Stelemia is a place steeped in history, medieval values and ideas, and yet some of the technologies of the ancient world, like electricity and computers, still exist within it. To the Stelemian people, the surface world is completely forgotten. All they know is the darkness of the underground world, and a medieval system of governance. Stelemia is said to have been founded by a man known as Radashan the Founder.
In recent times, educated Stelemians might be overheard speaking about how stagnant Stelemian society has become and that few things of great worth are created anymore. People seem content to live on the glories of the past, and not think of creating a brighter future. The population level has stopped growing, as has the economy. Most of the noble families focus solely on their own interests, often at the expense of the rest of society.
THE FOUR DIVINES: These are the gods of Stelemia who replaced the ancient One God, who disappeared before the War in Heaven. The Four Divines: Lydan, Roryur, Ibilirith and Dwaycar were once mortals who climbed the waterfall in the River of the Gods and ascended to heaven to fight the Ancient Enemy who had invaded the blessed realm and had driven out the One God.
Once there, the four became gods themselves, and Lydan, Roryur and Ibililirith now watch over Stelemia and protect its people. Dwaycar is worshiped in secret, as he rebelled against Ibilirith’s technologies long ago and was cast out by the other Divines.
The Order of Inquisitors, a group who ensures strict obedience to the tenants of the Divines, exiles or executes many Stelemians for daring to speak ill of one of any the Divines except Dwaycar.
IBILIRITH: The divine of sacred lights and the creator of the other ancient machines in Stelemia. She and Dwaycar are twins, and with Roryur and Lydan, climbed the waterfall at the River of the Gods and entered heaven to drive out the Ancient Enemy and bring back the One God. When she went to heaven, she was a mere mortal, but once there, she became a divine, and is often portrayed as a beautiful, golden-haired woman, with a metallic bird perched on her shoulder. The bird is said to be her beloved pet, that never left her side.
In later years, it is said that mortal Ibilirith died, though Divine Ibilirith still watches down on humanity from heaven. Her remains can be found under the Temple of Sacred Lights, the heart of her faith.
DWAYCAR: Sometimes known as Dwaycar the Betrayer, or simply the Betrayer, he is the twin brother of Ibilirith and entered heaven with her and Roryur and Lydan, and became one of the divines. His godly domain is said to be that of treachery and deceit, so he is often blamed for the negative things in people’s lives.
At some point in the distant past, long after the War in Heaven, he rejected the technologies of Ibilirith, and his followers tried to destroy the Serdtse Power Station. This event was called the Blackout War, or the Zetemneniye Voyna, as spoken in the Ancient Language of Ibilirith.
Many Knives of Dwaycar (the warriors of his order) were killed, though some were driven out into the Great Dark. No one from Stelemia has heard from them for many years, though as Kara and Aemon in Heir to a Lost Sun find out, the Knives of Dwaycar are far from extinct.
Dwaycar is shown dressed head-to-toe in black leather armor, with only the top half of his face, and his implacable eyes visible. The Knives of Dwaycar dress this way in honor of him.
RORYUR: The Divine Healer, she is the goddess of healing and health. Her followers are centered in the great mushroom city of Celestial Rest, and heal the sick and wounded. In murals and in statues, she is often shown as a beautiful young woman with a serene expression on her face. Her followers spend several hours of each day in silent reflection, and use the waters of the River of the Gods in their sacred ceremonies.
LYDAN: Known as the Shield of Heaven, protector of the weak and holy. When the divines walked the world as mortals, Lydan was said to have been a great warrior. He fought in many wars, with his friend and loyal general Jharman (who founded the city of Deep Cave and whose remains are interred in the monolithic Iron Tower of Jharman). With the other three mortals, he entered heaven, and led the war against the Ancient Enemy and drove them out. Then he became a divine, and is shown as a mighty warrior dressed in heavy, plate armor and carrying a giant shield with which to protect himself, and the other three divines.
His followers are centered in the Temple Hold of the Shield, not far from the capital, Stelemia. A smaller group of his followers are also found in the fortress city of Dere-Zor, where they oversee the city’s famous fighting pits. The bloodletting of the pits, where warriors face off against monsters, or each other, is shed in honor of the mighty divine warrior Lydan. And a third group, whose task is to ease the suffering of the local peasants can be found at the Shrine of Lydan in the city of Deep Cave.
