Pelithos Faces and Geography

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Faces

Imitheoi

Former Imitheoi Hekuba, the Wreath, First of the Unyielding

- neriad female

Lady Achridana, the Oboloi Enthroned

old oboloi, unleashed the asphodel, worshipped by her cult (the Achridani)

female, aletheiad?

King Damastor, the Edicts Enthroned

- Damastor was already the bearer of the Edicts in the days before the Fall. He was the bearer who guided the his people, the humans who became the aletheiad race, through the Fall, and founded the kingdom of Aletheia in its wake. Aletheia quickly became the dominant force on Dytikos, a rich and proud civilization. When the forces of Acrolon arrived, it became their first target, collapsing before the demonic onslaught before the rest of Pelithos could even realize what had happened. Damastor died trying to defend his land.

- aletheiad male

Arios, the Caduceus Enthroned

- alseid male

Pallas, the Aegis Enthroned (deceased)

- oread female

??? was the Aegis who helped guide her people through the Fall to become the aletheiad race. She founded the city of Pyrgos and served as its protector. She held the line against Acrolon's eastward advance across Dytikos, an invincible demon-slayer. She was the mentor of ??? when he became the bearer of the Owl, bringing him to Pyrgos and tutoring him in war. Her aletheiad aegis protected her from demons, making her a holy terror to the legions of the Abyss. Only the Molydean itself was able to harm her, eventually slaying her in the Avgian plains and leaving the grieving Owl to bring the broken forces of Pyrgos back to their city.

Current Imitheoi Bardelys Sunwright, the Wreath Enthroned, First Speaker of the Symmachia Velos

- male ???

Queen Thalestris of Tapiseri, the Loom Enthroned

- female dryad

Koretto, Queen's Hand of Tapiseri, the Sickle

- female ???

- leader of the Harvest

Osat-Neng, the Old Dragon of Pelithos, the Jewel Enthroned

At the time of the Fall, the Mantle was claimed from its previous owner by what is now known as the Old Dragon, the only of its kind on Pelithos to survive those times. It has held the Mantle to this day.

Tirigan Spiralhorn, the Pyxis

The satyr, Tirigan, acquired the Pyxis some time toward the end of the Acrolonian War. He dwells somewhere in the Aplos, and is known to shadow the Thundering Horde, reaping pneuma from the victims of the Helm's war. He's shown a malicious sense of mischief, sometimes unleashing disaster on the horde on the cusp of victory, or on the Helm's satrapies. The Helm has offered a bounty for his head and more for the Pyxis itself, which he wishes to see in the hands of a loyal underling. Tirigan is always ready to wheel and deal, but one can't put much trust in him.

Medaera, the Witch

female, Nimae? Aletheid? Velosi?

daughters

the crone

Danae, the Aegis

young woman, Velosi

the Owl Enthroned

protector of Pyrgos, male, aletheiad? velosi?

Tarkhundaro, the Fist of the Reaver, Khan of the Thundering Horde, the Helm Enthroned

a savage centaur warlord, he is trying to depose the Spear to secure himself against usurpation after a near defeat, male

Vedrix Septimus Aletheius, the Brand

Son of a concubine taken from the Aletheian royal line by the acrolonian conquerers and an acrolonian general. He was raised in the acrolonian occupational court and groomed to become a mid-level official. He was very good at the treacherous games of the court. Shortly after the Brand was slain by the other imitheoi for colluding with the invaders, Vedrix betrayed and assassinated his mentor to accelerate his climb through the ranks. Instead the Brand came to him, and he decided that demigod, even of a land besieged, was a far better deal than anything he could hope for in court. He turned on the acrolonians and fomented several slave uprisings throughout the war. No one trusts him, but he undeniably pulled his weight. Since the end of the war, he's taken the name Alethius, a not-so-subtle reminder that his mother was a princess of the old kingdom of the Edicts, and asserting his birthright (if anyone ever wrests the lands from the Helm, or course).

