Parha said: I am kinda busy with other projects to be helping out with coding and stuff, but if you need any advice or have questions you can ask me! Also, did you take any inspiration from Game of Thrones? The map just looks a bit like Westeros and the names kinda resemble Essos and Westeros.



EDIT: Then again, it is just a pretty regular naming-scheme in fiction Click to expand...

When I made this a few years ago, I was really into the books so it certainly helpedI've since worked towards making it unique, but the inspiration is evident.And thanks! I'll be sure to give you a shout if I need anything.Also, here is the first dev diary!--Hi! Thanks for checking out An Essarian Hymn's first dev diary! For the first DD, we shall be looking at the far northeast of the map, in the land known as The Sarnic Isles, nearly four thousand years ago, were once one of the lands of the Dwarves, and were one of the last to be colonized by Humanity. Those that took the isles were grim northerners, coming from the poles of Humanities lost home, and although their culture and religion is long forgotten, their descendents remain as steadfastly brutal and harsh as their forefathers.The Isles are separated by three powers. The Osserech Imperium is the most dominant of the three, having defeated the Sarnic Velkrite when the Velkrite once stretched all the way to the warm lands of the south. Ever since then, the Osserech's have marched further and further north, and now the once mighty Velkrite is nothing but a petty chiefdom in the furthest reaches of the north.The Rillik people meanwhile have broken off from their former Sarnic overlords. The remnants of the God's Kelvekar's Thralls, they have long despised any form of servitude to another, even the rather 'benevolent' rule that the Sarnic held over them, and now fight for the liberation of the other Rillik lands. They play the Osserech's against the Sarnic, and hope to one day throw both powers off the isles.The de jure kingdoms of the Isles are Sarn, Mikvell and Saesil. Saesil is the most powerful, having control of the entirety of the island of Saesil. It is however not formed at the 1000 start of the game, leaving an Osserech owned Mikvell and the slowly shrinking Sarn.Culturally the isles are fairly divided. The Sarvak's have long held hegemon over the Imperium, and their culture once dominated the isles. However, this has been reversed, the Sarvak slowly being forced back as the Sarnic culture has broken up into several others. Over the course of the game, unless a Sarvak character attempts to reverse it, Sarvak will slowly further fall out of use in the Isles until it dies off completely.The Bvekhellen culture has now become dominate. Once a powerful force inside the Sarnic Velkrite, the Bvekhellen's betrayed their masters and bowed to the Osserech's when the Imperium first landed on the isles. They, with permission from their new overlords, have begun colonizing Rilikir lands. After a short and failed attempt to overthrow the Emperor, they have lost the favor they once held, and are now trapped between attempting a near assuredly doomed rebellion or further loss of their rights under the Imperium.Religion is also rather divided. The Vulkarists, much like the Velkrite that they once led, once stretched far into the south. The Vulkarists worship the warrior god Vulkar, and believe that Vulkar created the first Sarnic Vulkarite. They claim that he could have conquered all of Essaria with his martial prowess and vast armies, and was only stopped due to the betrayal of his brother and sister, Tharvek and Shaeeva. Vulkarism, Tharvekism and Shaeevanism each form the Trivartism religion.Vulk-Sektarism is the combination of Aukterism, which dominates the far south, and has in turn become dominating the isles. The religion was founded by the Osserech's, who led a realm split between both Aukterists and Vulkarists. Aukterism, the worship of the Eight Saints, was merged with Vulkarism, and claims that Vulkar was one of the eight saints.Although considered heretical by both religions, it shares enough of both beliefs that its practitioners can generally get along with those of the other religions, and it is not looked on as harshly by either religion.Saesil has been split by the Vulk-Sektarists and the slowly falling Vulkarists. The province of Prekk still holds on to its belief in Tharvek, something the Vulkarists who once owned the island could never stomp out, and the island of Hralk worships Subvuklarism, a heresy of Vulkarism that claims Vulkar was nothing but a mortal man, who ascended to godhood due to working towards self perfection.Finally, the Rillikir practice Kelkrai, the belief that Kelvekar claims the souls of the Rillikir when they die, turning them into his thralls in death. By following the Broken Path, a series of dangerous events that every Kelkrai character may embark on, they can break their thraldom and go to a promised land in their death. When every living Kelkraite has walked the Broken Path, then the Kelkraite's believe they will war with Kelvekar and his thrall army for the freedom of their people for the rest of time.When a Sarnic character (any of the Sarnic cultures, Sarvak, Vilkrun, Helvek, Bvekhellen or Kleatun) who is also Trivartist (Vulkarist, Tharvekist, Shaeevanist, Subvulkarist and other heresies) manages to take control of the entirety of the isles, they may form the third Sarnic Velkrite. This will allow them to reclaim the Velkrites lost lands in the south, which will be detailed further in a future diary.They even get a nice color to show off.Besides the nice color and claims on Osserech territory, the leader of the Velkrite also receives a special trait for this, similar to the vanilla game's Augustus trait. Each Trivartist religion will have their own title and trait, corresponding to their patron god's aspects. Those that worship Vulkar will be the Velkrun, receiving a large bonus to prestige and martial, as well as the love of their vassals. Vulkarists believe the Velkrun is touched by Vulkar, and is thus the strongest warrior among Humankind, whether or not it's true.The last thing to show off about the Isles is their unique succession. When a Sarnic ruler dies, the Sarnic succession event's kick in. During the Deldkarda (Dance of Death in Sarnic), every claimant is given a choice to go to a gathering of the realm's vassals and may choose to either press their claim or drop it. If they choose to press their claim, they duel the leader as well as their comrades and the last man standing is announced the victor.Those who are just incapacitated or who choose not to press their claim may still press it through civil war, but they will have far less support than they might enjoy in another realm. A ruler who wins a war but did not participate in or lost in the Sarnic Deldkarda will also be disliked by his vassals. A chief may also deny the claimants their rights and denounce the Deldkarda, but they will then be able to declare war for their title, and most likely with popular support.Otherwise, I'm working on some misc events for those who live in the isles, some of which, like the search for a dragon, can only be triggered by somebody with the adventurous trait.Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first dev diary, and will one day enjoy the modP.S: Anyone know how to make those images larger? Seriously bugging me.