Subject: Torell 0.3
From: hook (hook@u.washington.edu)
Date: Fri Sep 03 1999 - 13:10:10 EEST
Here is what i have done so far with the race/region desc of Torell. I just wanted to show that i have been working on it. I ll have it mostly complete by the end of the weekend. Anyway coments and critisisms are welcome as always. The region desc is at the top and the race desc is at the bottem Joshua hook@u.washington.edu TORELL 1. Description 2. Climate 3. Flora 4 Fauna 5. History 6. Geography 6.1 Kras Mountains 6.2 Nepland Island 6.3 Gryweer Island 7. Cities/Landmarks 7.1 Hascron 7.2 Irix 7.3 Griklen Temple 1. DESCRIPTION OF TORELL Torell is an island off the the eastern coast of the continent of Minartan. It is just south of the elven island of Lanuin and north of the Islands of Filas and Beheran. To the east of it spans the endless waters of the Gray Ocean. The closest Land of Minartan to the west are the wilds of Dethzael. Most of the Island is forested with deciduous trees and a small amount of conifers. Covering about a sixth of the island in its north northwestern portion are plains that had been forest but were cleared away over the years by the native inhabitance. The Trees being used for construction of boats and housing and for firewood. The climate has four seasons but the extremes are mild due to the wet warm air blowing from the south Gray Ocean. It is Inhabited by the Tore'e people who are exceptional seafarers and traders. The small forested islands of Nepland and Gryweer located just west of the main Island are considered part of Torell by the inhabitance. 2. CLIMATE The weather of Torell is very damp and cool having only a hand full of days in the summer of open sky sunshine. Harsh rain and thunderstorms are uncommon with windy cold drizzle being the norm. Seasonal changes are evident but mild, temperatures staying usually between 10 and 20 degrees celsius year round. In the fall all the tree shed their leaves and the forest explodes with color. Blues yellows reds oranges and purples of every hue paint the tree limbs and floor of the forest. During the winter it does snow but only two to three times and usually doesn't last long because of the rain and dampness that melt it away. Also during the winter the Islands of Torell receives most of its rain fall. in most years between 1 to 2 meters in the three month period. In the spring the temperatures rise a bit and the trees bud and grow leaves that are a bright, almost fluorescent, green. The northern plain of the main land becomes filled with bright flowers and green shoots of grass and shrubs. In the summer the temperature raises some more and the clouds clear for a few weeks. It often becomes muggy with damp warm air that sits stale over the islands. Every fifteen years or so the southern gray ocean spits up a hurricane that strikes the islands and unleashes deadly havoc. Pounding rain and 150 kph winds beat down upon the wildlife and people of Torell uprooting trees demolishing houses and sinking ships. Along the eastern coast huge waves pushed by the wind have been known to toss sea water nearly a kilometer inland in some places killing untold numbers of trees and wildlife. 3. FLORA The plants of Torell are well adapted to the seasonal changes that occur there. The Islands' wet mild climate are well suited for plant life and the smaller plants such as grasses and shrubs stay relatively green and grow year round. Trees and larger shrubs in Torell are mostly deciduous and during the fall they shed their leaves and stay dormant during the winter months budding in the early spring. There are some conifers that grow on the eastern coast of Torell's main island which are more adapted to the high salt content of the soil there that is due to periodic hurricanes that awash the coast in ocean water. The origin of these conifers is much debated among the Tore'e as they lack any resemblance to other conifers found in all of the known lands of Majik. This has led some to speculate that the trees originate from seeds that have washed ashore from some distant land lying across the vast expanse of the Gray Ocean. The trees are called Mouse trees because the unique shape of the cone seeds that resemble the top tail end of a mouse. 