N'dor 'en Gurtha

[Zieg dil' Tulfried]

~Region Name: Ndor 'en Gurtha
~Population: 50,000
~Racial Distribution: 60% human, 30% Elven, 10% other (including cross-breeds)
~Location: West of Corone
~Climate: A moderately-climated land that is built on the sloping sides of a large volcano. Moderate meaning that there is no clear winter or summer seasons, only a barely differentiable rainy and dry season, but the island is subject to frequent storms and hurricanes from the surrounding ocean.

~Geography: The island, large for an isle and small for a country, is a week-long voyage from Corone, isolated in the middle of the ocean. The ground is, due to the nature of the island, slanted, but only noticeably so near the center, where the volcano lies in a semi-dormant state. (It's got magma within, but it won't blow.) Each of the three major areas of the island are named for their features:
Anfaug Ndor: For the first 500 metres off the coast the land is very dry and dead-looking because of the effects of the salt water on the ground.
Calen Ndor: Further in, the lands are extremely fertile, grass-covered plains. Freshwater is scarce above surface and can usually only be attained through wells and deep springs. The volcanic rock is responsible for making the ground so fecund, and the soil is perfect for any sort of crop, though the constant and violent storms make farming a risky endeavor.
Ba Ndor: At the center of the island the ground once again becomes harsh and unyielding. The earth is grey, sparse, and though the climate is no different, heat from the magma beneath the earth carries through and can be felt by those on the surface, causing the lack of growth. The ground is hot enough to be uncomfortable for bare feet, but bare flesh will not burn if in contact with the earth. Rocks or metal left on the ground, however, may become dangerous. The sides of the volcano are covered with craggy outcrops and shallow caves. Obsidian can be mined in copious amounts, but the island also produces a special kind of obsidian that is especially strong and resistant, but veins are nearly impossible to find.

~Primary Locations:
City of Seere - The only established spot of trade and commerce, Seere is located on the border between Calen Ndor and Anfaug Ndor, so that a person could be in either the stark land or the fertile land while in the city, depending on which part of town he was in. The walled city is on the side of the volcano that faces Corone, so that the infrequent barge trips to the island have easy access to the island's only port on the beach between Seere and Corone. The city is basically a huge market, though rich mansions border the old wall that, though useless for defense, remains of the city's initial construction. (Population: 40,000)

Leitha Fields - A broad expanse of untamed vegetation, Leitha is a grassland that wraps around the island on the side of the volcany that faces the ocean. It has few trees and even fewer person-made constructions. It is approximately six miles long and is a favorite place for important gatherings and battles.

Helda' Gon - Referring to a massive slab of smooth rock that is found on the side of the volcano in Ba Ndor, no one knows exactly what brought this phenomenon to the island. It is a perfectly symetrical 20x20x5 ft. metallic black rectangle that lays at the foot of the actual volcano on its face, so that it only actually protrudes five feet from the ground around it. The rock seems benign, as it has yet to do anything that would incur suspicion, and many use it as a pyre for their funerals or as an altar for those who make sacrifices to the god that some believe resides in the volcano's molten core.

The Dock: Considering that it is the only one, the settlers didn't bother giving the landing bay a name. It is old and constantly being repaired because of storm damage. It has room for only one or two large barges and is almost never used for personal docking, since Corone is quite a ways away and the trip across the ocean would be foolhardy in anything smaller than a well-equipped ship. Pirate have been known to inhabit the water between.

Gamin's Haven: Founded by the altruistic warrior-turned-monk Nallki Grosh Gamin, this stone construction is found in the wastelands of Ba Ndor. It was built by the orc for his beloved wife, who contracted the disease and became homicidal. It is built like a prison, with cells and bars and thick walls, but there are also soft beds and kind workers who do all they can to make the infected who find their way to the Haven comfortable before they die.


