Lun Dorak
Once a decadent and isolationist society in a remote corner of the world, Lun Dorak sprang into global politics when its last Mage-King, Lucasa, became Emperor of the Great Empire and brought the full might of the mages of Lun Dorak and the Imperial military to bear in a quest for global domination, sparking the Mage War. Himself of Koramian birth, Lucasa's forces bogged down in Koramia and were eventually defeated by an unusual alliance between humans, elves, orcs and, it is rumored, a group of Dragonriders. Though most believe he was slain in the final battle, rumors persist in Lun Dorak that he was spirited away after the final battle by the Dragonriders for unknown reasons.
After the fall of the Mage-King, Lun Dorak's mages fell to infighting as her mundane slaves rose in rebellion. Despite the fact that the mages have since settled their differences and re-asserted control over the region, pockets of rebellion still stymie their efforts for domination in the region, particularly in the tangled swamps along the Sea of Blades. Rumors persist that these rebels are being assisted by the Dragonriders, though there are no credible reports of dragons in the skies over Lun Dorak since the end of the Great War.
| Lun Dorak |
| The Magocracy of Lun Dorak |
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| Geographic Info |
| Continent: Duria |
| Location: World Maps 001 & 004 |
| Government |
| Government Type: Magocracy (Councilor, Magus, Magister, Archmage, Wizard, Master, Overseer) |
| Ruler: The Council of Five |
| Arms: Argent, a carnation gules, the Three-Fold symbol of Abaris azure. |
| Coinage: 1 Minotaur (1 cp) = 5 Speckles; 1 Gryphon (1 sp) = 6 Minotaurs; 1 Unicorn (1 ep) = 11 Gryphons, 4 Minotaurs; 1 Dragon (1 gp) = 7 Unicorns; 1 Celestial (1 pp) = 9 Dragons |
| Capital: Davalor, the Sapphire City (pop 234,560) |
| Alliances: None |
| Hostilities: None. Intermittent skirmishes with the orcs of Vor Midal, but none worth noting; Periodic slave rebellions in the southern territories under the direction of a mysterious person or group known only as the Peregrine. |
| Society |
| Population: 2,516,000 (98% human, 1% hobbit, 1% other) |
| Languages: Dorakian by the noble mages, Zaran and Calmergh Teanga by the slaves. |
| Important Persons: The Councilors and a handful of important Magi under their direct supervision, the Mystagogues of Davalor and Tertulian, the Potens Maximus of Abaris |
| Religious Info |
| Pantheon: Imperial |
History
The Magocracy of Lun Dorak is an usual state, one which has closed its borders to outside influences and seems rather content, despite its oppressive nature, to maintain a defensive military policy. Its history hails back to the demiurge Davalor, who first came to the region to live as a hermit somewhere around 234 B.I. A native of the Zetian Republic, he had tired of the oppressive nature of magical research there, and decided to separate himself from the Republic in order to continue his studies into magic unhindered. He constructed for himself a vast fortress complex on the shores of the Sea of Swords, and cleared the region around his fortress of creatures which would interrupt his work. He resided there, in total isolation, until 23 I.C., when he returned to the former Republic for unknown ends. Despite his secretive nature, he quickly amassed a number of followers interested in his centuries of magical research, and he soon found himself unable to personally continue the investigation that he was so desperately following. Thus, he established the Thessalia University of Magic near Zeth, and sent forth his students in search of any magical lore they could discover.
Within five years of the foundation of Thessalia in 43 I.C., the Order of St. Libriacus, a denomination of the worshipers of Abaris, founded a Chapterhouse in the University, and the search for magical lore continued. Finally, after two centuries of research and investigation, Davalor disappeared. Over the next three decades, his followers began to disappear as well, until 284 I.C., the Potens Maximus of Abaris proclaimed Davalor a heretic who had rejected his talent for research and turned his back on Abaris. The disappearances ceased until 456 I.C., when one of the most powerful artifacts to wizards of the Empire, appeared in the hands of an adventuring company in Milosia and was taken by the Emperor for the protection of the state. The Emperor immediately turned over the Magesword to the Potens Maximus of Abaris, who began to investigate the item, in hopes of being able to re-create it. Suddenly, during one of the rare public worship services dedicated to Abaris, the Potens Maximus disappeared before thousands of onlookers and the Emperor himself, taking the Magesword with him. Legend purports that he was last seen aboard a merchant vessel plying the waters near the Calmerian Marches, when he and the ship he was traveling on was lost in a storm.
