Kizoran
Kizoran is the collective name for the series of undersea volcanoes and lava-flows that are located to the far, far east of Scalvoris' coast. It is not a name or a place known to many surface-dwellers, and those few Akktava mer who have ever chanced upon the volcanic mountain range regard it as nothing more than an empty, underwater wasteland.
Which is exactly what the inhabitants want you to think.
In the arc of 467, a civil war broke out amidst the mer of the Akktava clan. It was not a war of resources or of territory, but of ideology. There were those that believed that the Leviathan Sotong should continue to lead their clan the way he had for generations, and those that believed that the mer should instead lead themselves. It was said that the leader of the rebellion had found out some horrible secret of Sotong's that sparked the revolution, but what that was or even if that was true has been lost to history. Brother fought brother, sister fought sister, and bloody conflict consumed clan. War raged from the shadows for so long that eventually the great Sotong deemed it necessary to intervene, and with indiscriminate judgment, slaughter entire families of dissenters. Sotong had won, and the entire conflict, along with the names of every mer who was deemed a rebel, was erased from every record the Akktava had. To their clan, the war had never happened.
To the thirteen dissenting mer that had escaped Sotong's slaughter, they would remember it forever as the Bloodtide War.
This group of thirteen would wander the waters of Idalos for arcs, searching for refuge and a place to raise families safe from their former clan. But Sotong's reach was long, and the group was hunted relentlessly throughout their journey. Thirteen would become nine before they finally found a place free from even the Leviathan's interest. Kizoran.
Not known for its hospitable environment, the Kizoran Volcanic mountain range was not easy to settle when the mer arrived in 473. Undersea lava-flows, earthquakes, and eruptions were only some of the constant environmental hazards that the tribe of mer faced while attempting to tame the sea. Scarce food and terrifying wildlife were others. It proved only due to the dedicated leadership of their sea-shaman, a Defiance mage named Raes, that their group managed to not only survive the dangers of the area, but in time begin to thrive. A new clan was formed in secret, kept intentionally small so that their Akktavan enemies would never find them again. Named after the volcanoes which hid and protected them, that small group of mer would be known as the Kizora Clan.
Arcs after its inception, the Kizora Clan have adopted a culture entirely unique from their Akktavan predecessors. The mer exclusively worship their ancestors and the Kizoran itself, paying tribute to both through elaborate ritual and offerings thrown into lava-flows. They are fiercely xenophobic group who carefully monitor both their borders and the number of their own clan. They are never more than fifty Kizora alive at a time, a number deemed large enough to defend the clan should they encounter conflict and small enough that they may continue to keep their existence a carefully guarded secret. As such, every member of the clan is valuable and considered an equal. Their roles in society are based on merit and constantly shifting depending on what is needed for their survival, with two notable exceptions.
The first permanent position and the unofficial co-leader of the tribe, the Abyssoul is the spiritual guide of the Kizora Clan. Always a Defiance mage and a great sage, many in the tribe will turn to this individual for guidance on the clan's future and its past. It is their job to listen to the elements, to the ocean and the great volcanoes, and lead the clan to the safest places in the mountain range. They are also the great historians and healers for the clan, telling their people's stories and healing their wounds so that they can build a better future for themselves. An Abyssoul may not be the only Defiance mage in the clan, but they will always be the most skilled. When one of their kind passes, a type of tournament is held by the remaining mages in the clan. They are sent into the heart of the Kizoran, and the one that masters both their opponents and the volcano emerges as the Abyssoul.
The second permanent position and the war leader for the Kizora Clan is known the Shaper. The Shaper is the clan's chief armsmith, and they alone guard the clan's secrets of undersea metallurgy from outsiders. Responsible for the creation of advanced armaments and the organization of the clan's defense, the Shaper serves the clan by ensuring that they are prepared to mount a viscous defense at a moments notice. Unlike the Abyssoul, there is only ever one smith, as well as their apprentices, in a clan at a time. A Shaper may only ever have three apprentices at a time, and together these four are the only in the entire clan to know the secret of undersea smithing. This is not out of a need to keep secrets from their fellow mer, but instead because of the immense time one needs to dedicate to craft and the amount of skill forging requires. When a Shaper passes, each apprentice take a bit of bone from the corpse and includes it in the forging of a new weapon. The apprentice with the finest weapon is heralded as the new Shaper, and a new apprentice is selected from the clan.
