The Stonelands
The open expanse of cracked stone ground, adorned intermittently with half-dead grass, suggests a barren landscape devoid of all but the most resilient life. Throughout its history, the surface of the Stonelands has been a harsh place; a grim façade hiding a glowing heart. Beneath the surface, sprawling caverns and cave systems are filled with crystals, metal, and mineral. Underground river systems permit bioluminescent flora to blossom in a landscape devoid of all but the thinnest shreds of light. Amidst this hidden treasure, cities and cultures have risen, paying homage to death. For those who accept the inevitable cold embrace of death will be empowered by it.
Basic History
Era of The One. In the early years of history, the Stonelands were home two primary groups of people: the Angels (or Airborne) and the Earthen Dhara. In the East, the Earthen Dhara sequestered themselves underground, content to uncover and reap the benefits of vast caverns filled with spoils. Separated from the Earthen Dhara, the Eastern Airborne scavenged for resources in the northern mountains and across the surface in peace. Compared to the East, cavern systems in the West were truncated and their wealth far less abundant. The Earthen Dhara – those that did not settle in the riverbed – were forced to scavenge the surface… a task that was deadly for Angels here delighted in hunting and consuming them. Many died on necessary surface excursions and those that did were never found… and were never buried.
Rise of the Pantheons. The Creator arrived at a small underground village in the Western Stonelands. Unaffected by the veil of anguish there, The One bestowed a gift upon a grieving mother and traumatized wife. Tamasvi became a goddess of death, the physical embodiment of her people’s anger, wrath, and desire for vengeance. Tamasvi led her people on a March of Vengeance, attacking and slaughtering every single Angel that had preyed upon them. The March would have continued across the Eastern Stonelands had the Earthen Dhara in the East not interfered. In the aftermath, the Earthen Dhara of the East – now the Earthen Drow – opened pathways to the surface from their cities, establishing contact with the Earthen Dhara in the West and with the surviving Eastern Angels. Although the Stonelands were formally two regions, they were commonly regarded as one.
The First Singer, the First of Obsidian. While the Earthen Dhara were content with simpler lives, the Earthen Drow sought to amass greater wealth and power, emboldened by their time beneath the surface and by Malachor’s ascension. For all must pass through the Gates of Malachor… so why shouldn’t the Drow control the Gates? The Drow, however, were not united in this pursuit. Drow families were quick to turn on one another if it meant consolidating further resources and influence. Having watched the Earthen Drow abuse her wrath for more than vengeance – for their vain pursuit of power – Tamasvi established the Obsidian Company. Those who wished to invoke her divine retribution would have to prove they had no other desires. The Gravesingers were established shortly after. At first, they merely tended to her shrine and sung grave-touched lullabies to ensure Thana’s rest continued. Later, they would travel across the continent to ensure that the dead were rightfully honored and that desecrated sites were reconsecrated.
The Book of the Dead. In the Eastern Stonelands, four major cities amassed power, ruled by royal families of the same name: Mavkazan, Kerrym, Vrammyr, and Korvian. Of the four, Mal Korvian was the largest, most influential, and the site of the Temple of Malachor. The leaders of Mal Korvian sought a means to achieve undisputable victory over the other families… and turned to stories of old. Although the process of how they did so has been lost (or perhaps buried), it was Mal Korvian that created The Book of the Dead, a powerful tome that held the knowledge, pain, agony, and wrath of all the dead. Centuries after its founding, Mal Korvian seized control of the Obsidian Company. For 3 centuries, Mal Korvian ruled the Stonelands with a tyrannical fist. The ostracized families – Mavkazan, Vrammyr, and Kerrym – moved covertly in the shadows to beseech the Angels and Gravesingers for aid. The resulting conflict was bloody and resulted in the end of the Korvian line. The remaining families established a joint rule in Mal Korvian, making it the neutral Capital of the Stonelands.
Vast Interlude. The Book of the Dead was supposedly destroyed, but later emerged in historical records in the possession of Mal Mavkazan, then Vrammyr, then Kerrym… then Vrammyr again, and so on. No family achieved the power over Tamasvi that Tievel had or the power that Mal Korvian gained over the Obsidian Company. And so, the Earthen Drow continued to conspire and feud, obsessed with acquiring the perfect control over death and destruction. Meanwhile, the Earthen Dhara lived peaceful lives to the West and forged a relationship with the Eastern Angels, who suffered under Drow greed.