THE ANCIENT ENEMY: It is unknown what exactly the Ancient Enemy is, but it is known that they were the ones who seized heaven from the One God, and were later driven out by the Four Divines during the War in Heaven. Their dead were numberless, and to dispose of them, the Four Divines dumped them into the bottomless Rift, at the northern end of Radashan Crevice. Even today, the Rift is a haunted place, and there are reports of voices drifting up from the darkness.
The Ancient Enemy plays a big part in the legends of the Covenant of the Lost Sun, which say the Ancient Enemy will return, and that after the Final Battle is fought against them and they are driven back, humanity will be able to return to the Light of the Lost Sun.
THE ORDER OF IBILIRITH: Often shortened simply to the Order, this is the primary religious institution in Stelemia, and is the group responsible for maintaining the advanced technologies of Ibilirith (computers, the power grid, the sacred lights). It also has access to many of the old files on its computers, written in the ancient languages of the old world, much of which can no longer be translated.
The Order, like Stelemia, was founded by a man known as Radashan the Founder, who was its first Patriarch. The Order is centered in two main areas. The Temple of Sacred Lights and the Obelisk of Light, where many of their records are kept.
In recent years, the Order has grown stagnate, and is showing signs of decline. Another symptom of the wider stagnation of the caverns. At current, the group is led by Patriarch Lucien, a man said to be a direct descendent of Radashan the Founder. Though, of course, all patriarchs have claimed this.
Another sacred task of the Order, is the protection of mortal Ibilirith’s remains that are interred under their temple. They keep them well-preserved, so that when Divine Ibilirith returns to the mortal realm to bless her loyal followers and grant them immortality, she will see how well her servants have treated her holy remains.
As to their own remains, the Order deals with its dead with little fanfare. If a monk dies, their body is taken down into the catacombs and left to rot. It is their belief that the human body is nothing but an engine for Ibilirith and when it dies, it is of no use to her anymore, and can be discarded like a broken hammer. When she returns, she will raise the Order’s dead, and they will once again serve her as immortals.
The Machine Chapel is the main place of worship to Divine Ibilirith at the temple, but once a day, a group of monks, led by the reigning Patriarch, stands outside her tomb and sings,
Oh, Mother Ibilirith, power us, fuel us, set us upon our sacred tasks. Let us be spinning cogs in your great machines. Bless us for our faithfulness, our diligence to our humble duties and our eternal war against the darkness, for we live out our lives under the pure radiance of your sacred lights.
Forgmon set out on his grand adventure at the behest of members of this group. This story is related in the Lost Sun side adventure book, Ruins of a Lost Sun.
THE TOMB OF IBILIRITH: This is the place Mortal Ibilirith is interred. The remains are kept in the Tomb of Ibilirith, and countless offerings, new and ancient lay before its entry. The most notable offering, of unknown origin, is the head of a metal man.
On the walls outside the tomb, are hieroglyphs painted all over the walls. Some depict writing; others are pictures of people going about
their daily tasks. A larger one shows a giant red-headed woman, with a flock of smaller people around her, pointing up at a yellow disk above their heads. It is unknown what this image is meant to represent, or who the woman is, but she does not look like Ibilirith.
Below the tomb are the catacombs, the silent crypt where the Order places its dead.
THE KNIVES OF DWAYCAR: A group of people who follow Divine Dwaycar. Once they lived within Stelemia, but after the Blackout War, the few who survived were driven out into the Great Dark and were never seen again by the Stelemians, until the events of Heir to a Lost Sun. However, their presence was well known to those living out in the Great Dark. The Covenant of the Lost Sun had regular dealings with them—until the Knives turned on them and destroyed the covenant.
The group is led by an old woman named Gwendolyn, the Shadow Trainer of Dwaycar and she can be found worshipping at his polished tourmaline statue at the center of their hometown. The Knives are dressed head to toe in black, except for the top half of their faces. All are women, except the man who leads them. The man is always a son of the current Shadow Trainer, and is deemed the strongest and most fit to lead. His role is to act as a surrogate Dwaycar, as the divine himself watches from heaven. All the other sons of the Shadow Trainer are left to the monsters of the Great Dark.
