Tarvon

People: Tarvoni. They tend to have light hair colors, from platinum blonde and strawberry blonde to as dark as a light brown. Their eyes tend to be bright and vivid colors, often green and blue, but sometimes red, silver, or violet. Their ears are unique, with the top and back of them flattened to give them a boxy or squarish look. Males tend to be between 5' and 5'8". Females tend to be between 4'8" and 5'4".

Language: Abyssal. Common secondary languages are Nuvro and Rava.

Heraldry: Symbols vary by cult.

Government: Anarchy.

Religion: 50% Cult, 30% Animal or Totem Worship, 15% Feergrus Cat Deities, 5% None.

Architecture: The Tarvoni often live in the ancient elven ruins found throughout the Tarvo Forest. When one is not available for use, they will build homes in the trees, carving out the centers of the largest trees or building platforms with the trees as the support pillars. The forest floor is a dangerous place, so the cities are always well fortified, something the homes in the trees have less to worry about.

Land Area: Approximately 445,934 Square Miles.

Population: 1,783,700. 99% Human, 1% Other.

Capital City: None.

Neighbors: Disputed Lands (Northwest), Hirka (Southwest), Nuvroc (North).

Landmarks: Tarvo Forest, Elven Ruins.

Terrain: Deciduous Forest, Evergreen Forest.

Natural Hazards: Deadfalls, Rotten Trees.

Imports: Manufactured Goods.

Exports: Magic.

Wealth: Personal wealth is of little concern to most Tarvoni, only power matters. They typically use coins found in the elven ruins for trade with other lands.

Currency: Crescent (1.1 Crown), Leaf (.1 Crescents), Arrow (.01 Crescents).

Declarations, Embargoes, Treaties, and Wars: The Tarvoni have kept neutral with most countries. They are at war with Agon, and many cults fight against the divine power of Feergrus. Their closest to an alliance is with distant Ravalei and with their neighbor Nuvroc.

Organizations: Other than the nineteen cults, it is known that the Shadow Cult hires itself out as if it were a guild of assassins.

Magic runs strong in the humans of the vast forest in the southeast of the continent. Small groups of magi hide in the forest and plumb the ruins they find. Ancient elven cities, once full of life, now sit empty and ripe for plunder. Their language is named for the Abyss Cult that created it, with rumors saying it was taught to them by the fiends they summoned and bound to their service.

Their forest is full of massive trees and terrible dangers. The Tarvoni Viper is considered to have the most virulent poison of any creature on the continent. The Tarvoni often make their homes up off of the forest floor to avoid the “devil dogs” called the Baer Taen Soggoth that hunt the magi. The country is controlled by nineteen different cults.

Abyss Cult - Perhaps the most powerful and oldest of the Tarvoni Cults, this cult controls the largest area, and even has some influence in Hirka. They tend to wear dark robes with a single spiral near the ground. The spiral is usually a dark maroon or violet color. This cult is a dictatorship, ruled by the most powerful mage, and only as long as he has the power to retain his position. Red eyes are common in this cult.

Ascendant Cult - This cult believes that with the proper magic, they can become more powerful creatures. Studies of elementals, fiends, and other such outsiders is common, as well as pacts with fiends to gain greater power. For all their odd allies, they are surprisingly peaceful. They will gladly trade information with others, hoping to learn the final secret to ascension.

Balance Cult – Believing that all things should be in absolute balance, most find this cult to be severely unbalanced mentally. They will do the strangest of things in the name of making things balanced. Each has their own definition of balance which makes them even harder to understand.

Crane Cult - This peaceful cult lives in the massive oceanfront elven ruin of Oaeslyne and in several small colony towns. Bordering Nuvroc, this cult will sometimes host visitors from Ravalei, as well as offering some hospitality to the wandering Nuvroci Rangers. They sometimes do trade with other Tarvoni cults, but their towns rarely have inns, so that travelers will not stay long except those invited to stay as a guest in the home of one of the families in the city. The Crane cult has a sensible nature to it. Its citizens tend to dress comfortably for the work they do, with no particular special dress. They do tend to admire the peaceful grace of the crane, a bird common to the eastern shores of Doulairen. Their culture is led by a small council of elders, with one leader at the head of it. Violet eyes are more common to this cult than most.

Dragon Cult - This group is extremely violent to any trespassers, even other Tarvoni. They wear little clothing other than their ritual headdresses, styled to look like a "dragon". Of course, as dragons are mythical creatures, no one knows what one would actually look like. The Dragon Cult worships dragons, hoping that one will rise as their ally. It is rumored that they are cannibals, and certainly those they capture typically never return. Those that do manage to escape are usually horrified by their experience. They always bear severe mental scarring, and often physical scarring to accompany it. Their culture is very tribal, with no central leadership. Several different small tribes wander their land, though they do not appear to attack each other, only outsiders.