4. FAUNA The animal life of Torell is quite unique being relatively isolated from the main land. Birds and lizards have taken up many of the niches normally filled by mammals. A large four legged lizard prowls the coasts and forests of the islands. The Tore'e call them Tewik Dragons, they grow to be up to 7 feet long from head to tail, are very vicious and have been known to kill lone travelers. The Tore'e use the scaled skins of these beasts for their soft boots they wear on ship deck. Wingless bird are common some having grown claws at the tips of their wings using them to clime trees and live as monkeys would 5. HISTORY 6. GEOGRAPHY 6.1 KRAS MOUNTAINS The Krass mountains are located in the north western portion of the Torell island just about a kilometer south east from the city of Hascron. They are actualy not mountains at all but rolling hills. Most of the hills are cover with froest and they are the highest point on Island. The grassy portions of the hills and the plains near them are used primarily to farm sheep by the few Tore'e who live there. 6.2 NEPLAND ISLAND 6.3 GRYWEER ISLAND 7. CITIES/LANDMARKS 7.1 HASCRON 7.2 IRIX 7.3 GRIKLEN TEMPLE People The Tore'e 1. Introduction 2. Appearance 2.1 Clothing, Weapons & Armors 3. History 4. Culture 4.1 Cities 4.3 Law & Order 4.4 Sea life 4.5 Military 4.6 Food & Trade 4.7 The Zrei'gu'aiuo Elves 4.8 Philosophy & Temperament 5. Religion 6. Language 7. <homeland> 8. Role-playing 1. Introduction Tore'e are exceptional seamen perhaps the best on Majik. Their ships can be found moored at every port of the known world. Many are born far from their ancestral home often in the shadowy corners of ships or in the up stairs rooms of a wharf tavern. However all Tore'e are proud of their heritage and most return to their isle of Torell. Those who live on the Isle of Torell are commonly called Fisher people because fishing is a common occupation. Most Tore'e however prefer to transport cargo and passengers, mostly between Eastern Isles and Minartan. Their ships are small, durable, quick, can sail both in deep sea and up larger inland rivers and have, with the sure hands of a Tore'e crew, the almost magical ability to weather the harshest of storms. Their ancestral lineage originates with the peoples of Thalamon. They came to the eastern Islands with the Zrei'gu'aiuo elves. The small tribe of the then Thalamon people started out as laborers and servants helping the elves cross the wilds of Minartan but through constant swindling by the dark elves they slowly became slaves to them. They reached Lanuin and stayed there for about 600 years as slaves to the elves at which time they rebelled and left Lanuin to settle on Torell. Since that time no Tore'e has set foot on Lanuin. Sea life has made Tore'e strong and sturdy. They have weather beaten tanned skin usually blond, white or gray hair, bright green, blue or gray eyes and average a height of 176 cm for males and 165 cm for females. Tore'e don't need large cities because they spend most of their time at sea. They live in small wooden cities and villages on the coast of the Torell islands. They are peaceful people who see war either as a threat to business or an excellent opportunity for it. Though should the need arise their small fast ships are easily rigged for war. Tore'e aren't interested in magic but they are fanatic worshippers of sea gods and are shadowed in their favor. 2. Appearance Tore'e have strong thin muscular builds due to the hard work required of all mariners. Their weather beaten, dark tanned skin and blond, white or gray hair often makes them look older than they actually are. This is betrayed though by the Tore'e deep set bright blue, gray or green eyes which appear ever young and hold an adolescent arrogance. On land the sea faring people of Torell move clumsily and appear out of place, but on the open sea, standing on the prows of their ships, they are as sturdy as rocks and move about deck with a sure foot during even the most turbulent of weather. Tore'e are seldom fat, which is mostly due to the hard labor required for sailing ships but also due to scurvy, dysentery foreign strains of influenza and cholera that often run rampant aboard ships and leaves sailors bodies toothless bald and wreaked. Men often wear beards but keep their hair short and often shaved. Women also keep their hair short. Average height of Tore'e males is 176 cm and weight 80 kg. Average height of Tore'e females is 165 cm and weight 60 kg. 2.1 Clothing, Weapons & Armors On land and sailing in the waters near Torell the Tore'e wear drab brown spotty rain gear consisting of wide hooded, jackets, boot covers and legging that is water sealed with rubber grown in the jungles of Zamurdi and human urine. Indoors and under the rain gear they wear wool sweaters and pants which are dyed with bright