Korvel

A land with no gods or magic Korvel is the furthest point still connected to Civilization. A points of light setting, settlements huddle together against the terrible creatures that walk the land. The inhabitants are descendants of the survivors of the Godswar with no Dragon Tyrants. Because of the lack of magic it is also a dumping ground for dangerous magical items, suppressing curses, and breaking Magical Contracts. Here territory and loyalty are garnered by the sword. Nomadic tribes and warlord led bands make their way across the High Plains, raiding and trading as they go. Deep jungles hide isolated civilizations of strange creatures. And all exist under the threat of the Soulmages who sacrifice people to fuel the only magic that works on the Sphere. And through it all, dinosaur megafauna fill the Sphere.

Regions

Pataxilhi Mountains

The Pataxilhi Mountains run north to south bordering High Plain, arching around the northern edge of the High Plain. To the east of the mountains is the Endless Sea and to the north is the Frozen Wastes. Holding seat of the Ixeltapi Empire and their Golden Paths, the most cohesive culture on Korvel, these remarkably steep mountains make the Ixeltapi cities unassailable strongholds.

Frozen Fiords

North West beyond the Pataxilhi Mountains are the Frozen Fiords. The people of these lands were isolated and disconnected from the rest of the Sphere until the Ixeltapi expanded westward. The deep nigh-impassible mountain ranges kept them isolated from the rest of the Sphere until recently.

High Plains

Dominating the Korvel continent, the High Planes hold the Golden Path to Duranti. Containing plains, scrublands, small deserts, and savanna biomes most societies are nomadic or semi-nomadic.

Southern Jungles

South of the High Plains the Southern Jungle lowlands hold many secrets. Difficult to pass and rife with terrible primitive monsters the jungles are dotted with insular civilizations with little contact with

History

End of the Godswar

With the Curse of Nullification suppressing all magic, no Dragon Tyrants established Tyrannies on it. As such most of the inhabitants of Korvel died in the Godswar and the survivors were left to pick up the pieces without magic. The harshness of the environment, wars between tribes for the limited resources, and the terrible danger from the natural world conspired to keep populations isolated and small.

Colonial Period

With the discovery of Korvel by the Duranti Empire during its Expansion Era trade and hunting outposts were created around the Golden Path The megafauna of Korvel made for valuable prizes both alive and dead in the Imperial Court. It became fashionable for young nobles to prove their prowess by going on safari to hunt the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Pteranodons, Megaraptors, and other megafauna. With expanded contact the nomadic tribes and warbands would trade and raid the Duranti Imperial trade posts.

Nexus Trade

As with the Imperial Court, the powerful of Nexus desired living and dead megafauna as trophies. Trade with the nomadic tribes expanded and with offsphere import the tribes were able to expand and carve out more territory. New grains and tubers allowed for more sedentary or semi-sedentary cultures. As well, immigrants from the Civilized Lands looking for a fresh start, away from their pasts and out of reach of magical tracking. Criminals fleeing prosecution, Indentures fleeing their magical bondage, and the those who made the wrong enemies all have found sanctuary away from magical eyes on the plains of Korval.

Government

There are three main types of government on Korvel, the most common and widespread is the Tribal Chief or Warband leader. In the Southern Jungles, Kings of city states rule over their people in a myriad ways with varying levels of oppression. And to the Priest King of the Ixeltapi rules with his dead ministry.

Ixeltapi Empire

The Ixeltapi are led by a Priest King who rules from the Golden Path in Kaywurkucha. The government is made up of a hierarchy of priests spread out below him in many levels. All leaders, both military and social, are subservient to the priesthood.

Jungle City States

Centered around monumental structures, the Jungle City States carve out isolated pockets of civilization. There is no consistency between governments of city states. Some kingdoms are led by Priest Kings, other kingdoms have a strict separation between leader and priestly castes, still others are led by warrior oligarchies. While there is limited trade between the jungle kingdoms along the waterways of the Southern Jungle, most trade is mediated through the High Plain as it brings in good from Nexus. Each city state has histories with their neighbors that go back centuries, full of slights, alliances, and warfare.

Religion

Reverence of the Thousand gods.

The Thousand Gods of the Ixeltapi pass their power through the priesthood. Unable to have their power channeled by the priest, each priest is trained to be a Soulmage, skilled in the extracting and channeling of souls for magical effect. They spend captured souls of sacrifices open a momentary channel to a god who lends the priest their power. They are simultaneously revered and feared by the populace who depend on them for access to the afterlife in Xibaukucha. They carry the word and power of the gods and honored dead that they commune with on the Grey Marches back to the living.

Totems

Without the protection of magic and beyond the reach of the gods, the people gather around totems that act as centers of their worship and refuges for the souls of their ancestors. Occasionally a particularly powerful ancestor is raised to a Spirit with limited influence on the immediate area, but all magic on Korval has a price, and that price is souls. Tribes take their totems with them as they travel. Capturing another tribe's totem provides dominion over them as they can hold the conquered tribe's ancestors hostage. Destroying one typically destroys the cohesion of a tribe or warband and they will scatter.

Even the kingdoms of the Southern Jungle will organize around a totem, though they tend to be sedentary monument builders who revere and protect their totem in massive earthworks. Some kingdoms are led by Priest Kings, other kingdoms have a strict separation between leader and priestly castes.