Kingdoms of Frandum - Moresh

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Short history

During the Third Age, the city of Aendhol was one of the most beautiful and thriving cities in Frandum. It was never invaded durings its many years of bliss. Its inhabitants were free and prosperous, but this freedom would in a way contribute to the fall of Aendhol.

In the kingdom rose two clerical orders, one being the Seven Suns order, a gathering of fanatics that worshipped Galanhir and tolerated neither evil nor sin; the other being the Phalanx of Darkness, evil necromancers who dwelt on a dead island, in a skull-like temple and worshipped Drago, the Hand of Darkness. These two religious factions weren't exactly friends, and as their struggle for power became more and more violent, Aendhol declined and the whole kingdom was in danger.

At this time, Darimer, the Baron of Kalinth, decided to put an end to the struggles by secretly sending neutral monks to convert the people of Aendhol. He was fairly successful, and the city was on its way back from its decline. But the Phalanx of Darkness would not rest, seeing that they were losing their followers to Reset. They called upon the powers of the darkness they believed in, and in an unholy pact with Drago, their leader would receive the weapon that would be the bane of Aendhol. This weapon was the cursed blood of Drago, which was poured into the drinking water of the city, and soon all of its people had turned into evil, soulless beings, wandering the streets mindlessly: they were the living dead.

The priests of Reset disappeared, and no other attempt was made by Darimer to save the city, which can probably be explained by the rebellion of his evil brother, upon which he needed to concentrate all of his power.

The cult of the Seven Suns realized that their battle was over, and the few of them that had survived and managed to escape the city decided to lay their last strength in the protection of the world against the madness of their old enemies. They could not destroy the evil that had arisen, but they could seal it inside the city. The plan succeeded, but the city of Aendhol would ever be mourned by the goods and neutrals in Frandum.

While evils did not celebrate, at least they were happy to see the end of a once thriving non-evil kingdom, and they hoped that one day the seal would be broken and the horrors of Shenar Enhoth, the City of the Dead, which was the name of Aendhol ever after, would be unleashed upon the world.

Climate and geography

Moresh is, apart from the city Shenar Enhoth, little more than a heap of rock, a great heap though it might be. The city is located in the high mountains that makes out the border between Etenland and Tasaar, and it is not easily accessed. Few things grow there, and the smell of death and rotten flesh is always present in the windy mountains of Moresh, and the howls of the undead and the weeping of the land can be heard and felt at any time by the few that have business in this cursed kingdom.

Raw materials and resources

In the days of Aendhol, the mountains were mined rather extensively, but whether or not there exist any of the treasures of old (gold, silver and iron) is not known today, since there has been no attempt at mining for many long years.

No vegetation exists around Shenar Enhoth, where there is nothing but a barren wasteland of rock and dust and ashes.

People of Moresh

The people of Moresh aren't really people. They are mostly human, or rather were mostly human, but are today less than that: walking corpses, decayed bodies with distorted faces, skeletons and liches, vampires and zombies.

The most intelligent undead are the liches, which are great spellcasters and incredibly creative when it comes to finding new ways of hurting others. Sadly (or maybe not) they have very few live victims to experiment with, so their theories may be inaccurate. Not that it matters whether or not they are accurate: no one would like to try their luck with the liches, anyway.

The vampires form the second most influent community in Moresh, their skill being in politics and charms, even though they don't hesitate to use their great physical strength if needed.

Cities and countryside

With Shenar Enhoth being the only city, and almost no other people living in the kingdom, there is not much that can be said about this subject. Shenar Enhoth is what is remaining of ancient Aendhol, but now a cursed city where undead roam the streets and where there is no sign of life anywhere, safe for the unhappy few who dare enter the city, be they summoned or not.

There is no such thing as countryside in Moresh.

Politics and laws

It is unknown whether or not there is any government at all in Moresh. What seems to be the most popular theory, is that the leader of the Phalanx of Darkness is still ruling the kingdom his treachery established. This is, of course, just hypothesis, as no one can know for sure without entering the cursed city.

Wars and armies

This subject is also unknown, due to the same reason as above: no one has seen any armies of Moresh with their own eyes. It is expected however that, roughly, 30 000 undead are in the city, this being based upon the few records that remain from the days of Aendhol's fall. Undead have been known to fight for Drago on other occassions, and they never leave the memory of the survivors of their opponents. Even though slow and stupid (apart from vampires and liches), they might, under a potent leader, just be the perfect army.

The fear of Moresh's liches having found a way to multiply their ranks is always present with the rulers of every non-evil kingdom in Frandum. That could indeed lead to the end of the world, should they ever find a way to break the seal.

Trade and craftsmanship

No other kingdom is trading with Moresh, since they are cut-off from the world and probably wouldn't have anything to sell or any need to buy anything, since its inhabitants aren't exactly high-maintenance people. A few merchants are said to trade living beings for dark secrets in the dead city, but this is only done under the seal of secrecy, and most of them probably do not escape the city unscathed. Records state, though, that many a mother has been seen crying over her lost child in the surrounding Etenlandish communities.

Science and education

Unknown to the outer world, yet what is known from studies of other undead in Frandum are that liches have a great understanding of life and death, far beyond any other creature in Frandum. Few doubt that many experiments on how to multiply their ranks have been carried through, and there are also theories that the liches may have found a way to revitalize the undead and make them living again, in order to infiltrate the outer world without having to reveal the breaking of the seal, should it ever be broken.

Religion and magic

Drago is the lord of all the undead, and has always been. It is believed that the undead follow the teachings of the Phalanx of Darkness, however this information is not certain. There is no doubt that they are evil, though.

Necromancy is, of course, the field of magic in which the liches excel. Apart from that, they are potent with spells that inflict great pain and spells that alter the physical. Deforming people so that they are ever hideous to look at is a great delight for non-Moresh liches, and there is no reason why they should not have continued experimenting with such magic even after being imprisoned in Shenar Enhoth.

Arts and culture

... What?

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