Aerakos

Aerakos
== Aerakos Air-uh-kos == is the name the humans give the land.

Brisa (bree-sah) is what the Ignea call the land.

name of the land in which the Ignea and that Humans live.

Cachet (Ka-Sha) the honor guard that protect the ruling class and the council members.

Roegg- name of the great natural divide between the humans

Devine- the higest ranking Government official in the Ignea culture. one who has seen Volanta.

Overview
Relatively isolated, Aerakos (or Brisa according to the Ignea) is a northern realm cut off by mountians to the south and seas surrounding it on all other sides. The Ignea are native, and lived happily, until the humans came. The humans pushed them out, they fled to the mountains and restarted their society with some help from Volanta.

First Era
The Ignea were the first intelligent race that existed in Aerakos. They evolved from the early swamps that existed there for centuries. Over time, they eventually became more and more intelligent. They began grouping together in packs, and forming small communities to help better survive against the harsh predatorial environment of the time.

As time went on, the world changed, and so did the climate. The area grew colder and colder. The humid swamps and bogs that once covered the region, eventually dried up and sank into the earth, leaving behind grassy plains. Many other swamps that didn’t completely die adapted to the colder climate and turned into deep forests. Very few swamps remained throughout the region. The Ignea, however, still wanted to live in these bogs, and began building communes within them.+

Migration of the Humans
After several thousand years, a mass influx of humans began to migrate up from below the mountain range. At first, they migrated slowly, but the Ignea were wary of what was to come. After a few years, the amount of humans increased entering the country increased steadily. Before too long, they began building villages and cultivating lands that were heavily inhabited by the Ignea.

Despite their lack of physical strength, the Ignea stood against the humans, sneaking into human villages that intruded on Ignea lands, and attacked them in the night. The humans grew angry and waged war against the Ignea. This was known as the Ground War.

The Ground War
The Ground War lasted for nearly a decade. The humans were very aggressive, actively attacking Ignea communes at any time during the day, even setting fire to the few remaining bogs that were left in the nation. The Ignea knew that they could not overpower the humans, as more and more of their land became lost. The humans eventually won over the war, and drove the Ignea from the main land into the harsh, desolate mountains that bordered the southern area of Aerakos.

Trek of the Ignea
The mountains were brutal. The deathly cold climate made it impossible to grow crops or build a comfortable society. As a result, the Ignea population fell as they failed to bare the mountains. However, when they were on the brink of extinction, the remaining packs traveled together to the peak of the highest mountain, Mt. Gradius. Once they reached the top, the goddess of Aerakos, Volanta, descended from the heavens down to them.

Intervention of Volanta
Volanta greeted them. Amazed, the remaining Ignea told her of the war that ravaged their people and the suffrage they faced living in the lower and middle regions of the mountains. Volanta told them of how she observed all of this from the skies above, and showed them sympathy. She told them that what had happened to them was unjust, and that they deserved to live peacefully, just like the humans.

Volanta was not one for directly interfering with the affairs of the mortals, but she felt that she had to help the Ignea. As a result, she decided to help the Ignea make a new civilization up in the mountains. She formed a forcefield of winds for miles around the highest altitudes of the mountains to keep the temperature sustainable. Within this forcefield, she changed the humidity to make it possible for the Ignea to grow food, and even hunt.

The Formation of Roegg of Ignea Religion
Volanta also felt that the Ignea didn’t have enough land. Combined with her current frustration with the humans, and her subtle bias of most of them being from Samottai, she made a decision. She spoke to the god of Ihlathi, Topak, who controlled the earth. She made an agreement with him. He had been asking her to help protect his nation from their harsh winters. She agreed, and in return asked him to create a massive earthquake that split her nation in two. Topak agreed, and the earthquake created a crater that rested right down the center of the entire nation. Needless to say, it completely sabotaged the humans and separated them into two groups. The Skogus and the Plainsthunder.

Volanta told the Ignea that they were free to populate the insides of the crater, and helped the ones that did so, move there. As a result of all of these favors, the Ignea became forever grateful and established a religion that devoutly worshipped her. The Ignea culture today still revolves around their devotion to their great goddess.

