Oso

In the kingdom of Oso a belt of plane and Sahara between the airid plateaus of Tolfa and the deep luscious jungles of the kingdom of N’Dorni. The Kingdom is known as a hub of trade, long before the empire swallowed it they had friendly relations with all peoples of the land preferring peaceful trade than expansion. With little natural resources to offer besides their silver and stone mines they’ve perfected the art of taking trade goods and refining them. Grains to flour, raw precious stones to jewelry, stocky wild horses to the fastest breeds in all of Vesial. The capital of Oso, Dvaar, sits along a wide river carving out the walls of a deep canyon.

Some say that the heart of the world once lay in Oso and that all were welcome there as all was born there. It used to be until recently that the hub of Oso kept this promise. People of all creed passed through the bullies and avenues, but since the empire has taken hold such is no longer true. 

The Children of Oojra
* This section is not general knowledge for characters*

The lands south of Tolfa were destroyed by a thousand year war between the ancient Eladrin elves who had began to colonize Vesial from the Feywilds, and the races of giants which had claimed the land for millennia. The Eladrin wished to create a haven on the material plane for their people by ridding the land of the mundane. The giants had tended to it like god kings. The war inevitably through bending the weave of magic tore the feywilds portals from the material plane and created a shadow realm. This scorched the earth and destroyed much of the surface civilizations which had sprung up here in Vesial except those that had hid deep in the earth or in the jungles to the south.

It is said that for thousands of years this region remained devoid of life, a scar upon the continent. Elves that survived on this side of the portals began to spread out, change and become those we know of now, but the giants all but a few disappeared, leaving the world open to new rulers.



End of an Era
It was a little over 65 years ago when the Vallenti Empire began marching onto the borderlands of Oso, torching the outer watchtowers and making known their intent to take the kingdom. Through the burning, the empire sent an envoy of emissaries much like they have done in the passed. The first envoy was turned away, and the empire collapsed their major mine to the east. Another was sent and were slaughtered, and the empire showing its might burned the port towns to the west.

Diviners, Magi and spy alike from Dvaar tried to pinpoint where the empire was going to strike next to try and head off the attacks but they were always too late. Finally the empire filed down the valleys into the canyons which protected the jewel of Oso. An army the likes never seen descended onto the surrounding countryside, raising the towns they found. Columns of smoke were the warnings Oso’s king was sent.

 

There came the third and final envoy which held aloft a waving black banner emblazoned with a three headed gryphon. This envoy was permitted entry through the gates. All were silent as they marched upon the palace grounds. The few of Dvaar’s people who dared stand up or speak out were brutally taken down. The life of the brilliant heart of Oso was stripped and there at the open palace gates the king stood along with all the clerics of Rao prostrated before their conquerors.

The kingdom for the better part of 50 years was able to sort itself out and King Nanda II was allowed to remain in power with the empire’s appointed advisors guiding him. Nanda II eventually realizing he needed a new heir remarried and was able to have another son, Thein VI.

This relative peace was brought to an end with the starting of a riot.

The Planes of Khaalee
The Planes of Khaalee were the windswept flatlands of Oso. These lands were once home to many nomadic tribes which travelled across the vast swaths of land from landmark to landmark seeking refuge from the heat of the sun.   

Jeevan Rivers
Jeevan is the name given to the great rivers which course through the canyons and gorges of the Khaalee planes. It is also known as the lifeblood. Many of the wild elves which have called the cliffs home before speak of times when the canyons were completely dry and life nearly disappeared from the land. Jeevan is thought to spring from a holy site of the nomadic tribes, hidden somewhere deep in the jagged mountains to the far east.   

The Oasis, Dvaar
Built upon the stone walls of the gorges, Dvaar sits comfortably in a maze of passages along the Jeevan River.

The Shaanti Mahal
The Palace of Dvaar, where the king once sat to take court and where the royal family resides.