Rusya Romana —Empress Vivian
Dormint Kingdom —King Domino
Impriat Ha'or —Emperor Veritas
Iudiciam Lux —Goop Kingdom (Puppet monarch) (Dark wizard of some kind)
Umbra Bellator —Strongest Warriors of Iudiciam, Late irreversible stages of infection (Goop)
Umbra Bellator Riders —cavalry who have experienced the late stages of the infection during while mounted, and end up physically and spiritually fused with their horse, such that an attack on one is an attack on the other, and separation is impossible.
Alaric: Prince of Rusya Romana, ruled by his mother, Empress Vivian. Born with a curse he inherits from his father, he has to get treatments for the pain and the effects of it on his body.
Agnes(Very tall Half-Elf): Stand in Court Physician (Apprentice) for the Rusya Romana, originally raised under the Dormint Kingdom. Their Guardian, The Court Physician (Vesta) is away trying to cure this dark illness that's spreading through the kingdoms coming from the Iudiciam Lux Kingdom.
Alek: Captain of the Sisters of the Romana Sanctorum, a band of mercenaries renowned among all armies, and currently (at the beginning of the story) sustaining her war band through donations from grateful peasants who she has been defending from raiders on the borders of the Rusya Romana and the Dark Realms.
Kadmos: General of the Armies of Rusya Romana, and biological, but estranged sibling of Alek, who chose the path of mercenary, which Kadmos thinks is dishonorable.
Marc(Micaiah): Crown Prince of the Impriat Ha'or, insisted against his father's wishes on riding into battle, eager to prove himself. Despite the advice of his father's concubine Ramiel—who happens to be the General of the Impriat Ha'or's armies—to stay in the rear guard, Marc sneaks out in front during his first battle, a minor skirmish, and is mortally wounded, as the vanguard is scattered. Ramiel searches desperately for Marc, but he is captured, and loses his memories.
C01T(Colt): Head of the Stables of Rusya Romana, with his Ward/son 'Ditto' who helps with the stables on occasion. A friendly face to newly Amnesiac Marc
Rusyan/North Plains Customs, Sayings, Musings, Poetry, Etc.
Common Sayings Among Warriors
"As the wolf chews bone, so the rider chews iron." (Generally said as a way to convey a sense of 'well, we don't really have a choice.' One might hear this said before a borderline suicidal charge of cavalry.)
"The rider belongs to the horse." (An idiom turned on it's head from an aristocratic Dormin saying "The horse belongs to the rider" which originally meant, essentially, 'everything serves those with power' and now is used to mean 'everything serves nature,' or 'everything serves divinity')
"A sharp lance shall not pierce the dull one." (Essentially means 'punch up, not down' and 'don't pick on the little guy')
"Shield and blade and arrow will not free from sorrow." (Essentially 'violence doesn't bring relief.')
"Where would thou (you) wish to die?" with the response "The place of my birth." (Often said before a perilous or risky battle, especially when that battle takes place on the plains where these riders are from, and means essentially 'I welcome death so long as I get to die in the land of my birth.' The response is changed when not in the northern plains to be "Not here," as a sort of 'well, guess we're not allowed to die,' in a defiant sort of why.)
"What is a woman?" with the response "a danger" being standard. (Generally said among the egalitarian lower ranks of the Rusyan Army, and among independent bands and local militias who generally have fairly feminist viewpoints, and respect the women among their ranks a great deal. Other common replies are "life" and "whatever she damn well pleases" and "the blade and the taunt in one," and "the divine and the demonic at once." Essentially, anything that means 'fucking awesome, and also a little dangerous.')
"Who dares ride?" usually said by an officer, with the soldiers responding in a group "the fearful!" (A way of admitting their fearfulness before battle, and of honesty as a way of being closer to divinity, and also a little bit of a morale boost because they've all just been a little vulnerable, and their comrades in arms are still with them. Usually said right before a charge.)
"Not even a hound would eat the shit you're spewing." ('Stfu with that bullshit.' Can be said in a funny way or an offensive way, really depends on context, and whether or not the other person is serious.)
Rusyan/North Plains Funerary Rites and Customs
Death is very important to a warrior people, and as such, there are certain rites and customs surrounding the dead in Rusyan and North Plains cultures.
Firstly, the dead are gathered after battles, generally by the victor, with the fallen of the opposing side being delivered to them peacefully, should there be any fighting force left, or otherwise buried alongside the fallen of the victors themselves.
