[Information] A World Over Yonder

[Amarga]

Yondering Realms   The Swamp Kingdom, Paloro, is located in the southern swamplands of the Yondering Lands. The Swamp kingdom is made up a collection of clan holds and small villages based around the massive trees that grow throughtout the swamp. The Swamp Kingdom is home to the most complete and effective medicines in all the Yondering Lands, and potions from the Swamp Kingdom are highly prized wherever they can be sold or bought. In ancient days Paloro was a collection of toddart clans that constantly waged war against one another. When they first encountered that raiders that became the Skyholds, the disperate clans of the swamp found that individually they lacked the force to defend themselves from this threat and so a champion rose from the oldest clan to unite the toddart clans and drive off the avian invaders. This is the legend of Rhella the Unifier, the First Councilor, who organized the clans into a union of equals who would elect their ruler once a generation. Rapploc was the home of her clan, and over the generations her descendents turned it into the greatest city in all of Paloro. The union collapsed one year when there was a near tie between two clan leaders that could not be resolved. The decent into civil war started in Rapploc as the gathered clans waged war throughout the region. Only the victory of Tarco the First King, descended directly in line from Rhella, prevented the battle from destroying Rapploc entirely. Tarco set up a hereditary monarchy for the Swamp Kingdom, and swayed the clan leaders to support this new way of life. Again the work of generations and the ingenious inventions in the time of King Tarblux (Rapplus III's grandfather) brought the city to new heights.   The Woodguard formed from the remnants of the Old Kingdom's Throneguard. With the fall of the Old Kingdom, the Throneguard reorganized into the Woodguard and sought for new purpose. Retaining its knightly origins, the Woodguard now stands for the freedom and wellbeing of all the Woodland. Their members endlessly patrol the towns and villages of the Woodland, lending their strength to those in need. When out in the field, the Woodguards maintain any number of hidden sanctums. Some are nothing more than a gap in the roots where a guard can sleep at need, while others are sprawling cave systems hidden within a waterfall. In all cases these sanctums serve a critical role in their operations. They offer security from the dangers of the Woodland, information in the form of notes and messages left by other guards, supplies left by other guards when they have spare to leave behind, and a base from which different types of missions can be launched.   A collection of large treetop cities, the Skyward houses are home to many different types of avian Woodlanders. Many of these "Roosts" have been a line's seat of power for many generations, and it is said that the knowledge and power that these houses have is the source of their arrogance. Their representative is “Queen” Gwenhylotte, whose power, like most Skyward monarchs, is mostly ceremonial and very dependent on being able to rally Houses in the Moon’s Court. There are a few notable exceptions to Noble Houses, and some of the smaller bird species have created their own, less totalistic houses to find representation in the Moon’s Court, (The Songbird Flock, The Rookery, etc.) While the hierarchy of the Skyward houses are pretty rife with struggle for domination by bird species of all varieties, all birds within it look at the other Woodlanders (Rootlings) with some measure of disdain. Sky Knights are powerful, warriors who often fight in pairs of lovers, close friends, or family members. These knights are few in number compared to the forces of other lands, but make up for it in raw individual power, knowledge, and skill.

Yondering Folk   A diminutive people, most missen spend their time in small towns and villages around the woodland. The missen are a trusting, simple folk who hold honesty, a hard days work, and a hard day's rest in high regard. Most missen prefer a calm life, but the Wood Guard are filled with missen who know that sacrifices must be made to preserve the peace and freedom so many enjoy.   Lapires are tall, strong legged wanderers and travelers who move between the towns and villages of the woodland. When they do settle down, they build large homes into hills to raise their families. These families fluctuate in size wildly as the wandering nature of lapires makes any larger settlement unlikely.   Toddarts are an amphibious people that live in the swamps of the southern wandering lands. Some toddarts populations are known to live in small villages near the ponds or rivers of the Yondering Lands. Toddarts live in clans based around specific regions, and each toddart is tied deeply to the waters that raised since their infancy. Toddarts are exceptional swimmers and have tamed some of the creatures of the swamp to aid them in movement.   Birds of prey are few in number, but mighty and proud. These magnificent creatures are central to the power of the Skyholds and are the rulers of the Yondering canopies. Raptors are proud and few will let any challenge go unanswered while their ambitions know no end. This is typically balanced by their general apathy towards labour or the things that walk the earth, as birds of prey find it a waste of their talents to spend their time administering or otherwise ruling the ground-bound peoples of the Yondering Lands. Even within the Skyholds, the birds of prey leave much of the work to the songbirds and content themselves with what they consider to be nobler pursuits: hunting, warfare, and the arts. Once a bird of prey comes of age, they are expected to leave the family roost and seek glory, honor, and fortune out in the world on their own.   The songbirds of the Yondering Lands are a spirited and cheerful group that live throughout the canopies of the Yondering Lands. Songbirds make up the majority of the Skyholds, but spend their lives cheerfully working away at the necessary tasks a kingdom needs to function. Their proximity to the birds of prey has greatly inflated the ego of many songbirds and it can lead them to making mistakes a bird of prey never would.