Once a female Knife has proved herself in battle, she is allowed to bear children. As there is only ever one man in their order, the female knives seek out Stelemian exiles to breed with. Any son who is born is either handed back to the exiles, or more rarely, left to die.
THE COVETOUS SISTERHOOD: Located at Obsidian Precipice in the Cavern of Deep Cave, the sisterhood is an order of women who still worship the One God. They are the only known group to still worship the god who was driven from heaven in ages past and was never heard from again. Their home is built on top of a vast mound of trash, their houses made of off cuts of mushroom wood and metal salvaged from elsewhere in the Caverns.
Their motto is, Waste not, want not.
Obsidian Precipice overlooks a vast stalagmite-filled cavern devoid of human settlements. The sisterhood has built a lift running down to it. As to why they would do such a thing, only they know.
The sisterhood believes in an ancient prophecy that speaks of a great evil emerging from the Limestone Caves (the wild caves between Deep Cave and the Stelemian Cavern) and that this evil will destroy Stelemia.
Their leader, a woman of great age and unknown naming, claims the One God speaks through her.
THE ROYAL STELEMIAN BANK: The venerated and prestigious primary financial institution of the caverns. They loan out gold honestly and act well within the laws of the land. They are run by the Banking Council that is headed by a Senior Banker. At present, the Senior Banker is an elderly man by the name of Rubin.
If you subscribe to conspiracy theories, then you might believe the bank is the real power in Stelemia, for without gold to pay wages, buy equipment, or hire fresh blood, what good are armies? You might also believe that the bank secretly owns much of Stelemia through debt. You could also be inclined to believe it perpetuates the conflict at Deep Cave between the noble houses, which never seem to be short of coin to hire more mercenaries and thugs to do their dirty work.
The bank has unknown owners, though the rumors are that a select few noble families own it. But is this just rumor? Or is there a hidden power in Stelmeia that hides in the shadows and secretly controls the caverns through control of the bank? Read Dawn of a Lost Sun to find out!
THE ORDER OF INQUISITORS: The most feared group in all Stelemia. They dress in white cloaks and are known for their fanaticism to the religion of the Divines and their ruthless pursuit of those they deem heretics. The lower classes fear them most, as rare is the day they go after someone of wealth or nobility.
If you believe the anti-establishment propaganda coming from Gravelbank Bridge, you might be led to believe the Inquisitors are nothing but a tool for the nobility and the Priest King to rid Stelemia of undesirables.
The Order of Inquisitors is centered on their island fortress in Crystal Lake named the Bastian of Purity, though it has smaller headquarters in the capital and at the Obelisk of Light. At current, the order is headed by Inquisitor General Malaris, the left hand of the Priest King. She is a middle-aged woman and is expected to run the Order for many years.
Another notable member of this order is Inquisitor Marriott, who heads the research into the ancient files at the Obelisk of Light. In some circles, it is rumored that Marriott is the head of a breakaway group within the Order of Ibilirith that claims change is needed if the Order is to survive.
SACRED LIGHTS: Basically, electrical lights as we know them. They are sacred to the Stelemians, as they are said to have been invented by the Divine Ibilirith before she ascended to heaven. They are the primary light source in Stelemia, besides mushroom stem torches and the phosphorescent bacterial colonies that grow within some of the caverns.
SERDTSE POWER STATION: The heart of Stelemia’s power grid. The power station was another invention of Mortal Ibililrith before she ascended to heaven. Monks of the Order of Ibilirith keep it running, and ensure that the sacred lights and sacred computers of Stelemia remain powered.
In the past, it was almost destroyed by the Knives of Dwaycar. This event sparked the Blackout War, a war in which many sacred lights were destroyed, and many people lost their lives.
THE SCIENCES OF THE OLD WORLD: The ancients, who lived in the time when the Divines still walked the caverns as mortals, possessed many great wonders of technology and science, long forgotten in Stelemia. Of note is the science of genetics. From animals, to the mushrooms the Stelemians eat, to the ones they harvest for wood, the ancients genetically modified everything. If some of the old files are to be believed, the sciences of the old world even genetically altered humans, though what was changed, has long since been lost to history.