After the Barrier (0+ YAR). To the north, Dashi’Imon began his holy crusade, invading and conquering the nearby regions of Izarba Zoryon and Hindilyahni. When other nearby regions were threatened, including the mountainous expanse of the Stonelands primarily occupied by the Airborne, the Earthen Drow offered their aid in return for extensive concessions: land, tribute, and even subservience. While Malachor’s clergy had often intervened in the past to stop the worst of Drow power plays, the white robes had fallen oddly silent and offered no resistance to the cruelty of the royal families. While war brewed to the South and to the East, tensions further escalated between the royal families in Mal Korvian, as Mal Mavkazan and Mal Vrammyr sought to acquire the Book of the Dead from the clutches of Mal Kerrym.
As war raged across the continent, Thana’s rests became shorter and infrequent, while Tamasvi’s excursions across the continent – accompanied by her Obsidian Company – stretched longer. There were so many dead to bury. So many that she could not bury. Too many to avenge. Too many families ripped apart. Too many souls lingering at the site of their brutal murder, unable to find peace. Tamasvi’s anger boiled and rose, her vision red hot and distorted by destruction and violence.
Tamasvi’s Eternal March (~450-500 YAR). Near the end, Mal Mavkazan succeeded in prying the Book from Mal Kerrym’s clutches. As Malachor fell into lethargy and embraced a negligent slumber, his wards on the book faded. When the last Prince of Mal Mavkazan unlocked the Book’s secrets and seized control of the Obsidian Company, Tamasvi snapped. Everyone was an enemy. The weeds have spread everywhere. Tamasvi rampaged, slaughtering any that crossed her path. And when she reached the border of her domain and Malachor’s, the Death Scribe was not there to soothe her rage. And the miasma covered the Stonelands that day.
Politics
In the East, the strength and validity of one's standing was determined by which royal family had possession of the Book of the Dead. In general, Earthen Drow fell within four classes:- Royalty – Belonging to 1 of 3 royal families: Mal Mavkazan, Mal Vrammyr, or Mal Kerrym. Within each family, the Monarch ruled the family's respective city and the Prince represented the family's interest in the capital of Mal Korvian.
- Nobility – Vassal families pledged to the service of a royal family, often fulfilling roles in the military, trade, education, magic, and the clergy. Most saw their allegiances as... flexible.
- Earthen Mages – A class solely recognized for their skill and often the object of royal and noble squabbles. Each family wanted the best in their employ.
- Common Folk – Still often pledged (in some capacity) to a noble or royal house, they were often useful as spies. Others were smiths, craftspeople, or servants.
While the general hierarchy had nobles beneath royals, nobles in the service of the royal family in the possession of the Book, often achieved “royal-like privileges”. This shifting of power extended down the complete hierarchy, elevating some while downgrading others. This was most notable in Mal Korvian, where all 3 families had substantial influence. In the other major Drow cities, the hierarchy was far more stable.
By contrast, in the West, the Earthen Dhara had little political structure. Gravesingers and Earthen Mages were both honored and respected as important members of society. While they informally answered to the royal Drow families, shamans and local leaders held more obvious influence. The Airborne’s political structure was very flexible and was often the product of their relationship with the Earthen Drow at the time. If in conflict, their leadership was military oriented. If in peace, they often elected a council, elder, or even a soothsayer to foresee the Drow’s inevitable betrayal.
Economy
The Stonelands prioritized, and benefited from, a vast swath of underground resources. The Earthen Drow, in particular, benefitted from the export of crystals, metals, and various other minerals. Crystals and gems were harvested as for spellcasting, jewelry, and for raw export to other regions. Metals were sent unrefined to other lands, but refined and finished products, such as armor and weapons, were often retained within the Stonelands (though occasionally smuggled out). Restrictions on metals were laxer in the West, though the Earthen Dhara guarded another resource more fiercely: Obsidian. One large vein of Obsidian was used to produce the suits for the Obsidian Company.
Other notable exports included some underground agricultural products: unique flora that did not require light to grow in abundance. Earthen mages primarily worked in transportation and to build the underground cities of the Stonelands, but many traveled to other regions to provide expertise as architects. And, to no surprise, a land associated with death was rightly feared… for the Earthen Drow – the common folk most notably – sold their services as assassins and mercenaries. The Earthen Dhara, of course, offered their services as gravediggers, morticians, and Gravesingers.