Bodies of fallen warriors are buried in full armor (the armor they were killed in) with whatever weapons they had on them, and generally are burned in a shallow grave before the ashes are covered with dirt, and the knife that is customary for all riders to wear is embedded into the ground to mark the grave. Sometimes stones are also piled on top of the graves if they are plentiful.
The horses of fallen riders are almost always set free, and only remain in the war band if the fallen had younger family members riding with them, in which case the horse may be retained and sent back to family as a token of the love of their comrades.
When the dead are buried there is always some form of singing, but this varies depending on the point in the burial rite one is at. At the very beginning, the warriors who search for and find the body often sing a very low, droning sort of song as they find the bodies of the fallen (friend and foe alike). Then the basses and sopranos of the band generally start of singing a very high contrast song of pure vocalizations that harmonize in a haunting sort of way, the very high and the very low mixing, as the graves themselves are dug. Next, as the bodies are laid into the graves, the Tenors and Altos sing a much more unified song (might right it later, but we'll see) and those closest to the fallen often kneel and close the eyes of their comrades. The leader of the band often joins in this phase of singing, and while singing walks the line of graves, paying their respect to each of the fallen. Finally, as the bodies are lit ablaze, the whole band lets out a sound that is somewhere between "mourning howl" and "actual song," which continues for at least a minute or so. Then the whole band assists in covering the graves, and marking them, all of which is done in complete silence.
In terms of what is believed by the riders of the plains, it is generally that, when a warrior dies, their spirit inhabits the plains where they were born, and becomes a part of the nature that gave them life. The peoples of the northern plains don't generally believe in a single "god" or really any personified divinity, but rather the divine in nature. They believe that the fallen of this life return to the earth from which they came. Therefore, most riders of the northern plains are not exactly scared of death. Obviously they're human, and many do fear the loss of loved ones, of the life they have now, but there is a prevailing believe among them that death does not mean the end of anything. It's a little bit of reincarnation theory, but not only in the sense that you'll be born again as a human, or even an animal. It's not even that you'll be born again, it's that your life force, your divinity, returns to the natural world, to the streams and groves and rocks of your childhood, and likely your whole adult life also. Because of this emphasis on the plains themselves, some riders, especially those in regular armies that on occasion fight wars in different climates and areas of the world, believe that dying outside of the plains somehow traps your spirit wherever you died. This, however, does not lead to fear so much as a kind of grim humor, as these same riders are convinced that if they die, they will join a horde of ghosts causing havoc in the realms of their enemies, and some even further believe that once you've served your purpose in this kind of cursed-but-somewhat-fun afterlife, your spirit will still return to the plains.
The Significance of Braids Within the Northern Plains Cultures
Braids are very important to the peoples of the northern plains, especially those who are warriors of some sort or another. All people, but especially warriors, grow their hair out and never really stop. The cis men grow their beards out incredibly long also, but so do plenty of transfems, and the cis women grow a good deal of body hair. They are seen by elvish neighbors to the north and south (the Mountain Elves of the Impriat Ha'or and the Forest Elves of the Southern Forests) as fairly slovenly, at least in certain more closed minded cases. They don't care much, and among friends there is a good deal of teasing in both directions ('god you have so much hair' 'yeah, well you look like a river stone').
There are five main types of braids.
Battle braids, which are given by comrades in arms, and often expanded or added on the eve of important battles, and often incorporate some sort of twine or rope of the type one ties around the hilt of a weapon.
Friendship braids, which are typically given as a mark of friendship, and are the most common type, generally incorporating some sort of bead.
Courting braids, which are given as a mark of romantic and/or sexual interest, and typically incorporate a gift from the courter, often times a long piece of woven fabric, intricately patterned and produced in the typical Northern Plains village.
Mourning braids, are usually incorporated with the dead loved ones hair (if there is any to be found).
Familial braids, which are typically tied into a loved one's hair from the time of birth, and are usually the longest braids in the hair. This is typically done by a parent, but should the parent die before the hair of their child is long enough, an older sibling, or aunt/uncle may do it.
Magic System for the Lands
Magic is like muscles, the more you use it the longer you can use it(endurance)
not everyone is born with the capacity for magic and there is a range for your capacity fro what you can do.
There is magic that is used intuitively, and this magic expresses itself as bursts of raw energy that are often uncontrolled, but can have various effects, such as an attack that might cause physical harm, to a more psychological attack, to even some types of healing.
There is also magic that is learned, through careful study, and takes the form of spells, or rites, which allow specific, channeled effects. This type of magic takes the innate magical abilities of magic users and channels it into a desired outcome. ("!reirrab a nommus" summons a barrier(its just the command but reversed))