Charn
Capital: Conquera
Population: 6,512,400 (humans 72%, orcs 5%, dwarves 4%, shadow elves 4%, other general monstrous races 8%, other non-monstrous races 7%)
Government: Tyranny
Religion: (Bauglir) Maugrim (Mundus) Thul, Chodan (Reos), Kosomoth, Kor, Vardama, Animus
Imports: Iron, magic items, monsters, slaves, spells
Exports: Artifice, magic items, artwork, fruit, jewelry, sculptures, timber
Alignment: LE, NE, N, LN
Charn is considered by many to be the sister nation to Myrddion. Until recently, though referred to as the Stygian Empire of Charn, Charn was a theocracy, ruled by the triune churches of Taara, Maugrim and Thul. Corruption and stagnation within the government following the loss to the western nations in the Crown Wars nearly two decades gone, however, lead to a near total collapse of Charn's infrastructure. The temple of Taara, with the assistance of several wealthy noble houses, had undercut much of the influence the other two faiths held within the nation and though it was to the detriment of Charn itself, saught total control. The Taaranites conscious decision to hamstring the power of the military was their downfall, as a general within the Five Dragon Army and head of an old and powerful noble house, Vincenzo Macello, managed to consolidate power within the military itself. With the support of the Five Dragon Army behind him, as well as Daraeon Teras, the new Chosen of Maugrim (following the rather convenient death of the previous, rather aimless, Chosen) and Barntos the Betrayer, Chosen of Thul, Macello was able to rally enough noble houses to oust the temple of Taara, execute her Chosen and in what many have called a bloodless coup d'etat, claim the ultimate seat of power in Charn. Declaring himself Vincenzo Rex, he became the first Tyrannus Maximus Charn has seen in centuries.
Many imagine Charn as being a great expanse of evil, darkness and terror. As the entire nation is, and has been for nearly two hundred years, surrounded by a great black wall nearly two hundred feet in height, it is easy to imagine that the countryside is nothing but monsters, undead and infernal abominations as far as the eye can see. In fact, most of Charn is a barren wasteland, with occasional patches of low prairie and sparse woods where rivers break up the blasted earth. Most agree that Charn was, at one point, a moderately forested nation, but the drive for industry and power that has posessed its leadership over the past five hundred years has driven the very land itself to exhaustion. Still, the land is dotted with cities that are themselves strung together either by well-worn roads or the iron lines of the Ghost Rail.
Though it is often said that there will be no peace in the world so long as Charn exists and that their alliances with the forces of evil and drive for terrible power will always make them a threat, none can deny that little has been heard from them since the end of the Crown Wars. As merchants and traders, as well as mercenaries, tinkers and other travellers, are allowed beyond the black walls of Charn, there are always rumors coming from the empire. Generally, though, they do not speak of an imminent threat, only that Vincenzo Rex and his right hand man, Imperator Prime of the Five Dragon Army, Royce Teras, are maintaining a stranglehold on the people of Charn. It is known that a great deal of their friendship with the Shadow Elves has been strained, given Macello's ousting of the Taara powerbase.
Despite all of this, Charn is still seen as the ultimate boogeyman by most of those in the western nations. Children think of it as a land of nightmares manifest and grown men speak of it with dread. Even the stout adventurers that populate lands such as Alexandros and Stormgarde talk of the days when Charn was a constant threat to all who follow the light and dread the return of those days. After all, they say, there is an old saw about a sleeping dragon and how it will always, eventually, wake.
Life and Society
While most of those who do not live in Charn are apt to assume that the daily life of the average Charnese citizen involves either crushing innocents and living large off of the suffering of the masses or being one of the suffering masses and the crushed innocents, the fact of the matter is that in cities, villages and townships throughout most of the countryside, the people live as people everywhere live. The commonfolk toil and scrape by. Taxes in Charn may be somewhat higher than they are elsewhere and the penalty for failure to pay may be steeper, slavery is certainly a fact of life that everyone accepts and the presence of monstrous races is always something one must deal with, but in the end people do as people must and make do.
