Gilgamesh is a worshipper of Ishmangala, one of the 50 names of Marduke, who takes sacrifices of heads. Gilgamesh was taught in Rel Mord by Shirpu, warrior, necromancer, high priests, fights with mace, wrestles, peaceful, very direct, fears death, seeks Uptananishiptum, the man who built the ark and created incense to please the gods. He wants a pattern mage (probably as part of his quest for immortality). In battle, Gilgamesh gains years on his life every time he hits. He has vampiric regeneration of his wounds when he hits and does damage.
Gilgamesh is the son of the warrior king Lugal Bandae and Ea. Interprets his dreams and owes deference to Shamash, son of Sin and Nergal, who gives him toys.
Gilgamesh travels with Hiwauwa, counselor; Ankidu, a satyr created by Anu to keep Gilgamesh busy and now his friend.
Gilgamesh has three wives and a boy, Mazrim Tame, the second child born after the Dark Times, but born on the same day as Chirissa Al'Vere (daughter of Rahasia Al'Vere and the evil Ketian saint Romag). Inera, the wife who had the child, is womanly and loyal, NN. According to a prophesy, there is a 50% chance that Gilgamesh’s son will end by the Reign of Colorless Fire in the Sea of Dust. Taran Soothra gave the son a sword so that he could be known as a great fighter who wore a sword since the day he was born.
On his visit to Babylon, he was attended by 50 royal guard from Rel Mord wearing black plate mail and 1000 Shield Knights. He told the Church of Ishtar that if the Theocracy clerics get into the desert cities, Tiamat will rule the Pantheon. Gilgamesh also noted he wants to kill the Overking. Religion may flourish under his reign but may not interfere or control the kingdom.
Gilgamesh is also interested in intelligence in the Southlands against the Scarlet Brotherhood. The orcs asked him for an alliance (through Beldinath) to help their battle against the defilers who are attempting to break through the Hell Furnace Mountains.
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House su'Enmerkar |
Artifacts |
Edicts of the King |
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| Beer (Betu) |
Innspa |
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| Rauxses (conquered by YR 7) | Selid-Din City (YR18) | Woodwych | ||
| Chathold (Duchy of Urnst) | Critwall (Shield Lands) | Leukish (Duchy of Urnst) | Nellix (Duchy of Urnst) | Nevrond Nevrond (Duchy of Tenh) |
| Ogberg (Theocracy) | Redspan (Duchy of Tenh) | Rhadighast City (County of Urnst) | Trigol (County of Urnst) |
The strength of Nyrond, and the hostility of its rulers and nobles, have been the major protection for the civilized nations of the Flanaess against the depredation of the Great Kingdom and its mad emperors. The County of Urnst, the Duchy of Tenh, the Duchy of Urnst, Shield Lands, and the Theocracy of the Pale are tributary states.
Nyrond
proper is the bread basket of the Oerik
continent. It has great farmlands and Rel
Mord
supports the largest
cattle herds known. The cities in this region export most of the
foodstuffs consumed
on central and eastern Oerth
(save the Great
Kingdom).
Nyrondal
contingents assist Urnst
and the Pale
against the
Bandit
Kingdoms, and a squadron of
their warships sails Relmor
Bay and the Sea
of Gearnat
in support of the Iron
League. Strong garrisons of the
Nyrondese
Army
are stationed in strategic positions to move to the aid of either
the Iron
League or the Pale
in time of need. In time of need, pacts call for
support
from Umst
(County and Duchy) et al. Nyrondal
heavy cavalry and armored footmen comprise the
majority of the realm's army, with lesser numbers of bowmen and light
hillman
infantry as support.
The history of Nyrond is strongly linked to that of the Great Kingdom.
