Ustvala (oost-VAH-lah)
Ustvala, considered the most dangerous region in all of Veland, lies centrally located between the other two territories of the split remnants of the Krothian Empire. Dragia lies to its East, Socaris to its West. Lake Arnach lies to its North, with the Isle of Terror centrally located within it. While the Isle of Terror is not geographically a part of the Ustvalan territory, it's often considered a part of it due to being inhabited by the Whispering Tyrant, Tab-Rophan. The territory has no central functional government, but it does have Lords that rule their own small fiefdoms, but whether they help or hinder the only "real" ruler, the Whispering Tyrant himself, remains to be seen. Although it seems that since the Second Shining Crusade he has had less and less to do with the mainland itself. His monsters still multiply and grow, pushed onwards through the region by his Undead Lords that he has politically placed throughout the territory. The Martial Guild is the only of the three guilds to have any guild halls within Ustvala itself, although it has been modified from its usual purpose to facilitate its survival in the region.
First Undead Empire
Tab-Rophan's Empire
A bright and young human wizard, by the name of Tab-Rophan, from a small town of a long forgotten name in Ustvala began using his magic to lead his people to force the orcs that occupied the region all back into Dragia except for those who submitted to his power. As he grew in power, he began lording it over those beneath him, insisting they submit to his authority as the new Emperor of Krothia.
In 616 AH, at only twenty years old he reunited the territory of Krothia at his coronation in the new capital of Caliphar. His magic actually kept the Empire in balance and relative peace, he even opened trade with Carladia and Ibrayrah. However, as he aged, he grew more obsessed with living forever, until it practically consumed him. Orcs began reorganizing their splintered tribes during his distraction, until in the year 666 AH, he completed his research.
Founding the Undead Empire
Tab-Rophan had created a phylactery, completing his transformation into a Lich. He was now immortal, as he had dreamed, and wielded terrible power. He swept over his Empire with an iron fist, using undead armies to quell any murmurings. Vampires and worse ruled, and Ustvala in particular became a dark land of undead Lords, and the commonfolk cowered in fear. None were allowed to leave his Empire without his permission, nor were any allowed to enter. He ruled his new Undead Empire for over 150 years, until in the year 812 AH a group of heroes, from the Martial Guild and Mage Guild, brave enough to face him, climbed his tower in his Castle Stormperch.
The group, nicknamed the Shining Crusade, battled him so fiercely his tower was ultimately destroyed, as was he. His spirit fled, and the crusaders quickly hunted for his phylactery, but failed to find it. The Whispering Tyrant did not return to Krothia, and the crusaders were forced to assume he had slunk down into a dungeon to lick his wounds. The Empire broke apart once again without a leader, and the undead armies were hunted down. The Martial Guild's involvement in the region changed to a sort of "Inquisition"; there were still undead leaders in lordships across the region, and the "Inquisitors" did their best to hunt down these shapeshifters, werewolves, and vampires.
By the late 9th century AH, they believed that had freed Ustvala and thrown off Tab-Rophan's rule once and for all.
Second Undead Empire
Whispering Tyrant's Return
The Isle of Terror, a horrifying and dreadful large island in the center of Lake Arnach, whose very aura can cause fear and hopelessness, and any who step foot on it never return. It's no surprise that it was the location for the Whispering Tyrant's phylactery, and it was where he bided his time for over 200 years, recovering his strength and waiting for the chance to return to the mainland and reassert his dominance. One of his planted Lords ultimately gave him that opportunity.
In the depths of the abandoned fortress of Castle Stormperch, Tab-Rophan's old seat, a greater vampire by the name of Lord Uliahd von Zaldovich began organizing his fellow undead and servants of the Whispering Tyrant. He created breeding and spawning pits, and over the course of a decade, built up a sizable army. Rumors began to spread of undead being seen in Castle Stormperch, manning the walls and wandering the nearby countryside. Giant bats flying above the ramparts, wolves hunting the livestock, and giant spiders, crawling up the stones. All of these portents were ignored wholly by Emperor Iadgurd Vainjacc, against all of his advisors' counselling.
Founding the Undead Empire...Again
In the year of 1064 AH, the conspiracy was put into action. The undead swarmed out of the castle, as the Whispering Tyrant rode across the lake on the back of an undead steed as the water froze before him. A cold and dark terror spread across the Empire, and the people fled. Many fled South, into Carladia, to the North, into Grimsaldr, and further. The undead destroyed any holdings the Guilds had in the region, and the cities became uninhabitable. The unlucky ones who were unable to escape the region holed up in their homes, barring the doors and only going out for supply runs.
Tab-Rophan ruled Krothia once more. His time in exile had only made him crueler, and his first action as Emperor was to enslave Iadgurd as an undead thrall, by torturing him, bleeding him slowly until he perished, and raising him once again. Then, he began experimenting. He began combining undead into monstrosities, he began manipulating magic to create horrors that walked the streets. Some lunatics even began to worship him, searching for any intruders or any who were standing against him.
Word spread of his experiments, and the nearby countries began to get nervous. It seemed rather than isolating themselves like last time, the Whispering Tyrant intended to build an all-powerful army of monsters. For what purpose, they did not know. Then, there were the refugees on top of that, as many of the refuge countries' economies could not support such a massive influx of people all at once. They agreed to form a Second Shining Crusade, to deal the final blow to him once and for all.