Salicar of Esyrmos, Pirate-King of the Boreal Archipelago, the Trident Enthroned

Salicar was born (Velosi) on the Boreal isle of Esyrmos shortly before the Acrolonian invasion. He sailed with pirates, rising to command his own ship. Affronted by the invaders, he became a folk hero for raiding Acrolon's vessels. Retreating from a raid gone badly wrong, he stumbled upon the hidden isle of the prior Trident. He seized the Trident's shrine, weakening the imitheos, who fell to Acrolon soon after, and the Mantle passed to Salicar. He renewed his assault on the Acrolonians, making the hidden isle the base of operations for his ever-growing fleet of corsairs. It was never found by Acrolon, despite all their efforts. As the Theagonas was cast into disarray, Ascendant imitheoi were overthrown, and Salicar was able to maneuver himself onto a Throne. Once the war ended, Salicar revealed the isle and made it the capital of his new "pan-Boreal" sea kingdom (not every isle recognizes this). He is a somewhat careless ruler, but fiercely protective of what is his. Dissatisfaction with his rule is slowly growing, but most of the common folk are enthralled by his legend and largess.

Imbrasus, the Net

messenger merchant prince in a Velos coastal city on Dytikos (part of the Symmachia

male, Velosi

Nemerte, the Horn Enthroned

wild protector of Erimia, female, maenad

Red-Winged Eurynome, Warden of Opagos, the Key

female harpy, eminence of the glacier city

The Dreamer

- gender and race uncertain/irrelevant/multiple

Lanike, the Cornucopia

female, maenad? centaur?

Aniktos, the Spear Enthroned

A therianth combining the features of tiger, serpent, and falcon, Aniktos has been an unstoppable juggernaut of war for centuries, crushing the legions of Acrolon. A stoic, single-minded student of battle, He has little interest in politics or kingdoms, but with the end of the Reconquest and the resumption of the old games of the Theagonas, he's become a target of his former ally, the Helm. Both Spear and Helm were enthroned by the common efforts of the imitheoi during the war, but now their places are made precarious by having two ascendant Mantles of the Reaver. The Helm has decided that if one has to fall, it will be the Spear, and has sent whole armies after him. He was last sighted after a massive slaughter in the foothills of the Vouna Fidi, and rumor has it that he was mortally wounded. Some fear what an unchecked Helm could do now, while others worry that while vulnerable he may have fallen into the hands of the Mirror, and what she could do with an enthralled Spear.

the Edicts

dikastis leader, fighting in Aplos, male, therianth (what-headed?)

the bow & quiver

Khareptis???, the Mirror

unknown gender/shapeshifter, lamia

ARCHONS Chemaros

- piscene life servitor

- progenitor of the naiads

- feud with the Trident over the sea port at the mouth of Chemaros, the Trident raided it in his early days, and claims it as part of his salt kingdom; Chemaros, whose river-folk founded the city, disagrees.

Katerga's wastrel king

progenitor of the lamia

erimian oasis archon

LORDS OF FURY Erishdulkur, the Queen Beneath the Mountain

- gorgon female

- leader of the sisters of stone (gorgons)

???, King (Queen?) of the Azer

saltbound

windfuries

The Hungry One

- leukrotta

ship-tree mandrake/dryad cult

master of the deadwater cult

goats of winter? (satyrs)

cyclops high priest

STRANGERS cult lord of the Ruinous Muse

- vasileia

cult lord of the Wind Which Destroys

- golden waste

Smoke, Salt, and Thorn, Queens of the Court of Three

- matriarchs of the Threefold Coven at the time of the Fall

ruler of the Court of Repose

- tritons

ruler of the Laughing Court

- satyrs

satyr prince of thieves/fingersmith suplicant

Organizations

The Unyielding Seven

School of the Sun (da vinci)

The Sacred Suns

The Dikastes

Keywardens

Cult of the Three-Horned Goat

The Achridanoi

The Lyceum Stratigikis / The Strategon

Cult of the Rose

The Harvest

The Votaniko

The Sisterhood of the Crossroads

Cult of the Dreamer

The Vipers

The Mastigos

Corsairs of Nighthold

Lords of Plenty

The Brood

The Hekaton

The Toxotes

Lyceum of Epolosus

The Masked Rebellion / The Cast Die

Sisters of Stone

Trees of Woe

Horns of Winter

Windfuries

Fathomless

Blood Tide

Deadwater Adepts

The Seven Fingers

The Stoics

The Sacred Suns During the creation of the new Sun, working alongside Lucidus, Bardelys (the Wreath) was able to craft several golden sun amulets. The bearers of these amulets are able to channel the power of the sun like priests of the gods of Acrolon or Vashad. There are only a handful, and no means of making more. They were given to his trusted allies, dubbed the Sacred Suns, but a few have slipped away from them over the last century.

