OOC: The World of Arth
Arth is blatantly inspired by Dune from the Dune Series of sci-fi novels, the Dark Sun campaign setting (which its map has been wholesale stolen from), and various sword & sorcery heroic fantasy novels, Conan, etc.
That being said, much of the known world is, in essence, unknown. History has been lost, deliberately obfuscated. Reading and writing has been outlawed throughout much of the world. The gods, if they ever existed, pay no heed to Arth - their temples are long dead. All that most people know is the sorcerer-king or queen of their city is as close to a god as they deserve. It is only through their will that life continues, that the Dragon's apocalyptic fury was defeated.
The history of Tyr, where your merchant House does most of its business, is soaked in blood. Yet it is comparatively well documented.
Formed upon the defensive barrier of the Ringing Mountains in a semi-arable valley, Tyr has long been one of the oldest and wealthiest of the city-states. Centrally located, with access to both farmland, forest, and precious metals, Tyr has a beating heart of commerce and production. Were it not for its ruler, it might have been one of Arth's greatest cities.
The sorcerer-king of Tyr was known as Nergal the Cruelhearted who, perhaps moreso than all of the other rulers of the city-states, delighted in the enslavement of the weak and the subjugation of all free peoples.
Nergal's Templars, sentinels who serve the Sorcerer-Kings as law enforcement and priests of their temples, would routinely round up urchins, orphans, wastrels, debtors, criminals, prisoners-of-war, and others, throwing them into mass bloodsport in Tyr's huge colosseum, known as the Palace of Skulls.
King Nergal's rule extended for some 700 odd years, until a gladiator named Mul fomented a rebellion among the slaves of the city and personally slew Nergal in the Palace of Skulls during a highly anticipated bout.
Anarchy ruled in the city for five long years before various factions including the ancient nobility, merchant houses, sorcerous cabals, and freemen came together to form the Ruling Council in order to fight off the nearby city-state of Urik, led by the similarly named sorcerer-king. Urik has sensed Tyr's weakness and formed an army of men, beasts, trolls, and all manner of monsters to march on Tyr's walls.
It has been a prosperous, if uneasy, ten years since the free city of Tyr won its war against Urik. But an ancient conspiracy discovered in the desert by an upstart merchant house will change the course of the world forever.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:46, Fri 03 Feb 2023.