colors. Most common clothes are trousers, soft boots, sweater and cap which protects them from the sun. In warmer climate clothing is usually made of cotton and is warn loose. Also boots are not necessary in warmer climate and most prefer to go barefoot. Tore'e enjoy wearing gold and silver and both male and female adorn themselves with armbands, necklaces, bangles, rings and earrings made of these precious metals. Tore'e prefer trade over war and do not support a permanent navy. However, their ships are often filled with weapons & armor. For hand to hand combat they prefer small short bladed weapons such as cutlasses, scimitars or daggers which are light weight, easy to carry and quick to unsheathe. They rarely wear armors but some who offer mercenary services as cargo guards do wear leather armor, and arm themselves with bows, pikes and heavier bladed weapons. All of the arms employed by the Tore'e is of foreign craftsmanship being that the lands of Torell lack any skilled weapons smiths 3. History Tore'e ancestral lineage originates with the peoples of Thalamon. There they resided in the western Delgrain forests near the Chain of Eld belomin mountains as a small tribe of hunter-gatherers. They came to the eastern islands with the Zrei'gu'aiuo elves, over a thousand years ago, during the Zrei'gu'aiuo's great hundred year migration to Lanuin. The small tribe of the then Delgrain forest-people started out as laborers and servants helping the elves cross the wilds of Minartan but as generations of the human tribe came and went and through constant swindling by the Zrei'gu'aiuo they slowly became slaves to the elves. When they reached Lanuin the human tribe had grown in size but had lost all of their freedom. Six centuries passed on Lanuin as the Zrei'gu'aiuo's aversion to human contact slowly led them to become absent masters. The humans were given more quarter in their daily lives and allowed to worship their own gods, slave master their own people, everything so long as the dark elves did not have to look at them. It was at this time that the Tore'e began to master their sea manship skills being given the responsibility of sailing trade ships to the main land and the elven kingdoms to the south. Slowly discontent festered in the ranks of the humans and when the elves, whos' perception of time is slightly askew, finally began to tighten their grip it was to late. The humans rose up and a bloody slave rebellion soaked the soil of Lanuin red. The war lasted for ten years and casualties where high, nearly half of the elf and human populations being killed. A peace was found about three hundred years ago when the humans sacked the Zrei'gu'aiuo's precious capital city. The humans were given the wild lands of Torell and three magical sea clocks that keep perfect time. Since that time no Tore'e has set foot on Lanuin and no elf, Zrei'gu'aiuo or otherwise, has been allowed upon Torell soil. The location and posetion of the seaclocks is unknown but belived to be still among the Tore'e people. The value of the clocks is imessurable for with perfect time lattitude can be fixed and the crossing of the Gray Ocean becomes possible. 4. Culture Almost all Tore'e are either sailors and traders or fishermen and most travel to far off seas for years at a time. Some Tore'e have never even seen the isle from which they originate. Those Tore'e who hold permanent residence on Torell spend most of their time at sea fishing or handling local trade with the continent and the eastern isles. It is common for the skilled Tore'e to higher out their services to other foreign ships and lands as captains, pilots, navigators and common crew Because of sea life Tore'e do not need large fortified cities and prefer to live in small open settlements of wooden construction. The homes in their towns of Hascron and Irix are simple and well built. Simple, because of the little time they actually spend in their homes and well built because of the many skilled carpenters who also work in the shipyard. Sea farers don't have many laws or taxes, they follow common trade laws. As a people Tore'e are not hostel but are seen by those who trade with them as usurers and greedy because they extract high prices for their exotic goods and impeccable services. They are also viewed as highly honorable; it has been said at nearly every port in Majik that "Any man who claims he's been cheated by a Tore'e is a liar". Tore'e are both proud and sensitive about their reputation and take great offense to any slander to their name as well as