Vansin

Cothmas was always my favorite time of year. Something about the cold and the snow made everyone get a little closer. I don't know, it always felt that way to me. I loved playing with the snakes when I was a boy, I'd laugh when they'd roll around the living room with me, or play fight me with their fangs still retracted. As the night drew on, just before they'd vanish back to god, my parents and my grandfather and I would just sit with the snakes for a while in front of the tree, with all its many colored fires, and eat our Cothmas candy and just be for a few minutes. Be together. Be at peace. I didn't mind it when I was a kid, but I really get it now that I have kids of my own. Once the snakes went back to god, though, that was when my favorite part of Cothmas would begin. I'd kiss my parents good night, gather up all the silly presents I'd gotten and meet grandpa in my room. He was always waiting there, seated beside my bed, storybook in hand. Cothmas was a time for family, I knew, but now I think he rode the Bullet Train all the way from Temple City into Coth's station just to make sure I heard the story of the first Cothmas every year. He's one of the few people from my childhood whose face I remember exactly. Sharp eyes. That big bushy mustache, and those eyebrows, and the wild swept back hair in a tangle of smoky grey and white . The man had never seen a brush, I imagined. That's wizards for you. I'd vault in to bed, pull the covers up and give him a solemn nod. Nothing more needed to be said, and he'd crack the book open beside me and begin, "Cothmas is god's day." he would always start, "In the very beginning, when god was still new and Coth was a tiny little village unknown to the rest of the world, Cothmas became as we know it today. Constans and god's Chosen Scrivener Ioreth tell the story thusly:" The story of Cothmas is steeped in the deepest solemnity and devotion to god. The tale is one of great triumphs over wild forces, and the binding together of a holy family of friendship. It contains strange creatures, great conflicts, and heroic efforts acted out by not only we two writers, but by some of our dearest and most faithful friends and servants of god. Originally, Cothmas had begun as Coth's Mass, an invitation to all faithful people to pilgrimage to Coth and together as one single faith fall to our knees before god and thank him for finding us and for saving us. Yet near the time the special ceremony was scheduled, indeed the very night before, god placed before his most devout servants something of a test of character. The travails of this night inspired so many of the Cothmas traditions we know today that Lady Ioreth and I have come to believe it is worthy of a proper retelling, to set the matter straight and educate all Cothites as to why they enjoy some of the strange and miraculous things we've come to expect from Cothmas. The story of Cothmas begins when I was praying in the cellar of the Church, on my knees thanking god... "Ioreth." Constans moaned, "Where do you get this stuff?" He took another huge gulp of the honey-wine. He was in the elf's new parlor. "This is the best thing I have ever tasted." he said, holding it up by his shoulder. The snake around his neck piqued up at the glass, nosed at it some, and dunked its head in, lapping twice at the sweet wine before resuming its place asleep upon its master. Constans was sitting on a creaky rocking chair, his sleeves pulled up and his cloak thrown over the backrest. His tan boots were at the door, which left him looking a bit plant-like in his green doublet and brown leathers. He had been the first to arrive for the very informal celebration before tomorrow's ceremony. A little socializing, a toast to success tomorrow, and an early night seemed to Constans the picture of a good Coth's Mass eve. It would be a nice tradition to carry into the future. Ioreth was right, everything he did was so public. He deserved to enjoy a relaxing night with his friends. "Not to make a big deal out of it tonight, but there are some people coming in the next week or two, dignitaries from a place called Temple City, up north. They say they want to hear about our god." if he sounded skeptical, he was. He'd heard tell that the green sun had been seen much farther away than the borders of Coth, but even still newcomers inquiring about god so soon were either hucksters or, more hopefully, divinely guided. "I just wanted to make sure you'd be around. They claim to be a order of knights." he said, helping himself to another mouthful of wine. It was so sweet he could barely taste the alcohol at all, which made it very easy to drink! @KittyvonCupcake @Spooky Mittens @Better Than Gore @LikelyMissFortune @Fennis Ursai

More importantly I don't want to bloat what a site announcement entails. It's all about precedent, I know! I've made a status update to start. A news article would be another great way to publicize. Thanks!