The Dikastes During the Syntrivian Age, King Damastor of Aletheia founded a cult called the Dikastes, dedicated to justice. Each member (dikastis) was a sort of detective/bounty-hunter paladin. They held themselves to the divine law of the Edicts, rather than mortal law (although in Old Aletheia the two were synonymous). This has not always made them popular with rulers and governments, but they are generally well-liked by the common people and famed in song and story. Their attitudes toward mercy and punishment vary from individual to individual. The modern Dikastes are a secret society, with numerous hidden places which they can use to meet, train, and hold trials of captive criminals (most of which are also temenoi of the Edicts). They have secretive backers among the rich and poor, who provide funding, shelter, aid, and news; these relationships often run back through families for centuries, a sacred duty they quietly adhere to. The Dikastes and their allies use a system of codes for communication in writing and through discrete marks left in the environment. New members must make offerings and swear to the Edicts to support the Dikastes and their mission. To become a full member, they must repeat their oath before the imitheos of the Edicts (often been a dikastis himself), an occasion of celebration and ceremony. The dikastes are invariably highly attuned to the Edicts, giving them a supernatural intuition for hunting criminals and wrongdoers. During the war, they moved their headquarters Pyrgos and forged close ties with the Aegis and her followers. They have incorporating the arcane arts of armor and weapons into their repertoire, and placed a greater emphasis on protecting the people, as well as seeing justice done.

The Vaultwards The Vaultwards are the cult of the Key, dedicated to keeping the titans imprisoned and the civilized lands of Pelithos safe from their cults and savage spawn. Those who succeed gradually build attunement to the Key, and the Key is able to infuse them with energy channeled from the Vaults, letting them perform primal magic. A Vaultwarden usually takes on acolytes, sometimes even an entire band of warriors, to assist him, and in doing so they build up their own attunement.

The Winds of Doschae The current Net, Imbrasus, has created a service of trustworthy couriers who bear messages, cargo, and news across Pelithos. The hub of their operation is in the Symmachian city of Doschae, in the Net's palatial villa. In their employ are also a number of explorers and mapmakers. Many influential people on both continents pay well to receive the latest news gathered by the Winds, and they have also been known to pass along information to causes the Net supports. The patrons of the Winds of Doschae also receive discrete courier services, through which all manner of diplomatic, military, scholarly and even criminal secrets flow.

The Varkares The Varkares ("Ferrymen"), as the dead souls of heros, placed under the authority of the Net by the Oboloi. They travel the Underworld, bearing information and keeping the ways clear of renegade souls, obyrith, and other threats. They also patrol the paths between the worlds of the living and the dead, even walking under the sky and openly among mortals as needed.

secret service of Tapiseri

shadow assassins?

The Votaniko

a loose network of allied botanists and scholars, combine caducean lore with the power of the cornucopia; herbal alchemic healers and potion makers. They follow the Cornucopia on her pilgrimages, harvesting the magical plants that grow in her wake, then fanning out to bring them to the continent

The Achridani

old Oboloi walking-attuned cult

some promoting the Asphodel, some not

Tithe-Bringers

Jewel's caravans and tithe farmers

The Pyrgeum The Owl runs an academy of military science in Pyrgos, attracting students from all over Pelithos. The school is well paid to accept the children of nobles and military officers, but the Owl extends scholarships to promising students and those who will return to protect their communities. Graduates are held in high esteem and easily find places in armies and mercenary companies across the continent. An annual festival and series of war games is held in the ten day span beginning with Telosia (the summer solstice) and ending with the anniversary of the breaking of the Arcolonian siege of Pyrgos. New students are inducted and new graduates are honored and proclaimed.

The Hekaton Many schools of machitechni (arecane weapon and armor magic) exist across Pelithos. The term "syllogos" describes both their places of meeting and training (rather like "dojo"), and the organizations themselves. The sum of all the syllogoi is called the Hekaton, the hundred-fold paths of the warrior, and also refers to the warrior's lifestyle: the glory, the far-roaming, the duels and tournaments, and the likelihood of a violent death. In art, the Hekaton is often depicted as a hermaphroditic figure, a union of the Sentinel and Reaver, who embraces warriors like a lover and just as often feeds on their flesh.