Secretly, Davalor had returned to his fortress, and brought his most insightful and disciplined students with him. Davalor had become obsessed with locating and retrieving the Magesword, and believed that he had been given a vision by Abaris herself to retrieve it. Upon news of its discovery, he contacted the Potens Maximus of Abaris and, somehow, convinced him of the veracity of his claim. The Potens Maximus survived the storm and came to Davalor's palace, Magesword in hand. Davalor immediately began to enslave the nearby human population of the region, naming himself the Mage-King of Lun Dorak and proclaiming himself the savior of all magical beings. In his great age and, possibly, insanity, he had determined that, due to their vast abilities, casters were the logical choices as leaders of humanity and, indeed, all the world, and that the only was to achieve true justice and true peace was to remove all power from the hands of non-casters. By 532 I.C., he had enslaved a large region around his castle, and appointed his followers as rulers in those regions. It wasn't until his armies came into conflict with the orcs of Vor Midal and the humans of the Calmerian Marches that his advancement ceased. More conservative elements in his court had been, for years, suggesting a more moderate and less destructive approach to world domination, and it wasn't until 535 I.C. that they found support amongst many of the rulers of Lun Dorak, including the Potens Maximus herself. Under the leadership of the Potens Maximus, Davalor was overthrown and entombed in a secret location, known only to the Potens Maximus. The Potens Maximus then formed the Council of Five to rule the nation and oversee its development, with the understanding that they would conduct no further campaigns of domination outside their borders. She then returned to the Empire, refusing to explain even to her own clergymen precisely why Abaris had accepted no Potens Maximus in the Empire for so long a time.
For the next three centuries, the Council ruled, quietly researching magic and defending its borders, when necessary. In 897 I.C., however, several mild winters and warm summers in Vor Midal had resulted in a population explosion. The orcs banded together under the Khan Kordahl, and attacked Lun Dorak en masse. The Dorakians, despite portents which had been suggesting just such a thing for years, were unprepared. Despite the success of the Khan, the Council deliberated and argued every movement, until finally, with the orcs at the gates of the city of Davalor itself, they elected Machael, the Mystagogue of the University of Davalor, as the first Mage-King since Davalor, and charged him with the removal of the orcs from Dorakian lands. Machael, after several initial failures to push back the orcs from central Lun Dorak, began to use his magic to summon powerful creatures from other dimensions to do his bidding. The assistance of these creatures, along with the concerted magickal experience of the ruling class, finally began to wear on the orcish onslaught, and the war was brought to a deadlock. It wasn't until the death of Khan Kordahl in 923 I.C. that the Dorakians finally made some headway against the orcish armies, and by 924, the orcish confederation had splintered and fled back to Vor Midal.
With the wars over, the Council requested Machael's resignation, which he gladly consented to, much to the relief of the Council, who had learned the lessons of such situations from the Fall of the Republic. Machael was offered a position on the Council, but refused, and returned to his rather quiet life as Mystagogue of Davalor. He was only 65 when he resumed his position in 925 I.C., rather young for one capable of creating elixirs to extend his youth. It wasn't until almost a decade later that Machael finally revealed precisely why he'd returned to his position as teacher and researcher. During his defense of Lun Dorak, he had discovered an alternate dimension, one in which time flowed much more quickly than on the Material Plane. Furthermore, he discovered how to create his own pocket dimension, in which he could control a small sphere as if he were a god. The Council of Five immediately began setting about attempting to replicate Machael's process, but found that they were unable to. Realizing that Machael had become a demiurge in his own right, they requested that he use his new-found powers to create various pocket dimensions, with various attributes, for their usage. Into the largest of these pocket dimensions, the entire University of Davalor was placed, and time was greatly accelerated within. Now, the rulers of Lun Dorak had access to a quickly growing supply of casters and, thus, rulers. A young apprentice was sent into the University's pocket dimension, and returned from it two weeks later, having spent almost fifteen years in study. There are rumored to be numerous other pocket dimensions, including quite a few which contain the nation's vast treasuries. It is even rumored that Davalor's tomb was placed into one of these pocket dimensions, but it is well known that knowledge of the location of the tomb died with the Potens Maximus who sealed him there. Dorakian history since that time has been calm and unspectacular. Since the fall of Khan Kordahl, there has been no Mage-King, nor has there been any serious threat to Dorakian sovereignty. They seem content to remain within their borders, researching through musty tomes, and experimenting with dimensional and temporal magic.
Economy
Lun Dorak is a fertile land, with large fields for both growing of wheat and raising of grazing cattle. They seem to import nothing, and export even less, preferring to keep a closed economy and seriously decadent society. Most have forgotten that Lun Dorak even existed, many less postulate that it still exists now. The Council, however, is not ignorant of what transpires in the world around them. They have spies in just about every human kingdom in the west, and quite a few in the east, as well.
Religion
Worship of Abaris is prevalent in the society, though there are few rules on precisely who can and cannot be worshiped, except for the ruling class, who must all worship Abaris or her avatars.
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| This article is part of the Player's Guide to Duria | |
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| Regions and Realms on Duria | |
