The Magiocracy of Kiskum

In the depths of madness the ancient Vos signed a deal with the demons of realm of fire and allowed them access to Aebrynis. Azrai heard of their deal and banished the evil Vos for eternity in the Sea of Grief. The evil god of magic however freed the Vos and allowed them to spread their lies across the world once more. But Azrai was more powerful than Vorynn and trapped the Vos in a land of illusion, and there they have remained until this day, never to trouble to good people of Aduria again.

History of the North, 5th Edition (2610).

Alignment: Neutral
Status: Recommended

Province/Holdings: Kiskum is another of the older realms of the north. For the past seven hundred years it has been ruled by the council of magicians. There rule is absolute, through their control of the ancient Ring of Illusion which they use to control the minds of all who live in Kiskum. They may face a new threat however from the young wizard Petra Koszalinski who has just established a source holding in the Kiskum capital.

* Fortified holding/province.
 
Abbreviations: CoM = Council of Magicians (Vladimir Lenski); KTV = Kiskum Temple of Vorynn (Terri the white); UTC = Udine Trading Consortium (Clavius Grapintus); PK = Petra Koszalinski.

• Law: The Council of magicians maintains a strong hold over the law of Kiskum, no other law holders are permitted. The council's control of the Ring of Illusions ensures this.
• Temples: The Kiskum temple of Vorynn is the only permitted temple in the realm. They are actually little more than stooges of the council at the moment.
• Guilds: The Udine trading consortium maintains a small outpost in an old fort outside the capital. It is not welcome though, and there is little to actually trade. The guild has hired a powerful Adurian Magician to see through the illusions around the city.
• Sources: Petra Koszalinski controls one small source in Shmidta. Current the young wizard is only experimenting with her power, but as she matures she may pose a serious threat to the Council.

Regency Generated/Accumulated: 0/0
No blooded regent rules this lands so it generates no RPs.

Treasury: Most of the people of Kiskum no longer have any need for money, or are slaves. The treasury still holds vast sums of money though, currently 124 GBs.

Army: Kiskum currently supports a small army 3 units of infantry that run the slave farms, they are controlled by the Council of Mages. These units are usually mage up of soldiers who are little more than slaves themselves, they toil away for the Council, having been promised admittance into one of the cities should they perform well.

Regent: Irogor Kortov  (MVo; M25; Unblooded; Age 104) is the current head of the council of magicians the realms ruling body.
None of the other Magicians on the council know however that he is in fact nothing more than an illusion himself, created by the sentient artifact that really rules this land. The artifact, known as the Ring of Illusions was created by the real Irogor Kortov over two thousand years ago. Originally it was intended only to be used for the defence of the nation, and its power was limited, but that was before Azrai took a hand in its creation.
Working secretly the evil god twisted Irogor over to his side and then when the artifact was created merged the Magician and the artifact into one. The old magician remains as the mind behind the power of Kiskum and when the artifact was dug up from an ancient tomb where it had been sealed for over a thousand years he took control and has ruled ever since.
The others on the council of Magicians have been caught in Irogor's illusionary web as well, only they just don't know it and think that different rulers have taken the throne over the years, where in fact it has only been the Artifact all alone.

Lieutenants: Vladimir Lenski (MVo; M11; Unblooded; Age 76) is assistant to Irogor Kortov. He is in charge of making sure that the humans of Kiskum are fed, while the slaves continue to work in the fields. He is good at his job and no human has ever gone hungry while the slave farms have been under his control.
Chessa (FVo; M15; Unblooded; Age 35) maintains the artifact which cloaks the realm in illusions. It is her task to make sure that not one speck of dust touches the surface of the magical device, and disrupts the magic. Although she does a good job she is bored with her work and seeks adventure. She can often be found in Kiskum city, losing herself in the illusionary lifestyle of Kiskum's people.

Important NPCs: Terri the White (FVo; Unblooded; Age 24) is the head of the temple of Vorynn. She assist the Council of Magicians with their work, but is concerned that the people of Kiskum may be suffering under the rule of the Magicians. As a priest of Vorynn she can see through the illusions and see the poor condition the people live in. She want to do something about it, but is unable to convince anyone that what they see is actually an illusion.

