Nov Ostoya
"City of Decadence"
The Ostoyan Empire is a grim and gothic land ruled by vampires who prey upon their subjects. The sun itself vanished from the sky many years ago in an event called the Darkfall.
Eerie lights shine from the towers and battlements of Nov Ostoya, beckoning to the approaching travelers like swamp lights in a darkened mire. At a walking pace, you will arrive at the city's gates within an hour. However, your journey toward the city is interrupted as you encounter a complication on the road: a bloody wagon accident..
Historical Past and Legends
Darkfall and the Vampires
​A fearsome earthquake rocked the lands of Ostoya, tearing massive fissures in the ground. Necrotic energy surged from the fissures, darkening the realm and plucking the sun from the sky. These fissures also unearthed ancient, long-buried ruins. Countless Ostoyan explorers ventured into the chasms in search of answers—few returned. That is, until a horde of vampires and their undead minions emerged. These vampires conquered Ostoya and transformed it into their own dark empire, untouched by the light of the sun.
Legend of the Necropolis of the Holy Sun
Untold centuries before the Darkfall brought Ostoya to its knees, a civilization lost to history existed in the region. This mighty civilization venerated death and the dead. Great art was made from the bones of the departed, and a common idiom was “All are equal in death.” The bones of a commoner are no different from the bones of a highborn. Both can be used as art—and both can be turned toward the art of reanimation, or necromantic science.
None were more venerated in this civilization than necromancers, for they could reanimate the bones of the dead and turn them to the betterment of the living. And of these necromancers, none held a higher position than Kasimir, the Royal Necromancer. Kasimir was not king—the ruler of this land was a diplomat, not a mage—but he was the power behind the throne. This most powerful of necromancers was a stern man, but one beloved by the people for his self-sacrificing generosity. He raised armies of undead to protect the realm, made pilgrimages to small villages across the land, and even performed miracles to return life to the dead if they were vital the fate of the realm.
Emerging from the Shadows
The lost civilization now known only as the Ostoyan Necropolis revered the sun. They saw it as the source of all life and power. Later civilizations on Etharis would agree, connecting it to the dead goddess Aurelia. Sigils of the sun adorned every surface in this ancient realm, often carved into stone or formed of magically preserved bone.
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​But this society dedicated to light became eclipsed by shadow. Vampires, accidents of overambitious necromancers, lurked places untouched by the sun’s grandeur. In time, their numbers grew so great that they swept through the Necropolis like a wave. The wave only grew, as the vampires turned unwitting people into their spawn. Kasimir and his fellow necromancers tried to halt the vampiric advance with their incorruptible reanimated warriors, but in time they too were overwhelmed. Their king was lost, and the realm fell into eternal darkness.
Swallowed by Earth
Kasimir survived the vampires’ coup and retreated into his citadel. Using his magic, he sealed the citadel with rays of sunlight that would annihilate any vampire that sought entrance. Grieving the loss of his realm, he invoked a terrible rite that caused the earth itself to open its great maw and devour the Necropolis whole. By his design, the vampires would never again see the sky.
Kasimir toiled in his citadel to discover magic which would allow him to destroy his foes and resurrect his realm once and for all. At the same time, he delved into profane secrets of necromancy to grant himself eternal life—as a lich. Then, after countless centuries of study, he found it—the sun itself, if he could harness its power in full, would give him magical might sufficient enough to annihilate his enemies, and perhaps even restore everything he had lost.
He enacted a second dread ritual. An earthquake rocked the lands above, which had since become populated by humanoid peoples calling themselves Ostoyans. Necrotic power surged from below, darkening the realm and plucking the very sun from the sky. The sun appeared within Kasimir’s citadel as a blazing inferno: his Unseen Sun.
The Sparks
Kasimir’s scheme was not without its flaws. He unleashed the vampires he sealed away into the world once more. Now unhindered by the light of the sun, they quickly conquered the surface-lands of Ostoya and became more powerful than ever before. Worse, Kasimir’s ritual to claim the sun was imperfect. The sun resisted command by a single will, containing still a fragment of the divine mind of the goddess Aurelia, and this consciousness fractured portions of the sun’s power and delivered them into the souls of mortal beings.
These fragments were dubbed “sparks of sunlight” by Kasimir.
Present Day Events
Tolling of the Blood Hour
As darkness is eternal within Nov Ostoya, day-to-day activities are not framed by a day and night cycle. There is no sun to rise with, only an endless night where shadows reign and mortals do their best to survive. Working hours are long and tiring for the populace. Municipal buildings, stores, and taverns remain open for business all hours except one, with their managers and workers resting in shifts.
To note the shift from one date to another, the last hour of each day is marked by red lights rippling through the city. The arcane lights illuminating the streets switch to a deep crimson, waking the creatures that normally keep to the shadows. No one leaves their homes or exits businesses during the Blood Hour. Buildings lock their doors, and anyone caught out in the streets hunkers down and prays nothing finds them.
