Domain Summary
This is an NPC Only Kingdom
When the outer realms merged with the physical plane, the Deep Dreaming settled over the arctic circle, bringing with it creatures from humanity’s deepest nightmares. Chthonic beings of pure nightmare reside here, as do those who have fallen so deeply into their own twisted madness that they have found their way here. Marauders, Abominations, and twisted Thallain call this land home. One thing is certain, the nightmare Lands remain a place of terror to any who enter, and few remain for long with their sanity intact.
Dominant Races
Fae, Mages, Vampires, and Shifters - Abominations, Marauders, etc. require ST approval
Politics & NPCs
Little is known about this kingdom of nightmares - even from those that reside here. There isn’t much in the way of internal politics in the Nightmare Lands. There is no hierarchy or organization, save that Rasputin rules this land, with Baba Yaga by his side.
---Loading Oaths---
Allies
Iron Lotus, Stygian Alliance
Enemies
Avalon, Jade Empire
Kingdom Views
[TODO]
Aether - We know things wait in darkness... nightmares of what came before... things even nightmares fear. Are they beginning, or end? Is the end the end, or just another beginning?
Avalon - The Pendragon thinks himself better than us. But we, the nightmares, see the cracks forming in his House built by the Children of Danu. The nightmares will rise and his house will crumble. All of the world will be covered in icy grip of winter.
Aztlan - Amateurs! They cling to cliche horror. Skinning people and cutting out their hearts is good start. But if keep doing same old thing, people get used to it. Keep them guessing to inspire real fear.
Diamond Congo - Those gems they had were such delicious nightmares; torture on a scale impressive even to us. It is pity they did away with them.
Dischordia - They claim to be Nightmares, led by legendary Fomorian King... They have done nightmarish things, but most of their nobles try so hard to cling to dreams.
German Free States - We have little opinion of these little scattered morsels.
Iron Lotus - Kali is truly creature of nightmare. They claim she is what the darkness fears. We do not know if is true, but is good story, no?
Jade Empire - They kill the things they feared the most, then they bring back same old Golden Sun and Silver Moon from when the world was "safe." Say what you will about the devil kings, they knew how to have good time.
Jukurrpa - The Dreamtime doesn’t discriminate between dreams and nightmares, and welcomes both with same reverence. We hold no grudge with them.
Stygian Alliance - When enough people are afraid of same thing, it carves it's own little territory in the Dreaming and nightmare grows. Billions of people, alive and dead, terrified of the unknown all-devouring Oblivion... So much delicious fear.
Ukhu Amarumaya - An empire full of those betrayed, murdered, and wiped out only to come back after a few hundred years? They are ripe for the plucking.
Umbral Realms
- Low Umbra - Shroud 5
- Middle Umbra - Gauntlet 5 (Battleground, Atrocity Realm - Gauntlet 5, Flux, Hy-Brasil - Gauntlet 2)
- Dreaming - Mists 0 (Far Dreaming, Deep Dreaming - Mists 0) / Banality 0
- High Umbra - Periphery 5
Historical Information
Plague of Nightmares
An enemy, the Crimson Weaver, spread a plague of nightmares throughout Dischordia. The domains of Dischordia came together to combat this powerful threat.
Read more: (Foundation Era) Plague of Nightmares
Dischordia caught a glimpse of the chthonic, primordial horror of the Nightmare Lands. Aitu, the Crimson Weaver, spread a plague of nightmares, which threatened Dischordia. It spread first from the Wolves of the North, when they sent infected couriers to warn the other domains. The plague infected peasants and nobles, alike, turning them into indescribable tentacled horrors. It threatened to devastate the populations of Dischordia.
The priests of the New Faith, present in many domains, did what they could to heal the plague. After many months of nightmares, they came to court prepared with a solution. They crafted Dream catchers, combining New Faith rituals and Appalachian gems. They were a tangible symbol of hope to combat the fear spread by the plague. Though effective, they were little better than band-aids. The two domains formed a partnership to mass-produce the Dream catchers. Together, they brought the plague under control, saving Dischordia from horrors of nightmare. However, empowered by raw belief, even the slightest doubt would cause them to fail.
