the-mesmian-mumbler

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

The Fir Bolg

Fir Bolg are one of the most ancient peoples of Mesmia, sometimes called The Fourth People (the dwarves, bullywugs, and vornan being considered the first, second, and third, respectively).

Fir Bolg were created by the goddesses Temera and Drasara, originated in the open fields and hills of Sullasta, where they cultivated the formerly inhospitable and rocky landscape into the fertile fields still present today. Though the relation is somewhat distant, the fir bolg have giant blood in their ancestry, giving them their impressive stature and strength.

They were pushed from their lands thousands of years ago by their giant cousins the fomorians, leading the fir bolg to find refuge in the forests. It is there that they forged bonds with visiting fey spirits. Together, the fir bolg and fey defeated their fomorian enemies. Thanks to this alliance, aspects of the fey's primal magic suffused the genetics of the fir bolg, granting them the mystical power their bloodline still carries. Because of this, even fir bolgs that have never set foot in the wilds have a natural connection with the flora and fauna of the world.

The predominant culture promotes small, isolated groups that mostly consist of family members that are nomadic, typically travelling within 100 mile areas as the seasons change. Its uncommon for a community of fir bolg to consist of more than 50 members, though certain rare settlements within various wilder parts of Mesmia can sometimes be as large as 200 firbolg. In many of those settlements, other peoples are likely to be found as well, most often lalinn and shifters. Though far more rare, fir bolg communities can be found in a few major metropolises, such as Jance Frieggo, Lagotus, and Trasson.

Each fir bolg community differs in specific practices, though it is typical for them to have a strict social taboo against harming the natural environment or killing creatures residing within. The slaughter of animals for food and cultivation of wood, moss, and stone for building homes must be done in the manner of a ritual, overseen by the druids and wytches of the community.

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

The Vornan

The vornan were created by Rekron, the deity of magic, in the early days of the world. Rekron distilled occult magical energy down into solid forms that became the bodies of the first vornan, and animated this magic using a spark from Thelerun's forge of creation to give them mind and soul. The name vornan translates to "children of magic" from the Primordial language.

Due to their unique origins, vornans have a deep connection to the occult, exhibited within their culture and physiology. All vornans have eyes that glow with warm hues of yellow to orange. Their skin appears to be a pure black void, attributed to all light being unable to touch it. None have ever seen what their skin truly looks like, not even themselves, but it often has an extremely soft texture to it. Their blood is a shimmering violet color that seems to swirl with magic.

The vornan hail from the island of Lidora, roughly 600 miles east of mainland Mesmia. The island itself is rich with strange magical energies. An ancient forest in the southeast is filled with occult creatures, and only the hardiest of adventurers dare enter. Close to the western coast stands an odd obelisk in a field surrounded by large living statues, and whispers can be heard coming from the obelisk. The mountains throughout the island contain the highest amount of mithral deposits and various valuable alchemical components.

Kavestian University, the most prestigious magic university in all of Mesmia, was founded by vornan in the city of Loncestus. Due to the magic within them, many vornan utilize magic to a greater extent in everyday life than other Mesmians. Even those that pursue more mundane careers find a way to integrate magic in some capacity, leading to most vornan workers to be magewrights.

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

The Bullywugs

Unlike the other peoples of Mesmia, the bullywugs were not created by the gods. History tells us that they appeared as they are, fully formed, with no direct links to the gods whatsoever. Some human scholars, perhaps with a bias towards the Fallen Gods, theorize that the swamps and mires within the Cresic region birthed the bullywugs from the latent magic instilled by the goddess Temera. The bullywugs, however, say the first of their kin simply willed themselves into existence and rose up from the waters to become the second people of Mesmia.

Through their deep connection with the natural environment they hail from, bullywugs were some of the earliest practitioners of certain schools of druidic and wytchly magic, and their herbalists went on to inspire the first alchemists.

Though they predominantly reside in the Sudvee Marshes, Tricaster Forest, and the surrounding areas throughout Cresic, many bullywugs live across the varied coasts of the Torvugg Bay and as far away as the island of Lidora. Their societies tend to be highly communal, treating all its members as family and raising their children collectively.

One of the most storied parts of bullywug history were the wars they fought against the hags and boges that attempted to lay claim to the Sudvee Marshes in the aftermath of the God War. This period lasted for over two hundred years, and though the bullywugs were ultimately successful, it saw the ever bitter boges and devious hags create numerous horrors such as the bandhobbs, bog bodies, catoblepas, froghemoths, hex dragons, sleeches, and swampgas shades. These vile fey have long abandoned the area, but many of their creations still haunt the marshes, and bullywug elders tell the young ones tales of these monsters to keep them from straying too far into the darker places beyond their villages.

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

The Dwarves

The dwarves were the first people, crafted by the goddess Thelerunn using minerals, mud, and metal ore from the deepest parts of the world and shaped into a stout humanoid forms within crystalline chrysalides. After one hundred years of incubation, the protective shell chipped away and the first dwarves awoke within the caverns underneath the Ukagrave Mountains. As the generations passed, the dwarves cultivated the earliest great civilizations of Mesmia.

