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Birthright Mhoried
Introduction | The Realm of Mhoried | Torien's Watch | Clans | Creating a Character | Characters | World Lore of Cerilia | Story Log of Game Play
Information about the world of Cerilia that is common knowledge.
The continent of Cerilia is the chosen land of the Humans who fled the darkness of Aduria. There was once a land bridge between Cerilia and Adoria, but it sank after the Battle of Diesmaar.
Deismaar was a mountain on the land bridge between Aduria and Cerilia. It was the scene of an epic battle between the forces of good and evil when the dark forces of Adurian tyranny tried to extend their power to Cerilia, led by their dark God Azrai. They were opposed by the champions of the forces of Good, lead by the rest of the old Gods. All races and tribes were divided in this battle. The forces of good were victorious, but the battle broke the mountain of Deismaar and it sank, taking with it the land bridge from Anduria. The lands of Cerilia were saved from domination by Aduria, but the old Gods were spent, and new Gods rose in their place.
A frightening place said to exist in parallel with our world, where evil creatures and spirits of the dead dwell. It is said at certain times of the year and in certain places, the Shadow World comes close to our world, at which time ghosts and spirits come to plague the living.
Humans are divided into five different cultures in Cerilia. Each culture has its own language, although Anuirean is a common language that most can speak when necessary, apart from the Vos, partly due to occupation by the Anuireans and partly as it’s a convenient common language for trade and diplomacy.
Descendants of the Andu tribe who came to Cerilia long ago. Their lands are mostly in the south east of Cerilia. Their leader at the Battle of Deismaar, Haelyn, rose to become a God, and his brother Roele became Emperor of the Anuireans. At its peak, the Anuirean Empire spanned much of Cerilia, including the lands of Rjuirik, the Brechtur and the Khinasi. Now the Anuirean lands cover the south east part of Cerilia. The last Emperor, Michael Roele, was killed by the Gorgan (a Blood Enemy) 100 years ago and the Iron Throne has stood empty ever since. The former Arch Dukes and High Lords of Anuire have fought several wars since over the succession, but none have proven strong enough to seize the Throne yet.
Anuirean culture, language and appearance is akin to English and French culture in medieval Europe.
The Rjurik inhabit the north western cold region of Cerilia. Gruff and serious some times, but love to eat, drink and celebrate in their long halls before the fire.
They have a strong warrior culture and can be seen as warlike, but they are also loyal friends and more civilised than they are given credit for.
Rjurik culture, language and appearance is akin to Viking and generally Scandanavian culture in medieval Europe.
The Brecht inhabit the central north lands of Cerila, especially around the Great Bay. They are sailors and traders of great renown.
Not hard fighters but resilient and can talk you into submission.
Brecht, language culture and appearance is akin to Dutch and German culture in medieval Europe, with some renaissance Italy thrown in.
The Khinasi inhabit the warm, sandy south-central and western regions of Cerilia. Darker skinned riders and wanders, they also built many magnificent cities and admire intelligence, art and magical skill more than most cultures.
A proud and independent people, former referred to as the Basarji, they were invaded by the Anuireans. A great leader called el-Arrasi drove back the Anurieans and liberated his people.
Khinasi is short for "khir-aften-el-Arrasi" - "Lands under the protection of el-Arrasi"."
Khinasi culture, language and appearance is akin to Arabic, Persian, Turkish and generally Middle-Eastern culture.
The Vos are grim inhabitants of the cold, north eastern region of Cerilia, referred to as Vosgaard. Bearded and harsh, they are rumoured to kill children and drink their blood.
The only tribe to defeat the forces of the Anuirean Empire and not fall under occupation.
Vosian culture, language and appearance is akin to Russian and generally Slavic culture in medieval Europe.
Before the Humans came to Cerilia, other races dwelt there. There were many wars and the humans have taken over the continent, driving the indigenous populations into the small remaining enclaves and strongholds.
Ancient, immortal, very different to Humans. They generally do not like humans and the Wild Hunt of the Elves seeks out and kills humans in elven lands and beyond. Some elves do live with humans but rarely, and humans are rarely welcome in elven lands.
Dwarves harbour the same grudges against human as elves, but generally do not let that get in the way of trade and making alliances. There are some dwarvan kingdoms, mostly in the mountains near the Gorgon’s lands. Some are puppet realms of the Gorgon, others oppose him, but some believe all Dwarves are openly or secretly in league with the Gorgon.
Goblins are small, sly and deceitful. Orogs are large and have low intelligence. Both tends to fall into banditry very easily and there are few places where they are organized, except for the one goblin kingdom. Humans tends to dismiss these creatures as “evil” but that not always true.
There are no orcs in Cerilia.
At the Battle of Deismaar, the old Gods died, laying down their power to defeat the evil God Azrai. Many mortal survivors absorbed their power, a few of whom rose to become new Gods. Many others inherited lesser powers and abilities, which they pass down to their children through their bloodlines.
