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The Empire of Einstrom
The Lands of Einstrom
Einstrom is a diverse land composed of four major kingdoms conquered during the Age of Long Shadows, the mysterious Central Territories, and the Nachtgarten Outpost across the Western Sea of Broken Sons. Each region is ruled by a representative monarch called a Regent. The Nachtgarten Outpost is overseen by a Colonial-Governor, and the Central Territories are overseen by an appointed Warden, all of whom give fealty to the Kaiser.
Event Dates
Vand, The Northern Expanse
Frigid and largely wilderness, Vand is a mountainous region famed for the quality of its horses, iron, and the clarity of its gems and spirits. Citizens of Vand are defined by both their ruggedness and zest for urban comforts. Stereotyped as loud and aggressively honest, people of Vand are often remarked upon as culturally backwards, the common folk being seen as rural bumpkins, and the nobility as greedy hedonists. This reputation isn’t helped by the notorious rebellious streak that is ever present in the North, with the treasonous “Sons of Vand'' rebellion having been put down a mere four years ago. The region is currently ruled by Regent Oksanna Volkslighter of the noble House Volkslighter.
Augusteingrad is the capital city of Vand, renamed in 1099E by King Rudolfi Gran in honor of his newborn son Augustein.
Gauerholtz, The Eastern Range
Composed of rolling hills and somewhat arable farmland, the Eastern Range is home to disciplined and orderly people who’re able to make the most out of their resource scarce land.
The military of the Eastern Range is considered the best in the world and were the last to join the Empire during the unification at the end of the Age of Long Shadows. Yet today, Gauerholtz is considered some of the strongest supporters of the Kaiser. For the Empire, the Eastern region holds a strategically important place in Einstrom, providing a coastal bulwark against potential invasion by Thuria across the Eastern Sea.
Though rarely attacking themselves, Thuria has long been suspected of providing funding and aid to the pirates who make frequent raids against villages along the coast. To that end, numerous forts, artillery batteries, and walls dot the seaside in order to provide deterrence against such threats.
The most notable feature of Gauerholtz is undoubtedly St. Bastion’s Watchtowers. A series of seven massive hexagonal pillars positioned along the coastline. The towers measure precisely four hundred meters tall and one hundred and fifty meters wide on each side. Each is composed of a pale brass color that defies rusting, and though not indestructible, most people cannot produce more than a scratch or slightest dent in the metal.
The exact function of the towers remains unknown with many scholars spending countless hours in observation and many a cleric in faithful contemplation.
Each year there is a pilgrimage performed by the faithful of St. Bastion to visit each one in sequence with a festival held over the course of fourteen days. This festival is called the “March of Stones," during which the pilgrims lay a stone at the base of each tower, thus symbolically adding their support to the great edifices. The current ruler of Gauerholtz is Regent-General Vanja Adelinaii of the ancient noble house Adelinaii. The ancient stone fortress of Morne serves as the capital city of Gauerholtz and is home to the Eastern Military command of the Empire.
Falx, The Southern Coasts
The jewel of the Empire, Falx, is renowned for its beauty and bounty. Stunning vistas, suitable land, and mild weather are all hallmarks of the Southern Coasts. Falx is a favorite spot for vacationing nobles, the climate and sea breeze considered to be exceptional for one’s health. The richest of these nobles maintain villas along the coasts and cliffs overlooking the Southern Sea.
Connoisseurs of fine food and drink agree that the South is the home of the culinary culture in Einstrom, fresh fruits and vegetables being common and easily available. The finest wine in the world comes from Falx, with fierce competitions between ancient vinting houses being a regular occurrence.
Falx is also home to the Undine Delta, the point in which the great Undine river breaks into the sea. This location is considered sacred to the Gannogari who maintain seasonal villages and shrine-flotillas along it as well as the Temple-City of Doshu. The Gannogari make a respectable living pearl-diving as well as catching the fish unique to the area. Relations between this culture and the Einstrad here are especially friendly.
Falx is currently ruled by Maximillian Halvander of the noble house Halvander.
The City of Falling Flowers is the capital city of Falx, the beauty of its clear water canals and hanging gardens are famed across the Empire.
