Southern Nation

"Ridding of terrors in the dark is our business, and business is booming." -

 

Abstract: Fancy suits, dresses, and top hat wearing vampire hunters, witches, and everything else occult-focused put into one nation. One of the only Nations where religious practice is prominent.

 

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

  The land that makes up the Southern Nation is a mixture of harsh environments. From tropical rainforests with flesh-eating bugs to quicksand laden deserts, the only thing that could make it worse would be large rampaging abominations; unfortunately they have no shortage of monsters.   Where as Northern is covered in magical fountains of power, Southern is dotted in Convergence Zones that connect to Far Side. However unlike most portals to Far Side, these tend to appear and disappear at random and are not always directly connected to Far Side proper. These zones, when they appear, can connect to places far below Vigil's surface and almost always bring with them horrific beasts that tear through the lands and garner attention from the various Hunter Guilds across Southern.   Rumors speculate that some Convergence Zones might not even connect to Vigil but instead to its twin, Wake. That perhaps Wake has no civilization like Far Side and that it instead hosts horrors beyond current understanding.  

Hunter Guilds

  The Hunter Guilds are found all across Southern Nation, typically one per town. These are the focal points for many of the adventurers across the nation as up-to-date information on bounties, hunts, and more can all be found at them.   While most are independent, there are a few larger chains of Hunter Guilds with multiple buildings across the nation. For these you are required to join that guild, and those that do typically work for that guild alone. These chains all have their headquarters in the capital city, Paradigm, and are the following:   1. Cryptis   2. Bane   3. Zeraful   4. Eclipse   Typically you don't need to pledge yourself to an independent hunter's guild, but many do offer reward tracks, punch cards, or other benefits for sticking with them for long enough.  

Law and Order

  For the most part the Hunter Guilds take care of outlaws and other miscreants. However for the most heinous of criminals and protectors of castle and church alike only the strongest and most disciplined will do. For these tasks the Onyx Eye was formed.   The Onyx Eye are small in number and high in power. Typically you will only see one member of the group at a time, a single guard for any high ranking clergy or monarch, one to escort prominant relics back to the capital, one to entirely dismantle a cult base and rescue their captives. The members of the Onyx Eye all practice magic at a level that is seen to be on par with Chromatic Star astral souls, and perhaps ironically, almost all members possess a connection to a moon or black hole.   While the Onyx Eye takes care of tasks with solo operatives, sometimes they need to be in too many places at once and thereby have formed the Pearl Reach. The Pearl Reach is a large group of trainees, members, and experienced instructors that form an organized heirarchy of formiddable power and appearence. If Southern was to claim a military, the Pearl Reach would be it.   Southern lacks any true military force however as historically the geography of the nation has prevented any attacks. It was practically untouched during the Era of Unification, for those who dared brave the scorching deserts and life leeching rain forests were not to be seen again.    

Religion and Culture

 

Religion

  Southern stands out from the other nations due to it having a national religion, something all other nations lack. This religion, Solnosure, has a strong belief that Sol is a dormant or sleeping god and that it alone gave birth to all other stars and celestial bodies in the universe, and why that now all people, who at the end of the day are made of stardust, gain connections with the children of Sol. For all are under Sol's guiding grace.   Of course not everyone is a follower of this religion, just a majority are. With that said, almost all the chapels or churches that do exist in Southern all built in the name of Sol.  

Culture

  The more Southern changes, the more it stays the same. Plasmatech and the Plasmarail systems have rid of its isolation as a nation and introduced new music and styles to the nation, and still it hasn't adopted many. The nation's people have a tradition of witchcraft and belief, and with it comes a lack of desire to change as many see their traditional garb as holding a certain power.   Garb is inlaid with filigree silver, pins and medallions of cold iron, epaulets of gold and watches of brass. Blacks and whites for clothing as they represent a connection to the phases of the moon and are given more power because of it. Such is the general belief even if it isn't all true, but perhaps just enough of it is to make it worthwhile.   Top hats, veils, face masks, canes, and even powdered wigs are all in fashion here.