Life for the common freeman in Charn is, if nothing else, orderly. The government and the military are everpresent and there is no ignoring either. On the one hand, this means that every citizen of the Empire lives under the constant shadow of their Tyrant, but it also means that they live under his vigilance. Thanks to the acceptance of monstrous races by the people of Charn, random attacks on villages and acts of savagery are actually far less likely within the black walls than in most civilized nations without. Most live a meager existence, but feel safe that said existence goes on.
People, Culture, Traditions
Charn, like Myrddion, is an ancient civilization whose roots can be traced back to the Eldanar and the Summer Kings. Its nobility are, for the most part, the descendents of those high men, themselves the highborn. Even the smallest speck of a village is most likely ruled over and, generally, protected by a magistrate in the form of a highborn baron or lowlord.
As well, artifice has long been a part of the life of Charnese citizens. While Charn cannot boast the elegance of art that Gustav can, they have a strength of industry that goes unmatched by any in the western nations. Many an independant artificer, separate from the guilds and unions that congregate in the larger cities, has advanced the cause of his own family by pushing the bounds of what artifice can do beyond anything that would be accepted beyond the black walls. Necrotech is not unheard of and many wealthy families that fall short of noble blood may have technological revenants for house servants as opposed to slaves or paid attendants.
Similarly, magic is quite common even among the lowborn, though it is often kept to close to ones belt. While it is not illegal for one to practice low wizardry, thaumaturgy and the practical magics, none would wish to be thought of as using illegal sorcery. Throughout the vast majority of the nation over the past several years, what is called 'internal magic', 'wild magic' or 'sorcery', unstudied magery, has been widely deemed illegal. Those who may manifest sorcerous powers are deemed in violation of the law, a law whose penalty carries the weight of death or slavery, depending entirely on the age of the subject. The younger the sorcerer is when found, the more likely it is he or she will be conscripted into slavery and trained at one of many Red Dragon facilities created specifically for the indoctrination of these individuals. There they will become specialized and when they emerge, they will either be weapons, hounds at the beck and call of the Red Dragon Army, or sold off as personal slaves to the richest of noble houses or trade guilds. To have one of these slaves carries with it considerable prestige and no small amount of risk. Misuse or even the suspicion of misuse of these slaves can lead to a quick and unseemly death for the unfortunate slaveowner.
Government
These days, Charn is a military-backed tyranny. Under Vincenzo Rex, the Tyrannus Maximus of Charn are the highest general of the Five Dragon Army, Imperator Primus Royce Teras, as well as his domestic advisors, informally called the Council of Ministers. Whereas the Imperator Primus is the supreme commander of the five branches of the Five Dragon Army, each minister has his or her own area of expertise on which he offers the Tyrant his or her advice.
The Tyrant himself is seen as more than a mere head of state, but as representative of the Tyranny itself. Every magistrate answers to a governer and those governers answer to the three imperial rectors who themselves report to the Tyrant. Still, everyone within the system and those outside of (and as such beneath) it are indoctrinated to see the Tyrant as the step immediately above the person immediately above them. While there is a complex bureaucracy that runs the empire, it is invisible to most of those who are not directly involved in it.
Additionally, the noble houses have their own unique power structure. Primarily determined by age of house, strength of blood, service to the military, wealth and favor of the Tyrant, the power of a house can wax and wane considerably from one generation to the next. Now that the Tyrant is in firm control of the empire and the primary reason for unity in ousting those loyal to the Taaran temple is gone, a considerable struggle has developed between the noble houses for power and favor. While titles such as lord, baron and even duke still exist, they are, for the most part, relics of a bygone era and generally only trotted out to impress those for whom the titles are presented. There is respect for a title, but as Charn has no monarchy, the titles themselves give little in the way of intrinsic power. Still, influential government offices are often given to those whose families' political power is strong, while those who are on the outs may find themselves and their family given poor positions or none at all.