The War of Nightmares
Four Dischordian armies, each led by one of Balor's lords, marched against the Nightmare Lands of Greenland. They were met on the field of battle by Aitu, the Crimson Weaver, and his own cadre of generals.
Read more: (Foundation Era) War of Nightmares
When the call to war went out, Odin awoke from the Odinsleep, and the Wolves of the North fell in line. They had waited long enough, and were eager for battle against their enemies. They marched to battle in silent unison, with crows devouring all in their wake. The Wolves faced the armies of Sargon of Akkad. As Odin and Sargon fought, each shrugged off blows that could shatter mountains. Yet Odin's soldiers lacked his godlike resilience. When he led them into the thick of battle, many of his men fell in the assault.
Lord Devil Anse Hatfield of Appalachia, faced the spectral Queen Amytis. Even the the Spectre's corpus was no match for the Redcap's jaws. One taste was all he needed, and Devil Anse would sniff her out from across the battlefield. His relentless pursuit exhausted even the rage of the Spectre of Despair, until she fell to his teeth.
Bartholomew Roberts, Warlord of Bermuda and Aranta-Shadur, inspired his soldiers into battle. He, the Herald of Poseidon faced Mangora, the Drowned Mage of Mu. Bart's armies appeared from the shadows, and the oceans themselves fought at his side. Nothing slowed the archmage. Mangora's wounds healed faster than Bart could inflicted them. Reality twisted at Mangora's whim. Raw magical power overwhelmed the Bermudan lord, encasing him in an metallic prison.
The countryside was alternately incinerated and frozen with magic. The Praenomen, mysterious domain lord of Archive, faced Shokar, the Immolator of Pompeii. The Praenomen, the most magically adept of Balor's generals, called ice down upon his foe. Shokar summoned the fires of his own rage. The magics they wielded destroyed swaths of the battlefield, and armies with it. Neither could best the other. Yet, Shokar surrendered, hoping the Praenomen's icy magic could cool his tormenting flames. Shokar was returned to Dischordia in cold iron chains.
Dischordia had defeated the Crimson Weaver, and his generals had fallen or fled. The Dischordian armies returned to their kingdom, bloody but victorious. They knew, however, that they could not defeat the nightmares forever. They would thrive in this era of fear and darkness, and Dischordia could only weather the storm.
Court of Nightmares
Centuries earlier, Shokar, the Immolator of Pompeii, was captured during the Nightmare War. When he escaped, the Nightmare Plague began to spread once again. In a desperate gamble for diplomacy, Appalachia invited the Nightmare Lands to court. The gamble paid off, as the Nightmare Lands joined Dischordia.
Read more: (Court of Empires) Court of Nightmares
For centuries, Shokar, the Immolator of Pompeii, remained imprisoned. Following his capture during the War of Nightmares, he was bound within the Society of Deus. Despite their best efforts to cure him, Shokar's burning curse yet remained.
When the Kingdom of Aether attacked, Shokar's prison weakened. Two decades of war chipped away at the wards which held him. Finally, as the war came to an end, the wards failed. No longer magically bound, Shokar escaped his prison and made his way home. A trail of fire and destruction followed in his wake.
His escape marked a resurgence of the Nightmare Plague. Those who remembered the first outbreak turned to the Dream Catchers once again. To their dismay, the hope which once fueled them had weakened, and they failed to contain it. Many domains resorted to purging the infected, but a few held hope that they would find a new cure.
Nobles of Appalachia tried an unorthodox gambit. They invited the Nightmare Lands to send an ambassador to one of their courts. Others questioned the wisdom of inviting one of their greatest enemies to court. Their fears were soon validated. The Nightmare Ambassador promised the plague would spread, and claim thousands more lives. Yet, very soon after he made that threat, the Nightmare Lands became a domain of Dischordia. On the Unseelie holiday of Samhain, Aitu, lord of the Nightmare Lands, swore fealty to High King Balor.
War of Maelstrom's Rebuke
During the Court of Empires, diplomatic relations between Dischordia and Lazarus' Kingdom failed. Dischordian nobles learned of a dark ritual planned by the Prince Alyosha Buljiev. In response, Dischordia launched a coordinated attack on Buljiev's domain of Carpathia. Their attack, seen by Lazarus' Empire as unprovoked, precipitated the conflict. The hostility between the two kingdoms erupted into the War of Maelstrom's Rebuke.
