-Nate
A
History and Geography of Homeworld
Refer to the map above for the following location
descriptions.
The Northern Empire
For many years the lands to the north of the Middle Sea
were ruled by numerous kings, princes and dukes, all vying to expand
their own holdings and enlarge their groups of loyalists. That
gradually came to an end when a single figure—the first Sun King,
believed to be the offspring of the god Sol and a mortal mother—began
to rally the lesser rulers around him, bringing enlightenment and
acting as a spiritual leader and moral compass for them. That was
Edmund I, the Light-Bringer, and the founder of the House of Helios.
For the most part, life in the Northern Empire under King Edmund and
his descendants has been a time of peace and plenty, with the
cessation of hostilities providing a chance for agriculture as well
as the arts to flourish.
One exception to this general rule is that life has
been harder for non-humans in the lands surrounding the Middle Sea.
This is because some of the more closed-minded followers of Sol claim
that, that God chose to sire a child by a human woman, that humans
must be closest to the deity in their nature. In some places that has
led to intolerance, and even persecution. That, combined with the
fact that human enterprise is letting them explore and exploit the
previously wild parts of the world, has led many elves and dwarves
to leave Homeworld behind—the prior going to Starfort Station or
venturing beyond the reaches of the Sol System, and the latter
finding a home and considerable business in the Asteroid Belt.
Free Cities of the South
As a counterpoint to the widespread worship of Sol is
the rise of Ptah's priesthood. Instead of a whole pantheon of
deities, this faith maintains that a single deity, the All-Knowing,
is the mind behind the creation of the universe, and that natural
forces put in place by that deity gave rise to the world as it is, in
accordance with Ptah's plan. While this set of beliefs also had broad
appeal among the masses, it clashed with the Church of Sol and thus
found little sympathy from those clerics. This led to verbal and then
physical conflict, putting the new faith in danger.
The Church of Ptah was saved, however, by its appeal
among the sailors who lived in small enclaves along the southern
shore of the Middle Sea. Those corsairs gave refuge to clerics of
Ptah who were fleeing persecution, providing food and shelter and
even doing battle against the followers of Sol. Eventually this led
the cleric Imhotep to establish the center of his church there. While
not so organized nor as individually powerful as the Northern Empire,
together they are a force with which to reckon.
The Barbarian Lands and Eastern Kingdoms
To the east of the Middle Sea lies a broad expanse of
terrain dominated by hills and steppes. This area is the domain of
the Golden Horde, a loose confederation of clans led by Timur the
Khan. They are nomadic bands who live by horse-mounted hunting, along
with some limited agriculture. Of late they have also profited from
raids on more civilized lands. Although these have occurred only on a
small scale so far, certain military-minded leaders in the Northern
Empire have argued that some kind of concerted action is needed to
“tame the infidels.” The barbarians practice ancestor worship,
revering the spirits of those who have led them in the past and
striving to be worthy of a place in the afterlife with their vaunted
dead.
Beyond those lands, far to the east lie a trio of
civilized, relatively advanced states known as the Three Kingdoms.
The inhabitants of these realms generally live at peace with each
other, working together to defend against the Golden Horde, but there
are occasional exceptions. Instead of venerating specific deities,
these people believe in a philosophy that they call Dualism.
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