Political Overview of Pyrrhos
The countries of Pyrrhos are just as interesting as the continents. What do they have in store? (TO BE UPDATED AS WE CONTINUE EXPANDING ON LORE)
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Calatios (Erebos)
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Arrigo (Erebos)
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Galima (Erebos)
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Bulus (Erebos)
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Drusque (Erebos)
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Kishori (Erebos)
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Kasseiopia (Erebos)
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Tiryns (Erebos)
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Demetriades (Erebos)
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New Nardone (Erebos)
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Vasileios (Erebos)
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Megaera (Orestes)
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Kalistos (Orestes)
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Firbolg Villages (Piskus)
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Tortle Villages (Piskus)
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The Kingdom of Lizael (Piskus)
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The Piskus Colonies (Piskus)
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Calatios
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Kishori
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Arrigo
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The Giant Caves (Kestren)
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The Goliath Nomads (Kestren)
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The Orcish Nomads (Kestren)
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The Aarakocra Peaks (Kestren)
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The Kenku Valleys (Kestren)
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Haven Town (Kestren)
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Ngana (Constros)
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Gemelo [hem-ello] (Constros)
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Marcella (Constros)
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New Kishori (Constros)
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Calatios (Erebos) - The centre of human civilisation, Calatios is the most technologically advanced society, and places emphasis on creativity and innovation. Many races live here, and although slavery is banned in Calatios itself, the same cannot be said of Calatios’ colonies in Piskus and Orestes. Although this country tries to keep a good relationship with others to preserve its faith in diversity and welcome, it can at times be difficult with instigationists such as Bulus, New Nardone, Kishori, and Arrigo.
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Arrigo (Erebos) - An ex-province of Calatios, Arrigo is proud Oligarchy home to fertile farmland, beautiful architecture, seaside towns, and slavery! Just as diverse as Calatios, though more halflings and Khoravar live here, Arrigo boasts a deep, fey-touched forest from which one city in particular collects beasts and monsters to fight with both voluntary gladiators and “voluntary gladiators” to win fame and fortune for them and their sponsors in The Colosseum. (also they invented pasta so if you go here expect a lot of pasta). Obviously, Arrigo has a general dislike towards Calatios, as well as a distaste for the warfaring ways of Bulus, although that doesn’t completely stop them from trading goods and ideas with the countries.
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Galima (Erebos) - Once conjoined with Bulus, Galima is now an independent Dwarven nation occupying half of the Southern Desert of Erebos. Known for its philosophers and lorekeepers, the Dwarves of Galima feel a responsibility to ponder the state of Pyrrhos, and keep track of everything that has happened in the world. Despite the country not having an official patron god, there is a significant majority for worship of Nevaeh, the Goddess of Knowledge and Quiro, the God of Myths. Ruled by a council of chosen representatives. Due to the country’s peaceful nature, it has gotten peace treaties with nearly every country, although some may be strenuous.
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Bulus (Erebos) - A colonial nation-state, Bulus is a Dwarven and Hobgoblin nation that has a strong martial tradition. From about 20 feet under the harsh desert surface to the cold mountains of Enutrof’s peaks, Dwarves and Hobgoblins train together, improving their combat skills endlessly. Ruled by a Military council, which has led to drastic differences in ruling, including attitude towards Galima, which they have a treaty with. Currently, this relationship with Galima is relatively easygoing, as Bulus’ tensions are mainly focused on Drusque.
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Drusque (Erebos) - A drab nation filled with forests and fields, Drusque was once a part of the shifter’s growing empire. Drusque is known for its lucrative mining opportunities (large city near base of mountain, bunch of natural sinkholes that go far down), swaths of not-often-travelled forests, and its matriarchal monarchy. Kestren Immigrants: Aside from Calatios, Drusque has the 2nd highest population of Kestren immigrants / refugees: kobold, orcs, and the occasional goliath can be found in the eastern half of the country, near the Plains of Stone, a place many of Kestren’s people living in Erebos consider the only safe haven besides Pallas on the entire continent. Both Kobolds and Orcs have earned a large degree of respect (kobolds more than orcs), and many fledgling communities have begun to develop on these plains of rock, where the three races maintain tradition and uphold their cultures brought over from Kestren, though the Kobolds and Goliaths often have a degree of animosity between them. While Kobolds and Orcs have earned a large degree of respect from Drusque, that does not mean they are free from discrimination’s wrath. Many of Drusque’s natives still eye the immigrants suspiciously, considering them arrogant and loud, and many affluent people have tried to cheat kobolds and orcs alike out of land, money, and work in shady contracts. This has cost several communities their land. The country is currently in turmoil as Bulus has set their sights on the country not too long ago.
