~SUNDERED REALMS~ (DEAD)

[Haven Island]

_____________________________________________________________________________

War.
War is the scourge of mankind, the destroyer of civilization.
And now, the ugly head of war has been reared in the land of Athios.

When a mighty horde of foreigners arrived from across the western sea, they came with the goal to conquer. These foreigners are the Nargoths. A hardy people of war and conquest, a people who’s very blood flows with the desire for battle and honor. To the Nargoths, Athios is a lush, fruitful realm of fertility, unlike their own homeland of Nockmar, a rugged land of ice and rock. They intend to seize this land as their own, or die in the attempt.

Standing against these north-men invaders are the separate States of Athios. But, if the Athians truly wish to defeat this barbaric horde, they will be forced to unite under one banner, be that banner metaphorical or literal. These Nargoths will not be easily denied their prize and will fight to the death for victory. It will take a collective of strong rulers, great armies, and the finest soldiers united to defend Athios from falling to these barbarians.

Athios, a land of emerald forests and great mountains, a land of flourish, a land of war.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

ATHIOS: A BRIEF HISTORY AND CULTURAL RUNDOWN

For the last two-hundred years roughly, the realm of Athios has been divided into fiefs, or “states” officially. These separate states were formed from six great cities that were built across Athios, in the twilight days of the Dark Age.



The Dark Age was a period of around five-hundred years of barbarism. Athios, unnamed at the time, was divided amongst several dozen nomadic peoples and warrior tribes that dwelled in great strongholds. The Takari, the Hexons, the Velkans, the Thrakians, these were some of the stronger and more influential tribes. For centuries these and other tribals warred over the land, spilling rivers of blood and slaughtering thousands decade by decade. These were savage people’s, sacrificing women and children to their heathen gods, painting themselves with animal blood, and building shrines and monuments of bone. This period would begin to die away around the year 20 D.A (by the Athian calendar). Around 20 D.A, a new, younger tribe came to be, a blending pot of the remnants of many lesser tribes and clans, destroyed by their superiors. These fractured remnants united into a single great tribe, naming themselves the Vaurians.
Lead by a great warrior and master strategist named Molmor, the Vaurians embarked upon a great conquest across the land.



By 13 D.A, the Vaurians had conquered all but the southern reaches of the land. Here, the last straggling remnants of the Velkans, Hexons, and the southern-dwelling Corthosians had compiled their forces into a grand army of roughly twenty-one thousand. On the second day of the Fourth Month, Molmor’s rounded forty-six thousand Vaurians would do battle with the last of the barbarian tribes in a famous last stand in the fields of Faelfurd. Despite being so greatly outnumbered, the barbarians fought viciously and to the death. And when the very last of them had fallen to the earth, twenty-four thousand Vaurians lay dead with them. Stories say the battlefield was carpeted in corpses, the soil was muddied by the thick pools of blood, and the earth stank of death, scores of vultures blotted out the sky above.

Now, having conquered the entire land, Molmor would name the realm “Athios”, and for the next thirteen years would rebuild the land, converting it from a barbaric land of war to a civilized dominion for the future. He renamed himself Gaius Arius, the first king of Athios. Under the rulership of Gaius, the Athians cast aside their old ways of sacrificial heathen religion, houses of mud and tarp, and their guttural tongues. They embraced a new pantheon of gods, constructed great cities, and innovated a new language, cultural outlook, and civil practices.



It was after the turning of the era, in 4 N.A, that King Gaius Arius would pass away suddenly via a draining illness, that withered him away to nothing. He died having never left behind an heir. King Arius’s death set Athios into a brief state of turmoil. King Arius had no legitimate family at truly, and many would step forth claiming to be of his blood, a bastard son, an unclaimed cousin, a brother separated at birth. For most of the fourth year their was dispute and argument, which several times festered near to civil war. Luckily, the late Arius’s supporters and top advisors managed to keep the unruly kingdom contained. Months past as debates were had and suggestions made. Finally, towards the end of the year, a difficult choice was made.