It’s the answer I thought I’d get, though it’s a pity. Updating a lore sheet or making an announcement on my status update won’t ever quite inform everyone who is actually affected. Oh well, worth a shot.

You know what we never did? We never announced the sun turning green. Would that fall under the purview of these announcements? It’s a continent-wide phenomenon after all. If so: “The Sun Changes Color Over Terrenus” ”For ten minutes at dawn, the sun bathes the entirety of Terrenus in green light. This disorienting phenomenon is reputed to originate from a divine source in the little known city of Coth.”

[Coth: the Church, second floor] Nyra's confidence inspired a mixture of admiration and terror in her surrogate father. Often Constans felt a sense of foreboding in regards to his grown-up ward. He certainly felt it now. But had he lied when he said he was sure she could do it? No. After all if not Nyra, who? Ioreth? He dared not try her. The woman was a metaphysical slot machine. Tirkas? Too new. A guardsman? Like that new big fellow? Same problem. Still too new, still acclimating to life in Coth. Maybe one of the giants? Yahweh, the miniature (relatively) ice-giant leader had returned with a handful more giants to protect Coth. Not exactly covert types, though. At the end of the day, one question overwhelmed all the other considerations: whose loyalty was most secure? Nyra's was. Only she could be counted on to stay true to Constans as she surveilled a powerful mage, harnessing lies and subterfuge to get as close as possible. Her cover story was a particularly difficult one: that she is seeking out a powerful mage to undo her curse. Constans had constructed it, and he wondered if the temptation of ridding herself of the curse might not be too much for Nyra. Somehow, Constans hoped Nyra would be freed from her illness and still be able to return with what Coth needed to know about this necromancer. He was hopeful, not optimistic. He squeezed her shoulders, her dense muscle resisting his hands. He had to keep reminding himself how strong she was. "The gratitude of the entire world, that's what you need to take with you. Remember how proud I am of you, and what a righteous act you do. You're protecting us all. The Guard will look back to this mission with pride when you return, and you can take your place in its leadership." He clasped her cheek, smiling. "Other than that, travel light. Ioreth gave you some names to reach out to if you get in trouble. You're a nightwalker now, a shadow, and once you become a shadow you become a player in a dangerous game of secrets. You have to assume you're being followed, even hunted. We have no idea what sort of influence this woman wields. That's what you're going to find out." He released her shoulder, and beckoned for her to follow him to the broken wall of the church, more a guardrail than a wall now. Looking over it the pair could see the downward slope of Coth, the many hundreds of houses running down its side like water, and its roads like little streams winding out to the larger world into which Nyra was taking a first step for her people. There was so much more out there. A world of danger and intrigue and opportunity all calling out to Coth. "I will pray for you every day until you return. Pray for me as well, as I will miss you terribly." @Better Than Gore

In the lore this is all it says: So I'm playing addition here and saying the expansion is because of the tidemaster.

Only need one person @Moon Owl and the volunteer can discuss pacing though I suggest at least 1 post per week. In one of the lore articles I read I noticed an implied connection between the Sahaugin and the expansion of the Coconino Marsh. Coth is directly next to Coconino so the cause for the conflict will be to halt that spread and to exterminate the creatures responsible for it.