= Geography
In the north is the Chillbreeze tundra, a cold wasteland filled with snow and ice. If the cold doesn’t kill you, there are plenty of hungry predators happy to do it. It is a harsh land.

Further south is the great forest of Frostleaf. Home to the Skogus humans, expert hunters and trackers. Consisting mainly of evergreens that can take the cold winters, Frostleaf is a frigid but sturdy forest.

Even further south are the Plains of Cabaha. A wide expanse of empty land, mainly used for agriculture. Plainsthunder humans live in this vast stretch of flat land, farmers of grains and beasts alike. Dividing the two capitols is Roegg, a canyon. Inside the canyon, stone pillars rise like columns in a temple.

On the border of the red narrows is the daunting Skyreach moutnains, home of the Ignea and their goddess Volanta. Tipped with eternal snow, these mighty spears gaze over the northern reaches. They also border the Red Narrows, a vast desert. This is under the control of magic though, so is not important for this. Deep in the cores of the mountains, lizardmen dig and pull up metals precious minerals.

== Goddess=

Goddess: Volanta
Volanta is the goddess of air. She is actually composed of air. She is able to take the form of whatever she wishes. Volanta is known to turn into the wind as to be invisible when she travels around. She chooses to take the form of a beautiful, white haired woman as her default because she likes to look good. Nobody actually knows what her true form looks like. Volanta makes her home on the clouds that hover over the tallest mountain in Skyreach. She sits on her pillow of clouds and likes to peer out and see what is happening in her domain. She prefers not to directly interfere most of the time, and rather enjoys the entertainment of seeing what happens. One of the primary exceptions to this being her favoritism for the Ignea after the Ground War and her direct assistance in the recovery of their civilization. While she doesn't like to take sides on most issues, she can't help but express sympathy for the Ignea and feel less so for the humans that stole their land.

Attitude
She is very mellow and mostly enjoys sitting around in the sun and relaxing. However, when she is feeling bored she may take to the skies, flying around on a cloud. Many have seen her and most artist depictions of her tend to show her sitting atop a cloud. Volanta will also, rarely take the form of a mortal creature and play jokes on people to watch the chaos that occurs. But she never directly reveals herself to intervene in their affairs. She likes to just watch the goings on of the world below her. She believes herself to be above everyone else thusly choosing to not get involved with their dealings. She may occasionally nudge them in a certain direction by taking the form of a regular citizen, or even someone involved in the High Council. She also will play jokes, making advancements on men or causing a storm for the fun of it. To sneak into the High Council, she would often disguise herself as a beautiful townswoman who would wait for council members and seduce them for the night, then leave them unconscious for the next day, so she can take their likeness and sneak into Council meetings.

Relations with Other Gods
Within her role in the group of gods, she is the least interested in being involved. She agrees to observe and document the goings on around the world, and present them when she is asked. She tends to avoid contact with the other gods as much as possible, as she doesn't care for them that much. However, she is the most clever of all of them and has pulled pranks on them. They never find out that it was her. She intends to keep it that way. During the great war in her territory she decided to divide up the humans in half by creating a great natural divide between them.

Volanta did, however, have a romantic relationship with Shaktai, the god of Magic, and of the southern neighboring nation of Samottai. Volanta did not lack in physical lust, but it was rare for her to have any sort of romantic feelings, gods or otherwise. She felt above that sort of thing. Yet, she found herself drawn to Shaktai. His extreme interest the the fields of magic intrigued her. The two began a relationship. The two were very loving, and thus, their nations, while still separate were linked. Thus began the mass migration of humans to the northern nation of Aerakos. To this day, these two were the only beings that knew each others' true forms. All that is known about the end of their relationship is that Shaktai ended the relationship after he saw her true form. Volanta did not take kindly to this. In fact, it was one of the only ever times that she felt personally hurt. She has resented him ever since, and constantly sent winds down south of the Skyreach mountains to whip up sandstorms, solely for the purpose of disrupting Saktai and his people. After Saktai died, Volanta felt a pit of emptiness, but did not show it. While she still continues to send billows down to Samottai, he has done it significantly less since Saktai died.

