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Introduction "Are you listening to me Cephor?" The young apprentice looked up from his daydream, where he had been destroying a maurauding band of Orcs with an enormous fireball spell. He sighed. "Yes, master?" "What were we reviewing?" came the irate reply.
"Yes, we were, FIVE MINUTES AGO!" the old mage thundered. "Now we are talking about Mennith. Just for that, I should make you attend services there. Gods know that would make you pay attention." The old acadamean mused for a second. "Maybe that's not such a bad idea." He dragged the boy by his ear, and despite Cephus's protests, sat him down in front of a crystal ball. "Now look!" The ball blurred, and solidified into an image of several priests with their arms raised. Cehpus groaned. Even with his limited knowledge of the Mennithites, he knew the beginning of a long, tedious ceremony. But something was amiss on this particular day. As his master drifted away across the room, Cephus slyly adjusted the image. A man with dim silver skin seemed to be creating some kind of dissention within the ranks of the worshippers. The image changed again, this time focusing on a man dressed in black, wearing a wry smile upon his face. Suddenly, the crowd fell away from him, and Cephus swore he saw one of the lesser clergymen mouth the words 'My Lord Mennith!' A few seconds later, the roof of the temple caved in, sending clergy scattering like bits of broken glass from a fallen wine glass. A swarm of rats came rushing in through the door. The priests had taken their leave, and all that was left were the silvery skinned man and the black cloaked gentleman. Laughing, the two of them strolled through the wreckage of the temple towards a glowing portal, where they disappeared a few seconds later. Cephus grinned. "Damn Mennithites need to learn that they shouldn't mess with certain people." He cleared his throat, and in a louder voice, said, "Master, the ceremony is over. The Mennithites have left the building." History 
In 134 BC, a group of Eldorian fundamentalists left their homeland to create a new colony. This colony was based on the original foundations of the doctrine of the Empire. This group, led by Aaron the Wise, landed in what is now Mennith Harbor, and founded a central township. Individual families spread out around the area, finding arable land to be plentiful. However, most of the population remained in the town. News of the wealth inherent in these new settlers spread quickly, and in time reached the ears of a rather malevolent red dragon, named Flashtrick. She flew to the region to investigate, and found her prey to her liking. The new nobility in the outlying regions had few soldiers, and could do little but flee. Gloom and despair descended upon the new township, and as the dragon began her foul assault on her residents. They turned to Aaron the Wise, who turned his eyes skyward. Through the smoke he beseached the aid of each of the gods in turn. None would hear him save the god Mennith, who descended from the sky and smote down the beast onto the remains of the city. The small town was destroyed, but in return for his support, the survivors pledged to rebuild the city in his honor. The town was built into a city over the next nine years. The construction of the main temple of Mennith began immeadiatly, but in the 9th year of Our Lord (Mennith), poor planning and a single miscast spell from a Soulmeliti mage working on the temple caused the temple to collapse, killing many of the dutiful workers who had been resting for their midday break. The mage denied responsibility, blaming instead the poor design of the structure. Duke Aaron, feeling the design had been inspired by Mennith, placed the blame on the shoulders of the mage, who escaped the execution block, teleporting away at the last instant. Duke Aaron, outraged, declared all magic that did not come from Mennith to be illegal, and all non-humans to be evil and self serving. Families of the slain workmen took this notion to heart, and thus began the first inquisition. Citizens rounded up demi-humans and executed them in mass burnings. Duke Aaron, fearing loss of control, declared that the inquisition was a duty of the church. At this, vengeful citizens began to swell the ranks of the church, many of them wealthy citizens. The First Inquisition lasted for 18 years, and cleansed much of the county which now constitutes modern Mennith, as the faithful spread out in search of heathen spellcasters and demi-humans. The years following found the citizens and clergy beginning to settle the region. Great stone castles sprung up to provide protection from maurauding dragons and to serve as bastions of faith against the heathens. The religion became de-centralized, and individual noble-priests began to rule in the name of Mennith. The individual herdsmen, needing goods from outside their estates, began to send trading delegations to meet at a northern cross road. Eventually, the annual meeting place became known as Katsputch. Meanwhile, in 50 AC a delegation from Galencia arrived in Mennith. The delegation was frowned upon by the Church, mainly due to the fact that many mages and demi-humans took shelter in Galencia. The trade delegation itself returned to Gala empty handed, and by 83 AC, traders eventually bypassed Mennith entirely. Katsputch flourished, and in 128 AC, the Katsfair lasted an entire year, and a smith named Dalhron set up a permanent settlement. The town became officially known as Katsputch. During this time, the de-centralization of the church greatly weakened the country. So, in 212 AC, when Eldoria declared Mennith as part of the Empire, the Mennithites could not muster a proper defense. In 215, troops from fort Parna rolled through the disorganized Mennith and by late winter, Mennith was officially assimilated into the Empire. Mennithism remained as the state religion, but the influence of the church rapidly declined. Other faiths began to arise, and even Soulmeliti and Khadric returned to the area, establishing trading posts and small churches. The Trans-Rhuethengage Highway made its way through Mennith, providing work for many peasants with work. In 288, the two ends of the highway meet in Mennith, and