Nithia
History
The Nithians arose after the civilization of Blackmoor, but their magic rivaled its own. Like the Blackmoorians, the Nithians had spelljamming technology, and also like the Blackmoorians the Nithians did not use Arcane helm technology. The Nithians adapted their pyramid magic to power their great vessels into wildspace and beyond.
There were several problems with using pyramid magic to power the great stone pyramids. The first problem is that pyramid power does not regenerate in wildspace or the phlogisten. This meant that large amounts of energy must be allowed to build up inside of the pyramid before take off. The other problem was that pyramid power only accumulated inside of a pyramid located in an established Nithian colony. This meant that there was a great deal of danger when traveling to unexplored areas. The trip was always one way (if the trip was successful at all). An unsuccessful trip meant that the ship and its occupants were trapped in wildspace or the phlow with little or no air left to survive. If the Nithians were lucky enough to find a colonizable planet, they still had to establish a viable colony before their ship would generate any pyramid magic, and would have to wait several years after that before there was enough energy to use the ship again.
Trips to established colonies were a little less hazardous, but several years time would still need to be spent in regenerating a pyramid's power supply. The Nithians got around this by having several ships at each of their colonies and staggering the time spent in spelljamming and regenerating power.
The Nithians also used smaller 'air ships' to transport goods and conduct war. Although airships drew power from the pyramids for flight, they did not draw enough to drain the pyramids, and since the pyramids were always located in an active colony, they were constantly regenerating power.
Once a colony had been established, the Nithians relied less upon spelljamming technology. One of the first things they did was create a Portal Artifact. This Portal Artifact usually resembled a great archway, or large monolith. It allowed stable gateways to be opened between colonies which greatly facilitated the influx of immigrants to new lands.
Needless to say, this pyramid driven spelljamming activity, and mass transit through gateways, did not sit well with the Arcane. By nature, Nithians were a proud and arogant people, and disdained the use of spelljamming helms, claiming that their ability to move the pyramids came directly from their immortal patrons. As such it would be sacreligious to forsake that mode of transport for another.
Angered by this, the Arcane conspired with dark forces (entropic immortals) in order to bring about the utter distruction of Nithia. With the fall of Nithian culture on the homeworld, the outer colonies were effectivly severed from one another. Some maintained contact with one another by using magical gates, but these gates were costly and facilitated little trade. Some continued the old ways of travel, while others succumed to Arcane persistence and began to power their craft with contemporary spelljamming helms. Those colonies that could not cope with the fall of their homeworld dwindled into nonexistence. Thus, the Arcane destroyed the second spelljamming civilization to emerge inside of Mystaraspace.
Nithia Today
Nithians, as such, do not exist outside of the Hollow World. Their descendents however, are numerous. The Nithians inside of the Hollow World still follow their old ways. Although their great stone ships cannot pass through the anti-magical barriers of the polar opennings of their world, a few of the great ships are still used to explore (and colonize) the many floating continents of the Hollow World.
A description of some of the major, spacefaring, offshoots of the Nithian culture follow.
Menkor-Thoth These are magic users devoted to researching and creating magical beings and monsters. This culture spans several planets in several different crystal spheres. Their system of gateways are still quite active and in good shape, however spelljamming pyramids have fallen out of use.
Each of the colonies/planets is ruled by a seperate pharoh. The Menkothians have grown away from their immortals, and tend to rely solely upon their magic. Each of the pharohs is a wizard king of immense power. Foremost among the magics of the Menkothians is the craft of Lifeshaping. These are the very same wizards, whose ancestors back on Mystara, created the beastmen, or gnolls. Today several unique species of creatures live with, and serve, the Menkothians.
Menkothian society is based upon a strict caste system, with human wizards being at the top of the list. Next comes the rest of the human population (whose main job is to control the rest of the species in the system). Each of the species created by the Menkothians has a unique place in the caste system, and the culture.
It is rumored that several elite forces in the Menkothian military have been seen weilding weapons made of a red metal. One of the wizard kings may have found an opperating portal that leads back to Mystara, to one of their old colony outposts along what is now called the Savage Coast. He will surely use this to his advantage in his dealings with the other pharohs. If he discovers the properties of the Red Curse, he may even also try to import it to his home world. The Red Curse, or one aspect of it at least, was developed by the ancient Nithians as a weapon.
Ebor (pronounced Eb-Or) These clerical orders are most like their progenitor culture. The Eborian culture dominates one entire planet, with several small colonies on different planets. Eborians keep in contact with their colonies in two ways. First, they still heavily use the ancient Nithian practice of spelljamming pyramids. This form of communication is very slow however. The second is by using the Portal system. Eborian Portals are not as powerful as those of their Menkothian cousins. People looking at the Portal can see and hear across to the other side, but can not physically pass through.
Eborian clerics can send their spiritual force across the portals to inhabit the body of a specially prepaired mummy (usually a former cleric of their order). In this way, the clergy can maintain a firm hold on their colony states.
It is rumored that a lone Eborian pyramid ship crashed somewhere on Mystara. All abord the ship parished, but a working Portal survived the crash. The Eborian priests have been trying to make contact with suitable recepticles (mummies) on the other side of the Portal. If the pyramid crashed anywhere near an ancient Nithian outpost, the priests may just be able to accomplish their goal.
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This page maintained by Chimpman. Last updated on 07/02/99.
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