Othune, The Western Track
It is often unsaid, but always understood, that the true seat of power in the Empire is undoubtedly Othune. The otherwise unremarkable region of sparse fields and pine wood valleys is home to the Capital City and the Imperial Palace of the Kaiser. It’s here that the House of Lords meets to make determinations concerning the laws and policies that govern the Empire.
The people of Othune (regardless of station) generally regard themselves as the most cosmopolitan of the regions, with the average citizen’s education level and literacy being markedly higher than in other places. Othune also prides itself on its industry and infrastructure, with productive factories, wide roads, and stable bridges being hallmarks of the region.
Othune is ruled by the Regent Greta von Gran of the Imperial House of Gran.
The capital city of Othune and the Empire is simply known as The Capital and is the largest metropolis and center of civilization in all of Midir.
The Central Territories
It is often said that there is no location in the world as remarked upon as the Central Territories. It is a place of profound religious importance and unending danger to the people of Einstrom. It was here, during the First Age of Dawn, that the Saints of Humanity clashed against the horrors from beyond the veil. It was here that Saint Bastion the Unbowed led his fellow Saints and their Army of Heroes beyond the pale and formed the Geistwald to protect against further invasion.
The Central Territories are divided into two areas by a series of massive adjoining walls, fortifications, and entrenchments called the "Liminal Wall," which surround and contain the Geistwald.
The area outside the wall is home to an orderly but dour and superstitious people. Both native and migrant populations of Horned Children are numerous in this area, many frequently making pilgrimages to the Geistwald in the name of their strange (nearly heretical) spiritual beliefs.
Though rare, it’s not unheard of for monstrosities to sneak past the Liminal Wall and cause untold death before being killed by an impromptu militia. This combined with the already dangerous fauna of the Central Territories has led to the locals being rightly paranoid and distrusting of outsiders.
The area within the wall is known as the Exalted Zone, an area where numerous battles of the Saint’s War took place, at the center of which is the Geistwald, a massive haunted forest filled with mad spirits, and horrors that were once men. Though the ways are unknown, it’s believed that these creatures make their way through cracks in a firmament between Einstrom and what is thought to be the Land of the Dead.
The Exalted Zone is also populated by camps of Jaegers, criminal-adventurers who’ve trespassed beyond the Liminal Wall to try and recover ancient artifacts of the past. Some are even bold enough to make incursions beyond the aether into the world unknown.
The current ruler of the Central Territories is Warden Antoinette de L’unimere of the ancient noble house L’unimere.
Umbral Crossing is the largest city of the Central Territories, largely transient and rundown, it is what passes for a capital there.
The Nachtgarten Outpost
Across the Western Sea of Broken Sons lies the Nachtgarten continent. Speculated to be much larger than Einstrom itself, the Nachtgarten is, for the most part, unexplored with only a small part of it settled along the coast.
Originally conceived as a penal colony, these plans were quickly abandoned as two facets of the land became clear. The Nachtgarten is home to a large amount of exotic resources, ranging from perfumed woods, lustrous minerals, and exotic animals (the Jadebone Tiger being oft sought for its exquisite pelt and near unbreakable fangs), which have encouraged the aristocracy to continually invest in expeditions for recovering these rare luxuries.
The other facet of the land complicates this matter immensely. The Nachtgarten is home to numerous and varied species of aggressive spiders. The breadth and versitude of these apex monsters is near unbelievable to mainlanders, with spiders ranging from lumbering behemoths who carry swarms on their backs, to near silent creeping spiders that imitate the movements of humans. There are also tiny spiders whose webs are sharper than razors and massive trapdoor spiders who decorate themselves with trophies. Although the non-spider animals of the Nachtgarten exist in a comfortable equilibrium with their arachnid neighbors, the spiders of the Nachtgarten have proven notably aggressive to humans and actively hunt them.
The current leader is Colonial-Governor Jonas Kirkwood, who has held the position for an unprecedented nine months.
The main settlement and Capital of the colony in the Nachtgarten is Hope’s Death Harbor. It is the port of call for ships arriving with immigrants and supplies. Though dreary and makeshift, the Harbor is the only reliable protection one can find on the continent, with sturdy walls of scavenged chiten held together with a mortar of webs.
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