Athios was broken into six different states, these states focused in the six major cities of Athios, with any and all towns, forts, ports, and villages falling under the jurisdiction of the city it lie closest too. Each city state is ruled over by a Magistrate, who is backed and advised by a city council. Magistrates and city councilmen are all chosen through democratic election systems, as to avoid tyranny and give the people a voice in matters of their city.
While all six city states share the same system and titles, each has its own minor variants, such as office term length, number of council seats overall, laws and restrictions, and etcetera.

For the past two hundred plus years, the city states of Athios have endured and survived together, maintaining peace and collaboration amongst themselves through the decades and preserving what their ancestors fought and died for. Aside from the occasional bandit clan or band of brigands, the states have faced no major threat in the two hundred years since they first come to be. They have flourished as a people and endured all of nature’s challenges.

ATHIAN PANTHEON

Ireleth-Goddess of mercy, salvation, good fortune, blessings of good, and redemption. Symbolized with doves and white lilly flowers.

Avril-Goddess of fertility, spring season, childbirth, and the harvest. Symbolized with various flowers and the sun.

Ultor-God of war, bloodshed, anger, fury. Symbolized with a sword driven in a stone.

Seiyonid-God of the sea, storms, and hurricanes. Symbolized with seashells and whales.

Pyron-God of fire and the forge. Symbolized with writhing flame and a hammer and anvil.

Faernír-God of swiftness, agility, messengers, thieves, and archers. Symbolized with winged feet.

Eithyan-God of intellect, intelligence, architecture, writing, innovation. Symbolized by a laurel wreath.

Glanír-God of wine, drunkenness, debauchery, high spirits. Symbolized with grapevines and olive branches.

Aylthia-Goddess of love, charm, lust, and passion. Symbolized with roses.

Hirvine-A minor god of final judgement, passing of reward or eternal punishment. Symbolized by an evenly balanced scale.

Xabarax-God of eternal punishment in The Void. Evil, corrupted, cruel. Symbolized by grinning skulls and images of woe and sorrow. It is considered blasphemous to worship him or devote shrines to him.

MAP OF ATHIOS

PURPLE-RESERVED
BLUE-OPEN
GREEN-OPEN
BURGUNDY-RED-RESERVED
WHITE-RESERVED
BLACK-ORICHA

OOC RUNDOWN

The city states of Athios are culturally, politically, economically, and militarily resemblant to Republic-Era Rome and Helenistic-Era Greece. Political positions and offices are more Roman based. Culturally, Athios holds both unique Roman and Greece customs, styles, ideals, and etcetera. Some of these noteworthy traditions are chariot racing, theatrical plays and dramas, and of course gladiator fights. It is worth noting that gladiators are willing contestants, most of whom are soldiers. Slavery in fact DOES NOT exist in Athios, this was put aside at the turning of the last age.

As you surely can deduce, Athios is divided into six separate states, it’s six major cities acting as state capitals and ruling over surrounding towns and villages. Each city state carries its own unique banner(based from the identifying colors from the map), has its own standing army, and has its own unique laws and policies. The separate states all trade with one another and have aided each other in times of crisis or trial, such as famine, plague, or bandit attack.
While there was strife and feuding in the wake of King Arius’s death, this was quelled, and there has been no internal strife or major civil conflict in Athios since.

As a player, you will role as one of the six cities. Creation is totally custom and up to you, apart from the guidelines which are listed below in the “Rules” section. You will lead your city through the coming turmoil that is barbarian invasion, desecration of your land, and a rift that will be torn by the chaos of war. The ultimate question is; “Will you lead your city to glory?
Will your people endure? Or will all that your ancestors fought for and built be burned to ash?”

____________________________________________________________________________________________

OTHER NOTEWORTHY INFORMATION

•Athian Currency
Athian Gold Drachma
(Trade and Bartering are also used.)