The military itself is a considerable political entity in Charn. Though they do not have the right to tax or enforce law and are sustained entirely by the bureaucracy of Charn, the military is an everpresent power that no commoner, nor noble, dare ignore. It is well known that the Imperator Primus of the Five Dragon Army, Royce Teras, was one of Vincenzo Rex's strongest supporters during the uprising and is now the Tyrant's first among advisors and allies. This, as well as the Tyrant's own military roots, gives the desires of the army considerable sway when it comes to policy decisions. While few nobles would brook insolence from a soldier or even an officer of the Five Dragon Army, no noble is fool enough to think that his ambitions are more important than that of the army.
Most of those in Arcania, when they think of Charn's military, immediately think of the Black Dragon Army. For many hundreds of years, the Black Dragon Army has been the standard bearer for Charn and its military conquests. To those westerners, the Charnese army and the Black Dragon Army are one in the same. This could not be further from the truth. There are five divisions of the army, each connected to the other by yet another web of bureaucracy which helps to determine what rank in which tops what rank in what. Each division is its own individual power, though all are governed by their high generals, the Imperators of the Five Dragon Army, and the first general, Royce Teras, as well as the Tyrant himself. The five divisions have their own complimentary specialties, with the Black Dragon Army being that which is first in the field, last to leave and most likely to be engaged by an enemy. The other four exist, primarily, to support and advance the work of the Black Dragon Army.
The Red Dragon Army is an organization of wizards adept at destruction, battle and conquest. Also given commission within the Red Dragon Army are the gladia of the Maugrimite Orthodoxy, battle priests who are part of the Orthodoxy, but serve as soldiers and officers within the Five Dragon Army. The Blue Dragon Army is primarily non-combatant technologists and machinery support, as well as tender units and field support. The Green Dragon Army is Charn's naval power. Few even know they exist if for no other reason than Charn has never openly boasted a great maritime strength, though they also encompass the bulk of Charn's air power, a very real strength whose power many witnessed in the Crown Wars. Finally, the White Dragon Army are scoffed at by most members of the other four divisions, as they are an entirely non-combatant support and clerical division. They make the rest of the armies work the way they are supposed to work, though it's often assumed that their primary duties are laundry, cooking and balancing numbers, they also make certain every Black Dragon soldier has the weapons and training he needs to fight, every Blue Dragon technologist has the tools he needs to make war and so on and so forth.
Religion
The primary religion of Charn is, of course, the Orthodox Church of Maugrim (often referred to as the Maugrim Orthodoxy or the Maugrimites) which is an enormous mechanism of faith with just as much discipline and expectation of order as the government and the military. As much or more. The head of the church is often called by many Arcanians the Chosen of Maugrim, though his proper title is the Pontifex Maximus of the Maugrimite Orthodoxy, Patrician of Conquera and Vicar of Abys'sa. The third title has very little modern meaning and most assume that it refers to some honorary granted in the ancient past. Within the structure of the church, and in most circles without, the word of the Pontifex Maximus is absolute law. Daraeon Teras, the current Pontifex Maximus, has close ties to both the Imperator Primus of the Five Dragon Army (they are, in fact, brothers) and the Tyrant, having been among the greatest supporters of change.
Though very few in the church are also members of the structure of Charnese government, their influence is absolutely undeniable. The Tyrant pays as much attention to the advice of the Pontifex Maximus as he would any member of his council of ministers. There is no doubting that the word of Maugrim holds as much place in the hearts of the smallfolk, much less the military, as the power of the Tyrant. As such, the Pontifex Maximus often treats with the Tyrant as an equal, though he is never so foolish as to take his role for granted. After all, despite being Chosen, more than one temple head has found himself dead at the hands of his successor.
