Kaduraas

Geography

What was once a land of towering trees and fertile soil is now a landscape brought under flame and blade.  Kaduraas now exists a desolate land, a scar upon Vitaveus and a reminder to its people. Kaduraans huddle to the husk of a few standing outposts under the purview and ever watchful eye of the Venerated Republic, yet to do so is futile – Kaduraas is nearly completely lost to the horrors of the Torment. One of the last of these veritable bastions for humanity found within this once beautiful land is Antongrad.  All roads from the West lead through Antongrad, and it acts as not only a beacon of hope from those trying to escape the hellish expanse, but also as a reminder that the Venerated Republic will stand in defiance of even overwhelming odds, until the very last man alive.

History

Kaduraas was one of many territories under the ancient rule of the Collatian Dynasty, standing tall for centuries before the might of the Venerated Republic struck down its heretical teachings and those who would spread them in the hearts of men during the Reckoning.  Much of the teachings of the Kaduraan people have been put to the flame, as many of their works were deemed blasphemous and highly heretical by the Clergy of the Decusian Faith. Due to this, what little has survived the flames is solely found in the form of oration and the memory of the spurned.  One rather infamous tale that is often shared is the betrayal the Kaduraans suffered at the hands of the Teramer people. For it was the Teramerians who gave the Republic safe passage, fed and armed their Templar with Collatian iron, and allowed them take to blade and flame to the Kaduraan people completely unhindered. Because of this wretched betrayal, Kaduraan and Teremerians still hold ill will against one another, despite such treachery having been wrought centuries ago.

Kaduraas had once been a fertile land, settled between Teramer and Collatia proper, with abundant forests ranging from taigas to wet tropical uplands. However, the once-bountiful territory has been reduced to ashes in many places, the ending years of the Reclamation having used it for countless front-line battles and skirmishes. In many places, even hundreds of years later, the earth itself is still scorched for miles upon miles, with vegetation, trees and plant-life seemingly refusing to grow back in silent protest of the thousands of gallons of blood spilled upon the cursed soil. In modern times, the concentrations of population in Kaduraas spotted the map of the territory, namely settled around it’s various rivers and waterways where at least a semblance of nature has been able to grow back.

Traditional Kaduraan people are a lithe and wirey bunch, with dusky skin and darker pigments of hair, with brown to green colored eyes.  However, many of the Kaduraan people are of mixed blood, interbreeding with those from the East that now occupy their once proud nation; a nation that was reduced to nothing more than ash and dried blood long before the Torment ever came to be.  The few larger Municipalities that existed in the territory prior to the Torment were merely alive due in part to their Republic garrisons they held, of which were heavily fortified with the means of sustaining themselves inside. Everything from crops and livestock were often grown and raised within these walls, while metals, medicinal supplies and religious goods were brought in through heavily guarded caravans.  Life was  uncomfortable even within these walls, as everything was rationed to its registered citizenry. Those wayward fools who passed through such garrisons often had to give up a great deal of wealth to even purchase a mere piece of stale bread from those who already have too little to even feed themselves; thus, Kaduraans are often looked upon with a sense of scorn in these modern times.

Prior to the Torment, magical practice was heavily conducted by the Consortium in Antongrad, one of Kaduraas’ largest cities. Antongrad Auditorii are considered to be some of the most blood thirsty and unwavering representatives of their cause in the entirety of Vitaveus, and many believe that the recruits that the Consortium melds into these battle-mages were sent to Kaduraas as their power, temperament and sheer natures would lend them to be executed in any more civilized areas of the Republic. Local Templar Chapters and Legion cohorts within Kaduraas were extremely distrustful of this Circle, believing such wildcard magi could easily stray from the Flame and bring about their ruin from the inside on behalf of the Resolve, yet the Church’s power within this blighted territory has never been anything more than a fleeting presence.  Due to this rather unique circumstance magi of Kaduraas find themselves within, a certain sense of infamy is enjoyed for any that claim to hail from Kaduraas, for magical users hailing from territory are often considered extremely well versed, practiced, powerful and above all else, dangerous. Of special note is the rather peculiar tendency of these infamous magii and magickin to adopt the ways of the sword as well, which had led to the concept of the Kaduraasian Warlock – a terrifying stereotype of a well-versed mage of whom is also adept in sword-fighting.

Torment

The current hellscape that is Kaduraas now lends itself to have being scorched not once, but twice, due completely to the spread of Torment and early efforts to control it. Kaduraas has now been literally brought to the Flame; for it is here that the Republic had tested many of its’ newer technological achievements, to include artillery, cannons, and heavy ordinances in an effort to rate their effectiveness against the Torment. Currently, the Torment is at a critical apex in Kaduraas, with less than a dozen strongholds and Municipalities of Republic forces standing firm against the plague.

The only true portion of Kadurass that is fimrly held by the Republic is that of Antongrad and the road to it. A fortnights ride into Kaduraas from it’s southeastern borders, Antongrad stands as an island within a veritable sea of madness and chaos. Somehow, against all odds, Antongrad still stands, and currently represents the only known habitable stretch of Eden within the Blacklands of Kaduraas.

Points of Interest

The Murderfields

The fields between Antongrad and the Godspine are known as the Murderfields; a vast expanse of charred nothingness.  The road Eastward from Antongrad to the Midlands cuts right through the middle of this desolate and macabre plain, leading those who have made it this far out of the West and further into the arms of the Republic.  It was here that the Venerated Apothecary Corps, backed by the Templar and Inquisition, took to their prototype use of pyrotechnics and flamethrowers, setting ablaze every settlement and village from the Godspine to the walls of Antongrad – infected or not. Even today, as the winds sweep the charred hills of the Murderfields, they at times still carry with them the ashes of the dead, choking the air from the lungs of those who would dare walk its wastes.

Antongrad

Surrounded on all sides by ruin and scorched earth, Antongrad acts as the passage and last checkpoint before reaching the only path safe enough through the Godspine, of which is heavily guarded by Legion forces.  Those who make the journey to the City of Skulls as it is colloquially referred to as are greeted with the visage of all those who have attempted to befoul and curse the last bastion of the Empire.  Piles of skulls flayed of their flesh line the sturdy and foreboding walls of this city and serve to cast their judgemental gaze upon those who dare enter. Westerners must pass through Antongrad if they are to attempt the roads eastward into the Midlands. Of recent note is that these travelers must be ever mindful of their possessions, as many are searched for any heretical material that they may smuggle East into the Imperial heartland – no doubt due to orders of traumatized Legion officiants whose grips on reality are beginning to fade.

Inspirations and Influences

Bulgaria, Romania. Traditional example names such as Naiden, Ignat, Rada and Lyubov are common for those hailing from Kaduraas.