Volanta keeps the winter winds at bay from Ihlathi, the earth region. In exchange, Topak, the earth god assisted in the earthquake that split her nation in two. Even still, she enjoys pranking the earth kingdom every now and then. Sometimes, she will temporarily let down her protection just to horrify the civilians, then bring it back again. She will also occasionally raise a massive funnel cloud mere feet above their capitol city before raising back up again.

== Ignea (Lizard People)= The Ignea evolved over many years into the people that they are today. Ignea- warrior monks who after suffering the loss of the Ground War fled up to the mountains in the mountains they discovered Iron and other precious metals that have helped them to rebuild and become stronger. After the skirmish the Ignea and humans have since been at an uneasy peace. While the Skyreach Ignea have little to no contact with the humans, the Rogge Ignea block the two human groups from interacting with each other, and allowing bridges only under the condition that the Ignea get some resources. Though these truces are shaky at best.

They have since become deeply religious of the Goddess Volanta who saved them and gave them a new place to live. They believe that Volanta gave them swiftness and stealthiness in order to escape and survive and now cherish those traits. They have several sacred sites outside of their mountain home ranging from their former homes to other sites located near human cities and towns. In the mountains they lack good farm land, but Volanta has created isolated temperate climates to help solve that issue. The largest temple the Ignea have built is known as Volanta’s Rest. It is a tall temple that nearly reaches to where the Goddess calls home.

The Ignea have two major homes within Brisa. The primary one is the higher mountains of Skyreach, which are protected by a barrier formed by Volanta herself. The other home is within Rogge, the divide. They live in the walls and pillars that exist within it. The practices of the Ignea within Rogge are identical to the others in theory, but with some minor differences.

Ignea Government
The Ignea have set up a strict, religious Theocracy with the highest power being with the Devine.

The Devine
The Devine is the one who makes the big decisions for the Ignea and controls all of the political power. The Devine does not lead people in sermon instead being to busy divining the will Volanta.

The Clerics
Under the Devine is the Clerics. The Clerics work under the Devine and send out his holy message to the people. They will hold sermons for the people.

The Chaplains
Servants of the church would include the Chaplains, whose holy purpose is to spread throughout the Ignea people the message and will of the Clerics.

The Confessors
The right arm of the church is the Confessors. Zealous in their holy duty to seek out dissenters and nonbelievers.

Ignea Culture
=== The Church === Zealous to the edge of madness, they do not tolerate any sacrilege. The church is the most respected, but exclusive, establishment in their world. All may attend masses, and are required to by law, but the clergy are only those worthy few who pass the trials of initiation. Confessors have a different training though. The Confessers are paladins with the singular duty to seek out and punish heretics. As such their training more resembles a military academy. They too are very exclusive. Any who wish to be a Confessor must first prove themselves in battle, then their devotion to Volanta. Despite their barriers to entry, both clerics and Confessors are never small forces. They are also used to disrupt human activity. They even ally with other nations to punish the humans (such as teaming up with pirates to sabotage a trade deal). When they are not praying or fighting, they mine. They pull up the riches of the ground, like gold and gemstones. The holy men usually have expensive clothes made from these gold and gem riches. The rest are sold to other nations, or stolen by humans. Their hatred goes both ways, and the humans have allies against the Ignea as well. Those who would aid the humans are seen as enemies of the church, and are dealt with accordingly. Despite this, they welcome aid againat their foe. There are some in their society who think their allies are uneeded, and that the Ignea can defeat the humans alone. But for the most part, alliances are accepted.

Architecture
The Ignea, since the days of their creation, have built small huts made of wood that dug several feet into the ground. That was the way in which they lived when they still lived on the mainland. Since they lost the Ground War, however, they have not had as much access to resources such as wood. While Volanta has provided them with some, they tend to build more stone structures now. However, the builds of their homes are still very simplistic. As a rule, the Ignea do not allow themselves to waste too many resources on frivolous things such as extravagant housing. They spend most of their architectural power building shrines and temples to Volanta. Their biggest structures are very squared, and enclosed. The majority of the temples are empty on the inside, with but a lone hole in the ceiling to peer up into the heavens, where they know that Volanta is looking down and watching them from.

