Detailed Setting and EventsCountries and TerritoriesBjorin: Bjorin is located on the southern edge of the Keldar Mountains. The theocratic nation is lead by the high priestess of Heironeous, Katrien. The capital city has the largest temple to Heironeous in the world. Most other areas of the country are ruled by high-ranking priests as well. The worship of other good or neutral aligned religions are tolerated, in the boarders, but the worship of evil gods is viewed with distain, and no evil temples are allowed to openly operate. The worship of Hextor is prohibited and punishable by death if the adherent fails to recant.
Bjorin is mostly known for fishing and mining. They are particularly known for their work with silver and mithril.
Feldin: Feldin is located on the eastern edge of the Taern Forest, mostly in the Great Plain of Korreth. Feldin is ruled by King Torin, a half elf with strong ties to the elves of Lethærin. Most of the region is controlled by ruling noble under the king. The predominant religion in the region is Pelor, but there is no official state religion.
Feldin is known for lumber, farming, fine wine, and beer.
Ezdrakk: A small nation primarily consisting of hobgoblins. A lot of their culture is caste-based, and most non-hobgoblins tend to occupy the bottom several castes, with a few notable exceptions. It is possible to move up and down the ladder through merit, although, this is next to impossible for anyone unlucky enough to belong to the slave caste.
Ezdrakk is known primarily for its fine horses, the quality of their steel, and an abundance of loyal mercenaries.
Black Fang Tribe: A tribe of orcs with no permanent home. They have been gradually expanding, but also move when resources get scarce or if they face a serious threat. They tend to expand by assimilating other weaker orc tribes. They also count several gnolls and bugbears in their ranks.
The Black Flame is known primarily as a tribe of blood-thirsty brutes. They survive both by being big enough to give others pause, yet small enough to pick up stakes and move should they face serious opposition.
Lethærin: Lethærin is a kingdom of elves in the Taern Forest. They do a fair amount of trade with the neighboring regions, but they travel less than neighboring countries. Due to their longer life spans, the elves have longer memories than the humans, and they can remember times of great strife. They tend to be somewhat more isolationist than the humans, and typically remain neutral in any disputes between other nations. Lethærin is ruled by Queen Ylsadra.
Lethærin is a bit more withdrawn than the neighboring countries, but it is known for fine craftsmanship, art, and exotic foods.
Mount Kul: Mount Kul is a mountain in the Keldar Mountains, north of Bjorin. It would be otherwise unremarkable except for the Obsidian Tower, and the dark sorcerer who lives there, known only as the Lord of The Pit. Anyone who addresses simply calls him “your Excellency”. He largely keeps to himself in his tower, but he occasionally shows up in other lands with no notice, typically to conduct business, and then he leaves as mysteriously as he arrives. He is almost always accompanied by two large undead creatures and a fire elemental. No one knows what goes on in his tower, and it has only been seen at a distance. It is black, with a tall flame continually burning from the top. The fire lights the night sky far enough to be seen from much of northern Bjorin, and even parts of Northwest Feldin.
HistoryProphesyScholars of both Heironeous and Boccob have long since studied deeper meanings in the sacred texts. A few otherwise esoteric verses hint at an alliance between the two gods, helping to usher in a golden age. Three sections, in particular, when taken out of their context seem to be speaking of the same event.
The first mentioning is the most obvious and overt. Clearly, Boccob provides gifts that can be used for good or evil, and Heironeous sees that they are used for good:
And in those days, there was a great age of magic;
An abundance of the gifts of Boccob, for everyone to use.
In this great age, the gifts were used for Good, and not Evil.
The second verse was told from a first-person view of a paladin named Haldar, who defeated a dragon and its cult of followers. At a fork in a cave, he found a stone door bearing what is likely the symbol of Boccob. What is inside is a mystery, but many believe it may be a reference to the aforementioned gifts.
And there, in the fork, I saw the stone gates with the purple eye.
The gates opened, and out poured a radiant golden light.