Ruler: His Most Honorable Lordship, the Earl of Walworth; Knight Commander of the Shield Lands, Gareth Bryne
Capital:
Critwall
(25,800)
Population:
60,000, including very few demi-humans or humanoids
Resources:
foodstuffs
When the Bandit Kingdoms began to grow powerful, the petty nobles of the north shores of the Nyr Dyv banded together in a mutual protection society. The small Earldom of Walworth had the advantage of possessing a sizable island upon which was built the only city in the whole district, so its Lord was chosen as Knight Commander of the combined forces of the nobles. A headquarters was established at Critwall and a holy order of religious knights began. The Shield Lands are still ruled by many small noblemen while the general of their combined military and naval forces, the Earl of Walworth, is the head of the Knightly order. Their military activity brings contributions from Furyondy and Urnst, as well as many esquires and knights to serve in the core of the army, the Knights of Holy Shielding. This Knight Order is the most well respected of all knightly orders on Oerth and is perhaps the most powerful. The sons of nobles and kings from Nyrond, Furyondy, and beyond have joined just to add a symbol of prestige to their own houses. Needless to say, the Knights of the Holy Shielding and their commander, Gareth Bryne, hold a great amount of influence thoughout Oerth.
During the Dark Times,
the Shield
Knights, aka
the
Children of the Light, under the leadership of then Captain Commander
Pedron
Nial,
marched huge armies
into the Celadon
Forest and leveled the Druid's
Keep after the Druids there harmed the tree.
The Knights were too late to save the tree. That guardianship was their
stated
goal and Nial
had negotiated several treaties with
various countries for payment to the Shield
Knights to finance their
protection
of the Tree that purportedly holds back demons from this plane.
After the Druid's Keep was laid to waste by the power of the Sword of Justice, Doomgiver, the army marched further to rid the forest of the 'evil' elves. They were stopped by Lord Taran Soothra and Rahasia Al'Vere in a famous battle known as the Battle of the Celadon Fields. In this battle, Pedron judged Soothra with the Sword of Justice, and Soothra survived. Upon disarm, Soothra judged Pedron with the selfsame sword and Pedron's soul was found wanting. Instead of utter damnation, the power of doomgiver was mediated with Woundhealer, the Sword of Love, by the Priestess Al'Vere. The battle ended and the Shield Knights left the forest.
This battle took a
great
toll on the ranks of the Shield
Knights and many lawful and good
men
left
service including Pedron Nial
himself. This group formed the core of the Hundred Companions
(paladins) that
marched to Tovag
Baragu
to
fight the Dark
One under the banner of Lord
Soothra.
Gareth Bryne, Nial's best student now runs the Shield Knights. The animosity between Lord Soothra and Rahasia Al'Vere and the Shield Knights is great and has created a great rift between the Knights of the Hart and the Shield Knights. Bryne is still conspiring to gain back the prestige that was lost at the Battle of Celadon Fields.
Among the ranks of the Shield Knights are the Questioners. These clerics of Shammash, the Sun God and god of Justice to which Critwall is dedicated, serve as the moral backbone of the army as well as its inquisitors. They are ultra-conservative and are relentless in their pursuit of evil and darkfriends. Although their spheres include divination and truth detection (as well as judgement per the Sword of Justice) they prefer to rely on their own skills at torture and information gathering rather than trouble their deity. When all of the six cardinals of the Theocracy submitted to voluntary beheading for leading the flocks of Nyrond astray during the Dark Times (at the Questioners' behest), two of the Cardinal Questioners took positions on the ruling Theocratic Council of Cardinals and thus, now they hold great political influence. Within the Shield Knight military structure, they are all powerful (except at the direct order of the Captain Commander).
Ruler: His Radiance, the Duke of Tenh (Fighter)
Capital: Nevrond
Nevrond (pop. 23,800)
Population:
200,000 including some demi-humans, and numerous humanoids in the
mountains
Resources:
foodstuffs, platinum
Tenh has always been under the rule of the Flannae, and most of its peoples are of that racial stock. The fertile uplands between the Artonsamay and the Griff Mountains proved sanctuary and home to Flan tribesmen as the influx of Oerids drove them off or absorbed them. About the time the Nyrond established independance, Tenh created their own state from the diverse groups within the boundaries of their land, and their greatest leader was proclaimed Duke. This realm lost its freedom and independence to Nyrond soon after.