[The Church] Standing up, Constans could see all of Coth. He was standing on the floor which had once been the church attic. Now, without its roof, the attic floor had become a balcony overlooking the entire world beneath Coth's hill. The fire-kissed stone walls which had once surrounded the attic had been blasted away, so that anyone standing could see over them. It was an ideal meeting room for a planning council, Constans thought as he looked out. He wondered then why all the men were still sitting. From down there in their chairs how could they truly see? "-and what when the library is finished? You think we people will be more productive when there's all those books everywhere? Everyone will spend an entire season in their chairs!" "-I can only say it and say it and say it, Father, wooden walls are just decoration. We need stone." "-so that the new homes have penned in the farmlands. The farmers are complaining that they can't grow their fields now. Constans' back was to them. They couldn't see his smile when he spied Nyra sneaking up to his church. She was coming to see him, he was sure. His heart warmed at the thought, and he spun around to the men. They were a random assembly of citizens, green eyed men who had been chosen at by lot to go around and talk to people, hear their opinions and troubles regarding how Coth was growing, and then report them back to Constans. The priest was happy to see that the citizens took their duties so seriously. It was imperative that every man felt responsible for the good of Coth. Yet their complaints were tired ones, oft repeated to him at these meetings. "Gentlemen thank you for your service." he said. "My words are thus: the library is essential and its construction is a priority. I know people will not like that. I know the stone could be used for new walls. Yet the tower will not consume all the stone in the world. We will have enough for both, we must simply be patient and trust our defenses to god." ever since he'd put out of the fires of Coth, no one had doubted that god would save the Cothites from any ill. That is not to say some people didn't wonder why Constans took so long to let god save them, yet those ill thoughts were, for now, muted. The spectacle of the miracle had cowed all. "As for the farmers, they cannot extend themselves forever. If there is a farmer who believes he has less land than his fellows on account of the new homes, he may bring that complaint to me personally and I will attend to it." It was trivial work, but until the citizens of Coth could sort themselves into leaders and followers, Constans alone had to be the administrator of his people. By dictating god's course of honors, he'd at least begun the process of letting the people achieve prominence and authority among themselves. Like with the library tower, it was simply a matter of patience. The men around him rose and excused themselves, some smiling and patting Nyra on the shoulder as she bounded towards her father. Constans clasped her tight. She was his little girl, long since grown big, and yet she had not been well these past few months. Her mood was dark, even her newly green eyes were dark. Yet when Constans had needed someone for the most delicate of tasks, she was still his first choice. "It is good to see you in the daylight." Constans said, holding her out at arms length and admiring her. She was beautiful, strong, everything that could be wanted in a woman. He only wished she had that same image of herself. That thing inside her was more than just an animal. It was self-hatred, self-doubt. He could use god's power to force it to hide away, but when it hid it only ever burrowed deeper into her soul. "I am told you are leaving soon. Ioreth gave you all the details, I know, but still I must say my part." it was a quirk he never could rid himself of, always wanting the last word, "This woman you will meet, this sorceress, is as dangerous as you are." he said, poking a finger against her chest, "She will respect the power in you, but she will also covet it. Show her how you are alike, and make her want you until she is willing to tell you whatever you need to know. I need you to earn her trust because I do not know if she is a real or imagined enemy. Yet if what the elves say is true, if she is a necromancer who conducts dark experiments, perverts the flesh of the living, conquers and takes what she pleases-- if she is those things, you must wait for the right moment to do her as much harm as you can, then escape and come directly to me to tell your tale." He stared at her for a moment, to see that she accepted her task. "Learn and come back to me. That is your task. I know you can do it." @Better Than Gore

You read it right! @Moon Owl is preparing to lead his glorious 1st Legion of Coth against none other than the massing Sahaugin tribes in Coconino Marsh and we need someone to play a force of ~200 Sahaugin to oppose and eventually lose to the 100 men of the 1st! This will be a canon thread, so dedicated thread-finishers are encouraged to apply.

