The World Of Khoras - Civilization - Nations

"Seventeen years to conquer a nation. But now they want all of Aggradar..."
- Firamas Ri, Eshtari Noble

Description

The Trossoli Dominion is a recently conquered land with two races - one dominant master race and one oppressed slave race.. It was formerly the homeland of the hyttar - a race of primitive goblin-like hunters and gatherers that lived in tribal villages and wandering clans. These clans often clashed over territory. The hyttar had not mastered iron or stone. Their culture was violent, uncivilized. The hyttar themselves are a diminutive race. The sarthak came up from deep caverns below and began to wage a war against the hyttar. They used warriors of many different subjegated races, their minds enslaved. The war raged for three years. The sarthak crushed all resistance and captured every hyttar village. The sarthak conquerors now rule over the enslaved hyttar from great stone fortresses. The land is slowly changing as the trossoli mine and plow and tighten their grip of control on their new territory.

Geography

The Dominion, as it is often called, is a range of hills and valleys that lie between two mountain ranges and the Wild Wood to the south. With its towering mountains flanking the country, rolling hills, thick forests, tall grasses and babbling brooks, this is a beautiful region of natural wonders. The valleys are fertile and is where most farming is conducted. Rich mineral resources are found in the hills. The roads generally run between major clusters of hills. The four fortress towns of the Trossoli are located to take advantage of proximity to the mines and quarries due to the huge amounts of iron and stone needed for their construction of the keeps.

Notable Fauna and Flora

The Dominion has abundant game animals, plentiful vegetation and many hard to find herbs and plants. Most of these natural resources are now being plundered by the Trossoli who are mining the hills, quarrying stone from the mountains, leveling forests for lumber and worse. The region has elk, bear, mountain deer, packs of wolves and coyotes. The forests are deciduous to the south, coniferous in the northern mountainous regions.

History

Once a fertile realm of warring clans of primitives. The land was called Hyttar as were the small goblin-like hunters that lived there in tribal villages. Recently taken over by recently arrived new race – the sarthak. Here they are called the Trossoli which roughly translates as "demons" in the Hyttar language. It was the term used by the hyttar to refer to the enemy during the war. Ever since the war, the term "trossoli" has spread throughout most of Aggradar. It is now the term used to refer to the sarthak here. It appears in books and on maps. The sarthak seem to have embraced this new term for themselves here as it seems to inspire fear among the people.

Only seventeen years ago, the sarthak came and took over the hyttar tribal lands completely. However, in seventeen years, they have managed remarkable change. They have completely enslaved an entire race, destroyed their way of life, built colossal fortresses and shifted the socio-political tapestry for all of Aggradar. This has resulted in a mass emigration as thousands of hyttar refugees are displaced or flee to safer lands. Many of those hyttar who escaped have become penniless, wandering beggars in neighboring lands.

Government

The Dominion is a racially based aristocracy. The sarthak control all wealth and resources in the nation. Their rule is absolute. The hyttar are slaves. Among the sarthak, there is complex hierarchical system of ranks and titles, but to outsiders, it resembles more a pecking order of bullies among them. This results in a more or less stale mate of power between towns and villages. The four major towns are ruled by powerful groups of sarthak.

Legal System

The hyttar who were once a number of warring clans now coexist peacefully with each other having a common enemy. Little is known of the sarthak legal system. In any case, it does not matter. Hyttar (and any other race for that matter) have no rights at all according to sarthak law. Justice belongs to the strong and here the sarthak hold all the power. Among the sarthak, the laws seem to shift with fluidity. Alliances are made and broken at a frightening pace. They are constantly scheming against each other. It seems the sarthak trust no one, not even each other.

Military

The perimeter of the Trossoli Dominion’s territory is guarded by "sacrificial stones". These are stone altars that sit out in the wilderness, far from civilization, completely unguarded. There are dozens of this scattered at the edges of the nation, each many kilometers apart from each other.

A sacrificial altar appears as a large flat stones with pillars about them. Chains are connected to the central stone table. The table is smeared with blood. Here, upon these altars, unspeakable atrocities are committed. Torture, sacrificial murder and worse. Those sacrificed on the stones become incorporeal specters, bound by sarthak magic, to protect their border against any invader. These specters appear as misty, shadowy beings that flit about, moving through solid objects. They have haunting eyes that hint at tortured souls longing to be free. But the sarthak magic is powerful and binds them to their eternal task. These wretched creatures will watch any who enter sarthak land and attack if the force is large and well armed. These specters can kill with a touch. Though they are loath to kill. Even though helpless against their master's magic, they still have a conscious and do not wish to harm others. They will do everything they can to scare off intruders, wound them even. If the intruders do not turn back, the magic that binds the specters forces them to eventually use lethal force. It is rumored that it is possible to master sarthak magic and banish these specters.

