This page describes, in broad strokes, the political factions and relations in the world of Dawn.
HtmlImageFactory.new(Map.getInstance()).doWork();
A map the size of Meganesia (that is, the Australian continent, including surrounding islands) is bound to demonstrate some interesting features. Below, an overview of the area is given. These generally progress from east to west.
Mirthwake Isle
At the far east. Mirthwake Isle is home to a few cities - in the population of thousands - but its natural features are more intimidating. The sandy, difficult beaches run up against rocky cliffs, 40' tall at the lowest points. Spiralling staircases and underground structures are built into the cliff faces, controlled alternately by Fatewhittle and the Whetstone Empire.
Energies of the Seelie Court run strong through this place, and casters find it easier to learn new spells in the area. This lead to the construction of the Fatewhittle Archives, a bastion of arcane might.
Naiad Shoals
Somewhat of a misnomer, the Naiad Shoals is a massive area - nearly a quarter of the continent - of alternating estuaries, marshland, and the titular shoals.
Yid River runs across the marshes, starting at Corpus Peak and feeding into the Great Mouth of the Naiad - a massive river delta. Yid River's path is of an odd shape due to its history - it has historically been tended by the Unseelie Court toward its purposes. The Whetstone Empire takes advantage of the cutting depth of Yid River for both trade and warfare, as appropriate; it maintains outposts and docks along the river through the continent, even into the Free Midwest.
Mirthwake Shoal is said to be the birthplace of the first Philosopher-Magnate of the Eastern Citadel. It leads directly to Mirthwake Isle. Its sands glimmer a deep blue, though when removed from the area it quickly loses its unique tone.
Rolling Plains
Home to the Heresit Clanwork, the vast Rolling Plains are a dry land - pockets of deserts and occasional vast lakes occupy the broader area. The Nine Peaks catch most of what rain would fall here and cast it to the Western Development, further enhancing the far more fertile ground found there.
Travelers who aim to reach the Western Development, or those carrying trade from the Western Development, typically either bring protection against the Heresit and the various dangers of the wild, or seek passage under the wing of the Whetstone Empire's mighty, civilised, yet intimidating river-schooner fleets.
Nine Peaks of King Fein II
Formed by the decrepit deities and said to be strongly tied to the ancestors, the Nine Peaks were only named after King Fein II of the Sacrum Imperium after his grand campaign to exterminate the Hirat Federation in 605. Though civility has largely resumed, the Sacrum Imperium had a much greater cultural control at the time, pursuant to which the name stuck.
Six of the Nine Peaks are named after the Six Bladed Planes, and the remainder after the three great Bastion Nations - as they were once called. In order from tallest to shortest: Impera Peak (The Sacrum Imperium), Mt. Dariim (The Dariim Consortium), Whetstone Peak (The Whetstone Empire), Mt. Seelie (The Seelie Plane), Mt. Unseelie (The Unseelie Plane), Bright Peak (The Plane of Light), Mt. Corpus (The Plane of Flesh), Crimson Peak (The Red Plane), Blunt Peak (The Plane of Fugue).
Currently, the Nine Peaks are largely controlled by the Varanti Commonwealth; trade through the passes is often tolled nearly to the point of extortion.
Varanti Rainforest
The lush rainforest of the Varanti Commonwealth often inherits the same name, though officially it was once the proper home of the Ishana Collective. Still, in the time since, the Varanti and Ishana have managed to agree on most matters - the Varanti less inclined to violence, and the Ishana having their hands full with the Ardor Federation and the Sacrum Imperium breathing down each other's necks.
The Varanti Rainforest runs thick with the energy of the Unseelie - its heart resting closest, of any of the Nine Peaks, to Mt. Unseelie itself. The Commonwealth takes advantage of this abundance of energy in order to run various arcane universities and well-warded trading posts, which dominate what few patches of the Rainforest have been cultivated by human and elven hands.
The Western Dunes
At the south-west edge of the continent, far from the heavy rainfall of the Varanti, rises the expansive Western sand dunes. Running up against even the beaches proper, this vast uninhabitable land still serves important strategic and economic purposes - rich in Fey magic, minerals, and buried ruins.
An ancient civilisation, powered by lost arcane magic, stripped this area of its life, turning the ground itself into a forsaken wasteland - a no man's ground. Today it serves as a spiritual retreat for the Ishana Collective; a ground of war for the Sacrum Imperium, Ardor Federation, and Hirat Federation; and as an alternative to the passes of the Peaks for the Varanti Commonwealth.