The Rogge Ignea Variations
For the most part, the Ignea of Rogge follow very much the culture of Skyreach Ignea. They are however, somewhat more lenient when it comes to religious law. For example, it is still mandated to attend church, but not doing so will not have as severe a punishment. Also, warnings will be given out occasionally instead of full on punishments.

Also, their closer proximity to the humans give them more contact with the humans. While these Ignea still despise the humans, they have grown to get along with them from time to time.

The Ignea here are not quite as wealthy and well off as those in Skyreach, but they have become more resourceful by making deals with the humans and sometimes even stealing from them undetected.

Humans. == ==

Having become overcrowded in the southern deserts, many humans migrated north in search of better lands. This was during the time when Volanta and Shaktai were together, and connections between the two nations were open. They came across the Ignea, and lived in tenuous peace for thousands of years. Then the humans overstepped their boundries and expanded a bit too far. At this point, the Ignea decided to do somethign about these pesky humans. They instigated a battle that would escalate int othe great Ground War. The Ignea could not stand up to the humans, who eventually won. Believing the Ignea utterly beaten the humans claimed the territory and have since built them a strong empire. After the war a great cataclysm struck the land and created the massive divide since named Rogge. Something holding them back though is the lack of iron and other precious metals in the region in which they occupy. Heading to the mountains in search of metals and stone the humans. discovered that the Ignea people not only survived the attack but where thriving in the mountains. With there being no way to effectively get an army up the mountains the humans have since made peace and attempted trade with the Ignea people. This peace is very uneasy based mostly on wanting what the other has. The humans have since moved into two cities one either side of the great divide the massive canyon, Rogge. Galebough in the Frostleaf Forest being home to the hearty Skogus, and Plansthunder in the Plains of Cabaha home to the people of the same name.

Human Government
The human Government now consists of duel monarchies. the monarchies are figure heads with the political power resting in a council that makes decisions for the land. The Kings come together to meet and show good faith to one another. The governments are mostly benign and free from corruption due to term limits on the council members. while divided on some issues the humans are able to come together to in times of crisis and war. The head of the council is protected at all times by the Cachet, the honor guard that protect the ruling class and the members of the council. Below the high council is the Stone Assembly. The Stone Assembly consists of nobles, the richest business owners, and the merchant guild leaders. Unlike the High Council the Stone Assembly has no term limits and is a more permanent part of the government. The function of the Stone Assembly is to make smaller decisions that affect the trade guilds and smaller aspects of the city. While the majority of the political power rests with the High Council.

Human Culture
While human society is split into two groups, both groups share many similarities. Having first seen Volanta before they were split, both sides worship Volanta, although not nearly as much as the Ignea do. Their lives do not revolve so much around their religion, and more to do with personal achievement. Both sides stride in advancing in both architecture and the arts. they are generally peaceful and do not have a particularly strong military when compared to other nations. However, they don't really need to since they are so isolated that the only ways they could really be attacked are from the sea or the mountains. And any enemies going over the mountains would have to go through the Ignea first.

Plainsthunder
These people tend to be agricultural, but the harsh conditions of the land tend to leave them with little surplus. What they do have is access to strong horses, which aid in their military campaigns. Their calvary is the strongest and sturdiest on the continent. These animals have also helped them expand to the entire savanna they have been given. They are the main form of transportation, and are given somewhat of a place of honor in their culture. Horses owned by the nobles are often given names to reference their god. Windhoof, Cloudmane and Galestride are good examples. Of course, they have more than just horses roaming the plains. There are also large quadrupeds, known as Miroon, roaming in herds throughout the plains. Many of these have been domesticated like cattle, and have been used for field work and food.

