Ospus

Ospus is a largely temperate country, though it is slightly colder to the north and warmer to the south. To the north lies the Kanda mountain range, home to the School of Necromancy, and border with Hespor. To the west lies Docuth, and the Sagar Sea and Hav Ocean are to the east and south. The Twin Waters Archipelago, home to the School of Divination, is off the south-east coast, neat the Woastyn Desert. It has two large woods, Wanderer’s Wood and Fljot Forest, as well as three lakes – Farihy, Ezers and Koyu.

Approximately 1% of Ospus’s population is born with the powers to be a sorcerer, and a further 5% have sufficient skill to study magic as a bard or wizard.

Ospus’s population is 40% human, 20% elf, 10% gnome, 10% halfling, 5% tiefling, 5% dwarf, 5% orc, 5% mixed/other.

Geography
1. Polmore.

2.  Earthbreak

3.  Puremaw

4.  Farhill

5.  Kanda City.

6.  Stagpond

7.  Blackmere

8. Bellhorn

9. Gloomwich

10. Ebonfrost

11. Cragburn

12. The Amarok Peninsula

13. Still Meadow

14. Greenrest

15. Wildcall

16. Mudhill

17. Rainhill

18. Wanderton

19. Shadeside

20.  Beach Gulf

21.  Swiftmere

22.  Bronzewater

23.  Summer Bay

24.  Dry Well

25.  Kalahi

26.  Direville

27.  Honeyhost

28.  Castleton,

29.  West Strand

30.  Hazelshore

31.  Eldergulch

32.  Rimefalls

Twin Waters Archipelago

The tallest peak of the Kanda Mountains, the source of the River Walunga, is Knockhowe. On this peak is the great dwarven city of “Mining Town”, translated into Ospusan as “Stonesthrow”.Knockhowe is a point of pilgrimage for Tosi Vilis and followers of Atia.

The country is divided into 6 counties, representing the former nations, each of which has its own ancient language:

·  Boligsted, to the north side of the River Fljot. Mostly rural, especially pasture land. Also contains large numbers of mines in the Kanda Mountains. Local dialect is Boligstedan

·   Domovina, bordered by the Fljot, Prud and lesser Prud, and the Woastyn Desert. This county also possesses the Twin Waters Archipelago. As the home of the Sanctuary, racial tensions run higher here than elsewhere, despite it also being the birthplace of most orc and half-orc citizens. Most Domovinians have a second language which is a mix of the old Domovinian language and orcish. Large areas of plain are occupied by nomadic orc bands which grew within the Sanctuary

·   Woastyn, south of the Prud, east of Wanderer’s Wood and containing the entire Woastyn Desert. Most towns are very small and poor as the majority of the county’s wealth comes from the School of Transmutation, the largest of the 8 schools. Local tongue is Woastynian and is the main language in most towns, barring Kalahi.

·   Dachigh, bordered by the Prud, Koyu, Flyot, Lun, and Myft rivers. People from here tend to be very proud of the fact. This is also the most racially-diverse county. It has no second language as Ospusan evolved from the Dachighi tongue. Home to a lot of technological innovation, as they worked to rebuild quickly after the war. Background magic from Still Meadow means sorcerer’s are twice as common here.

·    Avare takes the rest of the south. Home to Wanderer’s Wood, where it is surprisingly easy to get lost, and rumoured home of the fae. The Avaree value the preservation of the natural environment over technological advancement, and many worship the fae over the modern gods (especially elves and halflings). There are many warlocks from Avare, most of whom gained their powers from the fae.

·    Suurvesi takes the rest of the north. The mountains of the area are rarely mined, despite the School of Necromancy being virtually on the border with Boligsted. Locals are known as Suurvesi’I and the language is only spoken by the older generation, who mostly follow the old ways of magic worship (Tosi Vilis) rather than the orcish religion (Orcu Vilis). Some suurvesi’I believe that they should return to independence.