Elder Cult – This cult believes that humans are a young race, as are even the dwarves and elves. They believe that an ancient race lives beneath the waves and that one day they will rise again. They worship these elder beings and pray for their return. They are rumored to make sacrifices to these elder deities.

Enigma Cult – This cult is very superstitious and believes everything is a sign, always looking for symbols and patterns in things. They often bump heads with their far more practical neighbors, the Iron Cult. Their magic is among some of the more powerful among the cults but they put it to odd uses due to following the interpretations of the signs they have seen.

Iron Cult - A pragmatic cult that concentrates more on the physical, they are excellent hunters, trappers, and also study the various martial arts. They do not like the more mystical paths, preferring to keep things more in the real world. Their magi are therefore quite straightforward in how they use their skills.

Moth Cult - A nocturnal group that believes in stealth and camouflage. They hide from potential foes. While other cults think of them as weak, they will fight any foe. This usually comes as a sneak attack in the middle of the night.

Red Fang Cult - A vicious cult that worships the predators of the forest. They are powerful warriors, with little empathy. However, they do have an odd sense of honor, based on the code of the predator. They do respect those who prove to be skilled predators. Leadership is determined by who proves to be the alpha male, following the conventions of the wild animals. They tend to dress in the hides of their kills.

Royal Cult – They believe themselves to be royalty and that all other races and cults should bow to them. Their attitude leaves them with few friends and allies so their goals have not gotten far yet. They tend to be quite aggressive to outsiders.

Shadow Cult - A mysterious cult, they prefer to work in the darkness. They tend to have darker hair and skin than the average Tarvoni, and it is rumored they have some blood ties to the Feergrus. Silver eyes are also common to this cult. Beyond that, little is known of this cult as they try not to be seen.

Silverleaf Cult - This cult enjoys its position in the southern part of the Tarvo Forest where icy conditions prevail through much of the year. They like to live at peace with the forest, which often makes them seem to be at odds with the Abyss Cult that neighbors them. However, there is a peace between the two cults. No one is sure why, and the two cults do not discuss it. There is a fairly equal distribution of eye colors in this cult.

Skull Cult - A necromantic cult, this cult shows many ties to Feergrus. They are well known among the Tarvoni as having been quite close to the Feergrus before there was a splinter. The Skull Cult has a very bitter hatred for the Feergrus, and pursue a very different line of necromancy than the Feergrus follow. Little is known of their culture or leadership. They tend to remain secretive, but are known by their dark clothing with a stark white skull symbol. Sky Cult – This cult looks to the power of the sun, the moon, the wind, and the clouds for inspiration. This can lead them to peace or wars, depending on the nature of the sky. They are a highly magical cult with a shamanistic touch to their culture. They believe that it is the powers of the sky that give them their powers.

Triangle - An odd bunch, this cult is extremely territorial. They have marked off a perfect triangle of area and guard it with an intense furor. It is rumored that they are highly logical and give a high priority to math, even using it to predict destiny via astrology. Very little is known about them due to their seeming xenophobia. There are also rumors of an extremely ancient ziggurat that serves as their base of operations in the exact center of the triangular area they control with an iron grip.

Turtle - A peaceful cult, the Turtle Cult believes that one should not rush into hasty action. They believe that like the turtle, they should have a strong defense. They are not aggressive, and make peaceful trade with other cults. They are accepted among most cults, as they are seen as a truly neutral party. They are valued for their insight, though their wisdom often takes a frustratingly long time to be given. Ultimately, they are extremely fair, and refuse to judge without knowing all the facts possible. Their culture is very democratic, sometimes to the point of being unable to take decisive action. They have no true leader, preferring to leave all their decisions to careful thought and a vote. They have a tendency to wear vibrant green robes, often seen as the color of neutrality.

Typhoon - A cult that dedicates itself to the raw power of the sea. From their personal preferences, they now have a strong tendency to have blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. They are a mercurial cult, and like the sea show little mercy. They tend to remain peaceful with other cults, but anyone who dares to "rock the boat" will see their fury.

Void Cult – A cult that believes in the finality of death and the circle of life. Rumors are that they are either an odd offshoot of the Skull Cult or the Shadow Cult. They are a somber cult, obsessed with the dead, graves, and rituals. They are fairly peaceful cult though they have strong feelings against the use of healing magics. They have no compunction about using the undead, believing death is the final end and that the corpses should be useful for something, eventually to be used as mulch to grow plants.

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