Lastly, a final verse occurs in a section talking about martyrs and rewards. Adherents of Heironeous believe that any sacrifice they make to themselves in this life to protect someone will be met with reward in the next life. This hasn’t stopped people searching for greater meaning to connect this verse with the stone doors from the previously mentioned verse.
When the blood of the just is spilled
The vault shall open.
Most scholars see an obvious connection between the first two verses, but what it means is vague to the point of being useless. The third verse adds a bit of a trigger for a prophesy, but many scholars feel that it is too far out of context to make that connection. Still, this hasn’t stopped a few scholars from speculating endlessly what “the fork” means.
Scholars of Boccob speak of a material known only as vylsira; a glowing yellow crystal made of pure, distilled magic. Boccob used it when infusing the planes with magic, making arcane magic possible. It does not appear naturally on the Prime Material Plane, but Boccob’s realm is said to have entire buildings made of the material. Given the description of vylsira and the golden glow coming from the stone doors, scholars who have studied both religions believe the vault might contain vylsira.
Current EventsThe War of the BeldFor the past year, Bjorin and Feldin have been at war. Tensions started two years ago when a paladin of Heironeous named Wilthar the Just was arrested for treason in Feldin. Wilthar maintained he only had to submit to the authority of Heironeous. When an independent investigation lead him to accuse several members of the guard of being corrupt, a fight broke out. Wilthar was not a citizen of Bjorin, but the priests there wanted him released to them and wanted the guards investigated to possibly exonerate him. Feldin refused, expedited the trial, and had him executed. To add insult to injury, they had his body destroyed so he wouldn’t be resurrected.
For a year after that, tensions rose as petty trade disputes turned into unfair tariffs, sanctions, and embargos. Each side seemed to want to provoke the other by stationing more troops near their borders. One of these borders runs down a the Beld River that forks in two before draining into the Orzlo Sea. In the past, the area in the center of the fork belonged to Bjorin, but it was handed over to Feldin several generations ago as part of a trade deal, largely between the nobles and priests near the border. Many of the people in the fork still identify more with Bjorin than Feldin, even though life hadn’t changed too much for them.
Now, with rising tensions, rumors of oppression in the traded territory are spreading, and that the citizens want to return to Bjorin control. This is almost entirely exaggerations and propaganda, but the rumors gain traction. It prompts a handful of scholars to pay a bit more attention to the area. Enough to make a connection that the fork in the Beld is what is referenced in the texts, that the death of Wilthar
the Just is the event foretold.
Rumors of vault opening in contested lands spread among the high priests of Heironeous. They do not want its precious gifts to fall into the hands of the unrighteous. They persuade Priestess Katrien that the citizens of the fork in the Beld are being oppressed, and she sends envoys to talk to the people. With the increased troops on the borders, Feldin does not allow the envoy to enter, and Katrien becomes convinced of the oppression. She orders the occupation of the fork by Bjorin forces, which starts the war of the Beld.
Search for the VaultWith all the speculation of esoteric verses and the current events, no one knows what to expect. Many wonder what form this vault will take. Is it even a vault, or is the description figurative?
Several scholars have braved the dangers of the contested land to search for any clues that might help them, but they aren’t the only ones looking. Rumors beget rumors, and many others are searching for riches and power, both in the contested region near the Beld, and also over the entire region. With the war occupying the military on both sides, they don’t have the manpower to keep an eye on any given band of armed explorers.
Peace Officers for hireWith the military occupied with the war, very few soldiers are left to defend the cities internally. The large cities are still fairly well staffed, but the smaller settlements, and especially the roads between are nearly unguarded. This has prompted the hiring of private protectors, often dubbed “Peace Officers”. Sometimes, the soldiers gather some tax money to hire a few extra men. Other times, the locals pool together their resources to hire any mercenaries they can.
Given the rise in armed travelers due to the search for the vault, there has been no shortage of potential Peace Officers. Of course, danger tends to follow their type around, and many speculate if they’re causing more harm than good. And that is to say nothing for the occasional sociopath who shows up, takes the payment, and anything else they want before moving on - or worse - staying.