The Crypt Kingdoms
Lo, and take heed, for this is a land that should exist only in nightmare, and yet it is all too real
Structure
The Grand Lord of Midnight is dead, and with it the only semblance of a unified nation. The structure of the Crypt Kingdoms varies from city to fiefdom, but mostly follows Absolute Monarchy, for vampires are notoriously obsessed with power. These vampire counts fight for control, either forming alliances or betraying allies and eliminating rivals. However, for the most part the lands are able to avoid constant war, for war can kill off their mortal cattle too fast, and so most vampires prefer to solve things with their schemes in the Midnight Aristocracy.
Mortals can rarely hope to make it high in any governmental position. The only ones that do are either some of the most vile hearted men and women, or are being controlled or manipulated in some way (either with promises of power, lust, wealth, etc.) to do their masters bidding. The most disturbing are that many mortals in the Deadland actually worship their vampire masters as gods, or more disturbingly become whats known as the Blood Cattle. While mortals are typically referred to as "cattle" Blood Cattle is a unique title to those deranged, depressed, or manipulated mortals who willingly and sometimes fervently offer their bodies for their lords to drain the blood from them, with these Blood Cattle being paraded around when the vampires travel out of their castles to parade around the city. Of course, some vampires prefer to simply have their skeletons grab screaming and crying citizens from their homes for the vampire to personally rip their throats out, but some do enjoy these foolish mortals offering themselves up willingly, like moths to a flame.
Culture
To be one of the living within the Crypt Kingdoms is a grim existence. The lands are not fertile, and with having to constantly worry about the creatures in the dark forests, the peasants lot is a hard life. Due to this, the peasants are a highly superstitious people, and hold many strange customs and are noted as to not talk with or really like outsiders. Many peasants just simply obey their lords and work hard, for to defy the Midnight Aristocracy is to defy beings far more powerful then them, and while in truth most vampires don't much care for one peasant defying them, the threat is always there. That and vampires tend to make rather gruesome examples of those who defy or hunt them. One large concern within the peasantry is that they could become an undead skeleton or zombie husk upon death, and such a thought is truly horrifying to a mortal. As such they have developed many ways to try and combat this, but in the end the necromatic energies of the land are so strong that it drowns out any feeble attempts to deny the land to make corpses rise form their graves
To be the undead in the Crypt Kingdoms means one of two things: either you are a vampire, or an undead monstrosity. Vampires are the undisputed ruling class of the deadlands, and rule over their mortal cattle. While they rule over their lesser, they usually don't venture out of their many castles or hidden lairs, with only a few vampires venturing out regularly around their towns, though this is usually because they are so powerful they are confident no hunter can slay them. While the threat of vampire hunters is real, most vampires are confident enough that it doesn't worry them too much, for many a rookie hunter dies to their hands. The courts of the Midnight Aristocracy are highly cutthroat, and bloody, and so one must be very wise in maneuvering around the courtly politics.
While the peasants do not take kindly to necromancers, they are more willing to simply look the other way and stay out of a necromancers path. Truthfully an independent necromancer in the land has little chance of lasting very long, either dying or simply being "kindly placed" under the leadership of a vampire count. However a few rouge and powerful necromancers and liches have been known to make camp deep in the dark forests of the land. One other trouble the peasants have to deal with besides starvation and plague, is incursions from Diosian Inquisitors and Neundorf crusaders, both of whom see most of the peasant rabble as "thrice damned scum who have betrayed the world by simply allowing themselves to be ruled by such disgusting creatures of the night". As such while incursions from Neundorf crusader orders and Diosian inquisitors are usually dealt with swiftly by the vampires, they are usually able to cause some damage to the peasantry before they are stopped. There is also the incentive that despite being a rather unsightly people, they are not completely poor, for many riches still remain from the collapse of the Vuano Kingdom, and so monster hunters can expect to be well paid, and because the attrition rate is so high for adventuring monster hunter parties that there is always enough money to spare
Culture can actually vary based entirely off of the ruling vampire. There can be found effectively every type of government and culture within the lands, but all of them at the end of the day have the vampires rule absolutely over them, officially or no. Dissent is forcefully discouraged, as the flayed and screaming victims of the agitators are paraded around for all to see. Skeleton warriors brutally crush all opposition, and adventurers are always treated with great suspicion. A few of the more black hearted sellsword bands sometimes offer their services to the decadent vampire counts and countesses in exchange for the most lucrative pay any mortal could hope to see. Vampires have different methods of controlling their serfs and slaves, either through fear or emotional manipulation. No matter the case, make no mistake that living in this land is quite possibly the worst possible existence to be born in.
History
Being one of the youngest political powers in the world, not much is written about their history, added on to the fact that much of the vampires history even as a people is shrouded in darkness. Even the exact creation of the vampires is unknown, simply local myths and fairytales. What is known is after the collapse of the Vunao Kingdom, the nobility would start to display very subtle signs of vampirism. It wasn't until a few years that the Grand Lord of Midnight, Dragos Von Norie, would reveal his presence to the world, declaring the Crypt Kingdoms the rightful rulers of the deadlands. This would cause an uproar in the neighboring kingdom of Ashenfeld, especially with the Church of the Flame. They, having their political influence boosted thanks to the Fifteen Years War, would declare the Crusade of Light.