the official lighting of the signal torches was marred by the self-immolation of a Mennithite fundamentalist in a signal fire. This did not stop Eldorian, Galencian, Soulmeliti, and Khadric leaders from meeting at Mennith, a centralized point, in 292 AC. On the third day, Khadric and Soulmeliti leaders brawl in the council chamber. The following day, fundamentalists raid the council and attack the delegates. The leaders flee, but agree to meet in ten years. Sons of the fundamentalists, in 322 AC, form the order of the Ebonblades, the pure Knights of Mennith. This group secedes from the Church and begins to act of its own accord, when the leader objects to the killing of a half-Soulmeliti child of a new member. The church itself continued to rebuild its power as Eldorian investments and interest began to decline. In 374 AC, High Priest Andul Karrover began urging followers to rebel against the rule of the evil Eldorians. Religious fervor begins to increase, and many demi-humans begin to leave the area. In 383 AC, Mennithite fundamentalists burn the castle of the Duke of Mennith. Andul Karrover went into hiding, but was captured by the Eldorians and executed in 398. This caused the Mennithites to see him as a martyr for both the religion and the country, and a full scale revolution broke out. The war turned from terrorist attacks into organized warfare, to city to city war, and esculated across the country. Freed areas rapidly changed hands over the next 47 years, and with Eldoria's resources deep in a war with Grennig, Mennith was granted its independence and the Grand Duchy of His Lord Mennith was created. The day of independence rapidly turned from a celebration of joy into a ritual cleansing of the City of Mennith. The few remaining demi-humans in the area were rounded up, and, along with the mages, were drowned in Mennith Harbor. As an enormous summer strorm raged overhead, the authority of His Lord Mennith was re-asserted. The remaining Mennithite army was organized next morning, and by the orders of the church, purification of the country began. Many innocents died in the false accusations that were used by the nobility to increase their holdings. In 441 AC, the Mennithite soldiers took control of Katsputch, and added a divine surtax to all transactions in the city. When a tax reciept was misplaced, a Lord of Mennith was accused of disobeying church law and summarily was burned outside of Katsputch by a group of zealots. When the tax reciept was found, repercutions were felt as far as the newly re-furbished temple of Mennith. The High Priest of Mennith declared that the killings must stop, and began to instead build prisons to keep those accused of religious crimes until a council of priests could hear the case. By 452, citizens and clergy had become divided as to the proper doctrine for the church. Mennithite persecution of travelers, however, continued. As the world began to muster for war, Mennith remained mired in its own problems, but hindered all who came through its borders. Consequences were felt from this in 456 AC, when a mysterious group sowed chaos in the temple itself, questioning the leaders of the temple. The temple itself was destroyed by this group, and it was rumored that Mennith himself appeared during the destruction to help complete the catastrophy. This sparked a minor civil war in Mennith, with sides divided as to conservative and reactionary. The religious war occassionally raged in the streets of Mennith itself, and drained the countryside of many resources. Katsputch flourished and the tent city grew. The town was neutral territory, enforced by mercenary armies, mostly made of Soulmeliti who had left home. In 483 AC, the acting government of Mennith city officially turned control of the weakened country over to the conservative faction. They immeadiatly begin to make reparation speeches and declare a religious holiday to repair the two factions. However, at the height of celebrations, the leaders of the reactionary faction are taken into custody and burned at dawn the following day. This is the beginning of a xenophobic campaign by the Mennithite church, centered on the city of Mennith, moving out in concentric circles. The further away from the capitol, the less people cared about the policy of the theocracy. The town of Katsputch was mostly untouched. This is the state as the situation stands in modern day Mennith. Geography The land of Mennith is located on the Western half of the Rhuethen Plains. The Rhuethin plains were originally a seabed for the Eldorian Sea, and as such, the terrain is rather fertile, broken in places by rocky plateaus from Rhuethengage Mountains. These plateaus served to provide the stone for the towers and castles that dot the landscape. These castles serve as the centers for the various regional baronies,which rule the lands in the name of the church. Many of the settlements center around the Lord's River. The land is crossed by the Trans-Rhuethengage Highway, which, through terms of the treaty with Eldoria, remains Eldorian proper. The Highway enters Mennith in the west at the Rhuethen River border and leaves in the north through the Mountains. Mennith is bordered on the east by the jungles of Kash-Pah, which few of the Mennithites have reason to enter. Mennith is located just north of the Equator, which leaves Mennith with only one season. The gulf stream around the Eldorian Sea brings rain aournd the month of Decander, and continues for three months. During those three months, the sky tends to remain cloudy, but the risk of dammage from hurricanes is usually small, as they tend to expend their energy on the eastern jungles. This semi-tropical climate allows for a great variety of food and grains to be grown, along with citrus fruits. Further north in the country, the rain lasts for a very short period of time, and the land is mostly grassy. It is here that much of the herding is done. Society Religion Politics Economics International Relations |
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Cephus swore he saw one of the lesser clergymen mouth the words 'My Lord Mennith!' A few seconds later, the roof of the temple caved in, sending clergy scattering like bits of broken glass from a fallen wine glass.