Tassalit

Tassalit is a small, backwater plane on the outskirts of the Kalmorian Eighth region of the Greater Lotrimin Crux Region (GLCR). It is an extremely arid plane, with five major nations formed around the five major bodies of water. The surrounding deserts are navigated either by sandglider (affordable only by nobility or merchant barons), or by well-guarded caravans moving from oasis to oasis, as the Arthropoid thri-kreen, while not outright evil, are as content with human meat as any other and are skilled ambushers.

Tassalit is a 5th Tier plane (five degrees of separation from the inner Crux). It has a High planar integration score, meaning the majority of Tassalites are aware of other settled planes, Voidwalking, et cetera.

The plane's demonyms are Tassalin or Tassalite.

Notable Tassalites

V'Shaat al-Avra was a bandit and gang leader prior to becoming an interplanar agent of the Sovereign Annan the Attentive, then later one of the founding Insurgent Gods on the faraway plane of Waking Materia. She was often joined by her two closest allies and fellow Tassalites, the swordsman B'Non il-Anrau and the sorceress R'Ani il-Duat.

Savvat yi'Suryat al-Reikaa was a high-ranking inquisitor of Kahlon the Small, assigned to be ambassador between Tassalit and the mysterious force known as The Pale Night. She was instrumental in a number of Pale Night victories over the forces of the great Daybreak Empire before her defeat in battle by the Daybreak Justiciar Polaris.

Races

The major Tassalite races are Meranthic humans, drow, izoni (catfolk), aselu (jackalfolk) and thri-kreen. The originally subterannean drow warred in the past with the now-extinct, copper-skinned "Cliff Elves", eventually subsuming the race, but themselves slowly fell to a mysterious pandemic. The surviving drow population now cooperates with the surface humans out of necessity, lacking the population to manage its own civilization (though some traditionalist cabals disagree, and aspire to return to past glories). This has brought unique mixtures to Tassalite society: even human nobles and barons can often be seen guarded by the powerful drow servants, a Created species known as driders, who are more tolerant of desert journeys and can meet thri-kreen attacks with equal alacrity.

The Etiainen

Tassalit is also known as the origin of a massive ritual involved in the creation of the Etiainen: a sort of arcane, parabiological "race" of blue-skinned, white-haired immortals who are immune to both positive and negative energy. Though the tales are probably mixed with myth and hyperbole, it is known the ritual was Sphinxian in origin, designed to create an elite army able to end a titanic, interplanar storm of mixed positive-negative energy. Though slightly more common in and around Tassalit, Etiainen have since spread across the Eridún Crux in subsequent centuries.

Politics

Tassalit still experiences the lingering effects of an enormous, centuries-spanning civil war between its previous rulers, the Necrarchs, who were Lorganite lich-kings and queens driven to increasing paranoia and dysfunction after the Silence fell. The sphinxes of this world were spiritual and arcane consultants to these rulers only, initially content to keep their distance, but would take over rulership as Nechrarch whims grew too capricious and insane to ignore. They are aloof but capable rulers, now called the Sovereigns.

Tassalit now prospers. As one method to keep the peace, each nation is given a specialty, called an Assertion, similar to a ministry. This forces the nations to cooperate. Below are the names of each nation, its Assertion and its ruling Sovereign. It is assumed the nation names are of long-forgotten Egwithian gods or ascendant heroes.

The Five Gifts

The five nations of Tassalit, with their ruling Sovereigns and central purviews, are as follows.

• Varia's Gift. Seat of the Assertion of Justice, directed by Kahlon the Small
• Chatma's Gift. Seat of the Assertion of Aquaculture, directed by Azora the Temperate
• Dinn's Gift. Seat of the Assertion of Wellness, directed by Secunda the Bright-Eyed
• Aroane's Gift. Seat of the Assertion of Agriculture, directed by Annan the Attentive
• Kelett's Gift. Seat of the Assertion of Knowledge, directed by Medomai the Distant

Fauna

Wandering this world since before even the Sovereigns could remember is the immortal Humbaba, a giant to dwarf all giants. The creature is a complete mystery. It is kept away from the Gifts by Sovereign illusions and mind-magic, the similar sort that has kept Tassalit hidden from Black Sun attention. It is whispered by Kahlon's higher ups that if it is manipulable by mind-magic, it is controllable by mind-magic, and presents a military trump card if Black Sun ever does discover Tassalit. Little do they realize Black Sun has even more impressive trump cards.

Theorized Origin of all Elfkind

Black Sun scholars theorize that the original elves, root of the Ur-Mera lineage, originated from merfolk on an arid plane, forced to abandon their aquatic lifestyles due to shrinking territory. Among the theorized candidates, the now-extinct Tassalite Cliff Elves are one of the more popular choices, which would make Tassalit the cradle of all elven civilization in the GLCR.

Type

Plane of Existence

Class of Reality
Class IV (Interesoteric)

Cruxplanar Region/Tier
Kolarian Eighth, 3rd Tier

Planar Integration
Fully Integrated

Daybreak Designation
KD1897

Banner art credit: Lucas Staniec