It is said the ancients tried to shape life into their own image, but the accidental result was the monsters that now prowl the endless darkness of the Great Dark.
THE GREAT DARK: The vast world beyond the Kingdom of Stelemia. The very name instills fear into the Stelemian people, as it is place of monsters, heretics and mystery. Exiles (people who have spoken ill of the Divines) are sent down the Path of Exile and banished into the Great Dark. Few are ever seen again.
To the non-Stelemians who live in this region, such as the Covenant of the Lost Sun, the Great Dark is called the Nether.
RADASHAN CREVICE: Named after Radashan, the holy Founder of Stelemia, it is a place filled with shrines, statues and murals dedicated to the Four Divines and is the only place where Dwaycar is depicted with the other divines. The path follows the River of the Gods, which flows through the crevice. The path is the very one the divines took during their journey to the waterfall they used to ascend to Heaven.
It is the prime destination for the pilgrims who travel to the sacred places in Stelemia each year, placing offerings at the countless shrines to the divines.
The south end of the crevice ends at Deep Cave, while the northern side ends at the Rift Gate, with the crossroads town of Jalarfed beyond. Inscribed on the legendary Rift Gate is an epic work of art depicting Lydan, the Shield of Heaven, leading the armies of the divines against the Ancient Enemy in a battle during the War in Heaven.
Also, at the northern end is the Rift, the place where the Divines discarded the many thousands of dead enemies during the War in Heaven. The Rift is a haunted place, and most try to avoid it.
THE STELEMIAN CAVERN: The primary, most populous cavern in all Stelemia. It contains five of the larger cities of the kingdom. Stelemia the capital, Eryport, Crystal Cove, Gravelbank Bridge and Dere-zor, along with dozens of minor settlements. Much of the food production takes place within the cavern: livestock, mushroom farms and fishing.
The southern edge of the cavern is sparsely populated and dominated by the Field of Spikes, a large, open area with thousands of stalagmites jutting u
p from the cavern floor.
THE CAPITAL SPIRE: The heart of the governance of the caverns, and the home of the Priest King, who lives at its very pinnacle in the Halls of the Priest King. It is a towering dormant stalagmite situated near the center of the city of Stelemia. Over forty-five thousand people, many of them nobles, make this their home.
THE CITY OF STELEMIA: The capital of the Caverns, and the city that gives the human kingdom its name. It is a large city of many tens of thousands of people. Kara comes from a suburb of this city, called Westhollow. The urban sprawl of this city takes up much of the western edge of Crystal Lake. It is also the home port of the Royal Stelemian Navy, home to its venerable banking institution (the Royal Stelemian Bank) and is the heart of commerce in the caverns.
The Priest King watches over the city from his towering Capital Spire.
THE FIVE JEWELS: The five major cities within the Stelemian Cavern, so named because the glowing lights of their streets and buildings look like shining jewels in the darkness of the cavern. The Five Jewels comprise the cities of Stelemia (the capital), Crystal Cove, Gravelbank Bridge, Dere-zor and the Bastion of Purity.
GRAVELBANK BRIDGE: One of the primary cities in Stelemia and one of the Five Jewels, it is the place where Handsome Quavy (from Ruins of a Lost Sun) and Minard were born. It is a place rife with crime, prostitution, corruption and is home to gangs, thugs and underground anti-government organizations.
It has a bad reputation, and you can be sure, most of what one hears about the place is true.
CRYSTAL LAKE: The huge lake that dominates the primary cavern in Stelemia and the home of the Royal Stelemian Navy. Its depths are unknown, and monsters are known to lurk within its waters. The lake sees much shipping and trade, as the major cities built along its edge trade with one another.
THE BASTION OF PURITY: An island within the eastern region of Crystal Lake. It is home to the order of Inquisitors, now run by Inquisitor General Malaris, the Left Hand of the Priest King. (Kara meets Malaris in Heir to a Lost Sun.) The Bastian itself is an imposing fortress containing a vast prison system, torture chambers and the dreadful Well of Remorse, where it is said prisoners are thrown down and left to starve to death. Many people have been taken to the Bastion of Purity and were never seen again.
The Lost Sun Series Box Set 1: Books 1 and 2 (Lost Sun Box Set) Page 72