Tenh medium cavalry was of excellent repute, as were its sturdy footmen, armed with shortbow and polearms but this was not enough to rebuke the attacks of the barbarians led by SaviordRedbeard with Stonecutter, the Sword of Siege, during the Dark Times. Since CY 578 they have been occupied by thebarbarian hordes. Recently, a treaty has been negotiated between the barbarians and the clerics of Ishtar. This treaty provides well crafted weapons from Babylon in return for 10% of the foodstuffs of Nevrond Nevrend to be sacrfificed for the Nyrundian God, Anshar. The barbarians need these weapons for their ongoing war with the Narians.
Leader: Her Noble Brilliancy, the Countess of Urnst
Capital:
Rhadighast
City (pop. 39, 100)
Population:
200,000+ including Halflings (3,000), few other demi-humans, and few
humanoids
Resources:
foodstuffs, cloth, gold, Girru's
oil, coal, exotic animals
The County of Urnst is populated by a mixture of peoples, most being of Oerid stock, but hostile towards the Aerdi people of the Great Kingdom, and unwilling to serve a Nyrondal monarch but with little choice. The Palatine Duke of Urnst long encouraged separatists in the county above, and eventually the King of Nyrond was forced to clamp down on the County and cut its armies in half. The land to the great bend of the Artonsamay, south to the Franz, to the shores of Nyr Dyv is ruled by the House of Gellor, whose current representative is the Countess Belissica.
The county is allied to the Duchy of Urnst through a marriage (facilitated by the use of the Sword of Love) between the Duke's son in the House of Urnst and the Countess Belissica. The countess is by no means subservient to the duke.
The county maintains a small but efficient squadron of warships on the Nyr Dyv. An army of some 2,000 barbarian style foot garrisons man key strongholds, and noble levies can raise five times that number of troops in a week or two. Because of their small armies, they are forced to rely on the portection of the Shield Lands and their Knights located in to the north.
Leader: His Most Lordly Grace, the Duke of Umst, Warden of the Abbor-Alz (Ranger)
Capital:
Leukish
(20,900)
Population:
200, 000 + including Halflings (5,000), Gnomes (3,000),
Dwarves (3,000), and few humanoids
Resources:
foodstuffs, silver, electrum, gold, platinum, gems (I-IV)
|
Nellix |
The riches of this area are great indeed, consisting of most sorts of precious metals, precious stones, and even the prized corundum gems. Because of this the Duchy has been desired by the kingdoms of Aerdy and Nyrond in that order. When the Nyrondel won their independence, they took the County of Urnst, and were massing troops to cross the Nesser, but the first crossings were turned back by galleys, and the campaign sputtered later in the year, never to be restarted. Urnst had (and has) plenty of other problems of a continuing nature - its Cairn Hills border with Greyhawk, the Abbor-Alz frontier which has desert nomad raiders, and difficulties with the lakemen of the Nyr Dyv. Because of these troubles and the mounting forces of the Aerdians, the Duke was forced to swear fealty to the King of Nyrond.
The Duke is not idle during all this: he has developed an excellent army of borderers while maintaining a centrally located force of cavalry, as he still distrusts Nyrond. The Shield Knights are not permitted to activelly recruit, enact wargames, or field soldiers within their borders due to racial persecution.
The Duchy's other notable claim to fame is that in the CY 157, before Nyrond split from the Aerdian Nation, the house of Culdi emigrated from the South Province and the Prelacy of Almour. The House of Culdi was the only known human family to possess the ability of psionics. They settled in the Duchy of Urnst and gained protection of the Duke for their services. After centuries, they have prospered and any human with psionics born on Oerth can trace their lineage back to this ancient house. The desire of other countries to have psionicists of their own, including the eugenics programs of the Scarlet Brotherhood and the Mindflayer headhunters of the Horned Society, couples with the enviable natural resources of the region has made Urnst a very suspicious and highly protective society.
Their capital of Leukish is known to harbour a city wide, permanent anti-magic shell.