A Strange New Horizon
OOC Thread
It is the year of Our Lord 1502, a time of discovery and exploration. Europe, a patchwork of warring states, competing political alliances, religious controversy, and ceaseless innovation, has just stumbled across something extraordinary: a decade ago a strange man claiming to be able to sail to the East Indies by going West, Cristobal Colon, found a New World beyond the edges of the map. A New World of riches, opportunity, and exotic new peoples and cultures.
But this is not the story you may be familiar with, no. For where a primitive continent soon to be overrun by Conquistadors and colonists greeted the history you may know, this is a place utterly other, a map unfamiliar, a history diverged. Swarms of swarthy and not altogether friendly natives peer out at the pale-skinned interlopers, chiefs offering sacrifices to strange and powerful deities from atop the heights of temple cities, blue-glowing Wyrdstones shrouded by the hands of shamans summoning storms of malevolent force to turn back the ships that would wish to land upon the shores of the New World. This is a history very different, where even the most intrepid of Europeans have struggled to gain a foothold on the exotic Terra Obscuras, and the risks of venturing into the untamed jungles and monolithic temple cities are dire indeed.
Fortune though, favors the bold. An adventurous man, foolhardy or brave enough to take his courage in his hand, can make a fortune in this New World. A new start for those with no lives left in the lands left behind, untold riches of gold, silver, and the mysterious Wyrdstone to be gathered from the mysterious and treacherous lands over this Strange New Horizon.
OOC Thread
It is the year of Our Lord 1502, a time of discovery and exploration. Europe, a patchwork of warring states, competing political alliances, religious controversy, and ceaseless innovation, has just stumbled across something extraordinary: a decade ago a strange man claiming to be able to sail to the East Indies by going West, Cristobal Colon, found a New World beyond the edges of the map. A New World of riches, opportunity, and exotic new peoples and cultures.
But this is not the story you may be familiar with, no. For where a primitive continent soon to be overrun by Conquistadors and colonists greeted the history you may know, this is a place utterly other, a map unfamiliar, a history diverged. Swarms of swarthy and not altogether friendly natives peer out at the pale-skinned interlopers, chiefs offering sacrifices to strange and powerful deities from atop the heights of temple cities, blue-glowing Wyrdstones shrouded by the hands of shamans summoning storms of malevolent force to turn back the ships that would wish to land upon the shores of the New World. This is a history very different, where even the most intrepid of Europeans have struggled to gain a foothold on the exotic Terra Obscuras, and the risks of venturing into the untamed jungles and monolithic temple cities are dire indeed.
Fortune though, favors the bold. An adventurous man, foolhardy or brave enough to take his courage in his hand, can make a fortune in this New World. A new start for those with no lives left in the lands left behind, untold riches of gold, silver, and the mysterious Wyrdstone to be gathered from the mysterious and treacherous lands over this Strange New Horizon.
Santo Domingo
Located on the Tierra del Fuego, the furthest east island of the New World that Europeans have discovered, this Spanish colony-town is thriving. Located in the Fundal Bay and sheltered from the frequent storms out of the east and boiling up out of the south, Santo Domingo boasts an impressive colonial fort manned by soldiers of the Crown, but little else. A small tavern, the Ansova, makes its home in the slums that cluster about the fortress, and a cathedral is slowly rising from the nearby humid jungle. There are rumors that the Governor, Pedro San Estaba, is gathering forces to make a landing on the nearby native-occupied island of Corazon, and seeking sellswords for such a venture. Transport to the mainland from Santo Domingo is limited, but possible to purchase: the Maria Revuelta sails from the harbor on occasion to trade with the natives of the Cove. There is always work to be done cutting wood for the growing settlement, or quarrying stone for the Cathedral.
Jonestown
The furthest north European settlement, a raucous Charter Colony established by Sir Walter Edmundson in 1499, Jonestown is the jumping-off point for sailors and European powers who are not on good terms with the Spanish. Lacking any real formal defenses, Jonestown relies on intermittent Royal Navy patrols to keep away pirates, privateers, and enterprising ne'er-do-wells. Many trade ships put into Jonestown harbor frequently, and a regular ferry runs to near the native settlements of Oneidas, as well as the Azure Bight. Sir Edmundson sees more profit in trade than war, and so his ships are tolerated by some of the indigenous peoples, but Jonestown is not exactly flourishing without the influx of plundered gold and silver than fuels Santo Domingo to the south.
Oneidas
A great fishing town of the Iroquen people on the shores of the Sea of Sunrise, Oneidas is notable for her high wooden wall and the great Standing Trees where her shamans gather to conduct rituals honoring the Earth Mother. Europeans are not allowed within the walls of Oneidas, but can be seen in the markets near the gates, and are begrudgingly tolerated. Part of the Northern Confederacy and often at odds with the bloodthirsty warlords of the Azure Bight, the inhabitants of Oneidas on the Bay of Blades build small raiding ships that frequently venture south to take slaves and treasure from other coastal settlements.
The Heartspire
The capital city of the dominion of Warlord Grevas of the Huriken people, the Heartspire emerges in its marble and granite glory from the waters of the Azure Bight like a vision of grandeur, her approaches surrounded entirely by water that teems with small boats and floating gardens. From her many quays and wharves the Warlord's ships regularly depart bearing warriors and sorcerers in his campaigns of conquest, campaigns fueled by impressive magicks cast from his seat of power, the Tower of the Stars which sits at the apex of the Heartspire itself, the rock formation from which the city takes her name. Markets teeming with slaves and exotic goods are found throughout the city, and it is rumored that almost anything, even lives and black magics, can be purchased in the underbelly of the metropolis.
Und Karaza
Once a proud and mighty settlement of the Seven Nations, a testament to their collected skill and architectural ability, the City of Stone, Und Karaza, is a shadow of its former past. Ravaged by repeated incursions of the Night Men of the south, and more recently by Spanish depredations, the Council of Elders rules over a city with walls that are falling into disrepair, a garrison that might as well be written on the wind, and crumbling infrastructure that can no longer be maintained as residents of the city migrate elsewhere in search of security. Many secrets are hidden in the ancient Undercity of Und Karaza, which delves down deep into the earth of this strange coastal plateau, so deep few have ever measured its depths. But these secrets may be lost forever soon, for it is all too likely that war and death with soon wash over the last vestiges of the Seven Nations, for their strength is little and their enemies many.
