PROMINENT
FACTIONS
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The
Arcanum Watch
Established at the
beginnings of the last Age of War, the Arcanum
Watch is a cabal of wizards and other arcanists,
each called a Librarian, sanctioned by and
registered with the Church of Light for
collecting arcane knowledge and power.
Inside the
Arcanum Watch Academy of Capitol
Historically, arcane magic has been a
considerable threat both to the religious
rulership of the lands of Tyrfane as well as the
very fabric of the Mirror Plane. With the
oversite of the Arcanum Watch and their
aggressive recruitment of any arcane magic-user,
this threat has been reduced considerably in the
last few decades.
Church of Light
The Church of Light is a
unified church representing various clergies
of many different faiths found in the
lordships of Tyrfane. Influence is dependent
on numbers of senior clergy in attendance at
Capitol's Temple of Light, dependent on
membership within each lordship's churches.
Clergy
from various faiths worship
in Capitol's Temple of Light
Initially it was the Church of Lathander that
was dominant due to the houselord and Exodite
founder of the church being members of his
clergy. Then as the lordships of Tyrfane
became unified under the church, for many
years the Church of Tyr was dominant. Due to a
shift in followings when Tyr died and
Lathander's real identity was revealed, the
Church of Torm then took greater control. Now
with the latest Age of War over and Tyr's
ressurection, Tyr is once again rising as the
dominant faith in the Church of Light.
The Shrine
of Lathander within the Temple of Light,
visited by a Heartwarden of Sune
The current split of senior clergy in
attendance at the Temple of Light is as
follows:
- Chauntea - 3 attendees
- Ilmater - 1 attendee
- Kelemvor - 1 attendee
- Lathander - 2 attendees
- Sune - 1 attendee
- Torm - 4 attendees
- Tymora - 1 attendee
- Tyr - 4 attendees
- Waukeen - 3 attendees
Guild of Waukeen's Merchants
Both churches and houses of
Tyrfane need money and trade amongst
themselves. Not every lordship is
self-sustaining and agriculture is unevenly
split across the nation of Tyrfane when
compared alongside populations and food
requirements.
Waukeen's church rose rapidly to the
position of leading merchant authority in
Tyrfane, centuries before Tyrfane was a
united nation rather than a bunch of
lordships fighting over land, resources and
people. No attempts to challenge their
control of the nation's economy are easily
recalled.
Waukeenars are always keen
to do business with the many merchants of
Tyrfane
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High
Council of Lords
Each lordship's house has a
representative on the Council, and a single
advisor from the Church of Light. Any of the lords
can call the council together, and a
representative failing to attend a meeting is
usually an indication that that house doesn't care
what the council is politicising about in that
meeting.
Approaching
the entrance of the
High Council Chambers in Capitol
The First Lord and/or Lady of a house may also
attend along with or instead of their
representative. This occurs rarely and when it
does usually indicates that something very serious
affecting the entire nation needs to be decided.
House of Justicars
The oldest and largest lordship in the
nation of Tyrfane, predominantly affiliated with
the Church of Tyr. Whilst the churches of Torm and
Tyr are united, the families of both the Silver
Gauntlet and Justicars retain old grudges and
rivalries.
Justice
Village
House of the Silver Gauntlet
The second oldest and largest lordship in the
nation of Tyrfane, predominantly affiliated with
the Church of Torm. The house split from the House
of Justicars only a few hundred years after the
first Age of Exodites, and whilst their churches
are united, the families of both houses retain old
grudges and rivalries.
Castle of the Silver Gauntlet
The Imperial Movement
Whilst the Church of Light has effectively united
the lordships of Tyrfane under the High Council of
Lords, ancient rivalries between the various
houses and their associated faiths remain and
often cause conflict and disruption to religious
fellowship.
The Imperial Movement is a somewhat cult-like
organisation of activists seeking a change to
imperial rule and the establishment of a single
ruling Emperor, his or her edicts to supercede
those of the High Council of Lords. Whilst the
movement often seems divided, there has been a
notable increase in their influence over the
politics of Tyrfane in recent years.
Knightly Army
of Tyrfane
All of the lords' houses maintain their own
armies, with a majority of these troops
affiliated to a religious order within a church
within each lordship.
It is these orders
that then form the bulk of the Knightly Army of
Tyrfane, under the command of the High Council.
This council tries to still maintain a large
united military even in times of relative peace.
Sylvania's recent
success in pushing Tyrfane forces back behind
their newly established borders has caused
considerable division within the Council, with
some lords attempting to continue raids on
Drakenreich borders regardless and others
wishing to consolidate defences on the same
border that is being ignored. All the houses
seem keen to rekindle old rivalries between
themselves as well.
Unless, or until,
war officially breaks out, the Knightly Army
remains in considerable disarray with loyalties
to nation, church and house constantly being
tested, and resentments towards Sylvania and
Drakenreich and other houses split. The Church
of Light can only do so much to hold the houses
together and whilst their advisory role to the
Council weakens, so the rising likelihood of
civil conflict and border skirmishes rises.
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OTHER
NOTEWORTHY FACTIONS
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Church of
Ilmater
Ilmater's clergy have little
influence on the ruling of Tyrfane but this is
mostly out of choice.
