Vargus Archive

Magnia

Overview

A mining kingdom mainly within a mountain, Magnia values adherence to the law above all else. It is well known that anyone accused of a crime is taken by the guards and never heard from again, so crime is practically non-existent. That said, this has only been within the last fifty years since the current Mountain King took the throne: a charismatic and ruthless man who demands order.

Traditionally, Magnia has stayed out of the political affairs of the other kingdoms, but nowadays there is tension between Magnia and most of the other kingdoms, though no one can pinpoint a precise cause.

Culture

The people of Magnia adhere to the law at all costs for fear of being taken away by the guards to an unknown fate. While many people would claim to foreigners they're so strict because they value order, the truth is that the people are frightened and too proud to admit it.

Few ever go out at night, as there are many tales of beings who snatch the unwary off the streets after midnight. The most notable being a tall figure in black armor whom the people have named the "Death Knight".

Aside from being frightened, the people of Magnia tend to value hard work and find laziness reprehensible. In the deepest part of the mines lies a symbol of their work ethic: a series of caverns filled with crystals and gemstones in every color, so many that the walls shimmer like rainbows. These caves would not have been discovered without the labors of miners and are considered a sacred place dedicated to the goddess of the moon.

The Resistance

Beneath the Mountain King's charismatic veil is a madman who worships the god of destruction. The people who get taken away by the guards are locked away in a secret dungeon deep beneath the mines where horrific experiments are performed on prisoners in the attempt to "create the most perfect being". What that really means is unclear, but the prisoners all undergo unimaginable suffering before they inevitably die.

Only one person has ever escaped this secret dungeon, and the Mountain King presumes him to be dead: the crown prince who is said to have died of illness as a child. During experimentation, his soul was separated from his body and escaped quietly, possessing a suit of armor once free. He now leads an underground resistance movement who mean to overthrow the Mountain King. In truth, the Death Knight is the prince, who has adopted the title as his own.

The Resistance has yet to come out of hiding for the most part since they are too few in number to win their fight. Currently, they mainly patrol the streets at night in secret, trying to prevent the King's secret guard from kidnapping innocents. All the stories of dark creatures that snatch people off the streets at night are perpetuated by the Mountain King to cover up the fact that the true culprits are his secret guard.