An army would be formed, and volunteers from neighboring kingdoms either in it for wealth or faith. At the head of the army, was Aranel, the Pureborn Hero, chosen by the Light Pantheon to vanquish evil once and for all. The Crusade of Light would take a full year of fighting, with thousands of crusaders and undead dying. However, during the climatic battle where the crusaders secured a vanguard point to allow Aranel to challenge Dragos Von Norie, he and Dragos were slain. Aranel was brought low by the vilest trickery as he staked the great vampire, with a dozen cursed daggers stabbing into his back. His body hurdled down the castle as Dragos turned to dust, and this almost instantly broke the morale of the Crusaders. The result was a panicked retreated that saw untold numbers of warriors left behind and either butchered and eaten, or simply lost forever. Recognizing that if the war continued, Ashenfeld would actually lose territory to the vampires, King Colart the III of Ashenfeld decided the only way to buy time was to parlay with these lords of the night. So it was that the Treaty of Ashes was signed, bringing an end to the war, at least officially. This treaty was highly controversial, with it being a direct cause for the Ashenfeld Civil War, but the more controversial scholars agree that it was the safest play. Diosia among a few other nations were the only ones to vehemently refuse to sign the treaty, vowing they would rather bring the world to flames then make peace with the dead.
To this day the Crypt Kingdoms remain, while on paper the treaty is still in effect for quite a few more years, in practice it's a bit more shaky. Ashenfeld has taken to "looking the other way" in terms of independent vampire hunters operating in their kingdom and sometimes venturing into the Dead Lands. Diosia has staunchly denied to respect any authority the undead claim to have, and have relentlessly attempted invasions of the land. However it seems that the Diosians are unable to make any significant gains in the Deadlands, and for now are simply defending their borders. For the most part, the vampires families for now seem content to sit in their castles and rule over their flock, but many whisper that someday in the future, the vampires will rise and do war on the entire world. When that day comes, darkness will befall the world, for the mortal empires are not clearly not ready to stand against such a threat, and many wonder if an attack from the Midnight Aristocracy is immanent. In truth, many know this will come to pass, as no one is under any false assumptions that this ceasefire will last for any serious amount of time.
Demography and Population
Besides the vampires, who although make up the largest concentration of vampires in the world don't actually number as high as the other races in the Dead Lands, there is a wide assortment of just about any race across Nilush in these lands. Most of the people in these lands however do not live comfortable lives. There is also a contingent of gnomes living deep in the swampy areas of the land, hiding out and standing firm against the many things that go bump in the night.
Territories
The Deadlands make up the territory of the Crypt Kingdoms. Less a unified nation and more a vast collection of clans and independent city states, the vampires all compete for control with one another. either openly or subtly through the Midnight Aristocracy.
Military
Most of the militaries of the vampires are made up by legions of undead zombies, skeletons, ghosts, and other such horrifying creatures. Vampires usually act as the elite shock troops of the armies of the Crypt Kingdoms, with Vampire Counts controlling all the undead single handedly. Necromancers also join the vampires in battle in hopes of improving their craft. While most of the militaries of the Crypt Kingdoms are undead minions, it has been observed that some of the mortal peasantry is press ganged into battle as backup infantry in case a vampire needs more numbers, or more disturbingly willing join for the hope of earning favor from their uncaring masters.
Religion
This can vary and certainly is a curious situation. While a portion of vampires don't subscribe to a faith, but it has been noted that a number of vampires actually believe in some of the many religious creeds out in the world. This has left those few scholars allowed to research such creatures of the night baffled, for if vampires can be hurt by holy magic, how can they worship these beings. Some scholars believe that while faith itself doesn't hurt a vampire, it is actually the absolute belief that said holy energy will hurt the vampire that actually causes discomfort to a vampire. It is the belief that a god will strike down a vampire that harms the undead monster, rather then the god itself.
Clan Nocturna has begun proposing that their is in fact of minor god of vampires and blood, possibly an off shoot of the God of the Dead, though outside of Clan Nocturna territory, this faith doesn't really have any political presence
Foreign Relations
Due to the fact that vampires rule this land, many other nations maintain hostile relationships with the Crypt Kingdoms. However, trade is profitable with the deadlands from the many leftover relics and simply decadent luxury goods made in the deadlands that some nations continue to keep trade open, if only for the moment, Tajir, despite being attacked by the deadlands in the past, still maintains decent trade relations, for coin can resolve any old wound as some Tajiran merchants say. While the ceasefire is still in effect, many are under no illusion that this is only temporary, and so the Crypt Kingdoms and the mortal nations are making sure they are ready for when the time comes.
"Blood for blood!"
Maps
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The Deadlands
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Vonian
Location
Neighboring Nations
Related Myths
