Nation: Sanctum

Sanctum

[191 64 -185]

Sanctum is a protectorate of the Fae, it both refers to the wider protectorate as a nation and to the City-State that serves as its capital. The human population of the nation is comprised primarily of dissidents from the River Lords, individuals who chafed under what they perceived to be an oppressive hereditary autocracy. Like other groups in the River Lords, these peoples left the fertile kingdom, but rather than venturing up into the Northarm, they traveled along the coast of the Bay of Gleshmere. where they eventually came to a tall tower, thick with clinging vegetation, all about the tower the soil was rich and bloomed with wildflowers. It was here that they settled, not knowing what they had found. In a few years, the fae took notice of the new residents around their watchtower and issued forth from their realm to judge the humans

The Fae are a race of empathy, feeling the emotions on a primal level of all living beings, of everything born naturally. As it stands, the awoken fall outside of that circle - and the Fae harbor mistrust towards those they cannot empathize with. Ever careful, the Fae indeed are rarely seen outside of their homes - and any invitation they are given is usually met with silence. Their secretive and secluded nature has led many of Malteria to even believe that they do not even exist, merely a tale told to children to frighten them from harming nature.

There are two things that are guaranteed to draw the reclusive Fae from their hidings, and both are guaranteed to end in death - the first being the defilement of nature on a scale large enough to impact the world. Such a thing would bring the full force of the Fae's might down on any who dare attempt such a thing - and though reclusive and rarely seen, the Fae are not a threat to be ignored. The second would be attacking them or the ones they charge themselves with defending - the realm of Sanctum, which is guarded by a faction of the Fae that vow to protect the natural-born sentient beings of Malteria, and protects them from conflict with the undead, or the awoken.

Fae appear like snakemen, and though they might not look it, they have a completely plant-like body; scales of bark typically covered in lichen that varies from green, to white, to black, flesh of green plant matter similar to that of the stems of green plants, and lightweight but surprisingly dense bones of solid wood. Lastly, their wings are made of the same material one would expect of leaves. Whereas one would expect a being made of such materials to be heavy, stiff, and clumsy, the Fae are the opposite - quiet, sinuous.. they move with a fluidity that is inhuman. And despite their lightweight forms, light enough to be capable of flight on their thin wings, they are also surprisingly hardy, perhaps owing to the inherent magic imbuing their forms, infused with their very being.

"Sanctum is a city of peace for those seeking refuge from the harshness of the world around them. Founded by the Fae; serpent-like men whose scales are like wood, and ridden with moss, and whose wings are like insects. The Fae look upon the refugees who come to them kindly and allow all who are truly in need take shelter and live. Malteria is a cruel world, and for that reason, Sanctum prospers."

"In a dialect, seemingly foreign, the Fae speak of a king from a time long past. His name was Oberon, and he was generous as he was colossal. he ruled over all of Malteria protecting all of his people from the dangers and weather of the young world until the sky itself threatened to collapse and end all he sought to protect. Oberon stood tall, raising his hands against the sky, holding it in place. Calling on the Fae to lend them their strength, he promised to protect them forever. As the Fae poured their strength into him, his body became rigid and hollow, his skin grew bark and his fingers turned to leaves. Though his body was ravaged, the sky ceased to fall and his spirit remained to guide the Fae.

The Fae claim that even now the king is alive, giving them advice and guiding their kind in the path he once took to protect those in need, and claim that the world rightfully belongs to him, as the true king."

Oberon

[565 68 1106]

This is a major Fae religious site, and one of the places where their magical realm bleeds into the real world. The Fae claim that this massive tree is the remains of their long-dead god. From this location, Fae operating in the material world can more easily draw upon magic powers to transport themselves great distances in an instant. 

The location of Oberon, indeed its very existence is a secret to most inhabitants of Malteria. Its a place heavily guarded by incomprehensibly powerful magic and beasts of the mythic realm, not to mention the Fae themselves.