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Illendi history and geography are important here, so I'll sketch them before continuing. All four races live in relative cooperation in a set of nations inhabiting a single subcontinent, called <i>Illendor</i>, meaning "The High Land" or "The Great Land" in the Correll tongue. That subcontinent Illendor lies on the eastern edge of a large continent Pharallon, and is separated from that continent by a mighty mountain range (think India and the Himalayas). Because Illendor is a large subcontinent where the races live in close proximity, many of the cultural differences have slid along the visible racial lines rather than within or across races-- in other words, it's safer to generalize within a race than within cultures/regions/states that span races. That said, there is still as much political and philosophical variation within each race as you may have here on earth within the most racially homogenous states in Europe or Africa. For most of history, Illendor has been relatively isolated, visited primarily by sea traders. Intercourse with other races has varied based upon whatever nation the traders made contact with. Nations have risen and fallen in Illendor as in any other place, the most notable features being that a) they were almost entirely confined to Illendor, and b) they have for the most part all been multiracial nations. <i>B</i> is not entirely illogical; the races have their niches, and where those niches interact, the culture is multiracial; where the niches don't need to interact, there will be a predominance of one race. For instance, the Anghil naturally prefer eyries, and so are more plentiful in the mountains and above forests. They are inclined toward magical investigation and study. The Dondar, meanwhile, creatures of the plains and deserts, are patient, methodical, with long memories and histories. The Siarrans are most adaptable, knitting the others together or tearing them apart with their human-like impatience, volatility, creativity, and spirit. Dragons, finally, are removed, distant, powerful, rare. They don't necessarily have a generalizable niche-- the rare individuals are highly idiosyncratic. The generalization that can be made is that no generalization may be made. Young dragons are rarely seen, even for dragons... and when they are, they are often passing as far older, or as other races of their actual age. That's all fairly set as the framework; then there's history that may be worked with, whether or not it's true: Ages ago, dragons (or all Illendi) came to Illendor (some cultures forget or ignore that part). That was a time of high culture and technology (those same cultures claim that the golden age is simply the last thing the Illendi remember, and that they've forgotten their *native* youth and development). Eventually, however, that golden age ended (every culture gives a different reason for this). Much was forgotten over the years. Many wars were fought; borders and alliances shifted, and the Illendi expanded their territory to include all of the Illendor subcontinent. While pushing beyond that, the Illendi faced civilized quadrupedals (including humanoids) for the first time. Young and unsophisticated but possessing a passion and vigor beyond that of the Illendi, humanoids eventually rebuffed the Illendi enough for the far more advanced races to confine themselves to Illendor, a decree that held for thousands of years on both sides. Illendor, on the western and southern side of the mountains was for the Illendi; the rest was for the humanoids. That's very flexible. It could well be that the golden age lasted much longer, and ended only in or after the first collision with humanity. There could be long-abandoned colonies elsewhere on the continent. There could be cities where humans and Illendi live in harmony in the mountains (think Shangri-La). History of the Seekers
The history that is more definite is that of the Seekers, the group that the party is dealing with in Correllendor. The Seekers believe that the Illendi came to Vitas/Pharallon (the plane or planet) from some other place. Metaphorically, they call their transport a 'shooting star', but (some) acknowledge that to be a metaphor-- inasmuch as they walked upon the surface of the 'star' and often it's drawn as a one-sided piece of land, like a floating island. They believe that the magic of Pharallon was somehow alien to them, and that they were stranded here in an alien environment. They used that magic to adapt; nevertheless, before they had done so they had lost the location of their 'shooting star' and had lost much of their non-magical sophistication. (That's their "end of the golden age" explanation). The Seekers have sought to rediscover the homeland, which they call Nothoreadhel after the vision of a founder. They are a religious group on account of being held together by that core belief, but they are also a political entity which inhabits and 'controls' a respectable portion of land in Illendor. The Seeker philosophy is by no means just a cult among the Illendi, but neither is it the dominant religion by any means. The "Order of the Talon" is a paramilitary organization of elites from all areas of Seeker life. Think "Eagle Scouts", they often live other lives in many professions, may or may not be known to be of the Order, but represent the elites in their fields and are often leaders in the Seeker community. The Talons in this campaign are the leaders of the various task forces in Correllendor: Senet, the archvillain from the first adventure, was a Talon. Feheley, in the current adventures, is a Talon of ambivalent morality and friendliness. The quick and public version of the relevant Seeker history is that about 1300 years ago the Seekers fielded an colonization expedition to the Correllendor area. The colonization seemed to be successful, and the Seekers even claimed to have found a piece of their 'star'. News was infrequent from so far away at that point, and in between contacts, about 50 years after the colonization, contact was lost. The investigatory expedition that was launched took well over a year to return (the ocean is akin to the Pacific) and reported that the 'colony' had been reduced to a wilderness overrun by terrible beasts and erratic magic. 50 years ago the Talons reawakened interest in Nothoreadhel for many reasons, the most pragmatic being a new war with humanoids on the southwestern edge of Illendor. The Seekers are looking to escape Illendor entirely in the near future, and hope to do so to or through Nothoreadhel. Led by a group of Talons, a small colonial group sailed across the ocean and settled in the mountains of central Correllendor. They have been researching Correllendi culture, trying to determine the location of Nothoreadhel and the cause of the cataclysm, and prepare for a mass migration from Illendor into Correllendor and Nothoreadel. Enter the players, who have discovered the Illendi before they were quite ready, and have decided to make their own bid for shaping the future of Correllendor. |
The
Sign of Nothoreadhel