~The People: Most of the people on the island live in Calen Ndor as hopeful farmers or craftsmen, taking their wares to Seere to be exported to the rest of Althanas. There are fishermen, but most use only rudimentary sailboats and rowboats since those who come to the island do not usually have the intention of ever leaving it. Some mine obsidian and search for other metals in the thick walls of the volcano.

~History: In a time when the race of the Elves was more populous than it is today, there arose in one of the major Elven cities a disease that painfully destroyed the victims over the course of a lifetime, sometimes taking ten to twenty years to kill. The victim would fall prey to blinding migraines that attacked every few days and lasted for hours. The daily migraines would last for years, and then the patient would begin to exhibit verifiable symptoms. Dark spots would appear on the skin that covered lymph nodes, blood vessels would swell so that they stood out against the skin, the blood beneath showing a dark purple. Then the patient's migraines would change into a constant, though bearable, headache that faded only when asleep. Slowly, over the course of even more years, their eyes would change color, the iris and pupil clouding over until they were a milky white, though the infected retained their vision. Then the disease attacked the victims' minds so that they exhibited various forms of mental instability such as paranoia, schizophrenia, split personalities, and irrational anger, to name just a few. The disease manifested in many ways, but all infected were mentally affected. After more years of mental disorder and constant pain, if the patient failed to commit suicide, as most were driven to do by the pain and the shame of the insanity, the patient would begin to bleed from all facial orifices as their brains were slowly and painfully destroyed from within, a process that took about six hours.
The disease proved to be contagious, but only to those who remained in the presence or who lived with one who was infected. Most Elven healers believed that the disease was spread through the air, though in fact it is spread only through shared fluid. (Be it shared saliva through a kiss or even a shared glass of water) Regardless, the Elves were horrified at the terrible way in which their noble race was being destroyed. Within two years nearly one fifth of their population was dead or insane. The rulers decided that the sick needed to be quarantined, and a great reward was offered for any who could find a place isolated enough to house the infected.
Ndor 'en Gurtha was that place. A rich merchant stumbled across the volcano when he was blown off-course by a sudden storm. His timing was nearly perfect, for the volcano had erupted only a few years ago, killing all of the island's last occupants, a population of wingless dragons. He returned to the Elves with the news and plans began immediately for the transport of the sick.
It took weeks to gather all the infected, for though most of the families were glad to be rid of their shameful relatives, some clung to their family members and refused to abandon them. Those that refused to accept the quarantine were taken with the sick, to care and aid them in their last days.
So it was that some two thousand infected Elves and three hundred care-takers were taken to the island. The city of Seere was established as a "safe zone" for those that would bring supplies until the settlements of the infected could be constructed. Only the care-takers were allowed in the city, and any infected that got over the high walls were killed on sight. The island was meant to be a nursing home of sorts, a place where those who were sick could die without infecting those they loved. Instead, the land blossomed. The sick who had yet to show symptoms fell in love, married, and reproduced, carrying on lives as though they were dislocated pilgrims instead of dying outcasts. Soon the supply ships began to come by less and less as the colony continued to exist, draining the resources of the Elves on the mainland. But their help was less needed, for the infected had taken up trades, occupying their time until the disease proved too much to handle.

Over the course of centuries, immunity developed. While most children had been raised with the knowledge that their family and eventually themselves would die from the horrible disease, some found themselves to be growing up normally, without the symptoms that affected those around them. As the survivors prospered and spread across the island, word of this haven-of-sorts spread to the other Althanian races. Since the Elves were too proud to admit to the shameful reason behind their faraway colony, other races began to eye the island with greed, assuming that the island was some sort of golden land where the Elves sent their favorites. Not foolish enough to anger the Elves by attacking the defenseless land directly, they began to come to the island themselves, searching for wealth and a chance at a prosperous life in the sparsely-populated lands. Over the years, the energetic reproductivity of humans changed the racial distribution, so that they are now found in an even greater number than the founding Elves.
While most of the Elves that live on the island are immune to the disease, it still affects other races who come to Ndor 'en Gurtha. Most of these contain themselves to Ba Ndor, but when the madness takes them, some escape into Calen Ndor and wreak havoc until they are put to rest.

