The Brotherhood: Blood (103 page)

Kalen’s Rise
– The second Point town in the Dark Mountain region.

Kegdulan
– The third, northern kingdom bordering the Hornblaris Mountains.

Ke’Tarka
– A military outpost near the southern end of the Liar’s Forest.

Lesliana
– The Elven Captial.

Lianasa
– A small farming community to the south of the Ke’Tarka outpost.

Liar’s Forest, The
– A forest notorious for housing bandits and other outlaws.

Little Worth
– One of the royal towns to the northwest of Ornala. It makes up one of the five royal towns of the Ornalan Providence.

Martyr’s Ocean
– The body of water that borders the Three Kingdoms.

Mines of Myr
– A supposedly-legendary place that exists to the far south of the Three Kingdoms and the Abroen Forest. Home of the Fae—the Wraiths, the Sprites, the Fairies, Pixie and Gnomes—it is said that within these mines runs a golden river that has manifested itself into a physical construct of the Will and runs throughout the entirety of the world.

Neline
– A frozen wasteland that was once known as one of the most beautiful places in the world. An angry prince—who, in legend, became the god Shiva (see
People
)—cursed the land to suffer as he had when he threw himself from the shores after his father threatened to kill his lover.

Ohmalyon
– The largest, most jagged island in the Tentalin Isles. Both the Ogres and the religious group known as the Tentalin Monks make their home here.

Ornala
– One of the three seaside kingdoms. Also the capital of the Ornalan Territory, built over fifteen-hundred years ago.

Ring of Germa, The
– The incomplete ring of grasslands that surrounds the Cadarack Desert.

Salem Sea
– The sea to the far northwest of Neline, notorious for the location of the Drow.

Springfield
– A royal town beneath the city of Deeana (southeast.) It makes up one of the five royal towns of the Ornalan Providence.

Sylina
– A town which borders an unusual river formation in which its tail ends split out into three or more separate branches. Also known as the
Three Rivers.

Tehkera
– A small farming village in the Abroen to the southeast of Lesliana.

Temtolac Ruins
– An ancient archeological site where the remnants of an old civilization that pre-exists the Kadarian peoples lie.

Tentalin Isles, The
– The island chain that exists within the gulf of the Three Kingdoms. Respectfully, the home of the Leatherskin races.

The Seaside Kingdoms
–
See
The Three Kingdoms.

The Three Kingdoms
– Respectively, Ornala, Kegdulan and Germa. Also called The Seaside Kingdoms.

Thor’s Hammer
– A canyon-like area within the Hornblaris Mountains that is said to never end. Named after the God of Plenty, Thor, for its hammer-like shape.

Three Rivers
– Otherwise known as Sylina.

Whooping Hills, The
– An expanse of highlands to the southeast of Ornala fabled for once being home to the now supposedly-extinct Centaurs. Called such due to the birdlike sounds the wind makes when rebounding off the hills.

Yolanda
– What was once the capital of the frigid island of Neline, now frozen over.

RACES

Centaur/Centaurs/Horse People
– The Centaurs were once a thriving species of half-man, half-equine creatures that were once said to roam the Whooping Hills and the forests surrounding them. In the finality of their existence, they were driven to the ends of their territories and killed by human armies who thought of them to be the ill-conceived product of horse and woman. For that reason, they were treated as nothing more than animals and killed regardless of the fact that they had their own culture and language. In life, Centaurs (or the Horse People) were said to have been noble hunters and masters of the art of survival, limiting their lives to the insides of caves in societal-like groups and establishing hierarchies with alpha males and females, though whether or not their existence ever really occurred is beyond modern man, as there have been no skeletal remains or proof of their lineage. There is, however, often a legend that some Centaurs have survived and now walk the world in darkness and places humankind has not touched.

Drow/Drowven/Dark Elf/Dark Elves/The Scourge
– Exiled due to their use of dark magics, the Drow (the general term used by the White Elven community) make their home on a large island named Durna that lies far beyond the Martyr’s Sea. Because of their use of dark magics (i.e,
Necromancy
,
Bone Magery
and
Flesh Summoning
) their skin has been ‘cursed’ to remain dark, thus taking away the pristine beauty a normal, White Elf has, and their minds have been shattered of regular morals and conscience. With black skin and a variation of dark red, purple and maroon hair and eyes, the Drow are fierce creatures that aren’t afraid to war against each other. Their violent tendencies drive them to kill each other off in order for one particular clan to reign supreme. This violence also causes them to resort to cannibalism, particularly in times of war. Drow society is structured by a system of kings and queens, though queens are more common because the males of the Drow race are the main military force.

Dwarf/Dwarves
– Another of the higher species, the Dwarves (plural) take shelter in the Hornblaris Mountains to the far north. Generally not appreciative of the other races, they prefer the silence and solitude of mountains. The Dwarves are ruled by a king who has descended from the ancient bloodline (which, supposedly, dates back to the beginning of time, when the Gods gave birth to the first Dwarf [singular.]) They spend most of their time mining for gold, eating fine meats and vegetables (which they grow with electrical bulbs that they have manufactured from glowing crystals) and farming in their mountains. While not immortal, Dwarves are capable of living for hundreds of years.

Elf/Elves/Fair Ones/White Elves/Pure Elves
– One of the higher species, the Elves (plural) live a simple life in their forest to the far south of the Ornalan kingdom. Capable of living for hundreds of thousands of years (they are called immortal, though there is no proof to show this.) Like plants, they gain the nutrients they need through the sun, thus eliminating the need of gathering protein through animals (which they condemn eating.) The Elves are ruled by a single queen. The queen’s sons hold claim to lesser command positions among their forest. Should the queen give birth to a daughter(s), said daughter(s) is given the highest source of training in the art of magic. Though Elven princesses are rare, the few that exist hold high power over the kingdom of nature. It is said that an Elven princess is able to summon an army of plants and animals to defend herself and her kingdom from the ravages of war.