COTH [Link] Geography Church on the Hill, or Coth for short, is situated on the slopes of a particularly prominent hill between Blairville and Dougton. The current town limits are expanding as the town booms, but currently the town is considered to comprise of the hill and the farmlands at the base of the hill, which extend up to 3 miles out from that base. Coth is a rural town in every way-- wandering herds of animals share the streets with common folk, men and women plow the fields and trade their goods at the local market, the afternoon air rings with the sounds of construction. Homes are built from scratch with locally cut wood and stone. Atop the hill is the eponymous church, a once handsome Gaian church whose roof was blown off by a fiery miracle which spurred the spiritual reawakening in the first place. Coth's town borders are surrounded immediately by plains which, after about 4 miles from the base of the hill, give way to forests. Aside from the aforementioned farmland, the area surrounding Coth is untamed wilderness replete with strange monsters, ancient caverns, and subterranean complexes used by civilizations long passed. Coth claims sovereignty over 270 miles of this territory surrounding the hill. Indeed, it lays claim to the untamed lands from between Blairville and Dougton, though the church has no claim to either city for now. Nonetheless, the people who have come to Coth for safety represent many former peoples of this vast territory. Repopulating that land is paramount to Coth's goals. Organization Coth's culture is a result of provincial instability in Terrenus and the intervention of a god. This god, choosing a lonely Gaian priest as his prophet and chosen champion, showed himself by inflicting a fiery miracle upon the Gaian church and the lone priest within it. This priest, Constans, was subjected to a series of visions and prophesies which were accompanied by a column of flame tall enough to bee seen across the countryside. To this, the rural poor of Terrenus flocked. Desperate for someone to protect them after Terrenus's central government withdrew its protection from its provinces, the people congregated at Coth to hear the words of a fiery priest who promised that a god, not a man, would safeguard them. He claimed that men could be killed, that men were easy to corrupt and their failures were the cause of all worldly strife. He preached that if the people submitted themselves to a god as their monarch, they would never again have to experience the tumult of civil war. The people responded. Uprooting their lives and settling at the foot of the Church on the Hill, they began to construct an idyllic civilization-- a rural, moral paradise where all people were equal under god. They looked toward their prophet to interpret gods will. The prophet Constans, locally called "the father" demonstrated his ability to manipulate the god's holy fire and began the work of shaping his rural enclave. In many ways, Coth's culture is still developing! The general level of education in Coth is extremely low. The vast majority of Coth's citizens are illiterate. However they represent a treasure trove of practical knowledge and skills. Hunters, farmers, builders, and craftsmen of all sorts occupy the Hill, and their combined ability has allowed the town to grow at an astounding pace. Coth is almost self-sufficient. The people feed themselves, build each other's homes, and provide all simple necessities required for a rural life. Yet the father of Coth has plans for his nascent civilization. He, perhaps the only learned citizen of the town, has reached out to find tutors and teachers who can educate his people so they can better serve their god by reading his words with their own eyes. To this end, he has recruited the staff of Book|Ends to educate his people and help him to pen his religion's holy scripture. Government and Politics All law in Coth flows from god, through his chosen representative Constans, to the people. The religion of Coth calls for equality among all people, peace among friends, rejection of any unfair dealing and manipulation of the weak by the strong, and the refusal to obey any authority not ordained by god. Government is loosely structured and citizens are encouraged to police themselves by ascending through the holy Course of Honors. Coth has no love for its neighboring civilizations, and its ire is focused specifically on the major cities of Terrenus. The common belief in Coth is that the small folks have been terribly abused at the hands of the city-folk who tax them into poverty and share none of their wealth and technological advancement. Worse still, those same city authorities who came for decades to collect their predatory grain tax had no qualms about abandoning the people the moment Terrenus erupted into civil war. Originally, Coth had no military, however recent alliances have provided Coth with considerable military protection. Coth is guarded by an irregular force of 30 barbarian warriors, the beginning of a standing army with the 1st Legion of 100 men, and it has united with the Order of the Word and hosts varying populations of religious knights. If desired, Constans can summon his irregulars, legionnaires, and the Order's knights to create an army 430 men strong. However Coth's most potent force is its peasant population-- Constans' has been shown to be extremely capable of inciting revolt in the underprivileged. Economy Coth is a town ripe for trade. Few towns in Terrenus can boast such a wealth of raw materials and skilled labor. Coth is capable of exporting food, stone, wood, water, and clay. By far, its greatest export is its religion, a populist dogma of freedom which catches like fire wherever it is spread. Canon and History Venom Signs (Initial thread for Civil War) Coth's goal is singular: the complete reshaping and unification of Terrenus under the rule of a single unstoppable god. This concept of a truly divine monarch underpins the revolutionary goals of the religion. In the name of freeing the meek, the religion is poised to overtake the entire world. Church On The Hill (Permanent locale thread containing multiple canon stories at any time) Subplot 1: Barbarian Raid A small horde of barbarians attack Coth, nearly burning it to the ground. The Father of Coth, Constans, performs a second great miracle to stop them, turning the sun from yellow to green across all of Terrenus as his god floods him with power enough to stop the fires. In the aftermath, it is determined that Coth must take steps to defend itself from future aggression.