Vandal-Tuonia

“How much do we have to pay for you to leave?” -Anonymous Hephecian Governor

A confederacy of Tuonic clans that did not submit to the first High King of Gild-Tuonia. The term “Vandal” originated as a pejorative label for their unruliness but was embraced as a point of pride, though the Vandal-Tuons often internally prefer the term “Niufhaisen,” or “the unbowed.” The “Land of the Vandals” dominates southern Cisosgalia on the western side of the Horned Mountains. It's southern boundary at the river Seraphis is well defined, but the border on the north is nebulous as Tuonic influence on the wide Cisosgalian Tableland waxes and wanes.

While the confederation is made up of over a dozen major clans, distinction is made between the Tilarid-Tuons who populate the lowlands and grasslands and the Bair-Tuons who live in the highlands.

Geography

Aeterkanth Knelldale

upper seraphis river

Murkmist Lagoons

A stretch of coast south of Fanudhrad, the Murkmist is a region said to be where the sea swallowed the land. Hundreds of uncharted islands are separated by miles of lagoons and swamps, all enveloped in a near-continuous fog. This fog is said to be what remains of the curse sent by Heaven to destroy the wicked people that inhabited it. Ruins of this lost civilization can be easily found among the waters, but the sea's wrath was so complete that scholarly investigation has only yielded circumstantial theories.

Despite the general gloominess of the region, herds of lights are often seen floating in the fog - said to be spirits from the Celestial Realm or ghosts of the punished. Compasses and other navigation tools do not function regularly in the lagoons, and violent storms are frequent.

Orgus Skierod

The highlands of the “Orc Crusade” lie to the far northwest of Vandal-Tuonia and represent the furthest and harshest border for the Tuons. Though expeditions often cross the Rumwis river into the even more distant Cisosgalia, most of the energy that would be put into expansion there is spent instead keeping these hills pacified. Lacking major visible magical scars, the relentless danger of the region comes instead from inhuman hordes that regularly descend from mountain holds to raze and pillage.

These raids are sometimes minimized by lowlanders as a pernicious but ultimately straightforward case of syphkolk infestation, and over the centuries several clan councils made attempts to scour the lands of syphkolk nests with favorable but short-lived results. The highland clans, and those that answer their persistent call for volunteers, view the Orc Crusade as the last true battlefront of the ancient Tuonic Crusade. Orc crusaders speak of the armies they face as far beyond syphkolk rabble, but combined armies of giants, centaurs, wolves, and monsters of every kind with ranks then merely filled out with syphkolk. These armies, they say, fight as well organized legions of the Romalian Empire and operate with cunning strategy, demonic echoes that wish to relish and replay the bloody climax of the Great War for all eternity. Outsiders sometimes detect a hint of the same among the crusaders, as some seem to take dark pleasure in the continuous warring. Some lowlanders suspect they may even be enthralled to the point of orchestrating stalemates, intentionally or subconsciously, instead of achieving victory and the peace it would bring.

Who leads the invading armies is a subject of much conjecture, with popular theories being Eleshite immortals, Stained Anthegals, or even traitor Tuons.

Praedurus Glassdrifts

The ruins of the Romalian diocese Praedurus, utterly destroyed in the Great War even before the Tuonic Crusade. The cataclysm left the region's rich estates, cites, people, and all life turned to clear glass for hundreds of miles.

Those that would come after the Romalians, including the Vandals, would with few exceptions utterly fail to find a way to resettle the land. Glass soil refuses to nourish even simple lichen, and requires difficult and hazardous to dig tunnels to unaffected rock. After centuries of toppled and broken glass objects, the ground is now littered with pockets of finely pulverized glass dust that appears at first glance to be snow. When blown by the wind it quickly scours all unprotected skin, blinds uncovered eyes, and shreds the lungs of those that breathe it to drown in their own blood. To add to this danger, whether by the difference in heat insulation between the glass and its original earth, or by some secondary effect of the cataclysm, the region is far colder than its neighbors and mundane snow and ice is mixed with the glass sand most of the year.

Stainragin Glyphmarck

Meaning “unforgiving judgement,” the high northern plains of Vandal-Tuonia are vast and unyielding. Magical scars from the Great War manifest in this hard land in several ways.

The first is that the earth of the region is literally unyielding. Soil requires harder tools to dig in, and stone shatters all but the sturdiest of picks. Erosion does not affect the stony fields of glacial rocks, nor do the high seaside cliffs submit to the sea. Rivers cut wide and shallow, and thus flood easily.

Another effect of the magical scars is the glowing runes, large and small, that dot the landscape. The glyphs are not legible in any human language, and appear and disappear without apparent reason. Most believe, as anecdotes report, that they are formed whenever a person makes an oath or deal within the region, and a common cultural practice seeks to find the rune that is formed whenever a marriage, business deal, or other oath is made so that is can be tracked. These “watchglyphs” are said to break apart and disappear if the oath is betrayed, putting a curse on the one who broke it. The specific curse for a broken glyph is not pre-determined, but always harsh and often bloody.

History

Government

For much of the 4th Age the government of Vandal-Tuonia was highly localized among clans who formed petty kingdoms. Kings were judged mostly by their martial prowess, and seen more as a first-among-equals of the military leaders of a clan rather than a de'jure ruler of territory. Many clans practice elective rule, where kings are chosen for life but can be selected from any noble house from within the clan.

When necessary, the various Kunigaz (kings) could meet in a council, and during emergencies one could be elected Haryis-Kunigaz, or War-King. Importantly the Haryis-Kunigaz could only serve for one campaign season, and could not be re-elected to consecutive terms.

Parties, Ideology, and Politics

Political Divisions

Vandal-Tuonia is primarily divided into petty kingdoms, which are distinguished mostly along clan lines instead of territorial boundaries. Petty kingdoms were often further divided into major Houses of the clan, who would each rule settlements and land as fiefdoms. Petty kings were typically not allowed to assert ownership of land directly, except those holdings traditionally held by the clan's royal house. Land of a House could only commonly be seized by the king as a punishment for treason or other major crimes, or through a negotiated transfer to another House.

Major Clans

• Tilarid-Tuon
  • Aithur - Clan Oathkeeper
  • Duthsild - Clan Fish Feast
  • Gundhros - Clan Warhorse
  • Hrafnith - Clan Ravenkin
  • Hrainskil - Clan Pure Shield
  • Lukun - Clan Book & Key
  • Sungala - Clan Gathering Sun
  • Sunqeth - Clan Truthspeaker
  • Spardith - Clan Spearbreaker
  • Ufawrat - Clan Farwander
  • Winasang - Clan Love Song
• Bair-Tuon
  • Blasaghas - Clan Blazing Spirit
  • Englasig - Clan Angelic Victory
  • Falgonthur - Clan Enduring Falcon
  • Stagbald - Clan Bold Stag
  • Weisgund - Clan Holy War
  • Wyrmslahan - Clan Wyrm Slayer

Foreign Relations

Military

Economy

basic economy info

Income and Human Development

Science, Magic and Technology

Demographics

Language

Religion

Education

Health

Crime and Law Enforcement

Culture

Popular Culture

High Culture

Food

Sports