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Kishori (Erebos) - A colonial superpower, Kishori is a nation composed of halflings who love to cook, and goblinoids who are forced to serve them. Other than cooking, the halflings also prize fishing, something they stole from the Goblins of Chrysseos. Due to Kishori’s Halflings thinking of themselves in massive confidence, they don’t interact with other countries much or very politely, which has tended to cause problems in general relations.
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Kasseiopia (Erebos) - A Khoravar stronghold, Kasseiopia has been battling the Dwarves of Bulus for a long time now, using the thick forest surrounding their nation to protect them. Utilising guerilla tactics and subterfuge, the Half-Elves and Changelings of the Khoravar people fight back and sabotage any of Bulus’ battalions entering the forest.
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Tiryns (Erebos) - A country directly north of Kishori, Tiryns is home to some of the largest mountains in Pyrrhos in the northeast, and holds the largest temple to Volkmer anywhere in the world, as well as the seat of the House of Volkmer. Many of Tiryns’ inhabitants are devout to Volkmer, and believe that their duty as Volkmer’s follower is to uphold the tenets of divine law. As such, criminals are punished VERY severely, and passersby in any of Tiryns settlements are expected to help stop criminals whenever seen. Other than these devout followers, a group of exiled halflings have recently immigrated to Tiryns from Kishori. Opposed to Kishori’s colonial holdings, these halflings, known as Lemieux halflings, reside near the mountains of Tiryns, and are known for their incredible hospitality (similar to House Ghallanda halflings from Eberron). All of Tiryns’ inhabitants consider the Montagnes de Lumiere, a small collection of gargantuan mountains in the northeast, sacred in some way or another. Some consider it a way to reach the gods, while others consider it Volkmer’s home on the material plane. Even those few that do not believe it to be connected to Volkmer or the gods believe that the biggest dragons alive are nested inside these mountains. These dragons are said to be especially ancient, and powerful, and the only creatures able to defeat the gods. Others still consider it the location of the remainder of Ankris’ warforged legion. Many expeditions have attempted to reach the summit of the largest of these mountains, Vegreham, but none have been successful. Large cities are located throughout Tiryns. Those that don’t dwell in these cities dwell in monasteries, hunting/gathering communities, or live nomadically, sometimes even alone. Tiryns essentially relies on the House of Volkmer as a judicial and military force, and the actual government of Tiryns is tiny. Still, most of Tiryns population is quite wealthy (Switzerland). Due to the location of the House of Volkmer in this country, most others give it a decent amount of respect, at least enough to keep the country out of major political trouble.
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Demetriades (Erebos) - Directly north of Calatios, Demetriades is a nation rich in land and resources, but few in people. The reason? Across the country, one can see the many ruins and scars left over from Ankris’ conquests 4,000 years ago. These lands were the birthplace of The Legion, and the worst conflict to ever befall Erebos. Most of Demetriades is hilly, with plains of tall, often dry grass that seem to stretch on for miles. A few large rivers slice the landscape up, and provide water to the lush vegetation around. A few settlements occupy the southern portion of Demetriades, but as you continue north through the country, fewer and fewer settlements can be seen. Only a few small fishing villages can be found on the northern coast of Demetriades, primarily occupied by weathered humans, and shifters. Demetriades boasts a large population of Satyrs, who lived off of these lands long before Ankris arrived. Many Satyrs were killed when the warforged arrived, burning entire villages to the ground. While many races possess stigmas against warforged, Satyrs have a particular hatred for them. With the lack of humanoid exploration and development, Demetriades has untouched lands filled to the brim with wild beasts, undiscovered flowers and foods, and much more. As such, less superstitious hunters have taken delight in travelling across Demetriades, hunting freely as they wish. However, most treat those who travel freely across Demetriades with caution. Travelling across Demetriades is considered unsafe by every measure. The wildlife is untamed, and deadly, and evil forces are said to lurk throughout the forests, plains, and especially the battlefields and outposts of Ankris’ legion. Those who travel across Demetriades without preparing and significant caution are either dead in a week, or feared slightly for the rest of their lives. After all, those who didn’t prepare before their journeys in Demetriades were either able to defeat the forces they encountered, or were allied with said forces. As stated previously, many of Demetriades’ people are either clustered in the few settlements in the south of the nation, or spread out far throughout the nation. One large city, Chrysostomos, hosts Demetriades’ government. Ironically, the government is fairly progressive, and provides many rights to citizens that are unheard of in other countries. Demetriades makes most of its income off of hunters, and research of battlefields, which leads many people away from the country, seeing as how Demetriades is profiting off of places considered unholy.