Each county also hosts a pre-unification university, apart from Domovina, but the orcs created their own within The Sanctuary

Leadership
The arrangement of the nobility is as follows

1.  King Marissa of Ospus and Queen Aenor of Docuth

2.  Dukes Aeldred of Dachigh (the King’s brother), Leonora of Domovina, Timon of Boligsted, Eric of Avare, Heian of Woastyn and Jelenneth of Suurvesi (the counties)

3. The Marquis’ Maria of Castleton, Sariel of Rainhill, Ellywick of Blackmere, Betha of Kanda City, Yevelda of Wanderton,  Anton of Polmore, Urth of Gloomwich and Dorn of Kalahi (the cities)

4.  The Lords of Earthbreak, Puremaw, Farhill, Stagpond, Bellhorn, Ebonfrost, Cragburn (currently empty), Greenrest, Mudhill, Shadeside, Beach Gulf, Swiftmere, Bronzewater, Summer Bay, Dry Well, Direville, Honeyhost, West Strand, Hazelshore, Eldergulch and Rimefalls

5. The Mayor of Amarok and the Orcish Elders

History
The counties were originally the 6 counties of an area known as Ospus. In the year -124 (before Kithri), the first orcish incursions began, with large groups fleeing unrest in Hespor, their homeland. From 13, King Kithri of Dachigh gradually convinced the monarchs of the other 5 countries to unite under her in order to defeat the "invaders", finally succeeding in 1 (year of Kithri). The orcs who remained in Ospus were driven into central Domovina and confined into a kind of reservation, surrounded by a high wall - The Sanctuary.

The Schools of Magic were established soon after, as a way to unite the counties by ensuring that the most powerful people of all, those who could shape the world, were spread throughout the land. These were established between 17 and 45, with the final school, that of necromancy, being completed 6 years after Kithri’s death. Until the time of the uprising, this was the closest the country had to any religious power.

A republic was established in 150, but only lasted until 175, when orcish attacks were blamed on the new government.

The defeated orcs were barred from studying magic, but those sorcerers amongst them, who deliberately only bred with other sorcerers to increase their numbers, eventually managed to escape their capitivity and the hero Bumt lead a small guerrilla force of sorcerers, wizards and clerics to Dachigh (first known attack, 175, culminating the in the Still Meadows massacre of 182, where they unleashed a wave of magical force so strong that it flattened the area, which is still a point of pilgrimage to this day. They were granted their freedom in 184, by King Oswin, who married his son to Bumt the next year (they would eventually become King Marissa’s great-great-grandparents)

After this show of power, as well as the fact that the new Queen-in-waiting was orcish, many rapidly converted to the orcish religion, which was declared the official state religion in 245, and is practiced by

most Ospusans today.

Education
Ospus is home to eight schools of magic, each with its own uniform robes

·   Abjuration – Blue with gold trim – safety - Polmore - Principal Echoes LeTrek

·   Transmutation – Red with silver trim – change - Kalahi

·  Conjuration – Green with black trim – movement - Rainhill

·   Necromancy – Black with white trim – death – Kanda Mountains

·   Enchantment – Silver with blue trim – thought - Amorok

·  Divination – None (white with red trim off-island) – knowledge – Twin Waters – Principal Hercules Fernando

·  Illusion – Gold with purple – appearance - Castleton

·  Evocation – Purple with green trim – destruction – Wanderton – Principal Natalia Johnson

The Schools of Transmutation and Conjuration maintain a delicate diplomatic relationship

The Schools of Enchantment and Necromancy often work together, bound by their need to stay largely apart from the world

The Schools of Divination and Illusion are bitter enemies

Each country also contains its own University. These mostly date from before the unification, apart from the one in Domovina, which was established during the Orcish imprisonment in The Sanctuary

The Great Conservatory in Blackmere is the center of bardic training (though some bards learn in other ways)

Politics
Ospus is an absolute monarchy, ruled by King Marissa (37) and her husband Aenor (25). Aenor is from Ducoth and the two countries enjoy good diplomatic relations. The two were married in the year 374.

Ospus’s relationship with Hespor is less good, due to tension over the position of the School of Necromancy. Hespor have a large Orcish population and have followed Mugorism from centuries, a religion which condemns necromancy. Opinion in Ospus is divided as to whether it should be moved, as many object to the idea of bringing it closer to their homes.