The Kizora Clan have lived this way, in secret, for hundreds of arcs. Hopefully they will continue to escape Sotong's notice, because for them, discovery is death.
Name: Koreal
Race: Mer
Age: 40th of Ymiden, 657
Title: Abyssoul
Skills: Defiance 73
Swimming 52
Storytelling 49
Medicine 46
Meditation 40
Attunement 35
Other Information: Koreal is a patient and gentle soul. It is a rare trial he ever raises his voice, and he can often be found helping the sick in the clan to recovery. He is aware that most others in the clan look to Asva for leadership rather than him, but he is happy to help in an advisory role. He takes great pleasure in his job as the clan's storykeeper, and if given the chance he will spin a truly astounding yarn about the history of the Kizora.
Name: Asva
Race: Mer
Age: 16th of Ashan, 672
Title: Shaper
Skills:
Transmutation 70
Defiance 44
Hone 30
Smithing 50
Swimming 30
Polearms (Trident) 26
Other Information: Asva is a severe looking mer, but her hard, warrior's exterior masks a truly caring heart. She holds herself up to impossible standards, and she knows it. She feels it necessary as what is asked of her position is often impossible. The clan's chief crafter and primary leader for 27 arcs, her shoulders bear the heavy burden of defending the Kizoran borders from any curious creatures. Still, despite the weight of her responsibility she is proud to serve her clan in the best way she can, by being its chief defender.
(Asva is Faerro's Magic Mentor, and as such he would ask that you ask permission before using her for any extensive plotting).
Name: Sypha
Race: Mer
Age: 3rd of Saun, 690
Title: Shaper's Apprentice
Skills:
Swimming 55
Strength 44
Endurance 32
Smithing 30
Polearms (Spear) 26
Other Information: Sypha is often wearing a smile bright enough to match her eyes. A dedicated worker with boundless curiosity, her inquisitive energy has often gotten both her and her fellow apprentices in trouble with Asva for asking too many questions or exploring to far. Still, despite her skeptical nature, Sypha shows great respect to their clan's leader. At times she feels restrained by her role as apprentice, but she still put her all in her work. Dedicated, cheery, and pleasant, Sypha has her fair share of suitors among the available Kizora but she has yet to accept a single one.
Developed by: Faerro
Which is exactly what the inhabitants want you to think.
In the arc of 467, a civil war broke out amidst the mer of the Akktava clan. It was not a war of resources or of territory, but of ideology. There were those that believed that the Leviathan Sotong should continue to lead their clan the way he had for generations, and those that believed that the mer should instead lead themselves. It was said that the leader of the rebellion had found out some horrible secret of Sotong's that sparked the revolution, but what that was or even if that was true has been lost to history. Brother fought brother, sister fought sister, and bloody conflict consumed clan. War raged from the shadows for so long that eventually the great Sotong deemed it necessary to intervene, and with indiscriminate judgment, slaughter entire families of dissenters. Sotong had won, and the entire conflict, along with the names of every mer who was deemed a rebel, was erased from every record the Akktava had. To their clan, the war had never happened.
To the thirteen dissenting mer that had escaped Sotong's slaughter, they would remember it forever as the Bloodtide War.
This group of thirteen would wander the waters of Idalos for arcs, searching for refuge and a place to raise families safe from their former clan. But Sotong's reach was long, and the group was hunted relentlessly throughout their journey. Thirteen would become nine before they finally found a place free from even the Leviathan's interest. Kizoran.
Not known for its hospitable environment, the Kizoran Volcanic mountain range was not easy to settle when the mer arrived in 473. Undersea lava-flows, earthquakes, and eruptions were only some of the constant environmental hazards that the tribe of mer faced while attempting to tame the sea. Scarce food and terrifying wildlife were others. It proved only due to the dedicated leadership of their sea-shaman, a Defiance mage named Raes, that their group managed to not only survive the dangers of the area, but in time begin to thrive. A new clan was formed in secret, kept intentionally small so that their Akktavan enemies would never find them again. Named after the volcanoes which hid and protected them, that small group of mer would be known as the Kizora Clan.
