Togensu - Guild of the East

[Rogue Angel]

Togensu - Guild of the East -

Togensu is an oceanic continent located east of Nocturnus and Kaliphlin. Two great mountain ranges run the length of the continent, and shelter the heartlands from the bulk of the stormy weather off the oceans. These mountains have also served to isolate the residents of Togensu, who have dwelled there since before Kaliphlin was settled (for a second time.)

History:

This continent has been populated almost as long as Avalonia and Nocturnus. A small sailing fleet bound for the lands of present day Mitgardia, was blown off course and stumbled upon the bay at the north end of the continent. They settled the area, and their descendants comprise the Sataka people that inhabit the northern reaches of Togensu.

Although there were other small groups of explorers and sailors, the only other major migration occurred a millenia later. The ancestors of the Pamibia people lived in the deserts of present-day Kaliphlin and worshipped the gods of the night sky. When they first encountered Drow, they took them for sacred emissaries and welcomed them in. The Drow soon began kidnapping whole villages, and this eventually turned into a full scale assault. The drow were vastly superior in skill of arms and numbers, and the remnants of the Pamibian ancestors fled to the sea. They followed the signs of their most powerful God - Father Night, leading them east in hopes of finding new lands of their own, and eventually discovered the lands of Togensu. They eventually settled on the great plateau that one day bear the name they would adopt themselves: Pamibia.

The only other large concentration of people in Togensu are the gnomes that inhabit both the mountain ranges. Noone knows if the gnomes always lived here, or if they came across the seas, but they have lived here since before the first histories of Togensu were written.

Geography:

Kokando Basin

Nestled in the southern mountains is a great basin that straddles Historica's Equator. The basin's tropical climate provide the perfect locale for tall palm trees, giant ferns and other plants, which fill the basin floor like a lush carpet. Time seems to stand still in this prehistoric jungle, and it's rulers have reigned here for millenia. Great lizards inhabit the basin, and are the dominant life here - humans have never more than sparsely settled these lands. Some of the jungle tribes even capture the lizards and use these as mounts... at their peril. Small walled settlements have started springing up along the coast over the last century, but the inhabitants must wage a constant war with the lizards for survival.

Pamibia Plateau

Along the north side of Kokando Basin looms a great cliff over a mile high, that runs between the two mountain ranges. This cliff marks the beginning of the Pamibia Plateau - a great grassland that cover the middle of the continent. Great winds scour the plains, and the temperature is significantly lower at the high altitude. What appears to be a barren grassland is in fact teeming with small mammals and birds, and there is an abundance of rivers and lakes dotting the land. The Pamibia tribe is spread across the plateau, with great herds of horses and nomadic villages. There is a short growing season, and the relatively fertile soil and heavy rains have made this the agricultural center of the continent. Lately, the Pamibia have taken up the merchant trade, with the assistance of the gnomes, who build great cogs to cross the oceans. This has led to an influx of people from the other guilds, and the capitol city of Ombaho is slowly becoming more cosmopolitan.

Sataka

The two mountain ranges of Togensu meet north of the Pamibia Plateau, and then split again to the northeast and northwest. The land between these two northern ranges is composed of many foothills and valleys that slope down towards a sheltered bay with pebble beaches and isolated coves. Great evergreen forests blanket the lands, and the cold water of the bay teem with fish and crustaceans. The Sataka villages dot the forests and hills, and many mountain valleys. The Sataka were some of the earliest residents of Historica, but uniquely have been almost completely isolated for most of their existence. Their lives are steeped in many ancient traditions and rituals that would seem alien to other Historicans. They worship the dragons that live in the mountains of Togensu, and believe these creatures to be incarnations of their Gods. Of late, the Sataka have had regular conatct with the Pamibia and the gnomes which has led to a small crossover of culture and thought. The most notable export from this exchange has been the adoption of wooden buildings of Sataka architecture by the Pamibia who had relied primarily on tents and earthen structures.

Ruler:

The current ruler of Togensu is Embora Dahl, Queen of the Pamibia, Brightstar of the East. She has held power for the past 16 years, the last ruler being Kosado of the Sataka, who ruled until his death. Embora Dahl was the royal daughter of Ramo Dahl, the former Brightstar of the East. Embora spent her adolescence at sea, aboard the Flagship of the Pamibia merchant fleet - Dark Moon. The Dark Moon was attacked by pirates out of Nocturnus, and when the captain was slain, Embora rallied the crew to beat down the pirates and capture their ship. Unbeknownst to her father, Embora spent a great deal of her time at sea as a privateer of sorts, hunting down the marauders that always skulk off the coasts of Nocturnus.

When Ramo fell ill, Embora sailed for home, but returned days two days after her father had died. In the wake of his death, one of Ramo's closest advisors launched a coup and took the throne for himself. By this point, Embora commanded the loyalty of her small fleet, and with the help of the common people, took back her throne. Three years later, with the passing of Kosado, the throne of Togensu lay vacant, and Embora made a bid. The Sataka royalty were split between two bitter rivals, and could not muster sufficient support to forestall the loss of the throne.