Read more: (War of Maelstrom's Rebuke; Vechnyy Uzhas)
Rasputin focused his military might on the Nightmare Lands. The lines of battle moved continuously. Russia claimed significant territory in Scandinavia, only to fall back the following month, driven by the Praetor’s army. Dischordia captured one of Rasputin's generals, only to lose one of their own officers.
In the final months of the war, Rasputin's attacks grew bolder. Russian forces attacked several scattered Nightmare Lands settlements in rapid succession. In the final battle, Rasputin took to the field, slaying Aitu in single combat and eating his heart. In doing so, he claimed the Nightmare Lands for himself. Aitu’s vassals knelt before Rasputin’s power, until only a scattered few refugees remained who fled to the lands in northern Dischordia.
The Sublime Cataclysm
As two powerful kingdoms waged their war, the other kingdoms watched and waited. No matter who would be victorious, their victory would alter the political landscape. Few could have suspected the true cost of the end of the war, or the impact it would have on their own kingdoms. In the war's final months, Lazarus' Legion marched on Dischordia and laid waste to their domains. In response, the Dischordian lords enacted a plan of unsurpassed devastation. None outside of Dischordia witnessed the ritual, but kingdoms the world over felt the impact.
Read more: (Sublime Cataclysm)
The first sign of the Cataclysm was the haze on the horizon. Blood-red and fire-orange, it was visible even in kingdoms across oceans and hemispheres. Storms of fire raged across the European continent. Those who survived the strikes saw clouds of dust and fire, and felt the ground shake from the impact. The reverberation of the catastrophe could be felt all around the world. Tsunamis, floods, and hail storms devastated the Jade and Iron Lotus. Earthquakes rumbled and volcanoes erupted in Ukhu Amarumaya and Aztlan. Sinkholes opened in Jukurrpa swallowing stretches of land. Heat waves ravaged the Diamond Congo, withering the jungles. Great sandstorms blasted across the African deserts. The Antarctic Aether grew even colder as it’s blizzards raged. Across the globe, maelstroms tore their way through the kingdoms of the world.
The entire European continent shook with the impact of each realm. Entire countries were destroyed in mere moments. Cities within the impact zone ceased to exist. Even those few scattered outside the blast radius did not survive unscathed. Lazarus' citizens watched as entire countries vanished beneath pillars of fire. Each collision sent reverberations through the land, leveling buildings with the resulting earthquakes. Mountains shook with each strike, erasing whole cities under rockslides and avalanches. Each imact sent shockwaves through the spiritual world as well. A series of great maelstroms stirred forth, tearing across the continent.
Treaty of Maelstrom's Rebuke
The war ended one year, to the day, after the events which marked its beginning. Delegates from Dischordia and Lazarus met to solidify a treaty and bring the war to a close. Every kingdom sent diplomats to witness the signing, but each had ulterior motives. Each hoped to see their kingdom's goals reflected in the final document. The Treaty detailed terms of ceasefire, such as returning prisoners and withdrawing troops. Yet it also contained several initiatives which advanced specific agendas.
Read more: (Treaty of Maelstrom's Rebuke; Vechnyy Uzhas)
Rasputin's agenda was clear. Having slain Aitu and taken the Nightmare Lands as his own, he sought to maintain his hold on his prize. Likewise, the Imperials of Dischordia sought to reclaim the Nightmare Lands. They proposed for the Treaty to bring Rasputin into Dischordia as the Domain Lord of the Nightmare Lands. Delegates on both sides of the treaty negotiation rejected their proposal.
Though no treaty delegate was beholden to Rasputin, his representatives served him well. They garnered support among the delegates to ratify Rasputin's treaty initiative. In doing so, Russia gained its independence, and maintained his claim over his prize. Russia became known as the kingdom of eternal terror, Vechnyy Uzhas (вечный ужас).
The few nobles of the Nightmare Lands who remained loyal to Dischordia fled rather than swear Oaths to Rasputin's nascent kingdom. The refugees swore, instead, to the Imperial families of Dischordia. Their machinations to reclaim their lost domain began almost immediately.
