This method of governance is feudalism.

A hierarchical ladder of military alliances, with the king of

Lysandria at it’s top, and minor landed nobles at the bottom: knights.

The vast majority of the population are not even on the ladder. They pay either money or a share of
crops to their lord in exchange for the freedom to till the land for themselves. They are not free to
move from one lords land to live in another’s.

Outside of this structure completely are the Godsworn, the ownership of land by the pagan church
has long since been outlawed, but the new church from the south has no such restrictions. This
council also distinguished Knights, as the only form of nobles who may swear allegiance to a god.

To some foreign sages feudal society seems exploitative, but those who live in Lysandria do not; the
Nobles may live a better life, but theirs is the more dangerous job. Many is the knight who never saw
themselves retire into a higher position on the ladder. Duty is the thing that Lysandrians live and die
by. A duty to farm the land or duty to protect it’s people both hold equal potential for honour, if not
equal potential for heroism. A coward is one who would shy away from duty when it called.

“Robert may be an adventurer, but I say also a blackguard. When his Pa, old Gregor, called him to
reap the harvest, he protested! It’s not his place to go about the world fixing thing!. Its his place to
care for his Pa.”

Gods, Saints and Culture of Lysandria

Feudalism

The people of Lysandria are ruled over by those born into higher station. The nobles are descendants
of warriors who, in their king’s time of need, fought. As a result they where given fiefs to rule. Some
of these earls parcel off parts of their land to others, creating new, lower ranking nobles.

Unlike the with the Elves, the best fighter does not rule Lysandria, but those most suited to the task
of ruling, this is often decided by who in the first place has the tact to position themselves as ruler.
After an individual takes ownership of land, they are granted the appropriate title, which will pass to
their first born child

Part of leadership is conflict, and to Lysandrians, the most important part of conflict is learning how
to avoid it; It would be unseemly for an earl not to carry a sword, but it would also be unseemly for
them to use it! This is not true however, for his soldiers. Life is precious and hard earnt, it is a ruler’s
responsibility to keep their subjects as safe as possible.

“Do you presume that I would put mine own subjects in the path of such Destruction?”

“Why, what is the point of wearing a sword at your hip if you dare not wield it? The point of an army
if not to deploy them?”

“You forget yourself commander, and my knights slay whoever I bid them, as you would best
remember.”

The hierarchical nature of society means that it is important in conversation for an individuals rank in
society to be known. There is a difference between a serf and a freedman, even if it’s not obvious to
a foreigner.

Titles in the counties of Lysandria.

County Laval - the most culturally distinct of the counties, where the church can still own land and
rulers need to be ordained by the gods

1 Comtesse/Comte - Governs an entire county

2 Vicomtesse/Vicomte - Governs a section of a county

3 Baronne/Baron - Governs a small group of towns

4 Baronnet - Governs a single town

5 Paladin - Acts in service to an Order or household

County Sudronia - the most technologically adept of the counties, sharing the names for many
titles with the free city of Lysandrium

1 Grafin/Graf - Governs an entire county

2 Vizgrafin/Vizgraf - Governs a section of a county

3 Baronin/Baron

4 Burgomeister - Governs a single town

5 Ritter - Acts in service to an Order or household

County Bannock - the county most affected by raiders and bandits, having a lesser grasp on the
law and order of their lands a lower level of technology and an older language.

1 Ealdorman - Governs an entire county

2 Theyn - Governs a section of a county

3 Knight - Acts in service to an Order or household

4 Genaeta - Peasant aristocrat, rich not noble, governs a single village

Counties Abingold and Ditanthal - bordering counties that share both their names for titles and a
strong rivalry

1 Earl - Governs an entire county

2 Baron

3 Baronet

4 Knight
There are six Pagan gods in Lysandria that have been this regions Gods for generations. Within the
last century a new religion has taken hold, denying the existence of the old gods. Now the old gods
are worshiped only in counties Abingold and Bannock. Worshipping these gods directly leads to
Insanity, so they are always worshipped through saints.

Duty

The people of Lysandria hold duty – and your execution of it – in very high regard and it is pervasive
in all aspects of their culture. The greatest heroes in the history of the region are those who most
exceeded an already noble duty, and the most noble duty of all is protection.

“Aye Willam may be only a serf, but never the less, he did the whole town a service when he slew
that boar. More than that snivelling lord Baxter has ever done.”

Everyone has duty and while it is the duty of the common folk to feed the populace, it is the duty of
the Nobles to dispense justice, and those who shirk or circumvent their duty are seen as villains.

The purpose of the law is to protect those who do their duty, and punished those who ignore it.
Every Lysandrian has a small part of the duty of keeping the common peace, but most of all, soldiers,
theirs is the greatest duty.

Eyan (she/her) is the God of Duty protection and righteous retribution. Lawful Good

War

Lysandrians see war as the great adventure! The greater the war the greater the glory. In a world
where the wilderness must be tamed so that civilization can survive, war is inevitable.

Every young Lysandrian has dreamed of being hailed as a hero for defending their realm, be it from
goblins or other humans. Though not all, most of the long-remembered Lysandrian heroes are
warriors.

“So great is the duty of a soldier defending the innocent that they cannot help but be heroic” –
Lysandrian philosopher Alric of Abincaster.

War is the natural state of adjacent political bodies, or, as the serfs of the land say, “wars’ always a-
brewin” It is not seen as an abberation, and once or twice every generation, men and women are
called upon to be levies for their lord’s army.