•Language of Athios
Common (English)

•Athian Calendar
-Ianuarii (January)
-Februarii (February)
-Mart (March)
-Apruil (April)
-Uté (May)
-Junus (June)
-July (Julios)
-Augst (August)
-Septimbra (September)
-Octrubis (October)
-Nonembré (November)
-Zeimbre (December)

•Athian Holidays and Festivities
-New Dawn (New Year’s Day, Ianuarii 1st)
-Alythia’s Reign (Week of Love, Februarii 1st-7th)
-Avril’s Devotion (Day of Celebration of Spring and praying for a month of fertility, 1st of Apruil)
-Day of Last Laughs (Day of mass celebration, debauchery, and devotion to Glanír, Julios 31st)
-Day of Warding (Day of dressing up as bad spirits and evil ghosts to fool Xabarax into leaving you be, “Halloween”, Octrubis 13th)
-Day of Winter’s Gifts (Giving gifts and food to your neighbors, “Christmas”, Zeimbre 12th)
-Sun’s Dusk (New Year’s Eve Day, Zeimbre 31st)

•Current Year
208, NA

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

RULES (AND REGULATIONS


1. No godmodding, metagaming, raging, and etcetera. General NS rules.

2. After 3 full days (72 hours) of unannounced activity, you are booted from the RP and your city rendered as AI at my disposal.

3. All six created cities must adhere to the Rome-Greece theme.

4. Originality is mandatory. No Athens’ or Sparta’s or Romes’. City names must be original.

5.Your cities’ banner and “faction” colors MUST be on par with the color of the dot on the map. No exceptions. I’m not recreating a whole new map just because “blue isn’t your color”. I picked these colors for legitimate reason.

6. If you have any questions, concerns, gripes, grievances, threats, ect., just hail me. :

CITY STATE APPLICATION

Code: Select all


•Name of City:

•Location: (Which dot on the map are? Example: “Purple Dot”)

•Banner: (Coloration be on par with map color. If you can’t find a preferable image, you can give me a detailed description.)

•Population: (8,000-15,000)

•Military Ranks: (15%-20% of your population.)

•State Leader: (Title and Full Name) (Magistrate title mandatory.)

•Number of City Council Members/Seats: (6-12)

•Brief History: (Optional though preferred.)

•Primary Exports: (Abundant good and wares of your city.) (Iron, silk, meats, livestock, limestone, fish, ect.)

[b]•Other Information: (Any additional more you wish to share; unit types, notable landmarks and structures within your city, ect.)  [/b]



[list=][/list]

[Haven Island]

RESERVED

[Haven Island]

Detailed information on the Nargoths and the opening flow of the RP are still slightly WIP, and should be ready to divulge by the time adequate interest has been accumulated.

[Danceria]

Tag, I'm gonna snag me that purple spot if nobody minds. Also, even though there can't be a "Sparta" name, could one feasibly use an expy of that. Example, city-state of tough soldiers as a good source of mercs.

[Haven Island]

Tag, I'm gonna snag me that purple spot if nobody minds. Also, even though there can't be a "Sparta" name, could one feasibly use an expy of that. Example, city-state of tough soldiers as a good source of mercs.

The purple spot is RESERVED.

And no mercenaries, but yes. A hardy city of a more battle-born people is acceptable.

[Utceforp]

Tag, gonna reserve the black dot.

[Haven Island]

Tag, gonna reserve the black dot.

Done.

[Danceria]

Tag, I'm gonna snag me that purple spot if nobody minds. Also, even though there can't be a "Sparta" name, could one feasibly use an expy of that. Example, city-state of tough soldiers as a good source of mercs.

The purple spot is RESERVED.

And no mercenaries, but yes. A hardy city of a more battle-born people is acceptable.

White dot for me then. I guess the tech level is more Past rather than Medieval, so I can't field some decent crossbowmen to use as Mercs.

[Utceforp]

What's the tech level like? Bronze age? Iron age?

[Haven Island]

The purple spot is RESERVED.

And no mercenaries, but yes. A hardy city of a more battle-born people is acceptable.

White dot for me then. I guess the tech level is more Past rather than Medieval, so I can't field some decent crossbowmen to use as Mercs.

Reserved.

And no I’m afraid, crossbows aren’t even a thought in this age. Bows only.

[Haven Island]

What's the tech level like? Bronze age? Iron age?

Iron Age.

