EMPYREPEDIA

History

However, with the kingdom’s fall, the consistent production of these coins ceased. Dwarves, inherently practical and valuing precious stones more than metal coins, did not see the need to continue the minting process without the usual governmental stipend.

This halt in production, coupled with the intrinsic value of the materials used, led to the emergence of counterfeit coins especially in crime-ridden cities like Westramore. Traders, merchants, and everyday citizens became wary, and the value of genuine coins skyrocketed, especially for those in excellent condition. Authentication processes became crucial in large transactions, leading to the rise of coin experts who could validate the authenticity of coins.

Empyrean Currency System

Coin Specifications:

1. Copper Bits:

• • Weight: 2.5 grams.
  • Material: Copper.
  • Description: The smallest monetary unit. Its simple design features the kingdom’s crest on one side and a wheat sheaf on the other.
  • Value: Can buy minor items like buttons or river rocks. 50 Bits for a large fish.
  • Other Names: Rusties

2. Bronze Kili:

• • • Weight: 3.5 grams.
    • Material: Bronze.
    • Description: Features a crossed hammer and anvil, symbolizing the kingdom’s industrial strength.
    • Value: One Kili is enough for half a stale loaf or a lantern.
    • Other Names: Brons

3. Silver Talons:

• • • Weight: 5.5 grams.
    • Material: Silver.
    • Description: Engraved with a majestic falcon in flight on one side and the portrait of a past Empyrean monarch on the other.
    • Value: Can buy 500 grams of iron ore or a piglet.
    • Other Names: Tals

4.Gold Chronos:

• • • Weight: 8.5 grams.
    • Material: Gold.
    • Description: The shimmering coin has a sundial design, a nod to the measurement of time.
    • Value: Enough for a billy goat or two-dozen arrows.
    • Other Names: Crowns

5. Empyrean Gigaments:

• • • Weight: 11.5 grams.
    • Material: A rare metal alloy unique to the Kingdom of Empyrea.
    • Description: The rarest coin, it boasts the kingdom’s emblem on one side and a mythical beast representing Empyrea’s strength on the other.
    • Value: Can purchase significant assets like a steel sword or a cow.
    • Other Names:  Gigs

Exchange Rates:

• 1 Bronze Kili (BK) = 10 Copper Bits (CB)
• 1 Silver Talon (ST) = 10 Bronze Kili (BK)
• 1 Gold Chronos (GC) = 10 Silver Talons (ST)
• 1 Empyrean Gigament (EG) = 10 Gold Chronos (GC)

Miscellaneous Currencies

1. Rubies, Emeralds, Pearls, and Diamonds: Valued for their beauty and rarity.
2. Binicorn Horns: These are extremely rare and hold high trading value. They’re treated with reverence, both for the creature they come from and for their worth.
3. Woolymath Tusks: Worth 100 Gigaments, these tusks are hard to find and often signify great wealth or power when possessed.

Barter System:

While currencies are prevalent in larger settlements, many small villages still prefer direct barter for goods or services. This system is practical, direct, and circumvents the complications of currency valuation. Examples include exchanging fish for apples or offering services like carpentry in return for food.

Racial Societies & Trade:

Elves & Fairies:

• Trade items: Mainly medicinal plants, herbs, and healing services.
• Trade System: Rely heavily on communal living and sharing. They prefer direct barter, often trading healing services for essentials.
• Note: While fairy dust is invaluable to outsiders, fairies consider it sacrosanct and will not trade it.

Dwarves:

• Trade items: Jewels, minerals, and the famous grog.
• Trade System: Once active traders, most dwarves have become reclusive post the Empyrean Kingdom’s fall. Grog brewers, however, travel to trade and gather stories.
• Note: Dwarves, enriched by their vast mines, are more interested in stories and information than physical wealth.

Centaurs:

• Trade items: Tents, boats, armor, carpentry goods, natural resources, cloth, leather, and metals.
• Trade System: Engage in both barter and currency systems, trading items for both goods and coin, especially when dealing with other races.

Merfolk:

• Trade items: Sea resources, shells, and pearls.
• Trade System: Their currency system is almost entirely self-contained. On rare occasions, they might trade with sailors for items they can’t find underwater.

Trade Systems

• Empyrean Coinage – Used across cities and towns for regulated transactions
• Barter Economy – Dominant in rural and nomadic areas (e.g., fish for leather)
• Guild-Based Trade – Urban guilds regulate quality, price, and licensing
• Magical Contracts – Enchanted agreements in wizard enclaves, punishable by magic
• Shell Token System – Merfolk use pearl-based and shell currencies internally
• Favor or Reputation – Elves, dwarves, and fairies often trade based on trust and merit
• Black Market Trade – Thrives in Westramore and lawless regions

Black Market

Name: The Umbral Exchange

Known Boss: Mad Eyed Malech

Title: The Unseen King, The Shadow Beneath the Coin

Rumor: Malech has one glowing violet eye that sees through lies, illusions, and even a man’s soul. The other is said to have been taken by a god—or given to a demon. No one knows the truth.