Beneath the Pontifex is a structure with a complexity that dwarfs even the government. The Pontifex Maximus lords over the church with the assistance of his collegium of pontifices, the nine highest clerics of Maugrim in the church proper. Each of these clerics has his own position, title and responsibility. There are the three flamens, each of which represents a specific aspect of Maugrim. The Flamens Draconis is representative of the fivefold dragon. The Flamens Tyrannus is representative of Maugrim the ruler. The Flamens Ferrous is representative of Maugrim the final judge. There are then the consuls, the clerics who individually lead the three most important arms of the church. The Legate, who is master of Ordo Praetor, the church's military arm. The Auspex, master of Ordo Augur, the church's seers and scholars. The Lictor, master of Ordo Prefect, the stewards of the church. Finally there are the Censor, Maugrim's master of the coin, the Quaestor, Maugrim's master of buildings and the Filius Sacrorum, who is a cleric of Kosomoth sent by that temple. Given the nature of the temple of Kosomoth, the Filius Sacrorum is often the Chosen of Kosomoth.
Beneath the above is a large number of countless vicars, patricians, patrons, pila, gladia and ignae. Each serves the various arms of the church in their own way. It is all very complicated and a new acolyte can spend years before he realizes just who he answers to. Or at least, who he should answer to the fastest. Of important note is the fact that the Orthodoxy is quite sexist. No women can join any arm of the church other than Ordo Prefect, and even there no woman can ever rise above the position of ignae, a fairly low attendant within an individual church's structure.
Second in power to the Maugrim Orthodoxy is the Order of Thul, often called the temple of Thul or the church of Mundus Thul. Unlike the Maugrimite Orthodoxy, and in fact contrary to its name, the Order of Thul is primarily the Chosen of Thul, Eurid Barntos, and a mass of his followers. The church is made up of necromancers, death priests, intelligent undead of all stripes. In fact, a surprisingly small percentage of the Order are actually clerics. Unlike the Orthodoxy, the Order welcomes acolytes of death whose talents lie outside the realm of the divine. Whereas the Orthodoxy has the hearts and respect of the masses, the Order of Thul has its fear. More than once, magistrates have had to step in and politely ask members of the Order to stop terrorizing their citizens, as Thul teaches far less in the way of respect for law and order than does Maugrim.
Considerably lower on the spiritual food chain is the rabble that call themselves the fellowship of Kosomoth. There is very little structure other than who preaches and who does not. In fact, for the most part, it comes down to might makes right. There is a chosen of Kosomoth, but generally he will end up as a member of the Maurimite Orthodoxy, if only due to fear for his life or a desire for some greater purpose. It is possible that there was once a greater structure to the fellowship of Kosomoth when the temple of Taara carried greater sway in Charn, though it is doubtful that it was anything more than organization put into place by the Taarans to make it easier to manipulate the fellowship.
The one notable exception to the lack of organization in the fellowship of Kosomoth are the Janissaries of Kosomoth. These dreaded warriors, who dedicate their body, life and soul to the will of Kosomoth, have not actually been heard from except in rumor in over fifty years. However, just the whisper of their continued existence is enough to make the blood of any who have heard the stories of their terrible and deadly efficiency run quite cold. It is unknown who exactly it is who trains these soldiers, but it is certain that they cannot be associated with the mostly mindless thugs that make up the fellowship. What is known is that the Janissaries are exclusively made up of the children of conquered nations. Their parents are killed and the children are trained using methods that rob them of idenity and individual desires, leaving only a compulsion for following orders and a longing to die for Kosomoth. When seen on the field of battle, their swordsmanship is without equal and their tactics are without peer. The stories told of them border on mythological. It is a very good thing that they appear to no longer be a factor on the modern battlefield.
