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Canon: © Anne Bishop
Board's Plot: Blood Rites
Points Scheme: Mother Night
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Established February 2010
by Jamie, Gina & Bowie.

* Plot Information for Rihland

A Black Jewel has obliterated the longstanding Eyrien rulership of the Territory. As the Rihlanders begin to reclaim their homeland they do so under the stern gaze of their "savior". Three separate peoples struggle to both claim their own identities and become a unified nation, but old hatreds are difficult to shed.
Culture of Rihland
Ebon Varos
Rihlander Religion
The Reclaimers
The Exchange

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Author Topic: Current Territory Petition  (Read 2177 times)

Description: For reference purposes (by Dash)

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Current Territory Petition
« on: Feb 10, 17, 01:42:25 PM »
This is the Rihland Petition in its original form, and should be used for reference until the formal cultural articles are posted.

Character's Name: Kalvar Elbremov
Character's Caste: Prince
Character's Jewels: Red to Black

Territory Plot:
Before the Purge, the short-lived native Rihlanders lived separate lives from the long-lived Eyriens who had settled into their native land of Rih. The Eyriens had settled into Rih before the Great War and used it as their base of operation in Kaeleer for centuries. Three centuries before the Purge a split in Eyrien leadership caused an Eyrien civil war between the forces of the Red Queen Tylvian Kalana and the Sapphire Queen Mirandian Xurandyr; but the short-lived Rihlanders who lived away from the mountains the Eyriens preferred continued to live in peace. For the most part the Rihlanders were left alone -- though there was the occasional abduction and use of their people for cheap labor or farmers for the Eyrien war machine.

But the Purge changed that peace between the two races. When both the Eyrien Queens were killed by the Purge Mirandian’s Master of the Guard Draekar Eventide took the reigns of the Territory. The vision he held was of a united Rihland; an Askavi in Kaeleer that was held by the power of the Eyriens and fueled by the blood and sweat of the Rihlanders. Draekar’s Eyriens descended upon the Rihlanders and forced them into service. With few Queens of their own, Draekar forced the Rihlander Queens to service the land and the Eyrien warriors. Those who resisted were simply killed or made examples of. For the first time the Rihlanders were oppressed in the land of their ancestors and held as little more than slaves.

To solidify their rule, Draekar and his supporters imposed the Prohibitions; A set of laws that would help secure the authority of Eyrien rule. Eyriens were not beholden to these laws and only the Rihlanders or other visitors to Askavi had to obey them. In brief, the Prohibitions are: No same-sex marriage, no immigration, no gambling, no drugs, no alcohol, and no Red Moon Houses.

For a time a struggle for total control continued between Draekar and Tylvian Kalana’s former Master of the Guard, Lokevar Xurandyr. But that conflict came to a close when Kirian Svetlana, an Eyrien Queen bearing the Gray, descended on Draekar and his forces and destroyed him and his closest retinue.

Kirian continued to pick up much where Draekar left off by enforcing the Prohibitions and treating the Rihlanders as second class citizens. She looked to keep her borders secure but struggled to assure complete control as the Rihlanders rebelled in their own quiet ways, the Jhinka continued to be a menace in the north, and a group of Eyriens loyal to traditionalist ideals continued to fight against Kirian’s rule.

All the while, there had been a rumor of a Black Jeweled half-breed who lived in the farming province of Svendai. The Eyriens who had lived long enough to remember him knew to steer clear of the man who had once been a General to the Eyrien war machine. And those who did not received a harsh lesson to leave him alone.

Succession Plan:
Kalvar Elbremov was content to live upon his farm with his wife and children for the rest of his days. He’d been a soldier for the Eyrien war machine, had committed acts during war that gave him sleepless nights, but he’d found peace in his Rihlander wife and in the simple life they led. His jewels, as dark as they were, allowed him anonymity (when he chose to hide his jewels) and peace, and assured that not only the Jhinka left him and his family alone, but so did the Blood.

After the death of Kirian’s consort, Nikolav, the Gray Jeweled Queen soon disappeared from sight. With Kirian’s disappearance, the Eyriens cracked down even harder on the Rihlanders who had been rebelling against their rule. On a day that Kalvar’s wife had the unfortunate timing of going into town at the same time as an Eyrien Warlord Prince and his group of soldiers, she made a passing comment that made him suspicious of her and her connections to the Rebellion. He took her into custody, and after the harsh Eyriens had finished ‘questioning’ her, she was left in the street to die where they’d found her.

Kalvar’s son brought her home, and from there Kalvar went into a cold rage.

After that the full fury of the Black Jewel was unleashed upon the Eyrien leadership at Ebon Varos. The remaining Eyrien leadership was mostly annihilated, and the majority of the forces that had served Kirian were swept away. In the aftermath of the near genocide of the Eyrien people (whom had been concentrated in the mountains near Ebon Varos), Kalvar cooled from his anger to realize that the bloodshed he had unleashed would leave turmoil in the Territory. Seeing no choice but to accept responsibility for his actions, Kalvar has stepped in and imposed martial law upon the Territory, sealing it off from outside influences and trying to remake Askavi from a land filled with infighting and civil war into a better future. For the last two years there has been no diplomatic envoys, no merchants allowed into the Territory, and no communication with the new Territory Court.

Unfortunately, Kalvar is no Queen. He does not have the natural inclination and training to rule. He is simply a powerful, grieving man trying to do what is ‘right’ with terrible consequences. Even worse, Kalvar lacks much of the refinement and diplomatic leaning of most Blood of his Caste.

