The World of M'Diro

Welcome to M'Dro

South Point: City

South Point is a trading town that sits on the river known as Devil's Pass. It was built on the ruins of the southern military outpost of the late Unstoma empire. That fort was destroyed during the sacking and destruction of The Empire as one of the first casualties of its fall over three hundred years ago. The river was given the name Devil's Pass because it is the place where the Leather Wing devils first set foot in the civilized world. Used briefly as one of their caravan points in their war against civilisation itself, once their war of aggression was over, they fled back to the frozen south leaving every bit of goods and valuables behind.

This wealth which the barbarian's were obviously to uncultured too understand the value of, was used to rebuild the fort and turn it into a proper town and settlement. The remnants of it's former walls were rebiult, and it provided much-needed shelter from the chaos of those times.

Two major religions saw South Point grow into a major trade hub; The Church of Ca'talls, and the Church of Pentagla. It connected the valuable resources of the nearby fishing villages on the sea, not to mention an easy inlet for mercantile from more civilized lands, but also a served as a depot trade for the Elves and Dwarves from further up in the Smoking Mountains. (So named due to their ever present mists due to the sometimes swampy terrain even up at elevation.)

It also made for the last leg of The Journey from the Great Bay of Stars, a trade route that started in New Rouge and took things from the warmer tropics in the north, to the fringed southern regions and passed through Five Rivers, as well as Cliffport.

South Point and it's farms are the last bastion of civilization before you get into the frozen waste that lay beyond the Freshwater Sea and the uncivilized barbarians with their backward blood gods that live there.

The Bone: Land Mass

The Bone is a land-bridge that separates the Freshwater sea from the Ocean proper. This strip of land is considered to be the frist part of the southern frontier. While there are only ten miles of land at it's narrowest point, The Bones is well over three weeks travel long ways.

Here even in the heat of summer temperatures rarely get above warm let alone truly hot, and first frost sets in quickly. For four of the thirteen month year, you can expect not only snow on the ground but for six months you can expect frost every night. Winter this far south not to give up easily. The cold of the place doesn't stop trappers from going up into its wilds.

The Ocean is on its western shore and sunrise over it's salty waves brings a wonderful set of colors to the world while sunset on the eastern side of the bone is truly spectacular as the light hits the emerald colored fresh water.

The single greatest danger in the bone are not the Barbarian Leather Wing that call it home, but the cunningly intelligent and crafty Devil Deer that roam the wilds of the forests up and down the land. These beast are found in almost every location, but in the Bone they are particularly aggressive. They have been known not only to hunt anyone foolish enough to try to hunt them but to lead hunters into traps off the side of cliffs or other evil intent. Though some hunters sware by the sweetness of these vile creatures meat most people realize it simply isn't worth the risk.

Little is known of the Leather Wing in The Bone, though this seems to be the furthest north anyone has seen them since their depraved blood lust drove them to slaughter an empire, they seem to take great pains to stay out of site in small camps nestled into the sides of cliffs.

Dwarves: Races of Men

Dwarves are a hard-working agrarian and mining culture. They keep sheep and goats and plant fields on terraces built from the dirt and rubble of their mining excavation. Both Dwarven males and females have beards with female beards being less full and softer than their male counterpart. Dwarven women adorn their beards with beads and intricate braids, while men prefer things that show off how thick and strong their beards are. They value hard work and live a very family-centric, clan lifestyle.

Dwarves see quite well in places most race would find too dark, this is due to the fact they see further in the spectrum both in inferred and untraviolte than humans and most other races.

For Dwarves, adventuring is a rite of passage. It is how one proves they are worth of their clan name. Almost all dwarves have adventured at some point in their lives, but almost no dwarf dose it for long without reason, as the clan needs protecting and to be looked after. Most dwarves are there and back again in under 10 years.

Elves: Races of Men

This slender race is often mistaken by outsiders as both female and decadent. These are both untrue and due to a lack of understanding of what an elf truly is. Elven males do have fair skin and breast with round hips, but female elves are rounder. As to the decadent part, elves will never die of natural causes, as such they will spend decades of time working on single projects and when they are finished it will truly be a work of art. They have all the time in the world and that is a problem. Elves are suffering from something they call a mental miasma it has a name, in is the Wei’. This means that the elves have for thousands of years done anything to sensate for the senses. The Wei’ usually takes hold of an elf in the second half of their first 100 years, but don’t get truly bad until they are well over 800. They do not become utterly reckless until well after their 3000 birthday. Very few elves can claim to be over 5000.

Elves see clearer than most other races in dim light, 3 times as far by any light sources. This makes them excellent night hunters.

“When you are immortal, or at least don’t die due to old age like most races do, you get bored. On top of that, want to be a blacksmith? Sorry the guy down there can shoe a horse better, faster, and cheaper than you. Want to be an artist? Sorry, you are just an amateur if you haven’t done this for 700 years. Want to make a name for yourself, not be bored and actually have a chance at life before you are over a thousand? Go Adventure! Besides, it cuts down on the population.” This is what an elf actually said when asked why elves leave their soft lives.