~Present Situation: The number of those infected is rising dramatically as more and more non-immune people come to the island. Though farming is a great risk due to the frequent and destructive storms, industrious men are constantly trying to find ways to commercialize and reap off the island. Most who live thereon are nomadic, and any who come to the island have a one in six chance of contracting the yet-incurable disease.

~Military: Because of the lack of officiality on the island, the only real police are those known historically as Care-Takers. Once the nurses and helpers of the infected, the role has changed to be a kind of security that protects the unmarked boundary between Calen Ndor and Ba Ndor, guarding against the infected who attempt to escape to taint the grasslands. They dress in dark green uniforms with red gloves and red armbands. Most carry crossbows or longbows and some form of light sword or dagger. (~3000 Care-Takers, ranked at Captain, Lieutenant, and Footmen)
Merchant-lord To'Algon also has an unofficial militia that resides in Seere. Formed of mercenaries, ex-convicts, and discharged soldiers, they have no uniforms or titles and wear black armbands (similar to those of the Care-Takers) that signify their position as free migrators who get paid to "keep the peace" in the city. Mostly they brawl and take advantage of their status, and are coming to be known as the Loki ("snake" in Elvish), though if the word is mentioned to their face the speaker had better be quick at running away.

~System of Government: Though there is no official government over Ndor 'en Gurtha, there are many who vie for the right to claim that title. There is an unspoken fear that has survived through the years that any attempt to completely take over the island will result in the bringing down of the wrath of the Elves, but one man in particular is growing heedless of his ancestors' fear. Immune to the disease due to the marriage of his great-grandfather to a long-time inhabitant of the island, Perris To'Algon is the most important man to the trade of the island. As merchant-lord, a title he bestowed upon himself, he oversees all trade and transport; thus nothing gets on or off the island without his approval. He allows migration, but only at the cost of a very pricey ticket. He is not above black market dealing and does everything in his capacity to make himself richer and more powerful. His name is famous, but few have seen his face. He lives in a palace on the Calen Ndor side of Seere, relaying messages to the rest of the city through the Nobles, as he calls them,a group of twenty or so similar megalomaniacs who carry out his orders under the impression that they will recieve portions of the island for their own once To'Algon has taken it over. To'Algon has begun the gathering of an army, allowing soldiers and mercenaries to migrate to Ndor 'en Gurtha for free, provided that they swear fealty to him and aid in restoring order as a part of the Loki.
The trade and travel business in To'Algon's power, mostly limited to the city of Seere and the Dock, are the only really corrupted parts of the island. The rest of the volcano's inhabitants are fairly untouched by his schemes and carry on their lives in bucolic pursuit of happiness and with the hope that they will not contract the mysterious blight.

~Bestiary: The only wildlife is birds and that which have been imported for hunting and rearing. Cattle were brought and are now quite common, as are horses and sheep. There are not many wild predators, discounting the insane infected, but the Merchant-lord secretly imports bargeloads of deadly snakes and carnivorous beasts, hoping to incite the people to band together to ask for protection to give him a valid excuse to coalesce his army.

~Etc: Languages- Tradespeak is the most common tongue in the city of Seere, but everywhere else people speak the language of their race. Elves, for instance, speak Elvish and Tradespeak, Dwarves speak Dwarven and Tradespeak, Orcs speak . . . Orcen . . . and Tradespeak.

Education- Most of the people are quite rural and uncultured, though most Elves are taught in their childhood to read and write. In Seere, most are quite adept at mathematics, but books are expensive and heavy to import, so many children grow up without ever seeing more than one or two books on a rich man's mantle.

Average Life Expectancy: For uninfected humans ~70 (due to their rustic lifestyles, lack of war involvement, and their penchant for organic diets). If infected, most humans live for ten more years.