The Mastigia The Mastigia ("The Whips") is a cult of slavers founded by the Helm back during the Shattered Age. They are an alliance of several slaver-princes who sell their merchandise and rent their mercenary thralls to the service of nations. They are reviled in many parts of the land, but are wealthy and powerful enough to exist in the open. Their depredations are kept quiet where slavery is illegal. Their factors often follow in the wake of armies, buying up prisoners of war and captives from conquered lands.

The Thundering Horde

The current bearer of the Helm is a savage centaur who is carving out a new kingdom from the western lands once controlled by Acrolon. His legions are vast, and his nomadic court is filled with treasures, but his sprawling lands are chaotic and full of other opportunistic raiders and conquerors.

brand's conspiracies

The current imitheos has a far-reaching cabal in the Wreath's alliance of city-states. It is made up of assassins and collaborators from all walks of life, eager to seize power for themselves. From time to time they try to betray him or turn his efforts to their own ends, and he has to destroy or expose them, but his plot carries on.

bow's society of athletes

A number of incarnations of the Cult of the Bow and Quiver has existed over the centuries. Those who are able to reach high levels of attunement, a feat which can only be attained by besting one's peers in the athletic aristocracy, gain a measure of longevity and prolonged youth. And if one can best the bearer, one gains true immortality.

Brotherhood of the Hunt

The imitheos also allows those hunting ritually under her aegis (and thus giving her pneuma) to enter and test their mettle against wild and beast. These hunters often congregate in cities around the rim of the Wild, for the imitheos permits those who have earned the right through hunting to lead others, and so they hire out to caravan masters seeking to travel the shorter route between the coast and interior. The hunters regard themselves as a society, the Brotherhood of the Hunt, founded on both rivalry and mutual aid.

Cult of the Rose The Cult of the Rose is a secret society of hetairae and auletrides, high-class courtesans of both genders, across Pelithos. The auletrides are musicians, dancers, and prostitutes, extremely popular among both the common people and the elite. The hetairae are the highest of the high, acclaimed for both their erotic skills and their knowledge, culture, and discourse. The cult is a loose web of cliques in major cities which share news, provide mutual aid, and help their members secure places of wealth and influence. The boundaries of the cult are fluid; it is not a unified force, and members have been known to politick against one another.

Cult of the Vine The Cult of the Vine is one of the two great thieves guilds in Pelithos, at turns rival and ally to the Mask's Cult of the Unseen. The Cult of the Vine tends to focus on smuggling, gambling, and purveying vices, but includes many outright thieves. They also keep among them a cadre of mages. These magicians are a great aid to the Amphora's power and goals, but must avoid running afoul of the fearful populace and the jealous wizards of the Witch's cult. They hold the arts of alchemy (orb foci) and scrying (tome foci). They eschew the darker Acrolonian Lore embraced by the Witch.

Cult of the Mask The Cult of the Mask is one of the two great thieves guilds in Pelithos, at turns rival and ally to the Amphora's Cult of the Vine. The Cult of the Mask includes many con-men, frauds, deceivers, but also many outright thieves. They also keep among them a cadre of wizards, students of arcane magic . These magicians are a great aid to the Mantled's power and goals, but must avoid running afoul of the fearful populace and the jealous wizards of the Witch's cult. They hold the arts of the making clever magical devices and tools (forge foci) and of stealthy combat (weapon foci); combined with their training in stealth and disguise, they are Pelithosan ninjas. They eschew the darker Acrolonian Lore embraced by the Witch.

Cult of the White Tree The Dreamer's cult on land is not large, but they are known for their magical power. Because the Dreamer is also a vestige, he can bestow Strange magic upon initiates to his inner mysteries. The line between the Dreamer's terrestrial cult and his Silver Court of the tritons is a blurry one. They traffic frequently, and many mortal supplicants are trained in Strange magic by aquatic masters.

Cult of the Witch With the introduction of arcane magic during the Acrolonian invasion, the current Witch, Medaera, sees a chance to reinvent her Mantle. She has no divine authority over the new magic, but she has tirelessly collected both its lore and a secret cult of its practitioners. She is jealous of her renewed power, and those wizards who do not bow to her are persecuted not only by the common people who fear Acrolon's "demon magic" but by her cult as well. Only the cult wizards of the Mask and Amphora are able to stand independent.

The Riverfolk

people of Chemaros

titan cults