Feergrus

Controlling a vast swath of inhospitable terrain, this country survives through many interesting markets. They till the fertile grounds in the north near Agon, using menial labor from the walking dead that their necromancers raise and control. These undead are also used throughout the country for all mindless manual labor. There are no burials in Feergrus, the bodies of the dead are considered naught but objects and the property of the church. All that die in Feergrus become part of the country's vast undead workforce.

Where more intelligence is needed, the Feergrus also have slaves. They have little respect for other races, and any who commit crimes or that they capture while fighting in the Disputed Lands often become slaves. Those slaves are bred, and their children are born as slaves. All of the undead and slaves are used so that most of the Feergrus can live relatively luxurious lives with little real work.

Despite this, some Feergrus wish for more power. Each Feergrus, however, has their power determined by their caste. The most powerful caste are the followers of the deities, priests and templars. Highly educated, they often have their own idiosyncratic way of speaking due to their many religious terms they like to use. A priest's rank is told by the circlet they wear.

The circlets of the priesthood vary by which deity they follow. Each will have gems to determine rank. Followers of Rakar use red gems. Followers of Nazzer use blue gems. Followers of Chasar use black gems. The number of gems and quality of the circlet's metal determines the rank of the priest. The circlets of those chosen to become hierophants of the religion often have gems of all three deities.

The next caste are the merchants and artisans. The artisans include such people as the necromancers and others that have valuable and powerful skills. Warriors not directly related to the state religion are also considered to be artisans. Artisans can own property and are often some of the greatest wealth producers in the country.

The lowest caste of Feergrus are the servants. A step above slaves they are technically free people. However, they have no homes of their own and serve the higher castes in areas where slaves can not be trusted. Many of this caste do all they can to try to gain favor and raise themselves to a higher caste. Caste is usually hereditary, passed down along matriarchal lines.

People of lower caste often give themselves and their children to the church. They hope that they may join that caste. The church often looks for those with certain traits to serve as their priests or warriors. The people of the land mostly find the system fair as those of talent gain a better place. However, there are great families that hold many positions in their caste. They use their power and influence to try to assure that their relatives remain in power. Some are spiteful and work to deny any who come from lesser castes.

Many in Feergrus tend to wear little, if any, clothing despite the often chill temperatures. Often people will huddle together to share warmth as well as to copulate. Acts that many countries would consider lewd or erotic are common practice in public. Prostitution is legal, as well as recreational drugs. Their drugs and their prostitutes are a major export, usually through the export of their religion.

The people of Feergrus are led by the powerful high priest known as Lord Glanar Dale. Only a few are allowed to visit him, including the powerful commander of military forces known as Commander Karrum Tamb, and the diplomat known as Executor Devis Lane. Lord Glanar Dale presides over the three churches of the people, the cat deities Chasar, Nazzer, and Rakar. Chasar is the symbol of darkness. Rakar is the symbol of light. Nazzer is the balance between the two.

Chasar is seen as the deity that brings death, plagues, darkness, and pain. He is part of the natural order, and is kept in check by Nazzer. Rakar is the deity that brings light, pleasure, and enlightenment. His ecstasy could overwhelm, so he is also kept in check by Nazzer. Nazzer is a deity of balance. He provides the pleasure of Rakar to the worthy, the pain of Chasar to enemies, and keeps everything in balance.

Chasar is often seen as a war deity, as most worship to him is to inflict his misery on enemies of the state. The priests of Chasar also control much of the teaching of necromancy. Many new converts revel in the pleasure that Rakar can provide, though Rakar also controls the vast majority of the country's slave trade. The true priests follow Nazzer, and therefore use the power of all the gods through his balance. Their religion is spreading fast through the other countries except Nuvroc and Tarvon, though almost entirely those following of Rakar. Many young people are drawn to the sex, the drugs, and the life of leisure. Some end up as just more slaves for Feergrus, working as labor or as prostitutes.

The magical power of the priests is described as the power of holy fire, which is described as the Infernus. Their language is based on the holy scriptures that describe this power. There are also rumors that this power allows the Feergrus to assume the shape of a panther, but no one is sure if this is true. It is definitely true, however, that attacking any panther in Feergrus is a crime punishable by death with no exceptions.

In Feergrus, even relationships are different. Marriages are often arranged, and being married to multiple partners is not uncommon. This is especially true for those of high station who have many suitors wishing to improve their caste. The people of the land are also very open about their proclivities. Public sex acts, open relationships, the use of prostitutes, orgies, and many other such things happen fairly frequently.

One thing that must be remembered with Feergrus is its history. The violent beginning it had led to many misunderstandings, mistrust, and even some of the problems it has in modern society. Two distinct cultures began in Feergrus and they clashed in philosophy. One was the worship of the three feline deities. The other called themselves Adhabu Hatari Kifo (Meaning Pain, Danger, and Death). They were often just called the Ahk. They were the first necromancers of Feergrus with a belief that all should become undead.