Base of Operations:

• Central stronghold rumored to lie beneath the collapsed catacombs of Westramore
• Other hubs in Nethopolis (smuggled pearls), Shroudscar (pirate trade), and Karnergrien’s sewer networks

Symbol: A silver coin with a serpent fang embedded across its surface; some say Malech’s mark burns cold to the touch when a traitor holds it

Faction Hierarchy:

• Mad Eyed Malech: Supreme leader; never seen in public without a mask of bone and silk
• The Bleeding Circle: Seven of his most trusted lieutenants; masters of poisons, disguises, necromancy, and coin-falsification
• Whispered Hands: Elite spies and assassins trained to walk unseen and speak only when spoken to
• Ashhands: The lowest-tier runners, orphans, and pickpockets earning favor by survival and information

Key Activities:

• Smuggling rare magical items, including Dunntaika scrolls, fairy blood, and merfolk relics
• Manufacturing counterfeit Silver Talons and Gold Chronos
• Human and creature trafficking (including goblin slaves and captured satyrs)
• Cursed artifact brokerage, sold to warlords and desperate mages
• Weaponizing ancient contracts and blood-bound debts

Rivalry & Influence:

• Secretly funds mercenary rebellions, spreads misinformation in cities, and supplies corrupt nobles with dark favors
• Said to be in subtle war with Lucient’s elite priests over control of ancient relics

Trade Philosophy:

• “If it bleeds, it bargains.” – Malech’s personal creed
• Transactions must be sealed in secrecy, signed in blood, or sworn over cursed coin
• Those who cheat Malech vanish. Their bodies are often found with silver coins over the eyes—one for each lie they told

Whispers in the Shadows:

• Some believe Malech was once a high priest of Orealus who betrayed the Order
• Others say he is undead or a vessel for a forgotten god
• The only thing known for certain: no one crosses him twice

International Trade

Due to the lurking dangers of Lucient’s spies, large scale trade between cities has diminished. Consequently, smaller towns and villages have become more self-reliant, relying on local goods and barter. Whaldalf’s Landing is a unique case due to Mrs. Davenrich’s healing services, making it a sought-after location for those in need.

Goods and Services:

1. Fish, Farmed Goods, and Livestock: These are the backbone of Sadunian internal trade. Every village or town has individuals specializing in these trades.
2. Medicine & Healing: Given the rarity of specialized medical services, those like Mrs. Davenrich are highly sought after. In most villages, livestock carers double as general doctors.
3. Midwifery: Essential to any community, midwives are present in almost all settlements, ensuring the safety of mothers during childbirth.

In the ever-evolving world of Sadunia, trade remains a pivotal part of the socio-economic structure. Whether through the exchange of coins, direct barter, or tales exchanged over a mug of grog, the act of trade keeps the heart of Sadunia beating.

Empyrea’s Socio-Economic System

Socio-economic Classes:

1. Lower Class (Working Class): The majority of the population, living on trade jobs like farming, fishing, and hunting. They reside in both urban and rural areas.
2. Middle Class: Reside primarily in urban cities, benefitting from generational trade businesses. They’ve accumulated wealth and reputation over generations.
3. Upper Class (Former Nobles): Their ranks, once the most affluent due to their ties to the monarchy, have diminished post the Great War. They retain their titles more for tradition than genuine authority.

Civilization:

Originating from the choice of Orealus in the Rosenhelm line, Empyrea once was a land of unity under a single benevolent rule. The royal family was the glue connecting tribal and non-tribal communities, ensuring prosperity. Lucient’s victory in the Great War fragmented this unity, turning tribes and kingdoms inwards.

Geography:

Empyrea mostly consists of urban areas. The urban centers are the hubs of economic activity, trade, and education. However, smaller villages and tribal kingdoms dot the landscape, offering a contrast to the hustle and bustle of city life.

Class System:

Post the Great War, the feudal system crumbled, leading to a new socio-economic system based on wealth. The formal titles of nobility lost their influence, with money becoming the primary determinant of social status. Lucient’s regime, based in Talaifotia, brings more chaos than governance, relying on fear and control through enslaved giants.