Finally there is the remnants of the temple of Taara. Mostly, these followers are fringe elements. There are no longer any official temples to Taara in the capital city of Conquera, though some smaller settlements may still have a building dedicated to the dark mother. The primary concentration of Taaran worshippers are to be found among the shadow elves in the Hexenvald, the dark woods along the southwestern border of Charn. There remains a matriarchy and an underground temple structure that still worships Taara. Though the government of Charn has an alliance with these shadowed elves, their faith has little to no influence of the working of Charn, a fact that has somewhat soured relations between the two.
Sites and Settlements
Despite the fact that the greater part of it is wasteland, Charn is still a vast land with as much area as any other nation with the possible exception of Dran. In addition, no other nation encompasses quite so many land types. Charn has mountains, forests, coasts, lowlands and marshlands. Criss-crossing it all is the great web of iron called the Ghost Rail. As such, the people of Charn have triumphed over the inhospitability of most of the land and made their homes wherever they could. The landscape is dotted with hamlets and villages, townships and cities. The most important features of the Charnese landscape follow.
Wandbohrung - The primary stop most people will pass through when going from the world that is outside of Charn and that which lies inside its walls. Wandbohrung is a bustling trading down whose population is varied enough that it defies all expectations of a Charnese city. As the easiest stop from the outside world, it is also the site of a rather large Five Dragon military base. At any given time, a quarter of the city's population is army personnel and another quarter are likely traders, mercenaries or adventurers. Passing through from the Desolation to Charn requires passing through a customs house, where taxes are determined, as well as an inspection by the army officials present, however it is not nearly as invasive as most expect.
Conquera - Mobile capital of Charn. Conquera is a floating chunk of rock roughly four miles by six miles and nearly a mile and a half deep. Conquera is home to the heads of the Maugrimite and Thulian faiths, as well as the supreme headquarters of the Five Dragon Army and the Tyrant himself. Far more information on Conquera can be found in its own entry.
The Shipyards - On the western coast of Charn lie the shipyards. A facility so vast that two cities have actually sprung up around it, Shipton and Shipcity, the first north of the second. In each if you do not work at the shipyards, your neighbor does and you work for a business that sells to the people who work at the shipyards. The shipyards themself are where the Green and Blue Dragon Armies have their individual headquarters, as it is where both sea and airships are built. Both Shipton and Shipcity boast lazy ports where trade comes in from the settlements on the south of Jammur, as well as the lands beyond the eastern seas.
Hexenvald - The Witch Wood, the Dark Forest and many other names. Two separate groups can be found in the Hexenvald. The shadow elves, who have an impressive underground commuity, have their hidden altars to Taara in the very depths of the wood. Any alliances they have given with the Charnese are null when a man steps into the woods without permission. In addition to the elves, further south along the coast, is a mixed group of halflings and goblins and something in between. No one treats with them. Not even the elves. They have lived in the woods as long as there have been woods. They do not leave and all attempts at communicating with them have lead to full bellies on the part of the natives.
Lake Hali - Six months out of any year, Conquera can be found floating over the black shores of Lake Hali. It is said that one time, in times long past, there was a city where the black waters now sit, unmoving. If there was, none are particularly willing to go and check. The lake sits in an enormous crater surrounded by the great black peaks known as the Teeth of Caracoroth. Beyond these peaks on every side lie the badlands known as the Blasted Waste. Though the waters of Lake Hali are utterly still, the lake itself is anything but dead. It is said that the waters go down to depths far greater than they should and that there are things to be found there that rival the terrors to be found in the deepest caves in any other part of the world. All that is certain is that all attempts at plumbing the lake have resulted only in missing explorers.
The Blasted Waste - Whatever was done in Charn to lead to the desolated quality of most of its landscape, its epicenter seems to be Lake Hali and the blasted wasteland that is found for a hundred leagues around it. The land gives forth no sign of life. There is no shade to be found. Passage through the Blasted Waste is an unrelenting experience that quickly wears away at the mind of anyone going through. Those that try alone tend to kill themselves. Those that try with friends tend to kill them.