Description/History: Kiskum was once in the heartland of territory controlled by the Vos tribe. The master illusionists and diviners lived in peace, until the Adurians decided to make their lands part of the empire. To help fight off the Adurian armies they created an artifact, a giant ring of obsidian and gems, called the Ring of Illusions. The plan was to use it to create vast illusions that covered entire province and would lead the Adurians away from the battle. However what the Vos chieftains did not realise was the their chief artificer was in fact a servant of Azrai, and in fact without the evil gods assistance the ring would never have been created anyway.
The artifact was created and the chief Magician of the time, Irogor Kortov, gave his life in its construction. Then as it was to be used for the very first time Azrai reached out and took control of it, deactivating it and allow his legions to attack an unprepared Vos army. Angry at their defeat the artifact was buried in a tomb with many of the warriors it allowed to die. As Azrai has planned many of the Vos turned from the Magicians who had failed them, and began to walk down the path to worshipping Azrai.
During the invasion most, but not all of the Vos fled north into Cerilia. Those who stayed became part of the empire, and made to follow the empires ways. Following the Skissshar invasion though they found themselves once again free of the Adurians influence and formed the realm of Kiskum, named after a powerful magician who lived at the time.
The council of magicians was formed at that time to aid and advise the king of Kiskum. Over time though the council gain more and more power until they controlled the kingdom instead of the king. Soon after that the king was disposed, the kingdom abolished and the magicians now ruled openly. Up until a hundred and fifty year ago life was much the same as it was under the kings of Kiskum, then something happened that changed the realm forever.
The Council of Magicians had been researching a way to improve law and order when they discovered the Ring of Illusions in it's tomb.. The device allowed any illusionary spell cast into it to effect an area a large as a city. Using permanent illusions and other powerful spells the magicians altered the cities of Kiskum and Ugulan into beautiful cities with buildings made from gold and ivory. The people in the cities found their live altered as well. With everything created for them by the illusionary magic of the magicians they did not need to work and spent much of their time enjoying themselves. The farmers and others in the smaller towns and villages soon left their fields and headed to the cities.
This however left the people without any food source, but not for long. The magicians sent expeditions into the Adurian Wastes to the west and using illusionary monsters and the like captured a large number of Humanoids and Juh Nomads as slaves. These slaves now work the fields of Kiskum while the Humans live only in the two cities. Although the do not work the fields as well as the farmers of Kiskum once did they can still supply enough food to support the cities populations.
While they were doing this though they did not notice that the Artifact itself could cast it's own magic and before long they themselves were disposed, caught in the illusion of power. To the magicians things seem to be much as before, except now when they elect someone to the position of leader it is in fact Irogor Kortov who is taking control again, from himself. The sentient artifact ensures that all the people follow his rule, and awaits the day when Azrai will return so he can hand over to the evil god a willing slave race.
Fortunately for the people of the rest of the continent however the artifact is limited in its range, only able to cast illusions a maximum of one province from its location. As the artifact is currently in the city of Kiskum it can only cover the three provinces, although slavers and Magicians of the council control the rest.
The Magicians of Kiskum are pleased with their new realm and make sure that nothing threatens the paradise they have created for the people. Should anyone grow bored with the lifestyle in the city or begin to wonder if it is all real or not they are removed from the city and taught magic or become priests. The priest and the magicians are the only ones who can disbelieve the illusions at will and to all others they appear real. Anyone travelling to the cities would find themselves part of the illusion and after a few days would not want to leave. Everything they ever wanted is provided and they will live in luxury that they have never dream of. It is all an illusion of course and in reality the cities are slowly crumbling away as no one is left to maintain them.

Provinces: Kiskum lies between the Republic of Lindos and the Protectorate of Solontara. It has a low population compared to its neighbours and receives few visitors. In the past armies have travelled through its western provinces, but they are barren and not worth conquering. The eastern provinces are protected by the Ring of Illusions and no-one ever travels there, for if they do it is unlikely that they will leave.

• Poronaysk (0/5) is in the north-western corner of Kiskum. A barren desert province it has been left to the desert nomads and Humanoids of the Adurian Wastes, who occasionally raid the province.
  
  
• (Ravriina (1/4) sits on the northern border. Several large slave farms are based in the province, mainly supplying food to the city of Kiskum which lies in the mountains to the east. The east of the province is very hilly with the large rising the further you travel east.
  
  
• Shmidta (5/2) is a mountainous province on the coastline. In the south of the province is the large city of Kiskum where almost all of the provinces population live. The Udine trading consortium has a small hold in the mountains north of the city where it is trying to extract the large amounts of gold in the old Kiskum royal mines. A road heading south out of the province brings in food and other resources for the city. In the centre of the city is the Tower of Magic, where Kiskum's magician rulers live. The Ring of Illusion is also hidden somewhere high up in the tower.
  
  
• Zoysko (2/3) sits right in the middle of Kiskum. It borders of each of the other provinces in the realm and is mainly used for farming. In the south-east corner of the province is the city of Ugulan.
  
  
• Marakrov (2/3) lies on the eastern border of Kiskum. Again it is mainly reserved for several large slave farms that supply food to the city of Ugulan which sits in the north-eastern corner of the province.
  
  
• Chuken (3/4) is the second coastal province of Kiskum, south of Shmidta. It is a hilly province and sparsely populated. Most of the people of the province live in the city of Ugulan which is in the north-western corner of the province, on the border with Zoysko and Marakrov provinces.

Allies: Kiskum has no allies and does not communicate with others outside its border.

Enemies: No realm particularly likes Kiskum, but none is willing to invade and risk losing their soldiers in the illusions that mask the realm. The slave farms and the other lands are occasionally raided for food, but are of little value.

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