Flag & Heraldry (The Rainbow Crown)
A silver crown, flanked on either side by an inverted pyramid of rainbow stripes. (The colors represent the schools of magic, the pyramids are the two Houses of Breq, monuments of the once great Ennu Empire, believed to be the first to harness magic).
Ruler: Grews Isendrath the Fifth (sometimes referred to as “Grews Ironpipes”)
Overview and Recent History
More than any nation in Narenfel, Moormen culture is caught up with the ins and outs of magic. It drives their society, their thinking, their ambition. Mages and magecraft dominate every aspect of society, from farming, to building, to warcraft, to education. As a result, even the most common, blue-collared Moormen may seem cultured or intelligent to those in more far-flung locales. A sense of national pride, self-centered and proud is common.
In very recent history (like the last ten year) The War of Shadow against the Ibn-Or was primarily played out in Callen Moor. As a result, the nation itself has seen a lot of carnage. In the final days of the war effort, leading up to the final battle in which the Bridge was sealed, the then-Emperor of Callen Moor — Grews Isendrath IV — was assassinated. As a result, the jubilation and relief at turning back the Ibn-Ori forces was quickly eclipsed by the lack of leadership and a power vacuum. The standing army of mages, sigil lords and spellbows attempted to quiet the confusion in the capital city of Pelios / the Crown succession, but ultimately, they became divided themselves, with generals and legions falling under the sway of five of Callen Moor’s major houses. (Note: there remains a good deal of debate and political theory about who the assassin was, and more importantly who he was working for. Each of the five houses holds their own opinion of the matter, and that theory colors their methodology and agendas.)
While the rest of Narenfel went about the task of rebuilding, these five Houses continued to fight it out, shifting alliances with each other, and dragging the already war-torn nation into more conflict. The Houses waged direct attacks on each other in some places – such as on the eastern banks of the Alarondel near the Murkmoulde,– but in many cities, politics became the war of other means. Operatives of Houses bullied, negotiated or battled other House Operatives, making Callen Moor feel more like a patchwork of controlled territories from a House mafia. Some of this spilled onto the streets, but even the Houses realized that open warfare was bad for all involved, so over the past two to three years, most manueverings have become backroom power struggles, or are conducted through commerce or more shadowy means.
For now, House Isendrath maintains tentative (and fragile) control of Pelios and the standing national army, but it is poorly kept secret that the rest of the Houses are just watching and waiting for their opportunity to make a move. There is some debate about the readiness of the army in any case. Since the Shadow War, the ranks of the military seem have become far more corrupt and less regimented.
Geography
Callen Moor is the westernmost nation of Narenfel, bookended by the Morrowrill Mountains on the west, and the wilds beyond. Other than its southern provinces which tend to be more arid, even desert like, Callen Moor teams with forests, a few rolling hills, and abundant grasslands, rivers and lakes. It’s land makes it perfect for farming, and it produces all manner of produce. It is worth noting that like most things in Callen Moor, magic is fundamental. (See Foods for more on common agriculture, Amberic agriculture, and Efferlectic agriculture). Callen Moor has created an intricate network of roads connecting its cities, and horseback and cart travel is convenient and easy.
Dress
Callen Moor fashion is mage-inspired, and both men and women prefer the Djet, a double set of robes with divided trousers beneath, and long flowing robes with exterior pockets above. Moormen Djet are very colorful (in hues from bright yellow, to magenta, to cyan to red). They are very fashionable and often adorned with semi-precious or precious stones, or magic. Most men paint the lines of their eyes with a blue ink called agobe. Women use the agobe to paint their top or bottom lip blue. (The other lip is painted in a color that offsets their Djet.)
Foods
Moormen cuisine is heavily agrarian, with some fish and fowl dishes (pheasant is common). Food and food preparation is important to Moormen, and is the topic of much conversation. One common discussion is the use of the three types of agriculture in the preparation of the meals:
Culture & Society
More than any nation in Narenfel, Moormen culture is caught up with the ins and outs of magic. Mages and magecraft dominate every aspect of society, from farming, to building, to warcraft, to education. As a result, even the most common, blue-collared Moormen may seem cultured or intelligent to those in more far-flung locales. A sense of national pride, self-centered and proud is common.
Day to day life is face-paced; common transportation (horese/carts) is easy; and arcane transportation within the nation’s borders makes even long distances attainable for a slightly higher price.
