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Maannacht


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Astrographical Information

Region:
System: Zwartesteen System
Orbital Position: 2
Moons: 2
Grid Coordinates: I-15


Physical Information

Class: Terrestrial
Atmosphere: Type 1 Breathable
Primary Terrain: Mountainous terrain riddled with cave systems, forests, oceans
Points of Interest: Tovenaarstoren (Capital city), Maantranen Heiligdom, Kraaiennest, Duivelsaambeeld

 

Societal Information

Indigenous Species: None
Immigrated Species: Various species, originally primarily humans, but housing refugees has greatly diversified the population.
Primary Language(s): Galactic Basic, Slangentong(Local human dialect)
Faction Affiliation: Sovereign Knights

 

Maannacht, the Eventide Throneworld of House Edsbryder

 

 

To tread upon Maannacht is to journey through the stone hewn memories and sins of House Edsbryder. Despite their recent redemptive efforts, the house’s past transgressions have left a near indelible mark upon the world’s surface. The cities of Maannacht are cyclopean stone constructs of dark gothic grandeur, built when the house commanded both numerous slaves and dark stone rending sorceries. The palaces were arrayed like cathedrals to the Edsbryder lords and ladies as if they were unholy divinities, and their scale and cruel demeanor were meant to impose upon any who saw them the horrifying power that rulers of the night could bring to bear. In the past, the citizens would hurry quietly through the streets, praying that the nobles watching them from high and ornate promenades, or their sadistic Bekenden enforcers lurking on walls and rooftops, would not take any sort of unnatural interest in them. Every aspect of the black cities was meticulously crafted, with even the slave quarters having been fashioned with baroque architecture.

 

Today, many of the once forbidden palaces now serve as public libraries and universities of learning. Now the Bekenden move through the city heights not as spies and assassins, but as hunters of Sithspawn, which continue to torment the populace with random outbreaks. Massive chambers are partitioned and used to house wartime refugees until placement programs can find new homes for them. The ghosts bound to the streets are largely idle, unable to move on, but having borne witness to the end of the regime that fettered them in the first place. Sometimes they move about the streets in grim processions, seeking out would-be dark sorcerers and raising a clarion call to rouse the knights of Edsbryder and their Bekenden for a Geweldige Jacht (Great Hunt). 

 

Vreselijk vleermuizen are giant rideable bats that have served as favored mounts for Edsbryder knights for centuries. Despite their past use as savage flying dreadbeasts, the mounts have adapted well to a more noble role. It is believed but unconfirmed that vreselijk vleermuizen can infuse their echolocation senses with the Force, which is what makes them so capable at hunting Sithspawn, with even untamed colonies of the megafauna seeming to prefer hunting and culling dark side abominations.

 

Torrential rainstorms are common on Maannacht, to the point of dark clouds being almost ever present. With the planet’s rocky and cave pocked surface, it’s not uncommon for wildlife and witless travelers to get swept away in sudden currents. Stormvissers, wolf sized spiders that weave webs of incredible size and strength, use the flooding to capture food that is swept off its feet and into their webs. Stormvisser silk is harvested as a high end component in light and flexible armorweave.

 

Another type of fauna that uses the flooding is the nachtslang, a poisonous viper at home both in the rocks and in floodpools. Adult nachtslangen grow to sizes of fifteen to twenty meters, and possess an innate ability to dominate minds using the dark side, luring the gullible and weak minded into striking range. Nachtslangen are clever for animals, but not fully sapient. They can make a thrall call out for help, for instance, but don’t actually understand basic on a conversational level. In the old days, Edsbryder sorcerers would bind nachtslangen to their will, but few serpents seem to show any interest in following the commands of servants of the light, so most Edsbryder chevaliers focus on the training and bonding of vreselijk vleermuizen. 

 

The primary export markets for Maannacht are derived from its complex fungal ecologies, which are processed into medicines and foodstuffs. With research doctors adding the knowledge of former House Edsbryder poison masters to their studies, there have been several leaps in finding new applications for local biological resources. Several production labs have been set up away from the dark resonance of the cities to ensure the staff and medicine are not corrupted accidentally.

 

The populace is largely drawn to cerebral pursuits and indoor social events on account of the constant terrible weather. Banquets, theater, dances, and limited access to art galleries were in the past used by the nobility to pacify the commoners and to reinforce that meaningful culture comes from the ruling elite. These practices have been rebranded as charity and providing across class lines, and have created an unexpectedly welcoming environment for the refugees, who are introduced to Maannacht culture, cuisine, and social gatherings at a rapid pace, rather than being treated as outsiders.