Those who wanted undeath were welcomed and made into thinking undead. Those who resisted were tortured and raised as mindless undead. They envisioned a world where no life remained. Fighting was constant in Feergrus and the Ahk often had the upper hand thanks to their huge numbers of undead minions. However, the followers of Chasar tortured information out of captured enemies and learned the tricks of necromancy.

Things slowly began to go against the Ahk, and in desperation they lashed out at explorers from Agon and made a deal with one of the Tarvoni cults. The Agonish explorers became new undead servants, but awoke the military might of Agon. The Tarvoni, who would become the Skull Cult, merely learned all the necromancy they could then betrayed the Ahk and slaughtered any in Tarvoni lands. With the pressure from the Agonish military, the followers of Ahk were defeated by the followers of the three deities.

However, Agon believed the Ahk were representative of Feergrus as a whole. It took many years before Feergrus and Agon were able to step down from hostilities. Even in current times there is some distrust, though history lessons have helped the two countries to be allies, if the alliance is sometimes hesitant. The legendary skill of the healers in Feergrus has helped relations greatly. The Agonish are, however, concerned by the slave trade, especially of Agonish citizens.

As shows of good faith, families that trade with the Agonish often negotiate for the release of slaves. This often adds to the level of intrigue between the powerful families of Feergrus. Some of the more interesting families include:

Avar - Known as the most wealthy of the families in Feergrus. Their wealth often comes from underhanded deals. They will do anything for a profit or for power. They will ally with anyone that can aid their cause and betray those allies at the opportune moment if it aids their cause. However, they will never allow anything to hurt their reputation. They always have a scapegoat ready in case one of their schemes goes wrong.

Bora – Having long struggled to rise above the chaff. The Bora family erupted unto the scene after the disgrace of the Cala family. The production of an amazing prodigy that made a great showing as a priestess of Chasar also helped. The prodigy quickly outshone a slightly older priestess of Rakar from the Cala family. They are considered to be a family on the rise in power.

Cala – Once held among the highest of favor, a scandal brought them low. While still quite powerful, the other powerful families have taken the opportunity to do anything they can to make themselves look better than the Cala family. While their power is seen to be in decline, they do have many people in significant positions. The suspicions on those people due to the disgrace of their highest ranking family member in the government does limit how far they might push their luck.

Deva – Alchemists of great note. Their work on drugs has been a great boon for healing, as well as for recreational uses. They are often behind the scenes of various poisonings or drug induced crimes. They have been working hard to export their goods and unleash ill effects on other countries. They would rather use their skills to weaken other countries than to harm their own. This does not stop them from using their skills on other the other families of Feergrus if they get in their way.

Elan – The most prolific of the slave traders. Their mercantile ties give them considerable power as they are extensive. They are most known for their charm and salesmanship. They have a remarkably good relationship with their trading partners in Agon. Their power within the realm of slaving has allowed them to acquire and free a great many allies or those important to their allies and potential allies. They also have the ability to make people disappear that their allies might want gone.

Fara – Considered the premier healers. Most of those that train healers are from this family. Often they use this power to advance their causes, as well as determining who gets sent into dangerous assignments versus a more cozy and safe assignment.

Goja – Experts in necromancy. Their knowledge of the human body is second to none. They constantly fight rumors that they have ties to the Ahk Separatists. It is also rumored that they have trained assassins in better ways to kill and disable foes.

Hina – Spiteful beyond measure, their spies work towards the downfall of other families. They are extremely loyal to each other, and use pawns to effect change. They do their best to keep their own hands clean. Their loyalty also is to the theocracy, their hate for the Ahk Separatists is also unmatched.

Jira – Lords of the massive port city of Ubayyid. In their mind, their main competition is the Rava Coast Trading Company. It is rumored that the family funds and harbor pirates.

Kona – The most powerful of the hierophants of Nazzer comes from this family, and is one of the few people to report directly to Lord Glanar Dale himself. Much of the family is quite haughty due to their prestige. They see the other great families as inferior and only accept arranged marriages from the most exceptional of people. However, they judge solely by the person’s capability and are therefore open to bringing in people from any caste or family. However they turn a blind eye to any blood relations that are less than competent. While new family has to be extremely vetted, they might be married to an unexceptional or even deficient person.

Maya – They believe that honor is everything. They are mostly a military family, and are greatly disturbed by the treachery by a highly placed member of the Cala family. They are fairly easy to manipulate with challenges to their honor, but few wish to deal with the consequences of pissing off the backbone of the Feergrus military.

Roon – They control most of the farmlands. The family often says that whoever controls the food controls the country. However, the Goja family controls many of the undead workers, bringing the tow families into an uneasy alliance.

Yanu – Considered the experts in the field of relationships and love. Most people see them as a neutral party, as the family generally just wants everyone to get along. They often work to arrange marriages to create peaceful relations between families. The family is far from neutral, however. They work towards their own goals in their arrangements. They believe that with the right breeding and alliances that all of Feergrus will one day fall under their control. Some even believe that targeted breeding will lead to a perfect human.

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