Mythic Vistas: SpirosBlaak - Property Is Theft!

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strategy, and logistics, along with troop morale and psychology, and
any number of other skills valuable to a warrior.
Noble birth doesn’t maer so far as the instructors are concerned,
nor does one’s ancestry. All that counts is the shine of your coin. For
the right amount of silver or gold, anyone can register for as many
lessons as desired, although the full treatment takes about eight
years and usually begins at as early an age as possible.
Mound of Shivanos
Beneath a wide, lone hill just outside the village is a guarded temple
dedicated to the crazed god of war, Shivanos. This subterranean
complex, protected by a cadre of bale priests, warrior monks,
and pet guardians, is probably the heart of the Haed Doom’s
faith in the Archduchy. It is even rumored the god himself resides
here when he isn’t stirring up trouble. Many of the duchies have
tried to bring legal and/or military action against the mound for its
suspected complicity in the orc rebellions of the Roaming Plains, but
a lack of evidence, coupled with the sanctity of a holy place, even
one devoted to blood, has thus far thwarted all such efforts.
People of Note
The following are people of note in Taervas.
Sheriff Obron Uktonikis
Male half-ogre 7th-level fighter, LN.
A gigantic, homely warrior with a fair share of common sense and
brains (especially for a half-ogre), Sheriff Obron “Ob” Uktonikis is
charged with keeping the peace and does so with a surprising lack
of violence. He is reasonably fair, regardless of race or politics, and
his great strength combined with the skills he learned as a graduate
of Taervas make him ideal for his position.
Vas, City of the Righteous
Nominally Duke Killian Zapodys XII, actually His Divine Voice Rafael
XIII
Symbol: A winged heraldic shield
bearing the sword and helm
of Spiros with a silver crown
above.
Population: 170,000 (80% human,
5% dwarf, 8% halfling, 7%
other).
Special Population: 3,500 priests of
Spiros, 200 Crimson Company guardsmen, 2 Archducal infantry
legions, 1 Archducal cavalry cohort, 1 Archducal artillery cohort,
2 Vasian infantry legions, 1 Vasian cavalry legions, 1 Vasian artillery
cohort, 1 Vasian siege legion, 2 Anointed of Vas Holy legions,
300 Sentinels of the Homeguard, 500 city guardsmen, 10,000
house slaves.
Duchy Population: 375,000 (84% human, 1% dwarf, 6% halfling, 9%
other).
Duchy Boundaries: With lands stretching as far east as the lowest
of the Crypt Hills, into the north towards Taervas, and east to the
Roaming Plains’ periphery, the Duchy of Vas has more land—
most of it lush and fertile— than it can adequately populate.
Religions: Spiros. Other religions are allowed, but are openly discouraged—sometimes
with zealous outrage. Only the Church of
Spiros is permied to operate places of worship within the city’s
walls.
Imports: Textiles, luxury goods, and grain.
Exports: Religious texts, icons and implements, fruit, wine, and fish.
Language: Common and Old Rilgoth.
Alignment: Lawful good, lawful neutral, and lawful evil.
Chapter Four: Customs, Communities, and Geography
Known almost as well for its architecture as it is for being the seat
of the Church of Spiros, Vas is a thriving seaside metropolis whose
columned designs and marble edifices inspired similar designs all
over Dracos.
The protective walls once encircling the city were never repaired
aer the Witch Lords’ invasion, leaving the white marbled beauty
of this great city bare to the farms and renowned vineyards of the
surrounding countryside. Instead, strategically placed strongholds
within the city’s limits defend the citizenry and their whitewashed
homes and businesses.
At first glance, a stranger to Vas sees only the stately columns,
arches, statues, and tiled mosaics that are as elegantly decorative
as they are functional. The flagged streets strike out from the city’s
heart, the See of Spiros, like spokes on an immense wheel, and lined
with cheerful merchants, sympathetic clergy, and helpful locals.
The streets are clean, free of beggars, and virtually without crime.
The buildings are scoured to their purest white, and the blessings of
Spiros are upon all.
To everyone else, the City of Righteousness wears a different
face. Vas presses the unemployed into the military or sends them
to state farms or work crews to clear any debts, and criminals
are punished by mutilation or worse cruelties. All visitors are
meticulously (although discreetly) scrutinized by church agents,
arcane spellcasters or those who flaunt magic are detained and
exiled (or worse), non-humans (especially kav, elves, and goblins)
are regarded with disdain, and those who don’t follow Spiros are
seen as being just one step shy of evil.
What’s more, the Church of Spiros, as it exists in Vas, is more
concerned with worldly power and dominating the human spirit by
means of its doctrine than adhering to the Shining Cavalier’s true
principals. The See of Spiros is now as much a symbol of oppression
and human supremacy as it ever was an icon of justice and
benevolence. In fact, the dukes of Vas have been lile more than feeble
figureheads for the Pontiffs, the true rulers of the city, for centuries.
Relations
Although the seat of the nation’s largest religion, Vas has very
fragile associations with almost all the other duchies, especially
SpirosBlaak. Even the most rudimentary and necessary of relations
with the capital are stressed due to SpirosBlaak’s election as the
Archduchy’s hub of power, a concession of the nation’s founding
that has vexed every Pontiff since. The other duchies recognize this
tension and either avoid it entirely or manipulate it to their own
ends, whatever the current political atmosphere requires. Only
Hiltaenos remains on good terms with the holy city.
Vas also has no love of outsiders, including followers of other faiths.
At best, such “non-believers” can expect a cool reception in most
shops and taverns; worse results, however, are not uncommon. The
city’s long history of invasion and aacks from the Roaming Plains has
also made Vas’ occupants very introverted and untrusting towards
non-humans. The local constabulary or, more likely, agents of the
Inquisition of Swords (see page 41), constantly watch large groups of
non-humans—even hagglers or those beings recognized as allies of the
Archduchy—from the shadows to ensure they do nothing to interfere
with Vas or the Church’s affairs. A city of brotherly love, Vas is not.
Locations of Note
The following are locations of note in Vas.
The See of Spiros
A grand testament to the wealth and authority of the Church of
Spiros, the See is a small city unto itself. Filled with many buildings
of worship from vaulted cathedrals to simple shrines, the most
magnificent of all is the soaring Cathedral of the Gilded Sword, the