Since her rise to power, Inter-guild trade has flourished, and there has been a great influx of wealth to Togensu. The Captitol has been relocated from Imperial City to Ombaho. Embora has built up the navy and merchant marine, and expanded the military forces, and strengthened them with the Pamibia homeguard.

Standard:

The Togensu standard is blue and black. The blue signifies the great oceans to all sides, and the black represents the Great Dragon for the Sataka, and Father Night for the Pamibia.

The lands of Togensu are diverse, and this vignette represents the different aspects of it's peoples.

The first tier represents the ruthless fight for the survival that the savage tribes of the basin must endure every day.

The second teir shows how the Pamibia give their Night Gods credit for all they have accomplished in this new land which the Night Father guided them too.

The third layer represents the unique traditions of the Sataka as well as their largely solitary existence as a people.

The fourth tier demonstrates the ingenuity of the Gnomes, and how they can make great leaps forward in technology, but this progress is marred at times by disastrous folly.

high Rez pics can be found here:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=512083

[Abu Dun]

An interesting concept that has a great diversity of people and regions. The vignet is really great, especially with it depicting all four main aspects of the guild on such a small scale.

Good luck in the contest

[Kai NRG]

Great job on incorporating so much on one vignette, I like the guild idea and the colors as well!

[andhe]

The idea and richness of the background is really good. I think the idea of a guild with an eastern-styled culture is great and brings a new diversity to the lands of Historica. I like your figure combinations, especially the Empress and the guardsmen.

[soccerkid6]

Excellent work rogue The guild is a good idea and I like the different cultures within it. The vignette is excellent too

[Kayne]

Great ideas! The gnomes sound as if they may have distant cousins on Mt. Nevermind??

[kabel]

really nice idea, it's gonna be really hard to vote for only one 5th guild!

[Mike S]

Love this pic! Some parts of eastern Kaliphlin look like this. I'm actually redesigning my ever evolving castle to try and have a mix of middle eastern and Asian architecture...

The guild idea is great and the geography pics are inspiring (especially the coastal pic). And as Abu Dun stated, The MOC is really great, especially with it depicting all four cultures of the guild on such a small scale.

[Ecclesiastes]

Nice color combination and great job on the different levels in the build! I also like the reference pics!

[NiceMarmot]

Wow! Great backstory, history, geography, map, etc.! Really like the three different regions and peoples. The MOC is great. The jetpack gnome had me laughing. And I think you really nailed the Sataka part, the tree and music playing woman are spot on.

[Rast]

Very nice, i love the meaning behind the colors of your flag, wish i had thought of that. i agree with Ecc the levels look awesome!

[Torgar]

I really like your map and choice of colors, well done!

[Gabe]

Great entry rogueang, the background and history is really well fleshed out and i love the diversity in your guilds geography and inhabitants. I really like the way you managed to represent all the various provinces in your guild in your vig as well - nice work! I agree with NM, you really nailed the tree and the lute player on the top level. Best of luck in the contest!

ps. Good to see someone else with a hand drawn map too... now i don't feel like such a luddite!

[Rogue Angel]

I really wanted to incorporate all three of the regions, and the different peoples, and dinosaurs, and it all kind of came together.

Andhe/Mikel - I was dead set on eastern influence, and I wanted to include a somewhat African influence as well, but I couldn't reconcile the architecture with the colder climates, so I compromised.

Kayne - there is a definite possibility of that - those gnomes are surprisingly mobile for such little guys.

NiceMarmot - I really wanted to incorporate the gnomish technology while representing the volatile nature of their creations - I may have to make some crazy gnomish MOCs in the future....

Mikel/Ecc - When I found the mountainous eastern picture, I knew it was perfect for what I was thinking. I also really like the coastal jungle pic - it really has kind of a secluded King Kong feel.

Ecc/Rast/Torgar - Black is my favorite color, and blue is close behind, but I had to let the shields and oriental flags determine my final color. The blue worked really well, but coming up with a good meaning for the black was a bit of a stretch, and I had to rewrite my description to fit that in better.

Gabe/NiceMarmot - The lute player with the cherry blossom tree was the first thing I thought of, and the rest of the vignette worked down from there, I was worried about creating the tree, but I'm pretty happy with the result.

Torgar/Gabe - I had thought the map would be so easy since I drew many maps when I was younger for D&D, but I had to go through so many drafts, and then I tried to use GIMP, but that just looked horrible - I eventually settled back on my original drawing, but I'm still not completely satisfied with my mountains. I have much more respect for NiceMarmot and all the other mapmakers now - Also Gabe, I was very happy to see another hand drawn map as well.

Thanks for all the comments guys!

[Erynlasgalen]

Great job on this entry I like that your vinaigrette tells a whole story instead of just showing one scene- very creative.

[robuko]

This is one of my favourite entries. It's amazing what you have been able to fit into the small base. The build is excellent, and the story is both well conceived and beautifully illustrated. Great diversity too

Best of luck