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OOC: While this is canonically marking the end of day it can and will happen at any time this accommodates all TZs this is not something that you will get a OOC warning when it will happen but there will be signs. It will go for and indefinite amount of time to allow for scenes to conclude. There is no need to FTB and run home, consider dipping into a business continue your RP as long at the creatures don't try to break you'll be safe if the does its just more RP !
Festival of Tears
The Festival of Tears is an annual celebration of the formation and ascension of the Crimson Court as led by Grand Duke Klaus Vorgen. Its festivities continue for three days without pause at a grand gala held at the Blackharbour Keep and throughout the the streets of the Crimson Heights district. The festival honors not only the leadership of the Crimson Court but also its members, and it provides an excellent opportunity for nobles from other cities to rub elbows with the high aristocracy of Nov Ostoya.
For the people of the Low Streets area of the city, it is a three-day period of danger and death, as the guards abandon their streets to oversee the visitors to the Heights. Dilettante nobles in the upper echelons of Nov Ostoya enjoy the festivities, browsing festival stalls that offer wares related to the ongoing festival. Power-savvy nobles find little humor at the festival, seeing it as an opportunity to advance their political influence in the region.
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During this time, civilians gather around the city entrance obviously not comfortable being there. Most of them were summoned to Nov Ostoya to provide enrichment for the Festival of Tears, either by supplying the vampires and their cohorts with a worthy feast, or by wheeling in entertainment for their evening galas.
Traders, entertainers, and prison transports mix among the crowd of gathered wagons. The people display varying degrees of concern or forced calm, as it is common knowledge that, despite their long lives, vampires are anything but patient.
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City Passes
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The traders, prison transports, and entertainers with business within the Nov Ostoya Heights have been provided passes for permission to enter that area of the city. These passes display their name, their business within the city, and their general appearance. This safety measure ensures that only those with legitimate business there can enter the Crimson Heights. Those who wish to enter the Low Streets need only supply their name and reason for entering the city when passing beyond the walls
Present Day Views
Magic in Nov Ostoya
Though the arcane is far from unknown in the city, it is highly regulated. A bit of magical aid goes a long way when it comes to slaying vampires—something the governing vampiric body of the city understands well. Though arcane practices aren’t illegal, they are heavily scrutinized and only a few living people have approval to use magic openly. All of them reside in the Crimson Heights, and all are in the pockets of their vampire masters.
Some in the Low Streets know a few arcane tricks and avoid censure, such as members of the Volitant, but the city guards have orders to treat obvious signs of powerful magic as a direct threat against the established rulers of the city. If members of the city guard see someone casting a potent spell” (any spell equiv. to a 3rd level or higher by DnD standards) they turn hostile and have the authority to kill whoever cast the spell, as well as anyone seen aiding them. Any number of killings of the common folk by the city guard are attributed to usage of unlawful magic, though the evidence of such claims is notoriously hard to find.
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Grievous Wounds Table should be used for consequences of being caught. At minimum.
Nov Ostoyan Noble Titles
The titles of the nobility in Nov Ostoya once had a meaning derived from rank, inheritance, and possession of lands, but with ageless vampires taking over governance of the region, the meaning of these titles changed. They no longer refer to the lands a noble person holds, but instead their position within the aristocracy of Soma. For this same reason, most titles are not inherited as vampires don’t have any interest in producing heirs when they can maintain their position for centuries. Members of the aristocracy use the titles and honorifics as a way to discern who is one of them and who is an outsider. If the characters try to pass as nobles, their ruse lasts only as long as their knowledge of Nov Ostoyan etiquette holds. The noble titles of the Ostoyan Empire are as follows.
Your Grace
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Used only for the ruler of the Crimson Court.
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Duke/Duchess
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Generals, Army Commanders, or those who hold a similar military position
Grand
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A Prefix added in front of a noble title is the person is the leader of the Crimson Court.
Viscount
/Visountess
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Leading researchers and historians in charge of innovations and inventions. Their vast knowledge makes them valuable allies and dangerous adversaries.
Baron/Baroness
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Overseers of Constructions who maintain the infrastructure of the empire to complement its spreading influence.
Master/Mistress
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Used as a term of respect for Vampire Nobles who hold no particular position
Count/Countess
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Those in charge of trade and diplomatic relations, both within and outside of Soma.
Lord/Lady
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A general term of respect for humanoid nobles of any other species.
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Also, the highest title a dhampir can hold due to their half blooded nature.
Marques/Marchioness
A rare position, but a powerful one in charge of the navy. They work closely with humanoids as result. with the ships leaving the ever-dark lands of Soma and the flowing water of the oceans all around the vessels, most vampires stay far away from ships
These titles are not a free for all and must be earned through Roleplay.