There are reported to be more than a thousand of these sacrificial stone altars. They are scattered around the perimeter of the Trossoli Dominion at varying distances from each other. They tend to be more clustered around mountain passes and broad valleys - any place where an invading army could easily travel. In other areas, where the natural terrain defends the nation, there are fewer of the altars.

Within the Dominion, the sarthak command great hosts of soldiers. Their armed forces are a mix of abominations and walking nightmares - summoned demons, biological constructs, walking corpses, and slaves from various races make up the bulk of their military. Armor and weapon types vary. Every unit is commanded by a sarthak lord who uses magic and pain to drive the troops on.

This horrors have become rumor and these rumors have made their way to the Chaddamar Theocracy. Such blatant abuse of life, death and magic has the Chaddamar Theocracy horrified. There are some in the Theocracy that believe they should march on the Dominion and make war immediately to wipe out this nightmarish threat before it spreads.

Economy

The economy here is young, but growing. The sarthak are forcing the hyttar to mine the hills, farm the land and this is flooding the economy in raw materials and manufactured goods. Political strain and military conflict with other nations is also spurring the sarthak on to harvest the resources and quickly build up their fledgling nation. All this is, in turn, stimulating  the economy.

Culture

The original hyttar culture has gone "underground". Their culture, songs, traditions and customs are still carried out in the slave camps and in secret in the villages and towns. For the most part, the sarthak do not care as long as it is out of sight. Publicly, in the great halls, the sarthak have their own bizarre and alien culture.

Magic

The Trossoli Dominion is now a two caste society and, like most other things, magic here is fragmented between the two castes. The enslaved hyttar have very little magical skill and knowledge. Very few hyttar have any capability of magic, less than one in 10,000, and those that do are little more than primitive tribal shamans. Hyttar shamans are quite good at brewing potions and healing, but little else. They have no arcane writing, no scrolls, no schools and no famous wizards.

The ruling sarthak, however, are quite different. The trossoli wield a powerful magic of the mind very alien to the wizardry used by the surface dwelling races. They pen arcane scrolls with bizarre glyphs, craft ensorcelled orbs of power and practice a kind of spiritual totem magic which guards their borders. Sarthak magic is not to be trifle with.

Important People of the Trossoli Dominion

Vorakoth

Vorakoth is the most powerful of all the "Trossoli Warlords". Vorakoth rules a huge group of sarthak with an iron fist. He controls the town of Alexan. Vorakoth is a cruel dictator that delights in playing underlings against each other. He controls a vast army and much of the central territory of the Dominion.

Eromand

Eromand is the warlord that rules the town of Kubal in the southwest, at the border of the Wild Wood.

Silaos

Silaos is the leader of a large group of sarthak that rule the town of Medran.

Breijan

Breijan is an independent warlord who rules Salath. He often goes against the other warlords, often doing his own thing. He is attended to by hundreds of sarthak councilors, advisors. He rules his town much like a king. He holds court, tournaments, etc. He maintains a large military force and his soldiers have engaged in frequent battles and skirmishes with soldiers from the Sybren Imperium.

Provodus

Provodus rules over the town of Garis.

Traledus

Traledus is a powerful sarthak wizard, said to wield the greatest magic of any sarthak in the Dominion. He is also known as a great inventor and tinkerer. He dwells in a stone tower that lies south of Garis, at the border of the Wild Wood.

Kuros

Kuros is a hyttar warrior and leader of a large group of hyttar who are fighting the sarthak. They dwell in the Wild Wood and use it to evade capture. They strike out frequently at the towns of Garis and Kubal, stealing from the sarthak and freeing their brethren whenever possible.

Common Names

The majority of the population is hyttar. Below are common hyttar names:

Male Names

Bugra, Dagut, Kax, Lumwor, Nehraka, Orguth, Pomga, Sneg, Torg, Ughat, Xothga

Female Names

Abist, Beshk, Deiya, Fura, Gellab, Harga, Morda, Shulba, Uleth

Notable Noble Family Names

None. Not applicable.

Towns

Villages (Population less than 1,000)

Abomat, Acerav, Adrumar, Alera, Asiloth, Belakoth, Braudin, Chietha, Craldon, Drigor, Eawoled, Etira, Fialdon, Glale, Guron, Ibar, Jarloth, Kedigored, Laralek, Loreth, Maytha, Niraldan, Ocath, Praun, Qire, Raynidd, Sautha, Thaleth, Unilith, Veimon, Wekath, Wiceri, Ybera

Travel and Distance

The Trossoli Dominion is mostly high grassy hills and deep valleys dotted here and there with forests. Major dirt roads run low and level between clusters of hills and connect the major towns. Dirt paths and minor trails criss cross through the hills connected dozens of minor villages. For more information, see the Travel and Distance page.

This website was last updated February 29, 2024. Copyright 1990-2024 David M. Roomes.

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