The Five Houses of Callen Moor
HOUSE NAME | SIGIL | COLORS |
House Emberjade | The Spiderdragon | A golden spiderdragon on a field of crimson |
House Skyrill | The Fish and Coin | Three golden coins, above two golden fish, against a field of blue |
House Isendrath | The Star Crown | Silver crown with star ornament on a white field. (Generally incorporates rainbow trim) |
House Nyt | The Night Harp | Pale yellow harp on a black field |
House Rooksweir | The Tower & Hawk | Purple hawk, wings spread, atop a purple tower, against a green field |
House Arcraft
House Seat: Issenstone
House Leader: His Holiness Pree Ubay
House Influence: Strongest in the south/the coast
House Ashcraft has strong religious connections. The leader of the House, Pree Ubay is a tashi of Norharu. After the War of Shadow and the assassination of the previous Isendrath, Ubay claimed that the nation’s well-being was too fragile to follow a single ruler. Instead, he pushed for Callen Moor to follow the path that Bramm had taken a century earlier – in which the nation would be ruled by the clergy of a national religion, rather than a singular monarch. House Ashcraft heavily funds not only the Temple of Norharu, but makes very generous donations to all the temples of the nation. While Ashcraft does not have a standing army per se, most assume that if push came to shove, they would have the support of the Temples of Norharu and Thron, and perhaps all of the Great Temples. House Ashcraft has supplied all the vessels to the crown for the Callen Moor fleet, and retains a good number of ships along the coast for its own agendas.
House Emberjade
House Seat: Fortenbrau
House Leader: Lord Orzeleus Pith
House Influence: Strongest in northwest, also along rivers and roads
House Emberjade is perhaps the most independently wealthy of the powerful Houses. Following the assassination of Issendrath, Lord Orzaelous quickly assessed the volatile situation and simply bought the loyalty of many of the gen erals and mages. House Emberjade has played the role of kingmaker in the struggles between Houses – throwing its support (and its money) to back other Houses and to undercut those who displease it (or get in its way). To this point, it has not attempted to claim the throne or top-tiered power for itself, but has always entrenched itself in such a way that it remains fundamental to the House that has. House Emberjade has invested heavily in all the cities of Callen Moor, so their interests are reflected in virtually any large city. Following the War, they were also instrumental in rebuilding and dredging the ruined ports and harbors of the major waterways.
House Isendrath
House Seat: Pelios
House Leader: Grews Issendrath (“Ironpipes”)
House Influence: Strongest in and around Pelios, and to the east
House Issendrath claims the most obvious direct succession to the throne, but in terms of Houses, it is the smallest. Issendrath the Fifth has maintained control of the crown and the standing army through a string of smartly executed threats, and intimidations. He is called “Ironpipes” (not to his face) for his intimidation tactics, including physical abuse, torture, extortion, and whatever else is necessary. While House Isendrath remains in power, his morally gray tactics have also spread to those who support him; generals in the military have followed his lead, and bribes and favors are required to get things done. House Isendrath has connections to the Academy of Mystics, and funds them generously. It is whispered that his throne is protected more by his “personal army of mages” than the national army itself.
House Nyt
House Seat: Shadesong
House Influence: Strongest in the southwest
House Leader: Lady Heather von Essin
House Nyt was an early supporter and ally of House Isendrath following the assassination at the end of the Shadow War, but soon began to realize that it was being marginalized in the struggle for power and position. Most of House Nyt’s influence stemmed from its farm holdings in the southwest. Lady von Essin began to seek audiences with sages, mages and bards to discuss how to improve her standing; she became somewhat obsessed with the search for magics and artifacts that could give her an edge in House politics. Her power still stems from her ability to supply food to much of the country, but she has spent (and continues to spend) considerable resources to obtain relics and other objects of power.
House Rooksweir
House Seat: Westgate
House Influence: Strongest in the west and around orh-towers
House Leader: Aesham “Lucian” Ducrass
House Rooksweir is second only to Emberjade in terms of its wealth, but maintains a well-trained force of soldiers, toughs and mages. While it has a reputation for eliminating opponents who get in its way, House Rooksweir generally relies more on information gathering and power brokerage, rather than full-frontal assault. It is known to use shapechangers and have connections with the Temple of Ambyrlee, second only to House Ashcraft. While the State owns all Orh-Tower , Rooksweir contractors were the primary architects and administrators. In the years since the assassination, House Rooksweir has moved their forces into strategic positions around the Orh-Towers, effectively seizing control of the use of magic in and around city areas.
The Academy of Mystics
Callen Moor chapter: Pelios
Academy Master: Arch Magus Thereth Ma’zar
Though not a House, the Academy of Mystics exerts considerable sway in Callen Moor politics as well. The Academy is a multinational organization, with branches in every nation except Regimantis and Thell. The organization claims to be neutral in the politics of the land, focusing instead on the mastery of spellcraft, but the reality is that it wields enormous prestige, and is especially entrenched in Callen Moorand Brammish politics, though it is known to meddle in the agenda of nations, organizations, and powerful people every day. The Crown makes regular generous gifts to the Academy (and it is assumed to the Arch Magus personally, if not to many additional mages), so Callen Moor politics remain top of mind there.