Fae
– The Fae are a group of creatures that are born of the world from the magic of the Will. They are commonly believed to have originated from the Mines of Myr at the Ends of the Earth, far south of the Abroen and even the territories of the Crystal Desert. They are divided into five distinct species: The Wraiths, the Sprites, the Fairies, the Pixies and the Gnomes, and are said to have a susceptibility to iron, which kills them nearly instantly.

Fairy/Fairies
– A sub sect of one of the Five Races of the Fae, a Fairy is an Elven-like creature that grows only to the size of some few inches and bear the wings of either butterflies or the element from which they are born (some of which have wings of fire, grass, water, even light.) They are commonly associated with butterflies, as legend says that Fairies are instructed and taught to turn or appear in the shape of an insect in order to escape detection and safeguard their species’ survival.

Giant
– A now-extinct race of giant, humanoid creatures that once walked the lands, mountains and deserts of the far south. Most died of lack of food resources due to natural selection. Many also died due to humanity encroaching upon their habitats and therefor killing them because they were deemed ‘dangerous.’ They are seldom heard of in the north, though legends say that men used to kill them with simple swords and spears.

Goblins
– The smallest of the Leatherskin family, the Goblin can grow anywhere from three to four feet and live up to fifty years. Living in colony-like structures that can be compared to an insect hive, Goblins are ruled by either a king or a queen, the strongest of their pack. They prefer to live in mountains or caves due to their nocturnal nature, but will not shy away from underground caverns. With greenish skin and long, Elf-like ears, they possess little intelligence other than find, retrieve and command instincts. Birth rates are high, with the common Goblin female giving birth to five or six young at a single birthing and the breeding period always active. They are most similar to Orcs in terms of tribal warfare, but unlike Orcs, do not differentiate females from their fighter force. They are omnivorous and will eat most anything they can find.

Godly One
– A race of creatures that hail from across the Crystal Sea that once enslaved the Elves in their native land. They are seldom described, but are considered to be creatures of immense size and power.

Harpies
– (Also called Banshees.) An all-female species of half-women, half-bird creatures that exist within the Dark Mountains surrounding Denyon. Bearing the torso of a human female but the face, arms and legs of a bird-like creature, Harpies live in nest groups and reproduce through asexual reproduction, thus making them almost impossible to completely drive to extinction. They are said to come out only at night and hunt anything from wild animals to even the occasional human who may wander within their path.

Hornblarin Angels
– A semi-sentient humanoid winged species that lives within the Hornblaris Mountains. Six-feet tall and with a pair of snow-white wings, they appear to be covered in soft, black feathers, save for their white, bulbous head, and are almost completely human in appearance—save for their large, glowing red eyes. They live in nests systems generally ruled by an alpha male and female and migrate when populations get too out of control. Though they never leave the mountains, they guard their home territories viciously and have even gone so far as to kill Dwarves and some humans navigating the canyon-like areas around Thor’s Hammer.

Kehrama
– The Kehrama are a race of semi-sentient cat people that dwell within the forests of the Abroen. Usually living in small prides of up to thirteen individuals, they exist in the deeper and southern edges of the forest and rarely interact with races that are sentient and more knowledgeable than them. Not much is known about them, other than the fact that they appear to be horrors emaciated beyond compare, but they are generally agile hunters and are not often seen within the forests themselves. Few who have ever come into contact with a Kehrama ever live to tell the tale, as their acute hunting methods eventually lead most sources of prey to an early and untimely death.

Kerma
– A dying race that once thrived over the frozen lands of Neline, the Kerma have been reduced to small tribes that currently live in the ice mountains. No larger than a child and bearing the resemblance of a standing bear (with a skeletal structure that resembles an upright-walking creature,) the Kerma hunt the giant rodents and other mammalian species that roam the ice land. Their numbers have depleted due to a disease that causes tumors that grow on their faces, which usually eat away the face until the eyes, nose, and mouth are gone. Many Kerma die because they cannot eat or find it too painful to do so. Few seldom die from the rapid decline in brain activity when the tumors appear on the insides of their skulls. Kerma society is ruled by a single tribesman. Should the leader of a tribe die, his son takes control of the tribe. If no heirs are present, the strongest Kerma in the tribe becomes the tribal leader.

Ogre
– One of the outer sentient races that dwell in the Tentalin Isles, Ogres are large, brutish creatures that are generally thought to be dumb and incapable of organizing societies. Most stand at anywhere from ten to fifteen-feet-tall and live in tribe-like societies in the forests on the island of Ohmalyon. The coloration amongst the Leatherskin family
(see
Terms)
is dependent on the origin of the individual tribe. Most Ogres range in color from red, dark-green and grey, though lighter colors have been shown to appear on families that have lived closer to large bodies of water or in mountainous regions. In an Ogre society, they are governed by a single Shaman, an Ogre or Ogress that possesses a magical gift (a rare and unusual trait not often found in Leatherskins.) Ogres are highly dependent on one another in society, in which duties are determined for each sex based on capability, not gender. Young Ogres are considered priceless (due to the low birth and success rate) and those that hurt or kill young are often tortured and killed themselves. While not the most violent in the Leatherskin family, Ogres are the most knowledgeable, securing them an ample place in the Leatherskin hierarchy in terms of intelligence, organizational skills and communication prowess. An Ogre moves by supporting its massively-muscular body on its gigantic hands, which have evolved with tougher skin in order to support their weight and break, then scar over during their youth.