Over the course of thousands of years, the dwarves spread out beyond the mountains, developing new clans throughout the land. Due in part to the great dangers that lurked within the mountains, such as fire giants, daecanar, and cave dragons, the majority of dwarves began to abandon their underground cities for greener pastures. Many left to make their homes throughout the foothills of the vast mountain range and into the Giltos Hill Country, as well as along fertile coastlands throughout the region. Some clans persisted within their great subterranean cities, and came to be known as the Mountain Dwarves, but they eventually died out either from wars with the subterranean monsters or by eventually leaving to assimilate into the other dwarf clans. The prominent clans that took to the hills were appropriately referred to as the Hill Dwarves, and those that took to traversing the rivers, lakes, and seas became the Coastal Dwarves. Legend tells of another clan called the Derro that, in the earliest centuries of dwarfkind, delved deeper and deeper into the underground until they essentially disappeared. There are occasional claims of seeing strange, dwarf-like people with purple skin massive eyes, and odd mutations lurking in deep caverns, speaking some unintelligible language and quickly fleeing from sight. These claims have yet to be proven true, and most think it a superstition.

When the Crovunian Empire colonized Mesmia, it was the dwarves that first led the charge to oppose them. The empire's armies and resources proved too great, however, and eventually Mesmia was conquered, and with it the royal families of the dwarves were dethroned. It wasn't until fifteen hundred years, the God War, and the many wars that followed in its aftermath, that the dwarves were to reclaim their power and independence. For most of Mesmia's history from that point on, Hill Dwarves have been the primary rulers of the land.

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

A Brief History, Part 2

War’s Fallout Upon the ending of the God War, Mesmia was forced to find a path forward quickly. The last remnants of the Crovunian Empire that lingered within the land slowly fell to pieces. Fey spirits that had fled the destruction of Elad made their home in Mesmia, some of which willingly transformed themselves into mortal beings, becoming the first elves and goblins. As the power vacuum of the area continued to implode, a force of giants attempted to lay claim to the control of Mesmia. Still reeling from the destruction of the last war, the peoples of Mesmia stood against the giants, and eventually pushed the giants out of the continent, in part due to the aid of the dragons. An Independent Mesmia After hundreds of years of turmoil, Mesmia began to reconfigure itself. By the year 0 DF, the nation began to heal. Civilization restructured, and slowly it found its balance. For the first time in nearly one thousand years, the people of Mesmia were able to govern themselves. Through the many hardships of the past few hundred years, all these disparate groups felt united. Gnomish Voyagers In the year 952 DF, a fleet of spelljamming ships arrived from the far reaches of wildspace. Onboard were thousands of gnomish refugees, who stated their homeworld had been destroyed due to an unknown force. The journey was long and harrowing, ending with their ships falling into disrepair. With none among them that knew the secrets of crafting spelljammers, the knowledge of how to power this technology became lost. The Young Gods Seemingly out of nowhere, sightings of divine beings began to crop up throughout Mesmia in 1121 DF. Quickly, these demigods gained followers, and they gained the nickname the Young Gods. Claiming they have relation of some sort to the Fallen Gods, this new, smaller pantheon can still occasionally be found appearing throughout the realm in more dire moments. Newly Forged Magic Starting in 1376 DF, the nation has been experiencing a magical industrial revolution. It first began in the city of Krale, when a group of mages, artificers, and guild artisans came together to create the first arcane factory, where common magic items might be mass produced. In a short span of a few years, magical industries became an integral part of civilization. Airships began to appear in the skies of larger metropolises’ and the wealthy began to be seen in arcanamobiles. The lives of many common folk changed as more simple magical devices became readily available to aid them in their daily lives, and many have now gained work through these industries. This boom has also furthered many nonmagical industries and items, such as the discovery and advancement of firearms.

I definitely think they left out some of the juiciest bit...

-Qellan

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

A Brief History, part 1

Taken from some boring tome in the Kavestian University library.

- Qellan

Early History The earliest records of the peoples of Mesmia count the dwarven clans as ruling much of the land, particularly in the east. As time went on, humans, kenku, shifters, and dwarves spread throughout all of Mesmia, while the firbolg, bullywugs, terrakin, and vornan largely remained stationary within their lands of origin. Though all other peoples of Mesmia can trace their creation to one or more of the Fallen Gods, the first bullywugs claimed to have sprung up without the meddling of any gods: they simply willed themselves into being. Though there were plentiful conflicts between the various clans and races, it was rare that such conflicts turned to all out war. Crovunian Empire Hailing from the nearest continent, the Crovunian Empire invaded and took control of Mesmia. The empire, which consisted primarily of humans and kenku, claimed vast territories of the continent. Only the regions of Urdul in the west and Evrido in the northwest pushed back the imperial forces and maintained their freedom from the empire. Due to the vast wealth and power of Crovun, unprecedented trade routes opened up and peoples from all across the world came and went from Mesmia. Because of this, Mesmia is still extremely diverse to this day. The Crovunians’ rule over Mesmia lasted from -1522 DF until the end of the cataclysmic events of the God War. The God War The near apocalyptic event known as the God War began in -643 DF. Xedos, the god of hatred and destruction, launched an all out assault on his fellow gods and their creations. The conflict spanned the planes of existence, with Mesmia and Crovun taking a center stage in the conflict. The peoples of the world joined forces with the gods to defeat Xedos and his fiends. While they were ultimately successful in stopping Xedos, the toll was great. Millions of lives were lost. The moon Elad was torn to pieces, becoming the Ring of Elad that encircles the world. Ozt, the god of honor and sacrifice, was slain and his body forever changed the land where it fell, now called Ozt’s Ruin. The final battle of the war took place in -567 DF on the continent of Crovun, which culminated in the entire continent, its people, and the gods themselves, disappearing in an instant, never to be seen again.

[the-mesmian-mumbler]

Herein, a compiling of works both official and amateur, both old dusty tomes and pages still wet with ink, all about the wondrous land of Mesmia.

Don't listen to all of the hype, though. It has adventure and whimsy, to be sure, but its got no end of annoyances. And don't even get me started on those damned psychic goats.

-Qellan