Caston is the god of War, Warriors, acts of legendary Heroism and Leadership. Lawful Good

Magic and Knowledge

Magic has a twofold reputation among Theorans. Though they believe it can be used to achieve
good things, they often see it as a work around for good honest graft. Magic is often viewed with
suspicion because those who wield it often have not worked for it and they do not have the
responsibilities that justify such power.
Knowledge is often viewed in the same ways as magic, and the idea that “knowledge is power” is not
a pervasive one. Afterall, how could you possibly come across leverageable knowledge without
overstepping your place? Secrets are the most egregious form of knowledge; no duty requires you to
have knowledge nobody else is privy to. This view means that those who hoard knowledge are often
viewed with suspicion in just the same way as sorcerers or warlocks are.

This said, Wizards are an exception as they are the only arcane magic users who can be seen to have
done the work of studying magic in order to wield it. Many larger Lysandrian towns house wizards
and all Lysandrian courts have one.

Kaaz (Karz, any pronouns, hermaphroditic) is the god of magic, knowledge and secrets. They are
often depicted as a trickster in stories, and one half of their face is scared as punishment for
completing a task given to them using magic they had not earned. Chaotic Neutral

Home and the Hearth

Lysandrians centre their lives around community. It takes a village to raise a child, and the village is
happy to be a part of it. A home is thought of not as a building, but as the area made safe by law and
order. The entire village is someone’s home, not just your house.

Among among a community, favours are done without the expectation of returning the act. This
philosophy is the reason the common folk believe that law and order is good. Another aspect of this
is judgement and forgiveness. Not for the warrior gods is judgement, but for the god of the common
folk.

Cal (he/him) is the god of community, selflessness, judgement and forgiveness. He is rarely
worshipped by nobles, seen as a peasant god, but is a favourite amongst the common folk.

Nature and Danger

All Lysandrian children’s tales tell of the dangers of the wilderness, but fewer than you would expect
involve supernatural creatures. The wilderness itself is dangerous in Lysandria. It is the place that the
oldest civilisations where born and an ancient battlefield. The scars of those times still shape the
lives of the people who live there. The relationship of Lysandrians with nature is one of respectful
distance and wariness. Farmers tend their fields, and they quite literally reap what they sow.

When referring to natural areas untouched by civilisation, Lysandrians use the term “wilds”. The
Ancestors of the Lysandrians were more in touch with the wild, but the art of living side by side with
nature is one that has been lost.

Lysandrians do not have the idea of a mother nature as in other cultures, the wilds are capricious
and cruel, and if they could, they would swallow up civilisation and all order would collapse. Those
whose duty it is to tend to nature are seen in the same light as soldiers: Defenders of the innocent
and protectors of the people, and for this reason they too are seen as heroes.

Sif (she/her) is the god of nature and respect. She does not control nature or thrive in it; she instead
protects from it. She is also the god of verdure and harvest, and is another favourite of the common
people. Lawful Good
Domination and Tyranny

The archetype of the tyrant is well realised in Lysandrian culture, and sadly, not an entirely because
of fiction. To the Lysandrians a Tyrant is a ruler who does not protect their people, dispense justice
or support their superiors. Although there is no law against it, Nobles who use arcane magic to keep
the order in their land are viewed with suspicion, and if that magic is instead drawn from one of the
old gods, they are branded heretic. Arcane magic is seen as an excuse for not dispensing your duty,
or, a shortcut to power you do not deserve, and the Church of many gods has been baned from
owning land for more than a millennia.

“I am a Knight of Vorse, I bow not to your authority! My power over death is more than you could
possibly hope to overcome, and now, this Barony is mine!”

“Sir, would that you had taken the nobler path. This land would have been yours in a few short
years. Your patricide is abomination. Your rank is stripped, your lands are forfeit and I am sent to
end you.”

Vorse (she/her) is the god of tyranny, shortcuts to power and desertion of duty. Her followers
espouse that no man should be bound to the will of another! Your Duty should be what you chose!
Those strong enough to win the fight for rulership should be granted it! No law should be abided if it
makes sense not to and so on. Chaotic Evil

The One God.

Elemeter is the monotheistic god whose church is rising in the south. They champion individuality,
choice, expression and passion. In counties Ditanthal, Laval and Sudronia as well as the free city of
Lysandrium, all churches must by law be devoted to Elemeter. The champion of Elemeter,
Belleraphon, the reformer, the prophet of our time, is the head of this church which now has
significant land holdings in the counties that recognise his God.

This church has only existed for the last century, and is seen by many as a benevolent force: The
lands they rule in the counties no longer suffer bandits, errant lords and northern raiders. The
church lands grow richer and more prosperous as the landed nobility watches their isolated realms
shrink in wealth and influence.

Apocrypha is the dungeon built by the six insane titans to imprison Chaos, they who would destroy
creation. Bellerephon crawled through this primordial prison, eventually finding Chaos, who made
him their champion. Bellerephon may seem to bring order to the lands under his church, but the
bandits and raiders he quashed are now his captains and lieutenants. They raid the lands not yet
reached by the church, weakening them and poisoning them against each other, slowly bringing the
counties, the last holdout of human civilisation in the known world, to war with each other. The
Lands captured by Bellerephon will ensure that in the coming war, he is the sure victor.