NEF2-2 Lore

Southern Regius of Etherean Continent:

It is mostly comprised of hills and short mountain chains, with many mines in the hills and pastures in the lowlands.
Eleven nations compete for the land, from the half-Razajabian Cysereans, to truly northern Salzmorgians.
When the battlefields are quiet, the numerous leaders still battle political and economically.
The region is always engulfed in some kind of scheme... while across Corinth Sea, the Razajab Empire finally united. No one knows if the dark-skinned desert-dwellers will pose a threat to the squabbling landlords from the Etherean continent...

Descartes Trading Company:

Ran by August Descartes until his death in 359SC, the Descartes Trading Company made money by selling everything - from livestock and food to art and weapons.
Now that old August have died, the Company was passed into hands of young Julian, his nephew, who quickly discovered that his uncle made a fortune, but the company was at its' collapse; various debts and gambling bets have put extra of 50.000 coins of debt.
Julian however had different plans; he sold most of the workshops and paid large part of the debt. That's because Julian always wanted to find his sister, Camilla. She was captured when a ship carrying her and some other people was attacked by Razajab slaver ship.
Dismissing most of the workers, he is now left with a small caraval, 'Rosa Azul', his two aides and a small group of talented mercenaries which were employed by August several months before his death, surely in case of problems with debt collectors.
Now however, Julian is going to have an adventure - find his sister, no matter where she is, and bring her home, whilst trying to find a way to pay his uncle's debts and manage to secure a future for himself, his friends, and employees!

Cult of Sacril versus Philosophers:

The sea acts as a border between two grandiose religions; Cult of Sacril centered around the divine figure of Sacril, Son of God, and The Wise Faith, where teachings of pre-Razajab religious leaders were revered so much that several of these became figures of worship.
Cult of Sacril has two sub-sects; Draconians and Lunars. Lunars, via different interpretation of holy texts, believe that Sacril came from the Moon, and thusly they regard night as the time of worship, prayer and rituals (compared to the normal day-time activities of Cult proper).
Draconians believe that Sacril was one of the fabled Dragons, mystical reptiles of divine powers that once walked amongst humans before they dissappeared along with their magical gemstones of incredible powers. The only trace of these Dragons today is the fact that magic exists, in many different forms.

Nations of Southern Regius:

Kingdom of Renosa:
Kingdom of Renosa first started as Duchy of Ren, administered by Prince Jotund III of Salzmorgia. At beginning of last century, Jotund's family cut itself from the old Empire and established Renosa as independent kingdom.
At first the territory of the kingdom was reserved to the coast but in last fifty years they've expanded at the cost of Cysarean territories.
With the recent boom in sailing and shipbuilding and trade with no longer isolationist Razajabs, Renosa saw its expansion in the fields of trade and culture; several universities springing up to life, based on the Qarifs of the Razajab Empire.
Nowadays, Renosa is famed for its wine, cheese and meats, as well as fine crafts like lace, bronze sculptures, perfume and glasswork. Despite tensions with Duchy of Perosa and old hostilities with Cysarean alliance, the current king, Luren V have adopted policy of friendship towards his neighbours.

Duchy of Perosa:
Duchy of Perosa is the formally territory of the Kingdom of Renosa, albeit only on paper; Perosians take pride in their lineage yet they don't like hearing that they are under control of Renosian king. Indeed, current Duke of Perosa is most propably going to declare independence soon.
This country wouldn't be either important nor rich if not the Lunar Meadows; vast fields of blue grass that Pegasi have in their diet. Anywhere else on the continent its hard to find large meadows, yet in Perosa they're aplenty.
Of course, that means that Pegasi are the main export of Perosians, their slim, fast flying beasts in high demand across the Southern Regius and even on the other side of the continent. Other famed exports of Perosa are their steel weapons and armors, the durability and sharpness of the alloy currently unmatched in the region.

Cysarea:
Cysarea, or more politically correct, Alliance of Cysarean City-States, is a coalition of cities surrounded by several villages. This system has in been works for at least last five centuries; while the City-Kings are often wrestling amongst themselves for power, in event of external threat they can quickly band together to repel it.
It has been noted that Cysareans are propably ancient pre-Razajab tribesmen. Their language, more remiscent of the desert Qun language rather than Salz language (or Renosian dialects) of the continent seems to support it.
Cysarean trade and military is based on slaver ships and galleys transporting ore, wine and leather across the sea to Razajab Empire, as well as via land routes to neighbouring Perosa, Scythus Imperium and Kingdom of Renosa.

Salzmorgia:
Salzmorgia was a vast Empire controlled by Kaiser. Nowadays however, its lost most of its northern territories to the warmongering Basks, dwellers of the frozen forests in the north. And in the south, it recently lost Renosa when it declared independence. Now, Salzmorgia is half the size it was at the beginning of the century.
Salz is also a common language spoken in Southern Regius. It was once very harsh, nasal language but lately but the pronounciation and phonetics 'softened', giving rise to Salzmorgian poetry and ballads.
The other thing common in Salzmorgia are Wyvern stables. The wyverns, domesticated over three centuries ago, have been bred as war mounts and courier beasts, albeit they're slower than pegasi.
Wyvern eggs, wyvern leather and wyverns themselves are commonly exported from Salzmorgia, however the marble, glasswork and beer of Salzmorgia are widely known in the Southern Regius, along with the abundance of copper alloys, like orichalcum or brass; the metal mines of Salzmorgia have higher output rate even than iron mines of Perosa.

Razajab Empire:
Barely one century ago Razajab wasn't a single entity; it was merely a coalition of kingdoms and small nations, with only Philosophers being their unifying element. It was religion (and Rajub the Great) that unified the people and warring princes together.
Now Razajab controls much of the southern Punjab continent, except the Sands of Fire, a desert west of Razajab, where sands are said to be bursting into fire on especially hot days, however Razajab scholar determined its because of black, sticky mineral liquid that often pools in depressions on the desert.
Razajab language is hard to learn and even harder to master by Ethereans, the first difficulty being the fact that Razajabs write from right to left, not left to right. However, their language is very melodic and poetry of Razajab men and women sounds almost like songs and hymns.
The Empire sells three important items to Etherean Continent; coffee (ground and boiled as a drink), myrrh (its oil used in incense and medicines) and cotton (woven into warm, soft fabric). Besides that, it trades with distant Punjab Empire, from where it procures spices and perfume that one cannot find anywhere in Etherean Continent. Huge tariffs on these goods allowed Razajab Empire to buy plenty of iron and precious metals from Salzmorgia and Renosa, as the desert lands are scarce in mineral resources.