Later, some of those Gods had children, giving birth to new Gods.
Also born at the Battle of Diesmaar were the new gods, who took the majority of the power of the Old Gods.
Goddess of the Sun. Lady of Reason. Magic. Matron of the Khinasi.
Prince of Terror. Lord of Strife. Warrior King of the Vos.
Stormlord. God of Battles. Haelyn’s Champion.
Goddess of Night. Sister of Thieves.
Old Father of the Forest. Druids. Patron of the Rjurik.
Noble Warrior. Lawmaker. Patron of the Anuireans.
The Ice Lady. The Winter Witch. Guardian of the Vos.
God of Fire. Beauty. Art.
Goddess of the Sea. Lady of Mourning. Wife of Haelyn.
The Mood God. The Silver Prince. Intuition. God of Magic.
Lady of Fortune. Goddess of Wealth. Patron of the Brechtur.
It was not only the new Gods who absorbed power from the Old Gods. Those mortals who survived the Battle of Diesmaar discovered that they had gains special powers and abilities. The exact nature of them varied, partly on the person and partly on the God from whom the power came.
The “Blooded”, those with some sort of blood powers, means they have ancesters who were at the Battle of Deismaar. Bloodlines can be weak or strong. The most powerful usually rise to be leaders and rulers, or powerful wizards and priests.
Blood abilities can vary but they have been known to increase mental and physical attributes, read minds, heal wounds, kill animals or wither crops.
Only the Blooded can use Arcane or Divine magic successfully. There is a specific ability required to be able to weave powerful spells of any kind.
It is also said that it is possible to "steal" a small amount of the blood power of another blooded person by killing them.
There is even said to be a special metal, that the Elves named Tighmaevril, which can increase the amount of power stolen on death if a weapon of that metal is used to kill a blooded person. Such weapons are rare and valuable.
Those whose blood powers came from the old evil God Azrai usually find their bodies deform into monsterous creatures. These creatures are very powerful and some of the rule lands in Cerilia. They are a constant thorn in the side of civilisation.
The most powerful and well known of the Awnsheylin is the Gorgon, who rules a large Empire of several former Kingdoms around the Stone Crown mountains, north of the Chimaeron. The Gorgon was the (bastard) brother of Haelyn and Roele and he killed the last Anuirean Emperor over 200 years ago. He is said to be seven feet tall, with horns and cloven feet, and can turn men into stone with his eyes.
A lesser Awnsheylin who rules the Chimaeron. She is some sort of hybrid of human and animal. She is also said to be mad.
A mindless monster that inhabits the swamps east of the Chimaeron and is rumoured to have many heads.
A lion with the head of a man, the Sphinx rules a desert Kingdom east of the Chimaeron, in central Khinasi. It is said he is extremely intelligent but ruthless, treats his people badly and his lands are the least fertile in all of Khinasi. Despite that, his Kingdom continues to grow.
A lesser Awnsheylin who rules a small land on the other side of Rohrmarch. It is said he drinks blood and his lands are always shrouded in mists.
An Awnsheylin who rules the Isles of the Harpy, a small chain of islands many miles south east of Chimaeron. She is said to be a winged woman who sings magical songs and seems less aggressive than most Awnsheylin.
A huge human / spider who rules a large wood west of the Chimaeron - the Spiderfell - in the centre of the Anuirean lands. It takes a strong Awnsheylin to survive for so long in the centre of the powerful Anuirean empire and few underestimate the Spider.
Cerilia is a magical place and it is said power lies in the land itself. There are those who can wield that power in many forms. The two main types are Wizards - Arcane Magic user and Priests - Divine Magic users.
Wizards can use their blood ablities to create magical effects. Some are fakers, some can use more simple magic that works on an individual basis. A few, rare and power individuals, are able to wield Realm Magic.
Magic lies in the land and Realm Wizards are able to manipulate and control that power to create powerful magics that affect wide areas. They vie with other Realm Wizards for control of magical "sources" and there is believed to be a Secret Magic War fought between them, that few are even aware of.
Churchmen are mostly there to represent the church, teach and help people. Few have real magical powers, though they generally are skilled in healing and medicine. Divine Magic is generally considered to be of less power than Arcane Magic, but only Priests are able to heal and cure.
Some have been known to have shown gifts from the Gods. Others have wielded power through holy relics, which are much fought over. The power of an individual appears to be more linked to their blood strength and the power of their faith, rather than which God they actually follow.
The followers of the various Gods strive with each other for influence over the people. (This is represented in the game by Temple Holdings.)
The Churches of each God are also splintered into denominations that vie to be seen as the "true" Church of that God. The Church of Haelyn, for example, is splintered into several different denominations. The Northern Imperial Temple of Haelyn, the Western Imperial Temple of Haelyn and the Orthodox Imperial Temple of Haelyn are the biggest groups but there are more.
The various followers of the God of Goodness and Justice have been known to kill each other in their fight over who are the “real” followers of Haelyn.