Along the eastern edge of the continent, the Naiad Shoals and Mirthwake Isle together provide a home to three nations: the magnanimous and religious Eastern Citadel; the fey-touched Fatewhittle; and an undisputed naval power, the Whetstone Empire.
Citadel
The sole bastion of the deities for the entire, largely non-religious, Eastern side of the continent, the Citadel refers to both a faction and a location. The Citadel proper is a centuries-old, massive construction, housed over hundreds of buried ancient holy sigils inscribed in the grand Holy Catacombs, protecting it from most dangers and preserving it - even from the temptations and whims of Fey.
The faction called Citadel is a traditionalist military power with mandatory service from all citizens, themselves organised in such a manner as to resemble an army - prestige awarded to its members according to their valour, however they contribute to their cause. Highly regimented and structured, Citadel is a somewhat bureaucratic society - yet impenetrable to the blight of darkness and the chaos of Fey.
Fatewhittle
The Fatewhittle is a loose-knit tribal society of fey-touched, humans, and various fey races (including elves and gnomes) living among the marshes, estuaries, and the Great Mouth of the Naiad. Drawing on the evasive powers of the Seelie Court and the disruptive strengths of the Unseelie Court, the Fatewhittle trades rigour and technological progress for the whimsy and ever-growing might of the Fey.
Individual tribes have varying behaviours, though most tribes share traits in common. Those not members of the Fatewhittle have trouble understanding its customs; those native to any tribe find them intuitive, even naturally coming to mind. Things "just make sense" to those who grew within the system. War and peace are like seasons to the Fatewhittle; they spar against each other, losing trivial resources - but mostly band against Citadel, striking on behalf of the Fey powers that guide and protect them.
Whetstone Empire
The Whetstone Empire is a far-reaching nation, with outposts down Yid River up to the Nine Peaks. Militarily, they are the most powerful naval institution, and as a consequence they have a major logistical advantage over most other nations; on the other hand, they tend to rely less on magic and more on tactics than others, and this lack of praise for the arcane and divine has lead to a decline in their ability to control the battlefield.
The centre-most section of the continent, between the Naiad Shoals and the Nine Peaks of King Fein II, from which run the southern river of Inrek's Toll, is host to four nations: the cultured and arcane Dariim Consortium; the brutish and nomadic Heresit Clanwork; the industrious Mensit Clanwork; and the cultish minor guerilla power, the Hirat Federation - not counted among the Nations of Dawn proper, but a nation-like power nonetheless.
Dariim Consortium
Heresit Clanwork
Mensit Clanwork
Unlike the Heresit Clanwork, the Mensit are a matrilineal society, and place great emphasis on the earth and familial inheritance. They avoid the primal power of the Fey, though to a less exteme extent than Citadel; the strength of Unseelie energy flows through them as they work the earth, and the power of the Seelie Court fills them as they engineer yet better ways. Still, they never act on behalf of the Fey courts unless it suits them; the Mensit are a reclusive, yet not entirely xenophobic group.
Hirat Federation (non-Nation; nation-like power)
Said to be descendants of the inventors of the Horrific, the Hirat Federation is a highly religious sect of cultists, working to raise their dead god - Orcus, Horrid Demon-Lord. The Hirat are universally reviled for their combined use of guerilla warfare and high-profile assassinations. The Hirat Federation has no true physical home, but its agents have infiltrated most governments - even, at times, to the highest levels. This has particular repercussions on the Dariim Consortium, who have historically been heavily "infected" by the Hirat's agents, and are therefore indirectly distrusted.
The continent west of the Nine Peaks technically provides for five nations, though one is a minor protectorate: the Orbro Protectorate and Ardor Federation - considered a single Nation of Dawn - the prime rival on the western side of the continent to the Sacrum Imperium for the title of the religiously inspired; the Sacrum Imperium, the self-proclaimed keepers of the Ancestor's will; a subtle yet decisive group of druids and their followers, the Ishana Collective; and the politically dominant Varanti Commonwealth, controllers of trade routes and powerful arcane libraries.
Ardor Federation & Orbro Protectorate
Sacrum Imperium
Ishana Collective
Varanti Commonwealth