the valley, Gräffendam exists today as one of the most impressive feats of engineering Etharis has ever seen. The majority of the dam appears to be carved from obsidian-black granite, yet how the dam was initially constructed remains a mystery.
Prior to maintenance undertaken by the current Bürach Empire, it is believed that Gräffendam was built by the Grebenstein dwarves. However, only a select few among the aristocracy know that the dam predates even them.

In addition to the mystery of Gräffendam’s origins, there is the mystery of the water contained in its glacial reservoir. Called Aquanos, the water has a variety of useful properties. In its pure state, it remains at a temperature just above freezing, and can only be heated or frozen using magic. When used in place of other water it also greatly increases the yield of farm crops and the potency of potions. These properties have made the aristocrats and landowners of Gräffendam some of the wealthiest in the Empire. The upper classes take their social status literally, residing on the domed roof of the dam. Called Gildreath, the aristocracy have constructed a perpetual winter wonderland. Gildreath teems with villas and evergreen gardens draped in magical lights.
The privileged few who dwell atop Gräffendam spend their lives indulging in excess and frivolity. The same cannot be said for the desperate masses that live at the base of the dam.
The base of Gräffendam is a hive of crime and poverty. When the rumours of plague came, the aristocracy prevented entry to the upper dam by all but the wealthiest. With nowhere else to turn, the growing population of refugees established a vast ghetto of rickety high-rises sloping up the outer wall of the dam. Below these favelas lies the river port of Ünterdam, which has fallen into disrepair since the plague and reduced trade to a near standstill. Due to the limited hours of daylight from the shadow of the dam, the area of Ünterdam and the favela are collectively called “The Shade”.
Shortly after Gräffendam was closed to the public, the upper class struck a deal with the Ebon Syndicate. The Syndicate would get a cut of the shipping revenue and control over The Shade, so long as they prevented intruders breaching the dam walls and quashed civil unrest. With unchecked authority over the base of the dam, the Syndicate are free to conduct whatever business they wish.
Mt. Vengeance — The only active volcano in the Bürach Empire, Mt. Vengeance was thought to have been extinct for centuries before the Gods’ End. The energies caused by the war between the gods seem to have ignited its fires once more.
That said, something else seems to be happening deep in the bowels of the volcano. Powerful magical energies ripple from the crater, and some scholars of magic speculate that this is due to the presence of an imperial artifact.
Since these rumours started, many adventurers have tried to investigate the volcano. The few that returned bore horrific burn wounds and tales of creatures made of flame and shadow. As for the artifact, if it is there, none have seen it yet.
Castle Martorius — Decades after the Gods’ End, an enormous palace of shining, opalescent towers and silken banners appeared atop a mountain overlooking Abendland.
The castle’s owner is the archmage Martorius. He claimed that he had lived on this land before the Bürach Empire even existed, but had spent the intervening years traveling between dimensions in pursuit of his magical research. Now, he assured the Unterfolk, he had no interest but to observe developments in the Empire as they unfold.
Indeed, the archmage’s castle is a wonder to behold. Dignitaries that have visited it report that there is no way to determine its true dimensions, as it expands and adds rooms to itself as necessary. Aerial servants cater to the guests, and a wide variety of illusionary people and animals wander through the halls as if they had a life of their own.
Given Martorius’ stature, the imperial government decided to accommodate him. In return, Martorius offered his counsel and even aided the Hearthkeepers in keeping the peace among the provinces. Yet for all this, no one in the imperial court believes Martorius is truly benevolent. The Hearthkeepers know his servants have been making inquiries throughout the provinces, searching high and low for the emperor’s artifacts.
They have sent spies to infiltrate his palace, but none have returned. What Martorius is really after remains to be seen.

From the journals of Nadja Morten,

Imperious Consul; Of the wizard Martorius, I can only say that he is at once brilliant, capricious, and cruel. Six moons ago, I was invited to a dinner party at his palace high in the Rock Teeth mountains. With me at the time was a group of visiting dignitaries from Fiergaard and Hearthkeeper Bishop Villman Schild. Carriages pulled by a team of albino griffins took us there. We were provided a resplendent meal fit for a king’s entire court, served by scandalously-dressed female djinn and a fire elemental chef.
At the dinner’s end, over wine from an extradimensional vineyard, Martorius decided to play a game with us. Each would test the others’ wits by asking the most difficult riddle we could think of.
We all did our best to impress our host. I told the one about the map, which the good bishop himself answered easily enough. The man was as clever as they say. Then it was Martorius’s turn. He promised a reward to the one who could answer his riddle. “I have no end nor have I a beginning. Even as you enter me, you are already leaving.”
Again, it was Bishop Schild who had the answer. “A ring.” Martorius smiled at Schild as if he’d expected the holy man would answer. “Very good.”
He then slid a silken pouch across the table to the Bishop. The Hearthkeeper looked inside, turned the colour of milk, then spoke no more for the rest of the night.
On our way back to Altenheim, a shaking Bishop Schild rode with me in my carriage. “A few hours before,” he said, “I sent Varian Lore to steal into Martorius’s castle.”
I gaped at him. “The adventurer Varian Lore? The one who broke into the Rauland Vault?”
“The same. His mission was to find evidence that Martorius was hunting the Imperial Artifacts. Our dinner was to be his distraction. To help, I even gave Lore a ring of invisibility.”
He opened up the pouch to show me that very same ring.
It still had Lore’s finger in it.