“Mage Mafia”
While the rest of Narenfel went about the task of rebuilding, these five Houses continued to fight it out, shifting alliances with each other, and dragging the already war-torn nation into more conflict. The Houses waged direct attacks on each other in some places – such as the battlefield in which you guys role played our session last August (Emberjade vs. Rooksweir) – but in many cities, politics became the war of other means. Operatives of Houses bullied, negotiated or battled other House Operatives, making Callen Moor feel more like the Mage Mafia. Some of this spilled onto the streets, but even the Houses realized that open warfare was bad for all involved. For now, House Isendrath maintains tentative (and fragile) control of Pelios and the standing army, but common knowledge is that the rest of the Houses are just watching and waiting for their opportunity to make a move.
Magic
A note about this pervasive spell-casting: while magic is difficult to cast elsewhere, Callen Moor has developed a widespread, nationally governed system of Spelltowers (usually called “Orh-Towers”) that contain chunks of the meteoric orh-lode. Through a system of engineered mirrors and enchantments, these stones radiate outward, and create a favorable field for spell-casting for those in its radius. These towers are heavily guarded by Rainbow Crown guards; they are also viewed by most Moormen as the standing achievement of their nation’s prowess.
The Orh-Tower also stand as a way to quickly inform the population of the city; by tying the towers together and the use of mass-magics, the Ministry of Magic or ruling House can emblazon news, instructions, or pictures across the sky. It is unknown just how powerful these towers actually are; some citizens believe they can control weather, or even control the people themselves in case of riots.
The standing army of Callen Moor is most well-known for their archers called Spellbows. The spellbows are known for being fearsomely precise, and for raining down arrows imbued with a variety of spells upon their enemies.
The Academy of Mystics
The Academy of Mystics, much like the Vatican, claims to be neutral in the politics of the land, focusing instead on knowledge and magecraft. That’s what they claim. Anyone who has ever studied at any of the branches of the Academy (which are in every nation, except Regimantis), or who has shared any time with a mage from the Academy knows that the Academy is highly political, and furthers the agenda of nations, organizations, and powerful people every day.
That said, the Academy is THE premier institution of learning for all things Arcane, a fact even begrudgingly accepted by the Maugtheni Cahedra (which should say something about the caliber of its instruction and research.). Partly, this is because the Academy has declared itself as the governing body for cataloging and bestowing orh-lodes, which is essential for spellcraft higher than Common Magic. Thus, unless an aspiring mage wants to try to hunt down bootlegged orh-lode (which the Academy has deemed illegal), or travel to the Maugholdings to attend one of the Cahedra (which is expensive and annoying owing to all the Maugtheni who live there) all options for advancement are through the Academy.
There are three branches to the Academy (and Academy towers are built with three “legs” that merge together into one large tower at the top to reflect this): Research/Development, Catalog/Recovery, and Academic Studies. Each branch has its own system of hierarchy and leadership (deans/jara/etc.), all of which reside on a Council Board presided over by the Grand Magus of the Academy, currently a fiery magistrate by the name of Sharbaraz Eff. (Many Academy jokes about getting “effed” up). Each branch
Research/Development: This branch researches old spells, creates new spells, delves into the mysteries and differences between ancient magics (of Ennu, Or-Kish or Wyntiri), and new magics (such as the bloodmagics of Jhora-Daema). They also create items, enchantments, and work to unlock how ancient artifacts were first forged.
Catalog/Recovery: This branch catalogs magic items (both created and found), tracks orh-lodes and reports of misused magics, and sends out Mages and Sigil Lords to recover or restore magic balance.
Academic Studies: This branch educates future mages, researches the underlying nature of the tetramatrix and ripple theory, and discusses philosophical implications of spellcraft. Scholars in this branch tend to serve as the public arm off the institution, interacting with foreign goverments and organizations.
As you might imagine, each of these branches is full of secrets, knowledge and power, any one of which has the potential to topple governments, corrupt officials, or eradicate suffering for hundreds and thousands of common folk. With each of these comes the responsibility of knowing that there will be ripple effects and unpredictable, but equal magic reactions. Human nature being what it is, there are plenty of mages who believe that they alone know how best to utilize magic; there are also plenty of mages who adamantly believe that structure and policing are the only ways to ensure that another Cataclysm does rip the world apart yet again. (There’s also plenty of grays inbetween those positions). Basically, in a fantasy world, magic is power, and power is wielded or hoarded in an endless variety of ways.