EcretdusEcretdus is a small watery world. It only has one continent, which shares the name of the planet.
The continent of Ecretdus many ceturies ago was home to two sentient species called the Terra and Erra. The Terra where much like humans, they lacked any magical powers or oddities. The Erra on the other hand where shapeshifters, creature not animal nor human. Through many generations there emerged a subspecies. Some say they were the children of Terra and Erra breedings but that has never been proven. These new beings harbored great powers. Most of these new people were exiled from the Terra cities never to be thought of again. Centuries passed, and the Terra stayed the same. Over time they grew to forget their cast off brethren. However the Witches, or Arrta as they called themselves, developed into a new species. They lived their lives in tune with nature and aided by their gifts. Then the outward expansion of the Terra led them to find the Arrta and the Erra. A great war commenced, leaving the Erra virtually extinct. The war continues on till this day... |
"Our lands had been separated from the Terran by the ocean for hundreds of years. They fought amongst themselves while we lived peacefully. We are a peaceful people, in tune with the nature around us. The Terran are not. They destroy everything the touch, they burn forests to the ground and build cities! When the ocean receded, their greedy hands brought them to our lands. They massacred our people, envious of our gifts. And that was how the wars started. And why we will burn the Terran back to the hellfire's of which they came!"
-Hellfire, A speech before a great battle. Here was the incident in which her troops began to call her as such.
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THE LANDS
The lands of the Arrta are mountainous and the lands of the Terra are flat.
Both experience humid climates because of the position of the continent. There are many streams, lakes, and rivers. The summers are humid and hot while the winters carry in deep snows and freezing temperatures. |
RELIGION
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THE WAR EFFORT
The Arrta are deeply outnumbered by the Terra, about a ten to one margin. However, the sides are at a stalemate because of the Arrtas gifts.
Hellfire and her commander are set to try and push back the war front that has lasted for centuries to build a wall that is a half circle around the WItch's realm now to connect with the sea.
Hellfire and her commander are set to try and push back the war front that has lasted for centuries to build a wall that is a half circle around the WItch's realm now to connect with the sea.
ARRTA SOCIETY
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TERRA SOCIETY
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"We are a prideful and peaceful people, we cherish strength as well as intelligence. Honor above all, we are not afraid to fight."
Arrta are a militaristic yet peaceful race, exemplified in small part by their vast array of weaponry. They consider it an honor to serve in their Command Guard, and military rank greatly influence social reputation. Females enjoy an equal position in society, and as soldiers, are as capable as males. Deploring dishonesty – and never fighting without reason – Arrta are nonetheless capable of duplicity. They consider themselves deeply emotional, passionate, even violent; not known for their charity or sympathy, they placed a high value on family. Arrta made prodigious artists and scholars; and are a relatively peaceful in times without conflict, while still maintaining a structured militaristic precedence. Arrta are well known for their determination and endurance in physical combat. They were taught how to fight with an Krahasn when they are children. They have a higher metabolic rate than Terra, which could theoretically permit a Terra opponent to best and one in hand-to-hand combat by simply exhausting them. This also made them especially vulnerable to infection; even minor injuries could prove fatal. However, they demonstrated resistance to a wide range of environmental conditions. In a climate where the temperature was near the boiling point of water, an Arra could still thrive. However, Arrta have increased perfusion in colder environments. Clans are a crucial part of Arrta society, as they are a highly socially race they tend to not do as well without social contact. Clans are a large related family that sometimes include hundreds of members. When someone introduces themselves they often include their clan name before their own. Society functions through a system of family reputation and honor. Tradition is an integral part of their lives and breaking from observances was considered a grievous insult to society, an insult not forgotten easily. An offense usually brought shame to the offender's name for several generations. The highest shame was discommendation, an action by the Council to officially strip a Arrta of his personal or family honor. Bloodlines and relations were also taken very seriously by any "true" Arrta. Lines comprised more than mere family members. A crucial part of Arrta tradition is the Ushaan, a code of honor discipling Arrta from lying and straying from honor. If the code is broken it demands a duel to the death, with combatants pitted against one another using an ancient farming tool called the Krahasn. A vast body of regulations binds this code. Such a fight could be called off if one combatant disabled the other enough to prevent its continuance. Though Ushaan could be called by someone to avenge a personal loss, there existed a right of substitution wherein each combatant could offer up a replacement, and married combatants could postpone duels indefinitely if they had no children to continue their clans. Members of the Command Guard who died far from home could count on their companions to transport a part of them, for example some of their blood, back to the Arrta strongholds. As a special honor, the blood of a dead person could be taken to the Wall of Heroes in the Arrta territory capital. |
"Loyalty to the King and Bloodline is our way. We fight for conquest and to gain control of the region the gods gave to us."
The Terra Empire is the repressive government dominated by the Terrans or Terra. The Empire rules by terror, with its military acting as its iron fist. Officers promote themselves by killing superiors that do not follow the rules of the Empire. Torture is a common form of interrogation. Terra are an extremely violent and emotional people (even by Arrta standards) who waged almost constant warfare on one another, until finding a common enemy within the Arrta. Paranoia and homicidal rage are common. They believe in a variety of gods, such as war, peace and death. Society is based on a feudal system organized around traditional Great Houses of noble lineage, to which various parts of the population owed fealty. The Great Houses are traditionally represented in the Rahshar, a committee of advisers to the king. The people without royal blood have no say in politics and can only hope to gain influence through the military. The decline of Terra culture began in the acts of the Terrans themselves. They stopped caring about their weapons to the point that they let them rust and even stopped caring about loyalty to the Empire. Sometime after, a virus took hold of the Empire, a new regime took control, turning the Empire into an authoritarian state that kept tabs on all who served. The old ways returned in the later, with a new government and royal linage in charge. Males traditionally dominate public life in the Empire, assuming the leading roles in politics and the military with only rare exceptions. A notable exception to the prohibition of women serving on the High Council came when Raveena's mother became acting King after her father, Gorkon, was assassinated. Women, in turn, traditionally dominated the household and the management of the family's affairs. Women were treated as equals, except in politics and matters of inheritance. Law prohibited them from serving in the and they could not take control of their Houses unless they had the money and no male successors of the lineage. Otherwise, women were expected to exhibit the same physical prowess and lust for blood and honor as the men. Terras are extremely territorial. There is no such thing as an "insignificant corner of Terra space". |