 

Hospitality is a major part of Maannacht culture, originating as a means for people to gain insight into the agenda, strengths, and vulnerabilities of visitors. Despite coming off as incredibly gracious and well mannered hosts, nobles in particular treat the act of hospitality as a contest of wills and etiquette. This tradition has given the house a reputation for being willing to break bread with heroes and villains alike, but the truth is that more often than not, they are simply sizing up threats over a glass of wine.

 

Maannacht is orbited by two moons, Sintel and Traan, and their presence heavily informs Maannacht culture. Because of the constant storms, actually catching sight of the moons is a rare and portentous occasion that is often imbued with omen and spiritual significance. With the moons being associated with a pause in the storms, and therefore an opportunity for outdoor activity, it is not uncommon for their presence to bring about a sort of group hysteria, a temporary reprieve from cages of marble and gold. For most this means a carnivalesque mania in the streets, but some take it too far, and put on the masks of predatory animals to murder and rut in the streets. Sintel, whose reflected light is of an orange hue, is heavily associated with this behavior, and is called the Lunatic Moon. Traan, whose light is a gentle blue hue, is called the Scholar’s Moon, and is considered an excellent portent for courtly or otherwise proper romance. Traan is said to have lit the night in its full grandeur when the Edsbryder king first decided to abandon the darkness, so the moon is now associated with redemption and inner healing as well.

 

The Huilende Dochters are a cult of healers and caregivers that worship Traan as a merciful goddess. They were originally a resistance movement against the tyranny of House Edsbryder, but the two factions have since made peace with each other. The cult’s beliefs align them more with the Jedi than the Sovereign Knights, but the Edsbryders have come to value the compassion and healing arts of the cult, and now consider them close allies. The Huilende Dochters believe that they can capture Traan’s resonant energies in crystals during moonlit ceremonies, and former cult members who join the Jedi and use lunar crystals for their lightsabers find that they emanate a soothing calmness and hum with wordless song.

 

The Haulanz of House Edsbryder are the Bekenden, who in the past were favored assassins, spies, and enthusiastic killers, but now largely serve as hunters of Sithspawn and young dark side adepts. The Bekenden move amidst the statuary of the roofs and walls of the cities, their human nature concealed by grotesque masks. These hunters share the dark countenance and humor of House Edsbryder, but trade learned occultism for the low cunning of commoners, relying on offworld weapons and technology to traverse and hunt from on high. Two fraternities of particular note exist amongst the Bekenden, the Trouwehonden and the Kraaienbladen. The Trouwehonden are genetically altered humans that benefit from enhanced physical traits, but bear the visages of animals, often wolves or hounds. Originally the alterations were meant as a punishment to remind them of their place after a Bekenden grew too close to a noble daughter, but when the Trouwehonden aided the king on the night of the last oathbreaking, it became symbolic of their loyalty. The Kraaienbladen are Bekenden harlequins who flit across the rooftops in preternatural acrobatic displays as a form of training that sharpens their bodies and spirits. New Kraaienbladen participate in a rooftop race for the nobles to secure contracts of patronage, allowing them to receive training and arms from Edsbryder nobles, should they impress them sufficiently. 

 

 

Places of Interest

 

 

Tovenaarstoren: The ancestral central holding of House Edsbryder, Tovenaarstoren is a massive citadel of black stone, spanning the size of a small city in its own right and more akin to multiple intersecting fortified palaces. The creation of Tovenaarstoren was informed by both a desire to carve Edsbryder’s dominance into stone and an overwhelming paranoia that the slaves who built the black cities would one day seek to break their chains and cut down their former masters. Now that seclusion is used to protect the family’s younger members from the whispers of would-be corruptors and to study and quarantine dark side texts and relics. The house uses the clear partitioning of the multi structure to ensure that vulnerable people never risk exposure to the more dangerous devices and materials.

 

Luxury is constantly present in Tovenaarstoren, although its justification has shifted from arrogant expectation to a means to detox from the horrors that House Edsbryder must regularly confront. It is compassion, artistry, and companionship that are evoked now, rather than excess and debauchery. Guests are a regular sight in the palace, enjoying the peculiar Edsbryder hospitality, although those that wish to not develop the Edsbryder look are encouraged to not linger overlong. Guests are also encouraged to stay close to their hosts, as the dark and twisting halls of the citadel are not kind to outsiders trying to find their way.

 

The dark halls of Tovenaarstoren team with ghosts that have accrued from the darker preceding centuries, although they have adopted a considerably less sinister countenance since the family began seeking the light. In a way, the ghosts are seen as proof that redemption is possible, and that the family is making meaningful strides. Many Edsbryders grew up with as many friends among the dead as the living, and it’s often believed that their unnatural companions are where the family gets its signature deadpan graveyard humor.