Education:

1. Formal Education: Primarily for wizards and the rich. Schools are grand establishments in architecture but limited in number, found only in the largest cities.
2. Informal Education: The majority learn through folktales, songs, and trade skills passed down through generations.
3. Literacy: Most of Empyrea’s population is illiterate. Written records are sparse, with oral traditions being the primary mode of knowledge transfer.
4. Languages: Multiple languages exist based on races, with Common being universally spoken. Each race has its native tongue, but all understand and can converse in Common.

Employment:

1. Soldiers: Formerly prestigious and well-paid, now mainly serve as city guards, earning slightly more than the average middle-class citizen.
2. Common Jobs: The economy thrives on trades like farming, fishing, hunting, blacksmithing, tailoring, and more.
3. Lower Class Earnings & Expenses: A lower-class individual, on average, earns 200 Silver Kili monthly and spends approximately 195 Bronze Kili on essentials. These numbers can vary based on the region and specific circumstances.

Social Mobility:

Despite the change in the socio-economic structure, climbing the social ladder remains a daunting challenge. One can move up only through exceptional skills at a trade or by inheriting generational wealth.

Slavery:

Lucient’s regime has enslaved the giants, using them as both a labor force and instruments of fear. Once noble protectors of Empyrea, they are now bound in Dunntaika-forged chains, forced to haul siege engines, quarry stone, and crush resistance under magical compulsion.

Economic Structure

Income:

• Lower-Class: Typically a farmer or worker, their monthly earnings average around 200 Silver Kili.
• Middle-Class: Their earnings can be roughly double that of the lower class, owing to more established trades or businesses.

Expenses:

• Lower-Class: On average, a lower-class citizen spends 195 Bronze Kili monthly on essentials. The breakdown is:
• Food and Provisions: 45 Bronze Kili
• Rent/Taxes: 135 Silver Kili
• Miscellaneous: 15 Bronze Kili
• Affluence Variation: Depending on the region’s affluence and property size, these expenses can vary significantly.

In this diverse linguistic and socio-economic tapestry, the intertwining threads of language, education, and employment shape the daily lives of Empyrea’s inhabitants. Whether it’s the Common language bridging cultural divides or the economic challenges faced by the lower class, Empyrea’s landscape is a testament to both its historical richness and its evolving present.

Language System

Common

This universal language connects the different races, cultures, and tribes of Empyrea. As the name suggests, it is the most widely spoken and understood language.

Race-Specific Languages

• Faelish: Exclusively spoken by Fairies.
• Sylphrin: The Pixies’ airy, high-pitched language of chiming tones and rapid clicks, often incomprehensible to non-pixies without magical aid.
• Wap’Too: The Centaurs’ native language.
• L’eldrian: The choice of Wood Elves, both spoken and written.
• Jonbar: Ogres communicate in this language.
• Guktash: Goblins’ traditional tongue.
• Drubata: Spoken and written by the Dark Elves.
• Wyrmtongue: The Dragons’ ancient language, rarely heard by mortal ears, composed of deep roars, resonant growls, and powerful, vibrating tones that can be felt as much as heard.
• Yumkoian: Trolls converse in this unique language.
• Khek̈ùl: Dwarves’ age-old language, both spoken and written.
• Ititken/Itik: Adopted by the Merfolk.
• Choralight: The harmonic, resonant language of the Great Eagles, blending vocal calls with wingbeats to carry messages over great distances.
• Mosswhisper: The soft, rustling tongue of Frolicking Mushrooms, carried through spore clouds and sensed rather than heard.
• S’Durnen/Sdurne: Satyrs’ native dialect.
• Ancient Serpent Language: Lucient and his fallen serpent army use an undisclosed ancient language, adding to their aura of mystery and intimidation.

All races, despite their linguistic diversities, have learned to communicate in Common to facilitate interaction and trade.

Professional Guilds/Institutes/etc.

There are a few professional guilds in medium- to large-sized cities. Additionally, Lumhagen has a learning institute for its wizards, the only one in this world. Schools are a rarity and only private entities in the wealthiest cities. The few affluent families of this country will hire private tutors to teach their children until they are ready to go to private school. Apprenticeships are common among trade careers. Soldiers receive training from their superiors in their cities. Most believe the Empyrean Knights, made up of the kingsguard of the fallen kingdom, to have disbanded. However, a small group lives in a camp in the Forgotten Forest Acceptance into professional guilds depends on the trade and leader of the guild. Sometimes, a committee determines a worker’s approval based on the merit they’ve heard by word of mouth. Other times, a leader will test the skills of a professional and be the sole determiner of the worker’s entrance. There are also gangs and mercenary guilds, which have initiation requirements, like stealing and murdering.