[Utceforp]

•Name of City: Oricha

•Location: Black Dot

•Banner:

•Population: About 14,000

•Military Ranks: 2250 soldiers, with an emphasis on the navy and heavily-armoured spearmen

•State Leader: Magistrate Perixanthos

•Number of City Council Members/Seats: 7

•Brief History: Oricha is one of the oldest inhabited places in Athios, having been settled long before the Dark Age and acting as a trading hub for many of the barbarian tribes that inhabited the land. For this, it is often called (incorrectly) "The Oldest City". The source of ancient Oricha's prosperity was the mountains to its south, which contained a rare form of copper that could be used to make a unique form of bronze that could hold an incredibly sharp edge or be fashioned into impossibly durable armour. This copper was called "Orichalcum". It is unknown whether the city was named for the metal, or the metal was named for the city, so intertwined were the two. Parts of the city were even built inside the mountains, to allow miners to reach their workplaces more easily.

When Oricha was captured by the Vaurians, not long before the battle of Faelfurd, the entire city was razed to the ground, and its people were put to the sword. Molmor couldn't find a way to capture the heavily-fortified underground settlements, so he simply collapsed the entrances and allowed those within to starve. When Molmor crowned himself the king of Athios, the Oldest City was a smouldering pile of ash, abandoned by everything living.

About a decade after Faelfurd, during the period of prosperity and city-building that typified Gaius Arius' reign, many ambitious Vaurians decided to resettle the land near Oricha, hoping to become the new masters of the Orichalcum trade. These settlers established a new city a few miles north of Old Oricha, closer to the bay. New Oricha, although further from the southern mountains, soon became once again the undisputed queen of the copper trade, and after the chaos following Gaius Arius' death, it managed to establish itself as one of the six independent city-states.

In the centuries that followed, Oricha faced a crisis, as iron slowly replaced bronze as the material most weapons and armour were made from, thus rendering Oricha's Orichalcum deposits useless. However, the city managed to use its current wealth and power to diversify its sources of wealth, developing a stranglehold on trade coming from the east, and establishing many colonies throughout the larger inland sea. Thus, despite having lost the ancient source of its prosperity, the Oldest City remains a powerful influence on the rest of Athios.

•Primary Exports: In order from most common to least common: Finished goods imported from the lands to the east, precious metals, iron

•Other Information: Although the population of modern Oricha is almost entirely Vaurian, the inhabitants of the city have developed a fascination with he ancient people of Old Oricha, and they often try to emulate their ancient predecessors as a way of developing a unique Orichan identity. For example, ancient frescoes discovered within the underground part of Old Oricha indicate that the ancient Orichans tattooed their entire bodies with elaborate labyrinth motifs and images of humans in combat. As a result, the modern Orichan upper class has made spiralling labyrinth tattoos a fashion trend, usually augmented with black tattoos of gods and mythological heroes. (Picture Greek pottery art from the Geometric art period, but as tattoos.) Indeed, it seems the ancient Orichans loved labyrinth motifs, as they can be found everywhere in their art and architecture. As a result, a particularly striking depiction of a labyrinth has been adopted as a symbol of Oricha as a whole. (See the banner above.)

The chief deity of Oricha is Pyron, worshipped not only as a god of blacksmithing, but also seen as a king who lives beneath the earth and lords over all the precious metals that can be found there. Also worshipped in Oricha is Xanthos, a demigod and culture hero said to be the son of Avril and depicted as a man with bull horns, who used strength and guile to acquire many things for humanity, such as the secret of fire and fishes.

[Haven Island]

•Name of City: Oricha

•Location: Black Dot

•Banner: (Image)

•Population: About 14,000

•Military Ranks: 2250 soldiers, with an emphasis on the navy and heavily-armoured spearmen

•State Leader: Magistrate Perixanthos

•Number of City Council Members/Seats: 7

•Brief History: Oricha is one of the oldest inhabited places in Athios, having been settled long before the Dark Age and acting as a trading hub for many of the barbarian tribes that inhabited the land. For this, it is often called (incorrectly) "The Oldest City". The source of ancient Oricha's prosperity was the mountains to its south, which contained a rare form of copper that could be used to make a unique form of bronze that could hold an incredibly sharp edge or be fashioned into impossibly durable armour. This copper was called "Orichalcum". It is unknown whether the city was named for the metal, or the metal was named for the city, so intertwined were the two. Parts of the city were even built inside the mountains, to allow miners to reach their workplaces more easily.