 

One of the highest towers of the citadel is a grand aerie for house’s carefully bred vreselijk vleermuizen, providing a place for heirs to train, bond, and play with their flying mounts. Visitors often find the giant bats terrifying and monstrous, but if approached with care they will generally interact positively with anyone and are willing to let strangers ride them if reassured by riders they know. Many Edsbryders become Paladin chevaliers on account of the peace and joy they find spending time with their winged companions, and Edsbryder Zephyr armor often adopts a bat motif in its aesthetics.

 

The castle boasts significant armories, Edsbryder is undeniably a martial house, but weapons and armor are rarely made on site. New weapons that will one day become heirlooms of the family are now crafted in lunar forges nestled in the temples of the Huilende Dochters. While the healers prefer to work with crystalline materials, they are willing to share their secrets with Edsbryder artisans to make silvery weeping blades anathema to darkness. Armor however is often crafted with metals believed to be touched by Sintel, the Lunatic Moon, with the hope that the wearers will benefit from the vigor and intensity associated with it. Trusted Bekenden also oversee sections of the armories as well, keeping modern weaponry maintained and charged for the house’s Haulanz forces.

 

Maantranen Heiligdom: One of the major temples of the newly allied Huilende Dochters, this once concealed place of healing and peace was constructed far away from the black cities and the patrol routes that their knights would have once flown. While this temple is now a publicly known location, many others remain hidden in case Maannacht should fall back into the hands of darker powers. The cult’s lore says that the temple was dreamed into existence, although whether that means that a pre-existing crystalline cave system was found through prophetic dreams or that the cultists subconsciously carved a refuge in the rock as they searched for safe haven is unclear. The cultists never developed a martial calling or interest in political influence, instead focusing entirely on mercy, empathy, and obeisance to a perceived benevolent order, so they could practice their ways comfortably in hidden places distant from the halls of power. 

 

The interior of Maantranen Heiligdom is a combination of natural caves and carved stone seeded with growths of blue and teal crystals. Within, the cultists move about with reinvigorated purpose, wearing robes of shimmering light and dark blue spider silk, having replaced their mission to mitigate the horrors committed by the old Edsbryder regime with a crusade to aid the refugees that the galactic war has uprooted from their homes.

 

The majority of the Huilende Dochters are not Force users, the cult never felt compelled to limit who could join their altruistic organization, but all of them are caregivers of some sort. Force sensitive priestesses can imbue crystals with energy to give them limited benevolent auras of positive energy, soothing pain, easing sorrow, and spreading calm, but these tokens and amulets are simply reflections of a greater light, not a means for non Force users to legitimately use the Force. However, given the fact that this is a moon cult, there is no stigma about people reflecting a greater light. Cultists will often leave the temple with such a talisman and seek out someone that wants to help but feels powerless, taking them under their wing to teach them how to make a difference, even if it isn’t a world changing one.

 

Jedi and Sovereign Knights are welcome to learn and study at Maantranen Heiligdom, as long as they dismount from their high horses before they enter. Treating cult members as lessers or, particularly in the Jedi’s case, nascent Jedi who just haven’t figured out the true truth yet is a great way to get expelled from the temple. Some do eventually join their allies as members, younger cultists in particular struggle with feeling that they should be more proactive, but on their own terms. That being said, they also understand the importance of the work that their allies do, and won’t hesitate to reach out if a stormvisser or nachtslang begins intruding into their territories.

 

As mentioned before, the cult is known for its craftsmanship, particularly in mediums of crystal, stone, and metal. While the cult’s practices are ritualistic and occult by the standards of the Sovereign Knights and the Jedi, the objects that they produce are undeniably implements of benevolence and service to a higher calling. The cult also was the source of the Force imbued blades of the Kraaienbladen that didn’t fall to darkness, and often worked with them to protect the innocent. Lunarforged weapons are known for shining brightest in the darkest places, making them invaluable to champions of the light who must fight in dark side nexuses.

 

Kraaiennest: Throughout the black cities in places of dizzying heights that can only be reached by the most capable and fearless freerunners, there are schools of unorthodox learning where commoners with the potential to be Kraaienbladen gather to trade secrets and stories. Originally, both light and dark Kraaienbladen could gather in the same places, finding commonality in their shared station, but in modern times the dark Kraaienbladen have largely been pushed out. There are still attempts at outreach and conversion, but friendships between the two groups are now tenuous at best.