What the Territory looks like now is a distant and almighty figure who rules from a mountain fortress, heavily removed from the general populace. While he has a council of Queens, they hold no power over him and his rule is absolute. The Prohibitions, long used by the Eyriens to maintain order over the Rihlanders, remain in place. Worse, Kalvar has tasked it to the Province Queens to shut down the Exchange which has profited from the Prohibitions and circumventing them.

What Eyriens survived the destruction of Kirian and her court then had the unfortunate choice to either join the new order or flee and join the Eyrien Rebellion. Those who stay do so without all of the power they had previously enjoyed and are now surrounded by those they once oppressed. Those that flee to join the Eyrien Rebellion hope to restore an Eyrien Queen to rule the Territory they have controlled for centuries and overthrow the treacherous Half-Breed Kalvar. This “new” Eyrien Rebellion is found mostly in the District of Kondyor, and they work hard to keep the area for themselves despite Kalvar and his supporters trying to place it in Rihlander hands.

The Rihlanders, too, have their own rebels (who call themselves ‘Reclaimers’) who instigate attacks against Kalvar’s supporters and ‘loyal’ Rihlanders. These Reclaimers are idealists, extremists, and agents of the Exchange who are not willing to surrender their profits and their wealth.

Despite the Prohibitions, Glacian smuggling still continued into Askavi, Kaeleer. While it was illegal to do so, the previous Eyrien rulership lacked the will to constantly patrol the mountainous borders. Atop that, the Glacians just became another group that the Eyriens ruled over and imposed the Prohibitions and restrictions on. Light Jeweled Glacian Queens who entered Askavi were just as likely to be impressed into service to the Eyriens, trading one harsh master for another.

With the change in leadership Kalvar will recognize that racial tensions are already high and that the Glacians, while small in number, are yet another “invading” group to the native Rihlanders. Kalvar has ordered that the smuggled light-jeweled Glacians be rounded up and given their own District (Avorla) to live within. Still under RIhlander leadership, Kalvar hopes that in time the Glacians will be a welcome people in a Territory that should sympathize with oppression.

Avorla was the primary staging grounds for the Jhinka. The Jhinka, a race of near-intelligent but brutal winged humans similar to Eyriens but lacking Craft, had been an enemy of Rihlander and Eyrien alike. In response to repeated requests for intervention and to support the creation of the Glacian refuge, Kalvar descended upon Avorla and unleashed the full power of his descent upon the Jhinka. The Jhinka could offer no meaningful resistance against the Black Jewel with no Craft of their own and were eradicated with very few survivors.

The act of wholesale genocide, put on public display, has put a black miasma of fear into the Territory. Some within are willing to risk everything to find outside help against this powermad figure.

Territory/Province/District Breakdown::

When Kalvar steps into the seat of power he does so as an untouchable, distant being. Many in the Territory have no idea who he is, just that he is now beginning to impose his vision of the future. A sort of martial law settles into Askavi where there are curfews, the Prohibitions are made widespread, and crimes are punished extremely harshly. Kalvar does little to help this public image as he settles himself and his Court into the mountain fortress of Ebon Varos, far removed from the people he now rules.

As a general rule the Territory is being oppressed by an iron fist who is trying to protect them from themselves. Like an overprotective parent, Kalvar has forcibly removed many of the things that caused tensions between the groups previous to his control, but he’s also generated new ones by his oppressive style of leadership. Kalvar has some supporters -- mostly Rihlanders who were sick of the tyranny that they received from the Eyriens. But many see him as just another oppressive leader. His own family has mixed feelings, as some believe he’s taken the death of his wife too far and has done unforgivable things.

Most Eyriens have fled to the mountains of Belaya and joined the Rebellion. Those that remain are seen with distrust and must live among the people they once subjugated. Half-Breeds are seen with distaste by both the Eyriens and the Rihlanders and live a life filled with discrimination.

In order to cement his rule and to give back the land to the Rihlanders, Kalvar has installed three Rihlander Queens and their courts at the Province level.  These Queens form his council, as well as his own children, the Head of the Hourglass Coven, the High Priestess, and the High Healer. Though this appears to be something of a more balanced rulership, those involved know that Kalvar’s word is law and that there is simply no (open) resistance to his decrees. Those within the council are there to merely advise Kalvar, not form policy.

Of the Province Queens, one Queen is utterly loyal to Kalvar and is supportive of him. One of them is quietly supporting the Rihlander resistance against him, and the third is undecided on which side of the issue she wishes to take (open to player interpretation upon adoption).

Markoth will be the Province that holds the largest Rihlander population and is where most of the farming communities are centered. It also happens to be where the Exchange has rooted most of itself in, given strong Rihlander sympathies. Vyrkov holds a smaller Rihlander population but is also where the Glacian refugees have been relocated and given the opportunity to build up their own communities. Given that the path of smuggling comes into the district of Avorla, many Glacian safehouses have been set up to act as a welcoming arm to their fleeing brethren. It is in the remote northern province that the Reclaimers center their base of operation and make their plans to free the Territory from Kalvar’s rule. To the south, Belaya remains strongly pro-Eyrien, despite officially being under Rihlander rule. The Eyrien Rebellion is stationed here and tries to gain support for their own campaign to take back the Territory Seat.

Impact on Other Territories/Realm::
The Territory will be “open” for the first time in years, but the Prohobitions officially prevent immigration. Nonetheless smuggling from Glacia still persists and eventually Glacia will hear that Rihland has an official District given over to those who escaped into the Territory. No doubt some of the Eyriens living in Rihland will try to escape through the Dark Gate to go back to Askavi because their current situation has considerably worsened. Dhemlan will want an accounting of their missing Cathedra members.

Most other Territories probably won’t care outside of hearing the extent of destruction that’s been taking place in the Territory at the hands of its leader.
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