People
Given the hostility of its surface, the Stonelands were never settled by other groups of people. Thus, the majority were Earthen Dhara, Earthen Drow, or Airborne. In the West, a small population of Keresello, lizardfolk, and half-races (most notably half-drow) resided along the river in small fishing villages and farming communities.
Religion and Culture
As the Stonelands were the domain of two Death spirits, general religious practice often centered around relinquishing one’s fear of death, tending to the dead, finding and guiding spirits to the Afterlife, and offering direct service to Thana or Malachor. During festivals and other religious ceremonies, it was common to paint one’s body and face with skeletal imagery. There were, of course, ample – mostly Earthen Drow – that considered murder to be an act of worship, invoking Tamasvi’s name. Many followers of Malachor and Tamasvi were feared as those beyond the Stonelands believed they could “unfairly tip the scales of death”. As such, many outsiders considered it an ill omen to travel through the Stonelands at night, when death crawled forth from the stone.
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Related Reports (Primary)
The Song of Obsidian
The most popular story about the rise of the Obsidian Company and the order of Gravesingers begins with an Earthen Drow, Tievel, who, embroiled in a conflict with another Drow family, found his brother murdered. So strong was his desire for vengeance that he traveled alone across the Stonelands to Thana’s Shrine. There, at the foot of a large stone bed, Tievel’s conviction woke Tamasvi for the first time in centuries. Upon his return East, Tievel’s vengeance was swift.But Tievel did not relinquish Tamasvi’s power. Death was a power to be embraced. Tamasvi’s power was an extension of Malachor’s will. Did he not have the divine right to level death upon those he so chose?
Sensing a surge in Tamasvi’s presence and fearing another March, an Angel dared to cross the border into the Western Stonelands for the first time in centuries. The Angel found a young Earthen Dhara woman, Shanti, and beseeched her to plead with her goddess. To lull her goddess back to slumber, to sing a song that would lull even vengeance back to its grave. Although apprehensive of the Angel’s intentions, Shanti made haste to the Shrine. Shanti alone sang for 10 days, cared for by the Angel. On the 10th day, a terrible earthquake spread across the Stonelands as Tamasvi’s vengeance struck back at Tievel for the abuse of her power.
Drawn back to her Shrine by Shanti’s voice, Tamasvi returned, dragging a bloodied Tievel. The goddess bound Tievel to obsidian, the first of her Obsidian Company. As the goddess sunk to her stone bed, Shanti’s breath weakened as death reached for her. The Angel beseeched Tamasvi for one final act… it was The Angel that implored Shanti. Let Shanti live. A life for a life.
Shanti arose alone in the Shrine, feathers scattered about the stone bed. In honor of the Angel that embraced death in her stead, she founded the Gravesingers. And under her guidance, Angels – Angels of Death – were welcomed into the service of the Shrine.
Shift in the Angels
Despite the blood-stained history, many Airborne from the East migrated West, settling near Thana’s Shrine or among villages scattered about the Western Stonelands. This migration was driven primarily by the souring relationship between Eastern Airborne groups and the Earthen Drow. Throughout the years, Earthen Drow formed alliances with Airborne only to betray them, enslave them, and slaughter them.The Gravesingers
With the support of Malachor’s Death Scribes (often called Pale Robes or Pale Ones after their white robes), the Gravesingers were established to oversee Thana’s resting place. Within the Shrine, Gravesingers often took vows of silence; the only exception being singing grave-touched lullabies, specific music crafted to lull vengeance to slumber. Their members often wore black robes with veils that obscured their faces. While relatively small in number, younger members often traveled to other areas of the continent to reconsecrate desecrated sites and to oversee the burial of the dead, particularly for those who had no one to bury them.The Obsidian Company
Bound to the cycle of Thana and Tamasvi, the Obsidian Company slept with Thana and rose to seek vengeance with Tamasvi. All members were bound and sealed within suits of Obsidian. Those that joined the Obsidian company were those who sought vengeance above all else; who were willing to give up everything for the vengeance they craved. Once their vengeance was achieved, they were bound to the Obsidian, nearly ceased to age, and spent the rest of their existence asleep with Thana and serving Tamasvi.
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