 

The ideal that the Kraaienbladen chase is to be acknowledged by both the Edsbryders and the Huilende Dochters enough to receive their favor in the form of gear and training, while remaining distant enough to maintain their own independence. While it rarely comes to blows, there very much is a stigma of selling out to the major powers for people that “leave” the Kraaienbladen. Some secretly desire to rise above their circumstance, others vehemently believe that it makes them better people to avoid power and stability.

 

The Kraaienbladen have long had a reputation as devil may care rogues, wearing clothes that evoke crow imagery. On Maannacht, the crow was a symbol of freedom, a psychopomp that delivered souls from the hell of the black cities to somewhere better, because anywhere had to be better than here, and the old Edsbryders would not let prisoners that were put on display die until the crows ate them. The first Kraaienbladen was a free runner that mercy killed prisoners that were put on display too high for anyone else to reach them, but the city runners that would come together to turn it into a legacy tended to believe in survival over picking a side in some high concept morality tale. Regardless of moral preference, the best money is in shanking dark side adepts and Sithspawn, action that both sides are keen to cash in on since it means eating real food for a few months. Dark side Kraaienbladen generally enlist an intermediary for turning in their kills so that they don’t get shanked themselves, and while not always the case, these people are the most likely to reach them and bring them to the light. 

 

The aesthetic of kraaien nesten is… uneven. The Kraaienbladen are thieves, and often steal items of luxury, but they also often have the taste of commoners and use their ill gotten gains to decorate in ways that would strike the Sovereign Knights as gauche or unrefined. They are quite proud of their nests though, and treat their punk style with the reverence that many nobles hold for heirlooms and historical places.

 

Much like the Huilende Dochters, Jedi and Sovereign Knights won’t be turned away from entering a nest as long as they’re chill. Actually reaching the nest is a whole different story, but anyone can hang if they can hang. For Falcons and Sentinels looking to train their mobility, there are few better teachers, and the Kraaienbladen often can teach them some handy tips on customizing armor for superior fit and flexibility along the way. Bekenden sometimes also try their luck running with the Kraaienbladen, either relying on mobility tech or extreme physicality, but it’s not uncommon for such arrangements to end in a lot of broken bones if the Bekenden has more ambition than sense.

 

Duivelsaambeeld: One of the major gathering points for the Bekenden, Duivelsaambeeld is like a never ending job fair and trade tools convention for mercenaries and Sithspawn hunters, with veterans and new players alike mixing it up while definitely reputable businessmen sell weapons of legal and illegal make alongside the other accouterments they guarantee you need to be a Bekenden. The Bekenden have always been pragmatists that sought to make the best of a terrible situation, and that rational and cut-throat approach is reflected in their armaments and tactics. Duivelsaambeeld is always full of stone cold professional killers, and people that want to be seen as stone cold professional killers, although the latter group rarely lasts long. 

 

The nobility has instructed the local authorities to turn a blind eye to whatever weapons are passing through Duivelsaambeeld as long as they remain pointed at the Sithspawn, although certain higher power weapons that could legitimately threaten the integrity of buildings are kept under tighter wraps by both the presence of undercover agents and merchants who know better than to oversell to stupid kids. With as messy as the galactic war has been, obtaining military tech is often as simple as picking it up off of forgotten battlefields, which litter the galaxy indiscriminately. Because of the nature of what the Bekenden do, precision weapons with high power shots tend to be the most valued, but it’s not unusual for them to pick up panic guns for when something unnatural gets too close.


Duivelsaambeeld also caters to the vices of the Bekenden, although most of the establishments require that weapons be deposited before entry, making them common meeting grounds between groups of differing opinions negotiating contracts. Drunken brawls are common, but sneaking in a weapon will get you permanently banned. Refugees that haven’t been able to find legitimate work often find illegitimate work here or at other places like it. If they have combat experience or skill in a relevant field, a Bekenden crew might even pick them up as a hunter in training.

 

 

When Bekenden get contracts for hunting Sithspawn offworld, they’re usually brokered here. Sometimes the Bekenden get contracts for killing other things or people, but those are more likely to see oversight from House Edsbryder. Some Bekenden are directly contracted to the noble house and use Duivelsaambeeld to buy things for the house armories that cannot be produced locally, or to meet with Sovereign Alliance handlers for special operations. House Edsbryder may be team good guy now, but they are under no illusion about how well suited their people are for black ops.

 

For the accomplished and the desperate, Duivelsaambeeld also hosts a considerable number of body modification clinics, ranging from genetic augmentation to cybernetic overhauls. The doctors run off of reputation, not necessarily certification, so some very real horror stories have walked out of their clinics, but more often than not patrons come out stronger, faster, and tougher, if a little less human.

Maannacht.png

Edited by Tygo Edsbryder
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