Guild Benefits

The rewards of guild membership are as varied as the guilds themselves. Trade guilds act as ancient unions, offering fair wages, negotiated contracts, and a powerful network of allies. The Wizard’s Institute, reserved for royalty and proven wizards, grants room and board within its hallowed halls, alongside an unrivaled education in the gifts and sacred teachings of Orealus. For those who bear a guild’s crest, the mark is more than a sign of skill, it is a shield of protection, a key to influence, and in many cases, the difference between obscurity and a name carried through the ages.

Guilds

Shadowblades Guild: A secret guild known as the Shadowblades has been rumored to exist, but many believe it is just an old folktale. After being left for dead after escaping the torturous dungeons of Lucient’s castle, Ezrah was found at the brink of death by a woman named Ta’la. Her and another gentleman brought him back to the leader of their encampment, Jedrek. In order to stay part of the group, Ezrah needed to prove himself in a series of dangerous tests. At the time, the young man thought it would be a piece of cake, for he had hand-to-hand combat experience and survived worse. Yet, this series of tests was unlike anything he had experienced. He earned the nickname Shadow’s Rift and the blades, named Moon’s Eclipse, that accompanied his role as the new leader of the Shadowblades.

The Thieves Guild: The Thieves Guild is an underworld network of pickpockets, burglars, and shadowrunners who slink through the crooked streets of Westramore. They control black markets, smuggling routes, and back-alley trades, operating under a code that values profit over loyalty. Chum once walked among them, but his sudden departure, without paying the lifetime dues owed, has made him a marked man. No one simply leaves the guild without blood or gold to settle the debt. From whispered threats in crowded taverns to silent blades in the night, their reach is long, and their patience is eternal.

Mercenaries Guild: The Mercenaries Guild is a coalition of hardened sellswords, bounty hunters, and hired killers who will take any contract for the right price. They operate in the open, yet their reputation is steeped in blood and betrayal. From enforcing debts to eliminating political rivals, their work is as varied as it is ruthless. At the top stands the infamous Sword Brother crime boss, Mad Eyed Malech, whose grip on Westramore’s underbelly is absolute. Feared more than respected, Malech has ruled through intimidation and calculated cruelty, and his vendetta against the honorable Weylyn has ended with putting a bounty on his head since leaving.

Keepers of the Light Guild: A holy sacred order sworn to protect the divine scrolls of Orealus and safeguard the kingdom’s most guarded secrets of those that protect the sacred scrolls of Orealus. Since the fall of the kingdom, the wizards of Lumhagen have carried this burden, combining spiritual devotion with unmatched mastery of yah’shavel and advanced tech-crafting. Their citadel is both a library and fortress, a place where faith and arcane science intertwine. Under the guidance of Bhalla the Bright, the Keepers act as beacons in a darkening age, preparing for a war they believe is foretold in prophecy.The wizards of Lumhagen have been charged with the task ever since the kingdom’s fall. Their utter obedience to Orealus, mastery of yah’shavel abilities, and tech crafting knowledge make them up for the tasks. The guild is led by Bhalla the Bright.

The Dragon’s Guild: The Dragon’s Guild is an elite order of warriors and former knights focused primarily on hunting dragons and defending Empyrea from dragon attacks. Based in the Forgotten Forest, the guild unites dragon hunters, seasoned fighters, and outcasts under a single banner of protection. Formed by loyalists of King Karatheas, the guild upholds the legacy of the old Empyrean military while safeguarding the kingdom from the threat of draconic destruction. Members train in both combat and survival, forging alliances with local tribes and creatures of light to ensure that the skies of Empyrea remain safe.

Brewer’s Guild: Deep in the Kugdor Mountains, the dwarves of the Brewer’s Guild craft the most legendary grog in all of Sadunia. Brewed with pure underground spring water, aged in Stonewood casks, and infused with rare Mugasia Longiflora nectar, this grog is celebrated for its fiery warmth and rich, complex flavor. Each batch is a closely guarded secret, perfected over centuries and whispered to carry a hint of dwarven brewery skill.

The guild’s entire reputation rests on this world-renowned grog, a drink sought by travelers, warriors, and nobles alike. One sip can invigorate the weary, inspire courage, and bring the warmth of the dwarven halls to anyone fortunate enough to taste it.

Alchemist’s Guild: The Alchemist’s Guild creates medicinal remedies and healing tonics for the people of Sadunia. Based in Lumhagen with branches in other towns like Whaldalf’s Landing, its members study herbs, roots, minerals, and rare flora like Mercalyptus and Soothsage to treat illness, poison, and injury. Focused on mainly science with a hint of spiritual, the guild is vital for keeping Sadunia’s people healthy during plagues, wars, and harsh conditions.