The Second Shining Crusade, a coalition of armies in contrast to the the first crusade, marched into Ustvala. They fought battle after battle against the monsters Tab-Rophan had created, exterminating as many as they could. Most of the army was spent by the time they reached Castle Stormperch. They fought to capture the castle, but the Whispering Tyrant was nowhere to be found. They looked across the lake at the Isle of Terror, and realized he was ruling from his Isle, rather than his castle. They attempted to attack the Isle, but many of the soldiers leapt from the boats in terror rather than step foot on the island. The remaining brave few who led the charge against the far-worse monsters residing there were never seen again.
The Second Shining Crusade, while it accomplished many of its goals in Krothia, and even assisted the Martial Guild to reoccupy their old holdings, ultimately failed to destroy the Whispering Tyrant. The Empire was destroyed for its final time, and the countries split, forming their separate governments once again. It is these governments that exist today, however Ustvala still struggles against the oppression of the Whispering Tyrant and his servants. The "Inquisitors" battle endlessly against his servants, and whenever they supplant another undead Lord, it seems another takes its place.
Ustvala in the 13th Century
Martial Guild in Ustvala
The Martial Guild in Ustvala exists as a nearly separate entity from the rest of the guild. They readily accept casters, as many divine casters are invaluable when partnered with other martial users. Their members are referred to as "Inquisitors", also sometimes referred to as "Hunters" colloquially among the population. The Inquisitors exist and take on missions passed to them by the Guild Captains and Lieutenants much like other members, but their missions are far more dangerous than the average Guild Halls. They are also specialized in tracking and finding undead or other monsters disguised among the populace.
The monsters the Inquisitors fight can corrupt and/or turn them into undead themselves, creating an entire country of mistrust. This mistrust exists not just among the population, but also among the Inquisitors themselves. They never know if the hunter next to them is a Vampire or Werewolf or some other monstrosity under Tab-Rophan's control. There are checks in place to limit this risk, but every once in awhile a new scandal arises with some well known hunter slaughtering their fellow hunters in an ambush, and a new purge has to be initiated in the region.
The ultimate goal of the Inquisition is to protect the innocent populace and drive out the monsters occupying nearly every square mile of the country. It was realized long ago that until Tab-Rophan is destroyed, Ustvala can never be truly free, but there does not exist a power that can brave the Isle of Terror at this moment in history. In the meantime, they attempt to remove the politically powerful nobles that serve the Whispering Tyrant, the monsters that attack and convert the population, and the cults that have formed.
Ustvalan Purge
There is a great purge occurring in the 13th century. In fact, it's really two purges for entirely separate reasons, both occurring due to fanatical cults that have formed.
The Children of the Scarred Wolf
The Children of the Scarred Wolf are a cult of monster hunters that have abandoned the notion that Ustvala can be saved by anyone, especially the Inquisition which they think have gone soft in their centuries of battling Tab-Rophan. The Children take searching for monsters to an extreme, and will often resort to torture or maiming to extract information from the population about the location of monsters. Once they have what they need, whether it's true or not, they kill their "informant" to prevent them from turning into another monster they have to kill. They are easily identifiable by the wolf tattoo they have located somewhere on their body, and the scar on their face that is cut during their initiation.
They are often at odds with the Martial Guild in Ustvala, and skirmishes break out often, with the Guild members stepping in to defend the townsfolk from the Children's purge. Once in awhile, they will work together to take out a particularly dangerous monster, but it is usually done out of extreme necessity, and never lasts long beyond destroying the target of the hunt.
The Brotherhood of the Nine-Fold Prophecy
The Brotherhood of the Nine-Fold Prophecy are another cult formed around the belief that Tab-Rophan will bring the apocalypse according to the Nine-Fold Prophecy. They believe that it is their destiny as protectors of the prophecy to bring about its resolution. The Brotherhood believe that the Prophecy has entered its fourth stage of nine, and are working to complete it in preparation for Tab-Rophan's return to Ustvala from the Isle of Terror. This current stage of the prophecy involves a purge of the country's population in order to satisfy a blood ritual. They aren't sure how much blood is required, so they slaughter any who they find and are caught by them.
This creates a fear of travelling the streets in the cities, since the Brotherhood has a highest concentration in cities so they can kill the most people. The population in cities is often holed up in their homes, sneaking out only for necessities and returning before the Brotherhood catches them. The Children and the Martial Guild members attempt to slow their growth as much as possible, but both groups have their hands full with the monsters that already exist, and taking on a large religious organization like the Brotherhood would take far too many resources.
Lords of Ustvala
The Nobility in Ustvala is wholly mistrusted by all. There are several who are free from Tab-Rophan and who are not undead, but since no individual can be fully trusted, every noble is constantly suspect. Those in power are of the most use to the Whispering Tyrant, often hiding Vampirism, Lycanthrophy, or some other far worse monstrosity and serving him. The Martial Guild cannot directly go against the Nobles unless the Inquisitors have undeniable proof of their allegiance to the Whispering Tyrant, which is nearly impossible to obtain. To make matters worse, it seems whenever they do supplant one undead lord for another lord whom they trust implicitly, that trust never lasts long as they are also corrupted and turned into another thrall for the Whispering Tyrant.
Comments