any pirating and theft of transported cargo by fellow Tore'e. They have been known to go to extreme lengths to hunt down any rouge Tore'e ships and sink them giving no quarter to their drowning crews. Tore'e show little interested in magic, scholarship or literature but most of them can read and write. They are fanatic worshippers of sea gods making large and valuable sacrifices in their temples which is believed to be the main reason why the sea gods tend to favor them. 4.1 City Life Tore'e have only two permanent cities on the islands of Torell for most of them prefer life as traders and sailors. Nearly all Tore'e who decide to live more stable lives as fishermen, tavern keepers and ship carpenters reside on the Torell Islands. All Tore'e, including those born far from the isle who have never seen Torell eventually return to Torell following a deep rooted mystical pull. Some say say it is a magical curse cast upon the Tore'e when they were enslaved by the Zrei'gu'aiuo as a means of preventing escape. Most Tore'e who hold permanent residence on the islands live within its two cities. Cities are mostly built from wood because there is very little stone on the islands or any skilled masons. People who live in the cities spend most of their time at the sea fishing and trading on the continent or south with the elves and generally only reside on land for winter when the heavy winter storms make sailing difficult and dangerous. Most skills such as trade, ship handling and fishing are learned at sea but there are also some craftsmen within the cities who often take apprentices. Both cities have large shipyards which built excellent ships that are sold to both Tore'e and Foreigners. Mercenary services can also be purchased in Irix which offers cargo guards. There are numerous taverns filled with guides, navigators and other seamen. Cities have also many shops and markets which offer a wide range of goods and exotic foods. Temples, mostly through rich people, run the cities, they are responsible for maintenance, public sanitation and order. Tore'e cities do not have schools. temples are responsible for basic teachings such as writing and reading as well as convert pupils to worshippers of sea gods. 4.2 Law And Order Tore'e do not have much in the terms of written laws, instead they rely more upon their deep sense of honor and tradition. This honor extends to every part of Tore'e life, a person is nothing if not his word. If a Tore'e brakes a deal, steals, or lies he will be shunned by all of Tore'e society and cast out never allowed to return to the Islands of Torell or to deal with fellow Tore'e. This facet of Tore'e society is in direct opposition to the structure of the Zrei'gu'aiuo elves' society to the north on Lanuin and is considered by Tore'e as the last rebellion against their former masters. Each city is lead by a city council which consists of all it's inhabitants. The council decides punishments and votes upon legislation. The City councils sit once a month, however to have legal power council meeting must have at least 30% of all citizens present. If legeslation gets majority votes behind it, it's accepted and even those who are not present must obey the decisions made there. Legislature at council rarely deals with taxes. 4.3 Sea life Though all Tore'e originate from the Isle of Torell, many of them are born at sea or in the upstairs of a marine tavern far away from their homeland. Cities are resting spots for most Tore'e, safe havens from winter storms or were they can empty bulges, reseal hulls, buy supplies and hire new crews for their ships. Many Tore'e are born at sea, live at sea and die at sea. Children learn the art of trade and sailing as well as reading and writing from parents, seamen and passengers. Tore'e sea farers are honorable people who respect trade pacts and common sea law. Of all Seafarers Tore'e are the least likely to practice piretism and view such behavior as abominable. This does not mean that they don't, from time to time, smuggle contraband. Tore'e abhor slavery and will not engage in their transport. Tore'e will attempt to liberate any slave ships they come in contact with if they have adequate forces. Tore'e sailors tend to be more fanatical in their worship of the sea gods than those who hold permanent settlements in the isles. 