When Oricha was captured by the Vaurians, not long before the battle of Faelfurd, the entire city was razed to the ground, and its people were put to the sword. Molmor couldn't find a way to capture the heavily-fortified underground settlements, so he simply collapsed the entrances and allowed those within to starve. When Molmor crowned himself the king of Athios, the Oldest City was a smouldering pile of ash, abandoned by everything living.

About a decade after Faelfurd, during the period of prosperity and city-building that typified Gaius Arius' reign, many ambitious Vaurians decided to resettle the land near Oricha, hoping to become the new masters of the Orichalcum trade. These settlers established a new city a few miles north of Old Oricha, closer to the bay. New Oricha, although further from the southern mountains, soon became once again the undisputed queen of the copper trade, and after the chaos following Gaius Arius' death, it managed to establish itself as one of the six independent city-states.

In the centuries that followed, Oricha faced a crisis, as iron slowly replaced bronze as the material most weapons and armour were made from, thus rendering Oricha's Orichalcum deposits useless. However, the city managed to use its current wealth and power to diversify its sources of wealth, developing a stranglehold on trade coming from the east, and establishing many colonies throughout the larger inland sea. Thus, despite having lost the ancient source of its prosperity, the Oldest City remains a powerful influence on the rest of Athios.

•Primary Exports: In order from most common to least common: Finished goods imported from the lands to the east, precious metals, iron

•Other Information: Although the population of modern Oricha is almost entirely Vaurian, the inhabitants of the city have developed a fascination with he ancient people of Old Oricha, and they often try to emulate their ancient predecessors as a way of developing a unique Orichan identity. For example, ancient frescoes discovered within the underground part of Old Oricha indicate that the ancient Orichans tattooed their entire bodies with elaborate labyrinth motifs and images of humans in combat. As a result, the modern Orichan upper class has made spiralling labyrinth tattoos a fashion trend, usually augmented with black tattoos of gods and mythological heroes. (Picture Greek pottery art from the Geometric art period, but as tattoos.) Indeed, it seems the ancient Orichans loved labyrinth motifs, as they can be found everywhere in their art and architecture. As a result, a particularly striking depiction of a labyrinth has been adopted as a symbol of Oricha as a whole. (See the banner above.)

The chief deity of Oricha is Pyron, worshipped not only as a god of blacksmithing, but also seen as a king who lives beneath the earth and lords over all the precious metals that can be found there. Also worshipped in Oricha is Xanthos, a demigod and culture hero said to be the son of Avril and depicted as a man with bull horns, who used strength and guile to acquire many things for humanity, such as the secret of fire and fishes.

Very nice. Accepted.

[Ace Lone]

I’ll reserve that Burgundy-Red dot if you please.

I’ll have my app up in several hours.

[Haven Island]

I’ll reserve that Burgundy-Red dot if you please.

I’ll have my app up in several hours.

Right and done.

[Ace Lone]

Name of City
Ascalona

Location
Red Dot (On the map.)

Banner


Population
14,500

Military Ranks
2,900

State Leader
Magistrate Aurelio Marius

Number of City Councilmen

•Brief History: (Optional though preferred.)

•Primary Exports: (Abundant good and wares of your city.) (Iron, silk, meats, livestock, limestone, fish, ect.)

•Other Information: (Any additional more you wish to share; unit types, notable landmarks and structures within your city, ect.)

[The Mystery Bard]

EPIC FAILURE. *Echos*

[Haven Island]

EPIC FAILURE. *Echos*

.....

[Kyrusia]

EPIC FAILURE. *Echos*

The Mystery Bard: So, what, exactly, is your reason for posting here...? Seems to be to spam and bait. *** Warning for spam/baiting. *** You already have a relatively recent warning for trolling; I'd appraise yourself of the rules, and quickly, less the next action taken be some manner of enforced vacation from the forums.