Neighbors

“I hate ghosts!” Sara shouted.

“Yeah, we hate ghosts!” Apricot agreed, the pixie riding just behind her ear.

“Then try getting rid of a few!” Fang shouted.

The trio – and Apricot! – struck again and again at the shadowy figures of slain mousefolk, but the foul mist curled in defiance. Where one vanished, two more appeared, and this was only the first steps into Losthome!

Ishikawa drew in a breath, surged forward, and smashed his fist into the nearest apparition. As his fist passed through its half-real body, his knuckles exploded into Fire, and he released a wave of burning power through it and the next six shades.

The elemental power shivered through the air. Through Sara’s blood.

Ishikawa’s Fire carried all the pain he never showed, so different from the gentle spring of her own. Before, blind, she hadn’t known; she had been deaf and blind to his suffering through that gentle smile!

I won’t let you down!

Summoning the memory of spring, she felt Fire flare in her belly. The power filled her chakra and quickened her pulse, the vast elements tamed by her breath…for a time.

“Apricot, bombing run!”

“I’m a pixie, not a Gundam, princess!”

“What?!” Sara squeaked.

“What?” the fairy echoed innocently.

“Oh, just hit something with Fire!”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place!”

She wasn’t sure which was worse – the ghosts or her pixie!

But Sara knew one thing – they’d catch up to Rynn and Tia!

What the Kingdom knows

Much of the Kingdom’s wisdom was lost during its dark age. Knowledge of all kinds suffered, and knowledge of the neighbors more than most. Many old treaties lapsed, and many multiple observances faded into obscurity.

Thankfully, the flame was not entirely extinguished. A handful of clans remembered enough of the old treaties to maintain the bare bones like:

  • Centauri burial mounds are sacred ground, not to be disturbed
  • Siren rescue must be awarded bounty
  • Do not interrupt the Mousefolk prayers

These efforts have kept relationships with the neighbors on life support.

With the Kingdom awakening once more, now is the time to revive these treaties; to greet your neighbors with open arms; and to return to the alliances of old!

History

Centauri

  • The wide plains and prairies grew in the devastation after the First Eruption
  • The Centauri emerged somewhere around the year 1200
  • For five centuries the centauri would occasionally raid caravans between Seln Alora and Izu
  • Around 2500 a treaty was struck, defining mutual borders and responsibilities
    • The plains were given to the centuari
  • This treaty held until the arrival of the Wehrans and the current troubles

Sirens:

  • Tattered records of Siren-like creatures known as “mermaids” exist in the oldest known archives; possibly predate the First Eruption?
  • Attacked any trespassers on the water
  • In the year 2633, an iterant monk was kidnapped by the Sirens and managed to befriend the Shoalskimmer tribe
  • Official relations with the Shoalskimmers were established 50 years later
    • The Kingdom aided the Shoalskimmers expand their territory across the inland bay
    • The bounty rescue system was established
  • Other Siren tribes remain openly hostile to all landwalkers

Mousefolk

  • The Mousefolk already occupied New Den in the mountains by the time the Kingdom began to map those mountains around 2300
  • Other than trade, the mousefolk cheerfully kept to themselves for an age
  • New Den was destroyed in 4591 by the Skyshadow Eagles

Stereotypes

Centauri

  • You never know what a centauri is thinking. They’ll show up to trade with you one day and to raid you the next!
  • Centauri warriors are bull-headed; they always go straight after the strongest warrior in a party
  • They’ve no appreciation for proper wards and will trample right over them
  • They must trade with the Kingdom for advanced materials for they craft little of their own
  • There are no centauri cultivators
  • Centauri love metal; the most important centauri always wear metal jewelry

Sirens

  • True to their name, a Siren can always be charmed by a song
  • A primitive neighbor, still using bone spears and building huts!
  • Being creatures of water, Sirens are difficult to affect with Arts
  • Sirens can breathe both air and water; they can survive in both salt and freshwater
  • There are no Siren cultivators
  • Sirens will rescue any lost sailors or other folk in need on the waters; they expect to be paid for their services
    • They have no use for coin but prize meats, minerals, and bone meal

Mousefolk

  • Industrious and pleasant, mousefolk make wonderful helpers
  • They much prefer the term “helper” and regard “servant” as quietly insulting
  • Mousefolk are wonderful with children; a mousefolk family usually has as many as eight of their own!
  • Losthome was of course a terrible tragedy, but the mousefolk have integrated so well into the Kingdom. They’re practically family!
  • Being so small, they are naturally a touch timid. They will hide before they fight
  • There are no mousefolk cultivators
  • Their favored territory are dense woodlands and hills; their dens built into the earth and often difficult to spot until close