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New Nardone (Erebos) - New Nardone is effectively the remnants of the old Shifter empire; all that is left from the conquests of a people that nearly took over Erebos. Many shifters in the world live here, and maintain sacred hunting grounds across the nation. The gateway to Nardone, the island from which Shifter and Minotaur-kind sprang, the largest settlements in New Nardone are located on the northern coasts. More settlements can be found further inland, but they are not as common, as that land should remain undeveloped, according to the Shifters. The Shifters see all the land they have gained as hunting grounds, some grounds more special than others, but all are intended for the use of hunting, the most sacred activity to shifters. While New Nardone does allow outsiders, it is cautious of most, even fellow shifters. In any case, there is never much to do in New Nardone that pertains to non-Shifters / Minotaurs, so not many come. In the southwestern section of the country, a large population of centaurs that have lived there for millenia remain. The shifters look down on the centaurs, but cannot drive the indigenous people from their homes. The Centaurs hold their own code on how their way of life should be maintained, and it is quite similar to the Shifters’ code, but the attacks Shifters made on centaurs centuries ago made sure that no true alliance or merging could ever be made. Additionally, due to the Shifters attack long ago, it has a very harsh relationship with Drusque along with most other countries on Erebos.
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Vasileios (Erebos) - The elven stronghold of Erebos, Vasileios is a lush, southern country with heavily forested areas, wide sweeping plains, and technological advancement. Vasileios is home to the highest concentration of elves in the world, and Vasilian culture is essentially Elven culture. As such, the Vasilian people have a love for sailing, exploration, and the fine arts. In addition to their love of arts, Vasileios also sports a large degree of technological advancement. Despite only having a small connection to the sea, Vasilian people love sailing, in all of its forms. It makes sense, seeing as how Elves are known for their love of exploration, and sailed to Erebos from Gostren (their ancestral birthplace) long ago. Much of Vasileios’ business involves water, and ships. From Halisca, the capital of Vasileios, hundreds of ships are built each year, and sailors stock up below decks to ferry clients across the world, from Orestes to Piskus to even Kestren! Vasileios is an empire reliant on trade, as one who buys goods, sells goods, or even as the middleman who transports the goods. Vasileios has a relatively progressive government, with leadership consisting of a council of elders, instead of one solitary ruler. Generally, the population of Vasileios is homogenous; not many non-elves live within the borders of Vasileios, as it is very hard to get in to the country, and even harder to acquire citizenship. Vasileios’ military has a very strong navy that defends the entirety of the gulf (in an agreement with Arrigo and Galima), but has a lackluster military on land. As a result, Vasileios welcomes mercenaries to defend its borders. Most of Vasileios’ military power lies in small groups of soldiers that are very skilled, often being powerful magic users. In the northwest of Vasileios lies a city, similar to Calatios’ Pallas, that constantly innovates in new technologies. Iacchus is a city that provides Vasileios with many of the goods it trades with, yet is reviled among many traditionalist elves. Iacchus is home to many Elven wizards and artificers.
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Megaera (Orestes) - A land partially submerged in the mysterious Cloud north of Orestes’ shore, northern Megaera houses a few goblinoid immigrants and rundown attempts at villages, but largely serves pirates attempting to hide caches of loot all over the place. Farther south however, is much more populated with many sailors, and even a well renowned elven sailing academy and some of the best seafood cuisine in all of Pyrrhos!
