Midtvardûn - Relevant Notes on the World

[KJDavid]

Organizations, Cults, & Secret Societies

Eight Eyes
A secret society created to usher in a New Age of Enlightenment and Prosperity. Their banner is a red field with eight green eyes forming a circle in the center. The Eight Eyes have instigated a rebellion against the Empire. By some twisted magic they shrouded the Imperial City in impenetrable fog only recently lifted. Mercenary hosts bought with Eight Eyes gold even now are pillaging their way down the Silver Coast. Rumor persists that an army of rebel lords is marching on Trium.

Templars of the Order of the Sword
An ancient militant order of warriors sworn to the service of the Ahurite Church though they chiefly venerate Tyr, God of the Sword. The Templars are also known to venerate Saint Talwyn. Their banner is a green field with two gray swords pointing in opposite directions. The bulk of the order is in Mengang. It is rumored they fight some terrible foe here, but the stories coming from the East are ambiguous as to who or what would dare face the mightiest army in the world.

Unified Church of Ahuram
Often called the Ahurite Church or simply the Faith of Fire, the Holy Church of Ahuram is the most powerful religious organization in Middelund. The Faith venerates all the Old Gods of Men, but places the Supreme Being, Ahuram, above all. There has been more than one religious war between those who believe that only Ahuram should be venerated. So far the orthodoxy has proven victorious in such conflicts. Their banner is a white field with a golden sunburst in the center. Their holy symbol is often a simple brass, bronze, or gold circle or sphere.

Worshippers of the Feaster from Afar
A small and secretive cult united in their twisted veneration of a mysterious and terrible entity beyond the comprehension of the sane. Their banner is a purple banner with a golden, toothy maw at the center.

Nation States & Kingdoms

Frostvarg
A powerful Dwarven hold in the western mountains.

Ghuldavia
A dark, cruel kingdom ruled by the Undying Queen.

Holy Empire of Middelund
The Empire of Middelund rules all the realms of Men between the High Peaks of the West to the White Mountains of the East. Its southern border was the Great Shining Sea and its northern reach extended to the Endless Ice. Recently, the Imperial City was consumed by a magical blockade, and none could pass in or out. Thankfully, the Emperor, in his magnificence, broke this barrier with the aid of the Imperial College of Sorcery.

Trium, the City of Three Towers
Trium is the grain capital of the north, and an important center of Imperial power. It sits at the confluence of the Three Rivers - the Royal (flows past the Capital), the Weizen (most of the wheat fields lay along the Weizen), and the Dweraz (leads to Vroda, Ghuldavia and Frostvarg). There are, of course, three towers in Trium. The first is the Cathedral-Tower of Saint Ignacius, the patron saint of peace and tranquility. It lies in the North District, a city neighborhood sliced narrowly between the Dweraz and the Royal. The second is the Runebereich, a black tower and an abode of wizards in the Royal-Weizen District. It’s opposite is the third tower, the Eisenacher, the mayoral palace and fortress of the White Hammers in the Royal-Dweraz District. The White Hammers are Trium’s ancestral guardians, and a political force in their own right. They have fought in numerous wars under Imperial banner, and owe sacred oaths of loyalty to the city fathers.

Apocryphally, there was once a fourth tower in the fourth city district, the Customs District. However, this 'district' is little more than a slim jetty of stone and wood the sprawls out into the confluence of the Royal and the Wiezen. If there was a tower here, nothing of it remains. By municipal law, all trade goods must be inspected and taxed in the Customs District. Virtually all new arrivals stop in the Customs District first before continuing on to their destination elsewhere in Trium or further up one of the Three.

The Runebereich
The Runebereich is older than Trium itself, and may be older even than the Empire. It is an ancient, slender and deceptively powerful tower of Elven craftsmanship. There are twelve levels to the tower, and each new level features the odd eaves that taper to an essentially razor sharp point. How the Elven masons forced stone to take on such a shape no one knows. Why they made it of black stone not native to the region is also a mystery. The current Master of the Black Tower is Jeraud the Bronze, an archmage of the Imperial College of Sorcery.

Pleasure House of the Ten Veils
Taller than any mortal man and more unnervingly beautiful than any mortal maiden, Caillech the Witch, runs the Pleasure House of the Ten Veils with a gentle smile and a will of pure steel. The high and might and low born alike visit the Ten Veils, as there are none who can resist its pleasures. But now, after an encounter with an Imperial wizard, Caillech has become greater still. The servants whisper that her skin glows hot, her eyes scintillate, and she speaks with the voice of ten thousand souls lost in the Deluge.

Aldrohm, the Imperial Capital
The Imperial Capital is the greatest city in the Holy Empire of Middelund. It is a sprawling metropolis along the shores of the Shining Sea at the mouth of the Royal River. It is, of course, the seat of Imperial government and the home of the ruling dynasty. As important is the Imperial College of High Sorcery in the Royal Quarter, the beating heart of arcane culture in the West. Recently, the Imperial Capital was imperiled by a curse that enshrouded it in impenetrable fog. The entire population could have starved to death as the fog allowed none in or out of the city. Fortunately, the wizards of the college were able to reverse the foul magic before the worst occurred.