NWoD Valdera:Myranthians
Myranthians, Heirs to the Fallen Empire[edit]
Myranthia was once known as the eternal empire. For more then a thousand years it ruled the known world. The Empire built many of the roads still used in Valdera today as well as great fortresses and cities far greater then anything modern man can build. It is said that the city of Myranth was home to more then six million people, a city so vast that a man on horse back could enter the west gate at morning and not reach the east gate by night fall even if he traveled all day. Her armies were the envy of the world over, and none had seen defeat by an enemy of equal size in remembered history.
But that is the past. Seventeen hundred years ago the fall occurred, and man kind plunged into darkness. The Myranthian people were nearly eradicated, with every man woman and child old enough to hold a blade having stayed to defend their city with a wall of steel and flesh. Less then ten thousand Myranthian children left, carried to an island off the Coast of the Lands of Barrow by the fleet of Tol. The Sword-Saint Iksander and two hundred of the youngest members of the Virgin Guard were sent with the infant Empress as well.
Myranthians in modern Valdera live on the islands of the Dragons Teeth archipelago, off the coast of the Barrow Lands. In the Age of Darkness they turned the islands into a series of fortresses, each with two small harbors, sheer cliff walls and fortifications and towers to watch and protect any approach.
Life on the islands is hard. The land gives up very little, and the winters are long and cold with short summers and an autumn which brings violent storms. Myranthians are not a people to complain however. They view the islands as a blessing, a place to harden their young. For all Myranthians are warriors. From a young age they are given by their families to the military colleges of the islands where they learn not only to fight, but also the arts of war. How to construct ladders and siege towers, battlefield medicine, foraging and survival. From a young age they learn to rely on their brothers and sisters, and to work as part of a team.
Myranthia is strange in Valdera in that men and women are equal citizens, and have the same rights and privileges. In the south the sight of Myranthian female warriors is always cause for a stir and gawking.
Myranthia has not been attacked in a very long time, mostly on account of the islands being very heavily fortified and not very tempting as conquest. As such, many young Myranthians form mercenary companies with their fellow graduates of the war collages and travel to the south lands, where they have little trouble finding work. Considered by most to be the finest warriors in the world their service usually commands a high price, and for the young Myranthians it offers a chance at a warriors death in battle, or better the chance at building their own legend.
Religion: Myranthians worship the old Gods of the North, and none so much as Bohdi, the Death Goddess. But most of their worship is ancestor worship. There are very few temples on the islands, and none to Bohdi, but rather thousands of shrines to Myranthian and Tol hero's who have given their lives in battle, and lived lives worthy of recognition. The shrine to Iksander is one of the most popular, and he has an almost hero-god like cult among the Myranthians.
Racial Bonuses: Myranthians gain a free specialty in their choice of Athletics, Weaponry or Survival. They gain three free skill points to put into PHYSICAL skills.