Gnome: Races of Men

Gnomes are a hardy race, so much so that they have literal rocks in their bones. Gnome bones have a high level of carbon in them that seems to make a lattice work making them not only heavier than they should be but hardier. Gnomes are the Lowlands cousins to Dwarves. They are a people that has built their house in the swamp and have lived that way for thousands of years. Their feet are larger to give them stability when they walk on uneven and weak surfaces such as mud. And have developed a knack of eating anything. Food, even poisonous food, never adversely affects a gnome if they eat it and as long as it is natural. Refined poisons, even of naturally occurring compounds affect them as normal. Gnomes know very well who and what they are, and what they are is a quick race that is stubborn to a fault. Slow to anger, slow move, slow to change. However once they put their minds to it, they are unbelievable adaptable. It is getting a gnome to accept a new Idea that is the problem but once they do, to them this is the way it has always been. Gnomes are one of the few races to have worked with the steam engine to any extent. They do not have things like trains, but instead use them for heavy lifting with complex crane devices, chopping wood with devices other races think of as “death wheels”. Sadly gnomish contraptions, though they do seem to work well for gnomes, for the most part, are looked on with horror by most other races.

Human: Races of Men

Humans are well, human. They run the gambit through all walks of life. The other races do as well, but nothing is as adaptable as a human. Humans come in every race, size and belief. Most humans are still superstitious and racist to some extent, not aginst humans with different colour skin, who cares how the gods paint you, but against the lesser races of men, or worse the demon races. Then, of course, there are the unnatural people, men and women who look just as you and I do, but with strange appitaites.

Liberi: Races of Men

This is the race of man! Or it would be if man stopped worrying about social standings and other made up nonsense. Liberi are The Free, they even claim it is what their name means in a long dead tongue. They believe in eating when you’re hungry, sleeping when you are tired, and taking what you need from the world around you. Sometimes this means it once belonged to someone else… and they will happily give it back… if it was them that took it after all. Oh, they don’t mind hard work, in fact, they love it, but there is a time and place for it after all. And it is not that they don’t understand possession of stealing, they very much do… but if the item won’t be missed they obviously didn’t need it and the Liberi did. Otherwise, why did they take it? Liberi mostly just want one thing, a comfortable life, and they are willing to do almost any amount of work to get one. What is comfort you may well ask? Why that is up to the individual Liberi.

These people look just like normal humans, only toddler-sized, granted some do get up to four feet tall, but it is not something that happens often.

Orcs and True Orcs: Races of Men

They are Orc; they are the great-grandchildren of True Orcs and humans. When the Empress came and free them from the pits she earned a life debt that ever Orc feels. Now they roam the world keeping their brutal cousins in check, and trying to make a life for themselves in this world of man. Orcs found out early that they can easily breed amongst themselves. That is good because humans won’t touch them for the most part, and as for the mating habits of True Orcs, they shudder to think of such things.

Half Elves: Races of Men

These people are not a true breading race, in fact, no two half-elves have ever sired children with each other. Whether raced in the human world, or the elven, half elves always have one thing in common. This mixed heritage causes them to see the world differently. One foot deep in their elven parentages mystic blood, one in their very human world, they are disconnected from both. They may be free from the Wei’, but no one will ever truly understand their point of view, not even another half-elf. Some use this to great advantage, while others use it as an excuse not to try.

Half-Elves have an innate ability to see the energies of magic; as such, they have a good chance to tell if anything is magical. This is due to their mixed heritage.

LeatherWing: Races of the Five

This strong proud race is demonic looking or draconic depending on who you ask. At any rate, they are considered to be demons by almost everyone, outside of the Orcs. Everyone remembers the blood shed of the war with The Unstoman Empire, and the chaos that was left in their wake.

SkyLords: Races of the Five

These are the winged dancers of the sky, undisputed masters of the air or as close as anyone can claim that title. These raptors are a race of warriors, poets, and artisans. Not having any use for “plant farming they have become master herders and have vast numbers of goats and mountain sheep many times their size under their care. These use dogs to help them with their charges. Long ago they discovered a way of growing crystals and sculpting them as they grew. Their long established cities are works of these marvelous wonders. New settlements in the edge of the Empire of the Five Races do not have these yet, but you can bet they are working on them. ShyLords are all raptors and generally look like falcons, hawks, and eagles. They dye their feathers and use beads to accent themselves.

GrassLords: Races of the Five

This cat like race resembles the beast called panthers, tigers, and leopards. These people are extremely good hunters and warriors. Neither war nor hunting is their pride, but song dance and jokes… which sadly they are not good at by other races standers. Oh they are wonderful with song, and dance, even if it is load and bizarre to outside eyes and ears, but to them the highest form or joke, is the Pun. Being one of the 5 races of the Empress, Grass Lords are ancestor and hero worshipers, and their greatest hero is a Grass Lord known as the Sothern Cat. She was jester and trickster to the Empress and the Dark One, teaching them both valuable lessons, and keeping them humble. They consider this heritage to be their sacred duty no matter what their adventuring job may be.

The Heard: Races of the Five

Beware, beware hunting in te woods, take only what you need, not everything you could, never use traps or ambushes to kill, for the devil dear do not like this and fear them you will.

The Heard from afar look like wild deer, maybe a little bigger, but that look is most deceiving. They are as intelligent as any man. They see themselves as part of the natural order, so you may, if you haven't broken their rules, have dined on their meat. But the second you hunt dirty or for trophies... well many a Lord hunting lodge have found not even the best gaurds can keep the devil deer at bay.