The Material Plane

Steel blue waves crash against the shores and stonework of the great city of Andhar, the capital city leading the United Tribes of Us’Nye against all odds. The peaceful port hosts all sorts of trade routes for many towns and nations across the Gilded Coast. All sorts of folk – halflings, gnomes, kobolds, humans, and even dwarven-kind – call Andhar and the greater nation of Us’Nye home. A thunderous crack breaks the peaceful silence from out in the water as a cannonball rips through wood and stone as if a hand through water. The city sounds the alarm for attack as guards and knights gather in the streets of Andhar to protect the city and face their assailants.   Black smoke from the rubble clears and droves of men clad in black armor storm through the city, destroying every living person in sight. Ships of iron and steel dock against the shore to let out a ramp where more black armor-clad men drive their black iron swords through men and stone until only blood and rubble remain.   Spanning throughout the Gilded Coast, an Invasion is stirring with rumors that the invaders – the Knights of the Black Sun – intend on taking the whole of Inria in the name of their deity, The Black Sun. The call for aid sounds across Inria as Inria’s largest invasion and war since the 10 Centuries War eclipses onto the Gilded Coast…

During the Era of Development, the Shou people clashed with the other ethnicities of Humans that inhabit the Central East Pangea. To protect themselves from the possibility of war, a brave woman named Shou Yating gathered every able bodied person in Yokohaba and trained them to become Skoacia’s first shogunate. Yating and her family trained this military, and raised her status to become that of a daimyo, or land-owner. Through tense military campaigns, Yating increased the land that she owned and stepped down from shogun to become Emperor of Skoacia. The Shou family has become a status symbol as Emperor of Skoacia since 1046, being the only family to ever hold the title of Emperor. Many such shogunates have passed through Skoacia, and many separate dynasties own parts of the Skoacian territory. The only shogun dynasty family to remain loyal to the Emperor’s family is the Chien dynasty, which now controls the territory around the capital city Yokohaba. Since the First Separation in 1242, there have been no less than 11 dynasties that incorporate the territory of Skoacia. The First Separation saw four generals leave the Chien Shogunate to create the Huang, Kao, Kung, and Zheng Shogunates. The Kung and Zheng Districts split the territory far to the West of the Chien District, with the Kung District sitting to the North of the Zheng District; sandwiched in-between the Kung, Zheng, and Chien districts, the Huang District takes up most of the southern portion while the Kao District inhabits the north. Tensions rose for hundreds of years between these four shogunate districts, coming to a boil with the First Skoacian War in 1854. After a long and bloody battle ending in 1868, the district lines were drawn at the Treaty of Coalitions Summit in Yokohaba, overseen by Emperor Shou Xiang. This peace treaty afforded each district equal trading rights and smaller militaries than the Chien District. Emperor Shou Xiang decided that each district needed to afford some protection or be brought back into the Chien Dynasty and tried for treason.   The Second Separation occurred in 1923 with the Tao, Yan, Hao, and Liang Dynasties waging wars against the Kung and Zheng Districts. Raging until the Emperor Shou Jingyi intervened in 2003, the Tao district split off to the west of the Zheng District with both the Yan and a portion of the Kung Districts forming its northern border, the Hao and Yan districts split from the Kung District with the Hao inhabiting a large portion of the north and the Yan to the south, and the Liang district crippled the newly formed Yan District, stealing much of its Western territory. After millions were slain during this time, the Emperor attempted to hold a peace summit in Yokohaba but no Shogun Generals showed up to the summit. To this day there remains high tensions between the Tao, Yan, Hao, and Liang Districts with no significant trading happening between them.   The Third Separation happened shortly after the Liang District was founded in 2003, with the Mao and Gong districts leaving the Liang district. The Mao District split off the northern portion of the Liang district, while the Gong District split on the other side of the Glistening Lake. While the Mao district left peacefully from the Liang District, the Gong District has a tense rivalry with the Liang District. Their tense rivalry led each Shogun to build their capital city on either side of the Glistening Lake.   The final territories in Skoacia were not claimed by any Shou, rather the Dulandir pillaged land from the Liang, Gong, and Mao Districts, while the Chondathans rebelled against the Shou with the Citizen Insurgency in 2143. With the instruction of Khoridir Khan, a swift rebellion of Chondathans overran the Shou to create what is now present day Khoridistan. Rebuilding after the Citizen Insurgency in 2143, the shoguns of the Mao, Gong, Liang, Yan, and Tao Districts formed the Treaty of Honor to open trade routes between each district and a conglomerate of Districts that ally with each other to fight Khoridistan and Dulandir armies.   Notable exports from across the Skoacian Territories are their elegant weapons, leather accessories, and food recipes. On the waters of the Glistening Lake, freshwater fish are plentiful when the Shou are not fighting Dulandir.