A Martyred
Brother tends to a patient
in Capitol's Hospice
Their own church has a small representation in
the Church of Light, but prefers independent
centres of worship and service which are
wide-spread throughout the nation, providing
health-care to all.
Druid Circles
Druid circles and the worship
of nature has dwindled considerably in Tyrfane
in the last few decades, most followers of such
faiths either being purged or disbanded by
over-zealous witch and demon hunters (lumping
fae and similar spirit creatures, and the
practitioners of their magic, into the same
religious hate-basket usually reserved for
necormancers and demonologists) or going into
hiding, or fleeing to the forests of Sylvania.
A druid grove in a quiet and
secluded spot of Tyrfane
However, since the end of the Age of War there
has been some resurgence of druidic activity and
nature worship, as tolerance from ruling faiths
has begun to be restored. Much of this is
attributed to the work of both Sune's and
Chauntea's clergy in the Church of Light, but in
truth it may also be due more to increasing
countering of extremists, such as the
Inquisition, by groups such as the Harpers, with
increased support from allies in Sylvania.
The Harpers
This group's levels of activity in
Tyrfane are difficult to track. It is generally
acknowledged that they focus most of their
efforts on protecting those persecuted by
extremist groups such as the Arcanum Watch and
the Inquisition and have a well established and
well hidden 'underground railway' used to get
refugees out of Tyrfane and into Sylvania.
It is likely the group has connections to the
Church of Chauntea and Church of Sune but
nothing has come into public light as proof,
such claims remaining popular topics of gossip.
The Inquisition
Officially, this organisation does not
exist, and members of it rarely meet or
co-operate, each operating independently.
Inquisitors task themselves with the elimination
of necromancy, evil druidic cults, unsanctioned
use of arcane magic (usually considered
witchcraft) and the remaining vampiric
influences in the land.
Inquisitors have ties to the Church of Light,
the Arcanum Watch and the Shrouded Guides but
tend to use these as a source of information and
resources and not necessarily for leadership.
Organised Criminal Families
Cults of Mask and their criminal
networks have been a thorn in the side of the
Guild of Waukeen's Merchants for centuries and
no matter how hard Tyrfane authorities have
tried to eliminate them, the more engrained into
the houses of many lordships they remain.
Whilst roaming gangs aren't a problem as such,
many merchant families seem to have an unlimited
supply of 'muscle' busy with a variety of
criminal activities, including in Capitol's
so-called 'Black Market'.
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Roadwardens
and Lawkeepers
The Guild of Waukeen's Merchants
instituted the Roadwardens to protect trade
roads long before Tyrfane was a united nation.
In recent years, these protectors have
diversified and most of civil law enforcement
duties are now held by precincts and their
Lawkeepers, found in most Tyrfane villages,
towns and city districts.
House and church loyalties are generally
considered conflicts of interest for Roadwardens
and Lawkeepers, although most officers are
staunch Waukeen followers, with Shaundakul and
Tyr close seconds in popularity.
The actual process of prosecution and punishment
of criminals is normally passed on to the Church
of Tyr, although more senior officers generally
have the authority granted to them by the Church
of Light to act as a proxy.
Capitol's law enforcement is managed separately
by an order of Tyrrans of the Knightly Army,
simply known as the Capitol Watch, ensuring the
Guild of Waukeen does not have too much control
over matters of law in the centre of Tyrfane's
government.
Sharan Cults
Much like the cults of Mask, cults of
Shar have been making trouble for the lordships
well before they were united under a single
nation's flag, and they remain trouble,
operating in the shadows of Capitol and many of
Tyrfane's population centres.
The Shrouded Guides
A religious
order of monks and clerics who worship
Kelemvor.
Shrouded
Guides
These clerics and monks are gravediggers,
embalmers, and other cemetery workers and
crafters. They report sightings of undead and
gravesite desecrations to the Church of Light
but are also believed to have direct ties to
the Inquisition.
United Tyrfane Navy
Tyrfane's navy is very much a separate
organisation from the Knightly Army but still
answers to the military command of the High
Council. Most of the ships and crew are provided
by the merchant side of the Lords' Houses,
rather than their churches, however. This can
result in some discord when their military
agendas do not match, such as when troop
transport is needed, reducing patrols for piracy
on merchant lanes.
Marines of the United Tyrfane Navy
on deck
Vampire Lines
It is a commonly held belief by most
common-folk in Tyrfane that vampires have been a
part of the Mirror Plane since the day of its
creation, and that no matter how much the state
claims they have been eliminated, everyone is
fairly certain that the latest murder in a
back-alley of Capitol has to have been the work
of vampires.
Witch Covens
In Tyrfane, use
of arcane magic by anyone other than a Librarian
of the Arcanum Watch, whilst not illegal, is
usually treated as potential heresy and a threat
to the religious rule of the land (regardless of
whether it is in fact necromantic or infernal
magic used). Unsurprisingly, those who wish to
avoid the oversite of the Arcanum Watch and
likely recruitment into their ranks, organise
very secretly.
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IMPORTANT
PLACES
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