4.4 Food & Trade Tore'e are excellent sea traders and perhaps the best in the world. They travel to nearly all ports of the known lands of Majik. They produce little on their home land that is exported but instead by cheap from forign lands and sell it where it is in demand. The Grain fruit and spices produced in Althianon is sold throughout the world as well rubber grown in Zamurdi are but two examples. On the Islands fish is a common staple produced there some wool and lamb is made as well. Most house hold do grow gardens of vegtables but all other foods are imported and usualy sold at above average prices found elswear in Majik. Few smiths live on the islands and the vast majority of the metal items owned by the Tore'e is produced elsewere. Most trade in the Torell islands passes through Irix where the main port of Torell is located. The city of Hascron is a larger city though and most fishermen reside here. Most ships are built here as well which are one of the Tore'e main exports. They their fine and expensive ships all through the the three known contenents of Majik. 4.5 Military Tore'e are not warriors but this doesn't mean that they are incapable with weapons. Even if they don't have military training they use their weapons quite well and what they lack in melee combat, they win in ship battle. Their small ships are very fast, surprisingly durable and easy to arm with small catapults or ballista. In sea battle they often easily evade both shots from larger ships and the ships itself and at closer range fill those ships with burning quarrels from their ballista. 4.6 The Zrei'gu'aiuo Elves 4.7 Philosophy & Temperament To other races, both human and otherwise, the Tore'e are viewed as distant and sullen. They do not speak of their personal lives to strangers and generally only talk of trade. The reseane for this is that Tore'e generally distrust outsiders and view them as lacking honor. Their society as a whole is still deeply scared from their ancestral experiences as slaves of the Zrei'gu'aiuo elves. They were tricked by the elves into slavery and see getting to entrenched with foreigners as a risk to their freedom. They do view the Zrei'gu'aiuo with much disdain and greatly distrust all elves. They do trade with the elves in the south but keep such transactions strictly business level and rarely spend more then a night at elven ports. They do not have any dealing with the Zrei'gu'aiuo and will refuse to transport anyone, regardless of the price, to the island of Lanuin. Among fellow brethren Tore'e are more relaxed. They drink, boast of their travels and engage in merriment. In general when in the company of their fellow Tore'e they are like any human and engage in normal social relations. Although Tore'e are mistrusting of strangers they will give out information abstained from their travels freely but in such a way that it will not elude to their personal experiences. Instead they will give descriptions of lands and peoples as if reading from a text book. 5. Religion 6. Language The language of the Tore'e is a guttural form of Tiala which is the common tongue spoken by elves. They speak this language because of the heavy influence the Zrei'gu'aiuo had upon them during their enslavement. The Zrei'gu'aiuo, at the time of the Tore'e's slavery, would not let them speak in the Zrei'gu'aiuo's own language Zadicc viewing it as a desecration to their fine language. Instead forced their slaves to learn Tiala preferring it over the Tore'e's long forgotten ancestral human language. The only Zadicc word in the Tore'e's vocabulary is the word "Tore'e" which is what the Zrei'gu'aiuo called the humans, after the slave rebellion, as they left Lanuin for Torell as freemen. It translates roughly as "Shit of Torell" "Tore" being the Zadicc word for Torell and "'e" being a common euphemism spoken by the elves to describe humans meaning in literal terms, "shit". The Tore'e know full well what the meaning of their name is but keep it as a badge of honor to remind them of the price of freedom. Tore'e hold vast influence over the sea trade of Majik and because of that the Tore'e guttural form of Tiala is commonly spoken at all trading ports, human or otherwise. 7. Torell Torell is small forest island located south-east from Lanuin. Unlike Lanuin, Torell is mostly covered with deciduous forest with some grassy plains in the north. Weather in Torell is mild for its northern location and wet all around the year. the Isle is surrounded with shallow rocky shores, as Lanuin is, making it very difficult to approach Torell from any direction. Only the Tore'e, who inhabit the isle, know how to tack the shallow waters surrounding the isle. 8. Role-playing
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