Long ago during the Era of Lordship, a fearsome warlord by the name of Eiothu led a group of Chondathan warriors across the Inner Sea to the western coast. As the legends go, he felt a calling by Tempus, the god of war, to make a great nation to rule as Khan. Upon landing on the western side of the Inner Sea, Eiothu ordered his men to burn their boats before marching onto the rest of the continent. After claiming the lives of thousands and pillaging millions of homes, Eiothu claimed himself Khan in 982. He named the land after himself, and through many mistranslations between races and stories, Iothua is now the home today of five unified Khanates. After Eiothu Khan’s death in 1071, his son, Arslan Eiothu Khan took to the throne in 1072 reigning as Khan until 1143 when a rival Calshite, Shiban Elbek, rioted against his Khanate ship and took the throne through a rite of combat. Shiban Elbek slew Arslan Khan and ascended as Khan in 1143, passing the Khanship down to his son Shiraghul Shiban Khan in 1199. It was the great-grandson of Shiraghul Khan, Tsolmon Khan, who ascended to the throne in 1305 after his father, Qoricarergan Khan passed away.   Seeking lands to conquer, Tsolmon Khan rode to the north to find villages and Keeps of lords all around the land. Amassing an army, Tsolmon Khan drove through the land conquering the Rohand humans and adding them to the Iothuan Khanate in 1338. Celebrating his win, he made a toast at a party he was hosting, and succumbed to poisoned wine, leaving his army in chaos. During this period in the Khanate history, Iothua’s many generals fought in long bloody wars from 1340 to 1415. After not finding the true successor to the Khan, each General split the lands of Iothua into separate unified Khanates to be ruled by a General Khan. The first Khanate to the north-east is inhabited mostly by Rohand humans, whose first Khan, Emeric Vernier, named the Khanate Emeristan, fittingly after himself. To the south of Emeristan, the Chondathan humans came to an agreement with the Wood Elves to allow them to live within the Khanate of Gozothistan named after its first General Khan, Gozo Enebish. Along the northern border, within the mountains, the Khanate of the High Elves remains as a separate state from both Iothua and Ektarros, choosing to abide by its own laws. Though portions of each Khanate fall within both Iothua and Ektarros, the High Elves respect their laws and customs but draw harsh borders that do not allow for humans to cross in or out. This Khanate forever became known as Limbo, because no one goes in or out. South of Limbo and sandwiched between two Khanates, the Anor humans created a settlement after their first leader, Vagn Thrane, called Anorinlund. Finally, the Calshites settled in the west of Iothua naming their Khanate after the late General Khalfani. Khalfanistan is now ruled by Shani (meaning marvelous) Khan.   Now in the modern era, Iothua’s Khanates still exist in a tense peace with borders kept at high control between them. The current Khans are as follows: Xavier Baillieu Khan of Emeristan (ruling 3010 to Present Day), Rothilion Waessatra Khan of Limbo (ruling 2204 to Present Day), Khali Taichar of Gozothistan (ruling 2999 to Present Day), Jan-Pieter de Graven Khan of Anorinlund (ruling 3006 to Present Day), and Baraka Bayana (meaning Blessing of Clear Knowledge) of Khalfanistan (ruling 3011 to Present Day). Each Khanate is known for different exports. Anorinlund is known for its exports of grapes and other fruits. Khalfanistan is known for its exports of great diplomats and scholars. Gozothistan is known for its wood furnishings, lumber mills, and boats. Emeristan is known for its exports of fine leathers and animal products. Limbo is known for exports of warriors and wizards, though these exports are rare.

Presently dominated by Iluskan Humans, The Holy State of Ektarros is a pseudo-republic theocracy headed by Ektarros the god of Justice. In the capital city is the head of the government which consists of the council, the Elders of Justice, a House of Commons, and the Eternal God-King Ektarros. There are nine Elders that sit on the council that oversee legislation from the House of Commons before sending laws to God-King Ektarros. The Elders of Justice keep operations of the government running in the absence of Ektarros, and keep the House of Commons in line with government regulation. The House of Commons is a legislature of 150 people from the various counties of Ektarros that represent the people. This legislature runs day to day operations of the government budget, sets Justices for the courts, and writes legislation for new laws or amendments to the High Order of Ektarros. Finally, God-King Ektarros acts as both figurehead for the people and President in one position. Ektarros is a permanent figure in the government of Ektarros, seeing that he protects pure, unobstructed justice in his kingdom and order in his court. Ektarros approves legislation from the House of Commons and the Elders of Justice and has the power to veto any bill at his whim for altering laws. The last power Ektarros has as God-King is to assign Holy Justiciars that serve in his court. Justiciars are among the most revered knights in Inria, as they serve a god directly. Justiciars are rare to appear, but when they are assigned, they know that failure is never an option. Before Ektarros came to be, the region was unified under the leadership of a council of Kings operating in a pseudo-republic in 985 U. Ektarros saw their well-organized courts and government and appeared to the Kings and offered to become their eternal protector in exchange for the title of God-King. Over the course of several years and many meetings, in the year 1147 U, the council of Kings granted the title of God-King to Ektarros for protection and ratified the High Order of Ektarros - the original bill of laws that govern Ektarros’ leadership, their government, and the rights of the people of Ektarros. Ektarros was the first to make an amendment to the bill under his oath of protection, with the introduction of Justiciars - holy knights temporarily gifted with Ektarros’ power to root out evil in the land. Ratified in 1201 PE, Ektarros was granted this power.   The first Justiciars were called upon in 1856 when thousands of refugees poured into Ektarros from where they called Skoacia. Ektarros assigned the First Order of Justice to find these refugees and bring them to the capital for questioning. Through the acts of the First Order and Ektarros, the refugees were found a safe haven away from the Skoacian Wars. Since the time of the First Order, there have been only four orders of Justiciars, with the Fourth Order being a permanent order due to their calling.   In the Modern Era, the Holy State remains a prosperous nation known for their swift, efficient, and true justice system. Other points Ektarros is known for besides its God-King are its exports of wheat during the warm season and malted ales during the cold season. In the north of Ektarros, the old country is where most of the alcohol gets brewed because the climate is much colder, and in the south more crops and other industries have taken root.