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Kalistos (Orestes) -
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Firbolg Villages (Piskus) - Separated and disconnected from each other, Firbolgs are largely hidden from most of the ‘civilized world’ using various methods from magic to simple survival tactics, with pretty much the only exception being Tortles, that are allowed slightly more presence than anyone else. Due to this, it is very difficult to find a village on your own just by wandering around looking for them, although Tortle and Firbolg villages commonly interact with each other. Once every few months, ambassadors of neighboring Firbolg or Tortle villages will often visit each other. Recently the Lizardfolk kingdom has been slowly overtaking Firbolg and Tortle villages and expanding land, making the Firbolgs even more cautious of outsiders. As the villages mainly have a farming-based society, the Firbolgs are very community-oriented and will often help people they see as members of the community through strife and hardship, while being very sceptical, yet still kind and polite, to outsiders, which is part of the Firbolgs strict moral code of peace and helpfulness which is reflected in their society
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Tortle Villages (Piskus) - Unlike the Firbolgs, Tortles are very open groups that focus on slowing down and living in the moment. Though most tortles are known for living on the more tropical of the beach areas of Piskus, there are a different type of tortle that live in the desert of Erebos and have adapted to the weather and climate as such. Additionally, although they are very open people, they respect the closed society of the Firbolgs and most of the time will guard village locations very well.
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The Kingdom of Lizael (Piskus) - The Kingdom of Lizael is a very primally militant society that takes what they want, and they want many things. The society has built a very strong and harsh “Weak fear the strong” mentality, which leads to many coups and power struggles, as well as many people seen as “different” or “unfit” to be outcast. Additionally, due to this mentality the government functions less like a Monarchy and more like a Dictatorship. Some offer to guide outsiders through the more “dangerous”(aka not part of the kingdom) areas of Piskus, although a decent number of these excursions end in the death of the tourist. There are many people in the world that trust the Lizael kingdom and attempt allyship with them, although these people are usually thought by the greater world to be idiots for one reason or another.
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The Piskus Colonies (Piskus) -
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The Giant Caves (Kestren) -
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The Goliath Nomads (Kestren) -
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The Orcish Nomads (Kestren) -
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The Aarakocra Peaks (Kestren) -
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The Kenku Valleys (Kestren) -
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Haven Town (Kestren) -
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Ngana (Constros) - 90% of the island is a large fire-touched area, population of residents is around 50-50 for Tabaxi and fire genasi, the Tabaxi as well as the few tourists Ngana receive mostly live in the westernmost part of the island that isn’t fire-touched, as that area is much more hospitable. However, farther east is a valley in which nearly all of the fire genasi, as well as some of the Tabaxi live. Tourists hardly ever venture there. The fire-touched area of the island would be near uninhabitable if not for the fire genasi’s natural instincts in the area. The touched area can be very dangerous to trek without a native guide due to the island's natural lava pits as well as general elemental creature’s that spawn from the magic that is there.
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Gemelo [hem-ello] (Constros) - Resident population has 10% water genasi, 80% Tabaxi, 10% various other species, basically Hawaii, tourist/vacation place, the general population during spring and summer time is usually 60% tourists and 40% residents, while in fall and winter, it is 20% tourists and 80% residents
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Marcella (Constros) - Inland has more agriculture, while coastal areas are trade hubs for various countries. Marcella could be considered the ‘breadbasket’ of the Isles of Constros. Another racially diluted island, Marcella is home to a mix of Tabaxi, Humans, and Halflings. Tabaxi and Humans mainly manage agriculture on this island, whereas halflings can really only be found in the cities, managing businesses. Marcella is almost an unnaturally flat land, some of which is in part to the extensive wars this island has seen. 550 years ago, when the halflings of Kishori took what is now known as ‘New Kishori’ (before, it was called Aleki), most of the inhabitants of the Isles looked on in shock. Here was some race of people from a previously unknown continent north, trying to take their land. Tabaxi and Genasi took up arms, and fought the halflings on Marcella. Many forests were burned by the halflings, and thus the topography of Marcella became suitable for agriculture.
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New Kishori (Constros) - Used to be called Aleki. Has been colonized by Kishori, most trade here is restricted to Kishori government shipments and Kishorins moving between Kishori’s mainland and its colonies on Orestes. Can be treated kind of like an outpost of sorts, most if not all Halflings found here are soldiers. Home to a fey forest, there is a market for extraction of fey resources. There are some natives, and some tourists, but most have relocated to other islands due to the hard ruling of Kishori.