Lukomorye & Irkalla

Two vastly different planes once connected by long-forgotten interactions, now forced to cooperate as one falls to ruin.

Lukomorye

Overview

Lukomorye is a chilly, Russian-inspired plane. Once ruled over by a vast and terrible Tsardom, it fell to a popular revolution, which served only to prop up an equally monstrous dictator.

History

Since time immemorial, Lukomorye has been ruled over by Tsar Cvitko Ristevski, an old lich from the plane's early years. Amassing an intricate web of duch and duchesses to micromanage the plane, Cvitko and his family held a comfortable spot on the top of Lukomorye's high society. This was until, twenty or so years ago, the common folk, led by Rodin and Yubkin Rusya - overthrew them in a violent popular revolution. Much of the tsardom's nobility were killed in the uprising, with those that survived going into hiding.

The new popular government managed to hold control for a few years until, under mysterious and cloudy circumstances, Rodin went missing and his brother, Yubkin, assumed full control of the government. Using this newfound power to obtain a firm grip on the plane's governance, Yubkin became the new, dictatorial, leader of Lukomorye. He quickly enacted policies to subdue those that would question him, either sending them away to remote prison camps or outright killing them.

Those of the nobility that survived found a chance to return to their old way of life - on the long-discarded island of Buyan - once a royal garden home to mystical plants - they uncovered ancient planesgates connecting their cold, dry plane of Lukomorye to the sun-beaten, fertile plane of Irkalla. Many of them immediately fled to the new plane, while some stayed to offer safe passage to other noble refugees - for a price.

Characters

• Cvitko Ristevski the Immortal
  • Based on Koschei the Immortal
  • Blah blah
• Rodin Rusya
• Yubkin Rusya

Locations

Notable Artifacts

Irkalla

Overview

Irkalla is a diverse plane taking notes from Sumerian religion, with a vast arid desert in the north giving way to wetlands and deeply fertile lands in the south. The plane is ruled over by several city-states with a single immortal King holding loose control over them.

History

Irkalla is an ancient plane, and much of its history before Ensi Sinnashi has faded into myth. While specifics can't be known, it was known that Irkalla was once plagued by constant war and natural disasters. The city-states that litter the plane constantly contested each other for absolute control of Irkalla, all the while large swarms of locusts and demons devastated the peasantry. This changed when the young Sinnashi and his then-companion Kuda discovered Fanya, a plant that, when consumed, restores one's youth. The duo concocted an elixir from the plant that gave them eternal youth before spreading Fanya throughout Irkalla, where it was cultivated en mass. With an extended lifetime came a new perspective on the world for many, leading to an end to the age-long wars of the plane.

In the present day, Ensi Sinnashi - with Kuda as his consort - presides over a plane of abundance, where food is plenty and not a soul knows strife. Even in the arid and hostile desert in the North, life has been turned into a constant party. Celebrations and festivals are common in the city-states of Irkalla.

Still, some dangers persist in this modern age. The demons and monsters of Irkalla's past have yet to fade into myth and still terrorize the denizens of the plane. Sinnashi's soldiers regularly go out on patrols to deal with these monsters, but no matter how many they kill, they still come back every night for their prey.

The god of death and lord of the Underworld on this plane, Ningal, resents Sinnashi for having cut off his steady supply of new subjects and wishes to set the balance of life and death right.

The mystery of Fanya remains still. Over the ages, many have tried to glean some information on the origin of Fanya from Sinnashi and Kuda, but the pair have continued to brush off the discovery of the plant as unimportant. Some rumors hold that Sinnashi stole the plant from one of the first inhabitants of the plane. Others hold that he discovered it at the depths of the deepest ocean, where he battled a sea serpent twice the size of Irkalla for the mystical plant. Yet another, far wilder theory, holds that Fanya is not from Irkalla at all, and instead, Sinnashi ventured into a world far separated from this realm for it.

Characters

• Sinnashi
  • The Ensi - ruler - of the plane, Sinnashi is a laidback and relaxed leader, delegating most of the work of managing Irkalla to the kings of each city. His main focus, asides from hosting extravagant parties, is ensuring that enough Fanya is cultivated to maintain the lives of everyone on Irkalla.
• Kuda
  • The consort of Sinnashi, Kuda is constantly by his lover's side. He oversees much of the military of Irkalla, ensuring that the monsters of the plane don't become anything more than a thorn in their side. Recently, he has been looking into the Underworld of the plane, believing that the demons have found their own way to escape death.
• Ur-Ningin
  • One of the first inhabitants of the plane, Ur-Ningin was there before the first city-states were formed. He was there when they fell into constant war, and there he still was when Sinnashi led them to peace. As the only surviving member of the first Irkallans, he stays detached from the rest of the population, always observing from afar.

Locations

Notable Artifacts