[Day 21] Orvea, the Land Engirded by the Hungering Sea
Orvea, the Land Engirded by the Hungering Sea
The place called Orvea is a dimension which is in alignment with ours once every ten years. It is covered in brambles and gnarled trees which bear little in the way of flowers or fruit. The inhabitable area is about the size of a small nation, and surrounded by what initially seems to be a body of water.
The original inhabitants may have been members of the Ælfenben nation which, according to legend, used to lie south of Wästland’s tip.
Throughout the years humans from all over the the world have entered Orvea, and the civilization in Orvea is an amalgam of many ages, ethnicities and cultures. Their tool and inventions seem primitive, with the addition of toccasional innovations brought or remembered by newcomers.
There is no native fauna in Orvea, but plenty of plant life. As such the Orveans are vegetarians.
The waters surrounding the inhabited land of Orvea is a great entity, a hungering dark mass with something approaching human intelligence. Once every year the entity floods Orvea, devouring man and beast alike. The human inhabitants seek refuge in their tree-houses, but not everyone survives. Often people will push each other out due to sheer panic. Sometimes this will be done on purpose in the hope of appeasing the churning creature below.
The legend the Orveans teach their children and any newcomers who will listen is as follows. Untold years ago a mighty Ælfenben sorcerer built Orvea as a way to be rid of his enemies. This worked a little too well, and the hungry dimension swallowed him as well. The sorcerer spent his last power strking a deal with the dark entity. Once every year the Orveans must sacrifice a child to the creature as part of a warding ritual, keeping it from flooding the land of Orvea. This was enforced by the sorcerer's magickal strength, but it is waning and smaller parts of the creature have slowly begun haunting the woods above the coastline.
The people of Orvea welcome new people to their land with open arms. They bring news from the half-mythical outside world, a diversion from their dreary home. They bring new items, clothes. They are a source of hope, and in a pinch, sacrifices to the encroaching entity.
The Orveans are divided in loose factions, which doesn't preclude cooperation with regards to daily chores.
1) The Resigned is the largest group, and they have mostly accepted their fate. Their is plenty of edible plants and berries, few threats (beyond the obvious), and a life without masters or distractions.
2) The Supplicants hold that it would benefit their society if they accepted the entity as their god and master, and provided it with sacrifices (human or otherwise) on a more regular basis. The entity is a fact of life in Orvea, and only a fool would try to ignore it and its wishes.
3) The Hopeful Idiots are mostly newcomers. They try to escape the dimension, be it by digging, climbing, braving the entity in a makeshift boat, or even magic. Some try to fight the entity (it doesn't like fire). These often have short lives.
The gate to Orvea appears in our world in forested places every ten years, and always near humans, whether trvelers, foresters or the simple people who live in such areas. The gate appears at random, anywhere from Sarkash to the White Woods of Sothern Kergüs. People will walk into it unknowingly, finding themselves trapped in Orvea.
The gate is two-way, but only for a few moments as the newcomers enter. Leaving at this time requires spotting the newcomers as they arrive. It has worked a few times, but not in the memory of Orvea's current inhabitants.
A part of the creature
Hp 25, Morale 8, no armor, psudopod 1d4 (but see below)
Special: The creature does not like fire, but it doesn’t harm it any more than any other form of attack. The damage die of its attack increases by one step every round.
The place called Orvea is a dimension which is in alignment with ours once every ten years. It is covered in brambles and gnarled trees which bear little in the way of flowers or fruit. The inhabitable area is about the size of a small nation, and surrounded by what initially seems to be a body of water.
The original inhabitants may have been members of the Ælfenben nation which, according to legend, used to lie south of Wästland’s tip.
Throughout the years humans from all over the the world have entered Orvea, and the civilization in Orvea is an amalgam of many ages, ethnicities and cultures. Their tool and inventions seem primitive, with the addition of toccasional innovations brought or remembered by newcomers.
There is no native fauna in Orvea, but plenty of plant life. As such the Orveans are vegetarians.
The waters surrounding the inhabited land of Orvea is a great entity, a hungering dark mass with something approaching human intelligence. Once every year the entity floods Orvea, devouring man and beast alike. The human inhabitants seek refuge in their tree-houses, but not everyone survives. Often people will push each other out due to sheer panic. Sometimes this will be done on purpose in the hope of appeasing the churning creature below.
The legend the Orveans teach their children and any newcomers who will listen is as follows. Untold years ago a mighty Ælfenben sorcerer built Orvea as a way to be rid of his enemies. This worked a little too well, and the hungry dimension swallowed him as well. The sorcerer spent his last power strking a deal with the dark entity. Once every year the Orveans must sacrifice a child to the creature as part of a warding ritual, keeping it from flooding the land of Orvea. This was enforced by the sorcerer's magickal strength, but it is waning and smaller parts of the creature have slowly begun haunting the woods above the coastline.
The people of Orvea welcome new people to their land with open arms. They bring news from the half-mythical outside world, a diversion from their dreary home. They bring new items, clothes. They are a source of hope, and in a pinch, sacrifices to the encroaching entity.
The Orveans are divided in loose factions, which doesn't preclude cooperation with regards to daily chores.
1) The Resigned is the largest group, and they have mostly accepted their fate. Their is plenty of edible plants and berries, few threats (beyond the obvious), and a life without masters or distractions.
2) The Supplicants hold that it would benefit their society if they accepted the entity as their god and master, and provided it with sacrifices (human or otherwise) on a more regular basis. The entity is a fact of life in Orvea, and only a fool would try to ignore it and its wishes.
3) The Hopeful Idiots are mostly newcomers. They try to escape the dimension, be it by digging, climbing, braving the entity in a makeshift boat, or even magic. Some try to fight the entity (it doesn't like fire). These often have short lives.
The gate to Orvea appears in our world in forested places every ten years, and always near humans, whether trvelers, foresters or the simple people who live in such areas. The gate appears at random, anywhere from Sarkash to the White Woods of Sothern Kergüs. People will walk into it unknowingly, finding themselves trapped in Orvea.
The gate is two-way, but only for a few moments as the newcomers enter. Leaving at this time requires spotting the newcomers as they arrive. It has worked a few times, but not in the memory of Orvea's current inhabitants.
A part of the creature
Hp 25, Morale 8, no armor, psudopod 1d4 (but see below)
Special: The creature does not like fire, but it doesn’t harm it any more than any other form of attack. The damage die of its attack increases by one step every round.
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