Skogus
Sturdy, forest dwelling people. They rely on hunting and gathering to feed themselves. Roasted meat and nuts or berries are a common meal. They also take care of their woods. They sell the wood they chop down, but are careful not to go overboard. Once in a while there will be an expedition to the Chillwind Tundra to get some of the resources hidden in the frozen north (Thick furs, blubber, etc.) Allied to the Plainsthunder, they have many roles in combat. Some are unyielding defenders, others are expert marksmen and still more are trackers. Their worship of the goddess gives them powerful stealth, able to pass through heavy security like the wind. They use this against their reptilian enemies. Just as Ignea sabotage their trade, they do what they can to hinder the Ignea. This may include stealing traded goods, or felling a tree along a popular trade route.

Architecture and Arts
Unlike the Ignea, the humans of Aerakos have plenty of space to work with, and with their abundance of woods, build many extravagant buildings. Certain metals and stones are harder to come by, so those resources are usually used for religious and government buildings. These buildings are often very spacious with many open windows and pillars that hang outside of them.

The humans of Aerakos are also full of artists. Many artists are hired to decorate lavish paintings of Volanta in temples and other buildings. Stories and music are told as one, as stories are written in as song lyrics for bards to play for hunters and traders that often have to trek to far regions across Rogge. It is not uncommon for people to sing the most popular songs in a tavern or even government building and everyone nearby joining in.

Within Aerakos
There are two different planes of interaction and trade between people within this very nation. On one hand, is the trade between the two groups divided by Rogge. The Skogus and Plainsthunder. The Skogus, being more Hunter oriented, have much more to trade in terms of meat, while the Plainsthunder have more crops. For trade with other nations, the two groups cooperate as one and trade their collections of rare woods and crops as exports. Alder, ebony, Ash, Rosewood and Poplar are just a few to name. The other form of trade is between both groups and the Ignea. The Ignea that live atop Skyreach isolate themselves from the humans, refusing to trade with them, living off of their own resources. The Ignea that dwell in Rogge, however, have an uneasy agreement with those of the humans. They control the massive divide that separates the two groups, and thus, can halt any trade. They allow the humans to trade across bridges that they built, under the agreement that the Ignea get a portion of whatever is traded. The Ignea trade freely between each other, but rarely trade with other nations, choosing rather to disrupt trade between the humans and other nations. The humans often make it clear to other nations that they are in no way affiliated with the Ignea.

Akitei
Akitei and the humans are trading food for wood with the humans, and stones/ metals with the Ignea. The Akitei agree to be at peace with Aerakos, as the people of Aerakos choose not to take sides with the conflict between Akitei and Kelador. The Ignea will often intercept Akitei ships, offering to trade with them instead of the humans, and, given a reward, the Ignea will team up with Akitei ships to sabotage any shipments coming from Kelador to Aerokos or vise versa, as it helps both parties. The Akitei keep their relations with the Ignea secret from the humans of Aerakos.

Isles of Kelador
Kelador trade relations have always been shaky. Due to the fact that Kelador and Aerakos are caught on either end of Akitei waters, and Skyreach, home of many of the Ignea, who both want to cancel any trade between the two nations as much as possible. Almost every trade attempt is stopped by one of or both these groups. Thus, trade between the two nations is uncommon. However, the two nations are neutral allies between each other.

Samottai
Due to the intense feud between Volanta and Shaktai, Volanta has harassed the people of Samottai with sandstorms for centuries, which made them vary wary of Aerakos. Trade used to be open between the two. In fact, the people of Aerokos are primarily descendants of Samottai people that migrated north back when their gods were together. However, after the breakup, the Samottai took Falcon's Edge, the main station for migration between the two nations, they have been completely cut off from one another.

Ihlathi
These two nations rarely trade, as they are on complete opposite sides of Teogaia. The gods however, have a mutual agreement that Volanta will protect Ihlathi from the harsh winters, while Topak create and maintain the Rogge divide that separates her nation. Occasionally, Volanta will prank the people of Ihlathi by temporarily shutting off her protective winds, but Topak will get her to stop by threatening her with closing up Rogge again.