Atria
History
During a period of civil unrest in 264AC in Valland, after the greater empire had already begun to fall apart due to the elven incursion, and independent city states and small countries had begun to break away from Valland’s rule, a group of malcontents had managed to gather a significant enough following to incite further unrest. This wasn’t all that they did, however; plots to dethrone and attempt to kill the Immortal King, through what means we can only guess at, were set into motion.
This group, who had named themselves the Sváfnir(roughly ‘the slayers’ in the common tongue), sought fame, glory and dominance, wishing to take advantage of the underlying sense of unease already present rather than for any sort of morally driven reasons. While they managed to stir the people up for the better part of a year, they had underestimated several things, greatest of which was the strength of the King’s forces and the far reach of his covert agents throughout the kingdom. They were quashed with an almost pathetic ease, falling into a trap meticulously laid out for them once they had gained the confidence to follow through on their attempt on the King’s life.
While there were multiple members of the group who could be said to have had an equal hand in rousing this failed rebellion, a few of that number were chosen as symbolic leaders and publicly executed, effectively quelling any support they had managed to gather. In a show of mercy, the King allowed the remainder of the core group to leave Valland in exile.
With a small number of supporters to bolster their numbers, the exiles were escorted to the northern border of Valland with minimal food, water and supplies, and released to fend for themselves. Several times the Sváfnir exiles attempted to settle in other countries, and their stays varied from very short to as long as a couple of years, but there always seemed to be something that disagreed with the group as a whole and eventually they would always move on, sometimes losing people and picking up others along the way.
Eventually they made their way to Atria in 324AC, at the time considered a de facto no-man’s land which was sparsely populated because of its large, shared border with the lands of Domhan Uaighe. This fact was fortunate, for it gave the Sváfnir exiles the opportunity to successfully carve out their own kingdom. Soon, Atria was solidified into one unified nation, and the capital city of Ellischester was founded. Taking advantage of the natural resources to be found in the combination of tropical and subtropical climates in the south and south-western area, as well as the more temperate climate in the north, soon the hard work and dedication of the settling people saw Atria prospering under the leadership of a man titled the ‘Merchant Prince’, the de facto leader of the country.
A port city, Ellischester had been established in the south along the coast, bordering Sagcoln’s territory. Simultaneously Langsend had been established in the north, bolstered by fertile land fed by the lakes, and the dense forest along the border with fae lands. Taking advantage of the many river ways, trade routes were quickly established between Langsend and Ellischester. Bolstered by this newly burgeoning economy, several smaller cities, towns and villages sprung up all around Atria, forming border cities, large towns, and building farming communities, all of which took advantage of the land and water routes, leading to several industries finding a foothold in Atria.
This prosperous kingdom was, however, fated to be a short lived one. In 509AC, just shy of two hundred years since Atria’s founding, Luka Finnely, the Merchant Prince at the time, brought about the country’s collapse. Hubrisly believing that man was superior to all else save the gods themselves, and forgetting the lessons of the past, he and his fellows set out on what they thought would be the most grand hunt of all and secure themselves a place in history as legends of their time; they were to hunt the Syatzver Sagcoln.
This belief would prove disastrous. While the hunting party managed to land a poisoned arrow that pierced Sagcoln’s heart, what should have been a killing blow only turned to horror. From the wound a mixture of thick, oozing black viscera and the creature’s glittering magenta blood flowed, quickly spreading corruption over the land. Charging at Luka in a crazed fury, Sagcoln transformed before their very eyes, rotting, mutating, and even absorbing the offending Luka partially into his body, combining the two into a sort of grotesque centaur of sorts. All but one of the original hunting party were killed, their spirits and bodies eternally trapped in the miasmic sludge of Sagcoln’s cursed form. Those very same hunters still roam Sagcoln's Lament to this day, rotting shells of the people they once were.
With such vile pollution flowing endlessly from the creature’s wound, it wasn’t long before the ooze made its way into the sea, sending Sehrasil into a displeased fury that, for the next few centuries, wracked the coast and Ellischester itself with vicious storms that battered and destroyed the docks, and brought ruin to the houses and businesses closest to the shore. Many of the city’s citizens died in the initial years that followed, before those who remained eked out a tenuous equilibrium, learning to live with the harrowing weather. However, with these battering storms raging constantly, Ellischester could no longer support trade as the port city that it was, leading it to fall into economic ruin.
With the Capital city collapsing rapidly, Atria’s fragile, blossoming government quickly followed, with each city turning in on itself to become closer to city-states than a unified country under one sense of governance and law. This led to a rise in banditry, as resources started to become more sparse.
Shortly after this event another disaster struck, as the Brighton Incident wiped out the formerly famous magical town with what most believe to be some form of curse, further isolating Ellischester with Brighton standing between it and any other form of civilization.
In recent years the Miracle of Ellischester has brought renewed interest in the region, despite the multitude of disadvantages associated with the area.
Trade
Atria has numerous assets to offer, ranging from lumber; tropical produce, flora, and fauna; wheat and flax; linen production; and precious metals including silver and copper. For specifics of which good is coming from where, please visit the various city pages.
Geography and Climate
Atria has a mixed regional climate, ranging from tropical and sub-tropical in the east and south to south west, easing into a temperate climate to the north and western parts of the country.
Cities, Towns, Villages, and Points of Interest
Brighton
The Coromouth Sea
Draven
The Esburg and Marsard Rivers
Ellischester
The Four Sisters Lakes
Graybury
Langsend
Lynysk Village
Menirlyn
Sagcoln's Lament
Timurek Coast
Westwater Outpost
Religion
Atria has no centralized religious structure, instead being a hodge podge of local worship of Syatzver and mixed God worship attended to by folk practice. For more localized beliefs, refer to each city's own page. The only consistent between places in Atria is at minimum, a respect for Belphagor and his hounds.
Culture and Events
While each population in Atria naturally celebrates the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes as well as the Summer and Winter Solstices, performing the quarterly rituals required to keep the deities pleased and celestial forces in check, Atrian culture much moreso than other places is quite localized, with even similar events taking on a different flavour depending on where it's being observed. For more information on such local flavours and events, please visit each place's page.