Arcs after its inception, the Kizora Clan have adopted a culture entirely unique from their Akktavan predecessors. The mer exclusively worship their ancestors and the Kizoran itself, paying tribute to both through elaborate ritual and offerings thrown into lava-flows. They are fiercely xenophobic group who carefully monitor both their borders and the number of their own clan. They are never more than fifty Kizora alive at a time, a number deemed large enough to defend the clan should they encounter conflict and small enough that they may continue to keep their existence a carefully guarded secret. As such, every member of the clan is valuable and considered an equal. Their roles in society are based on merit and constantly shifting depending on what is needed for their survival, with two notable exceptions.
The first permanent position and the unofficial co-leader of the tribe, the Abyssoul is the spiritual guide of the Kizora Clan. Always a Defiance mage and a great sage, many in the tribe will turn to this individual for guidance on the clan's future and its past. It is their job to listen to the elements, to the ocean and the great volcanoes, and lead the clan to the safest places in the mountain range. They are also the great historians and healers for the clan, telling their people's stories and healing their wounds so that they can build a better future for themselves. An Abyssoul may not be the only Defiance mage in the clan, but they will always be the most skilled. When one of their kind passes, a type of tournament is held by the remaining mages in the clan. They are sent into the heart of the Kizoran, and the one that masters both their opponents and the volcano emerges as the Abyssoul.
The second permanent position and the war leader for the Kizora Clan is known the Shaper. The Shaper is the clan's chief armsmith, and they alone guard the clan's secrets of undersea metallurgy from outsiders. Responsible for the creation of advanced armaments and the organization of the clan's defense, the Shaper serves the clan by ensuring that they are prepared to mount a viscous defense at a moments notice. Unlike the Abyssoul, there is only ever one smith, as well as their apprentices, in a clan at a time. A Shaper may only ever have three apprentices at a time, and together these four are the only in the entire clan to know the secret of undersea smithing. This is not out of a need to keep secrets from their fellow mer, but instead because of the immense time one needs to dedicate to craft and the amount of skill forging requires. When a Shaper passes, each apprentice take a bit of bone from the corpse and includes it in the forging of a new weapon. The apprentice with the finest weapon is heralded as the new Shaper, and a new apprentice is selected from the clan.
The Kizora Clan have lived this way, in secret, for hundreds of arcs. Hopefully they will continue to escape Sotong's notice, because for them, discovery is death.
The Abyssoul
Race: Mer
Age: 40th of Ymiden, 657
Title: Abyssoul
Skills: Defiance 73
Swimming 52
Storytelling 49
Medicine 46
Meditation 40
Attunement 35
Other Information: Koreal is a patient and gentle soul. It is a rare trial he ever raises his voice, and he can often be found helping the sick in the clan to recovery. He is aware that most others in the clan look to Asva for leadership rather than him, but he is happy to help in an advisory role. He takes great pleasure in his job as the clan's storykeeper, and if given the chance he will spin a truly astounding yarn about the history of the Kizora.
The Shaper
Race: Mer
Age: 16th of Ashan, 672
Title: Shaper
Skills:
Transmutation 70
Defiance 44
Hone 30
Smithing 50
Swimming 30
Polearms (Trident) 26
Other Information: Asva is a severe looking mer, but her hard, warrior's exterior masks a truly caring heart. She holds herself up to impossible standards, and she knows it. She feels it necessary as what is asked of her position is often impossible. The clan's chief crafter and primary leader for 27 arcs, her shoulders bear the heavy burden of defending the Kizoran borders from any curious creatures. Still, despite the weight of her responsibility she is proud to serve her clan in the best way she can, by being its chief defender.
(Asva is Faerro's Magic Mentor, and as such he would ask that you ask permission before using her for any extensive plotting).
Sypha
Race: Mer
Age: 3rd of Saun, 690
Title: Shaper's Apprentice
Skills:
Swimming 55
Strength 44
Endurance 32
Smithing 30
Polearms (Spear) 26
Other Information: Sypha is often wearing a smile bright enough to match her eyes. A dedicated worker with boundless curiosity, her inquisitive energy has often gotten both her and her fellow apprentices in trouble with Asva for asking too many questions or exploring to far. Still, despite her skeptical nature, Sypha shows great respect to their clan's leader. At times she feels restrained by her role as apprentice, but she still put her all in her work. Dedicated, cheery, and pleasant, Sypha has her fair share of suitors among the available Kizora but she has yet to accept a single one.
Player Notes
Changelog
Credits to: Faerro
Submitted for Development: 3/19/20
Submitted for Development: 3/19/20
