User blog:Bespectacled Bastard/Monster Hunter: Unified Setting

After about a month of internal debate, I present to you lovely nihongophiles the basis for the soon to be up and running fanfiction MGE series I have this imaginatively titled... Monster Hunter. As a rule, the setting will be a little harsh, with alot of dark over and undertones. There will be war, there will be intense themes, and most of all... there will be gratitous explosions. However, there will also (hopefully) be fine writing, relateable (or at the very least enjoyable) characters, and lots lots LOTS of Steampunk. Thus, I begin with the basics of the setting, locations and blurbs of history, this page will mostly consern itself with the region, the local... erm "fauna", and the nations that exist there. There may also be details on local factions, groups, cults, and so on as I develop these bits and add them on in this blog or others. Most importantly, as I am utterly inept at even the most basic drawing software, if ANYONE with some skillage feels like making me a map, please express intrest in the comments section and I will happily arrange a meet up in chat or an exchange over message boxes. Now, without further adue:

The Island Continent of Aumodora
Aumodora, and ancient and oft forgotten land, a place of much woe both in ages past and present. Though mankind and other assorted races have lived upon (and even below) its vast and varied mass for untold generations, must of it remains shrouded in mystery. Nestled within the center of one of the worlds many vast oceans, and once host to an ancient and advanced civilization, whose ruins and works litter much of its surface long after their passing, Aumodora is only noted for both its great size and the wealth of strange and mystical artefacts that can be found deep within the island interior.

Aumodora is generally a tropical region, though its vast size allows for a wide range of climates and enviorns from scorching deserts to snowblasted mountains, all of which are populated by countless speices of flora and fauna... some of which has only recently come into being. Generally, the Island interior is considered a no-mans land, populated by only vicious monsters, marauding barbarian tribes, and ancient constructs of the long lost Eluht civilization. However the costal regions are awash with the activity of civilzation, vast cities and bustling ports, with adventurers, treasure hunters, and all other manner of inquisitve folk arriving in droves daily.

The local peoples are of various nations and ideals, from the ardent Luwheian peoples who have long stood as a bastion of faith and purity, to the recently defunct Ritterlands, a nation built on war and tyrrany. Of these many varied nations, most are in line with the ancient faith of the Order, though variations exist even within this alledgedly united faith. Some are akin to holy crusaders and fanatics, seeking to purge the monster and heretic from their lands, while others are more moderate in their opposition to the monster menace. Still others, such as the exiled people of the Ritterlands and what few members of their swiftly declining alliance remain, chose to create new gods, ones that would personify their national spirit more directly and keep their culture "pure". There are even nations that are expressly atheist, such as the nation of Freocudor, who put faith in human reason and science as opposed to Gods and Demons. However, there are an alarming few that have fallen totally to the embrace of the New Demon Lord, and are now dens of debauchery and sin, regions form which the barbarians and their monster masters can sally forth to claim more territory and human chattel. Of these many and varied nations, a few are worthy of immidate note:

The Ritterlands
"We were the only hope of mankind. The only hope for purity, for dominance. May the Iron Lord damn you all to the infernal pits... damn you... Damn you all!"

Now defunct as of the conclusion of the "Bleak Years", the Ritterlands was once the terror of Aumodora. A warlike nation whose immoral research into the nature of ancient Eluht technology and monster biology bred weapons of mass destrucition and terror the likes of which are hopefully never seen again. Often considered one of the major powers within the community of Aumodoraian nations, the Ritterlands and their alliance of fellow nations within the Eastern Bloc were long the heart of invention and industry. With the Ritterlands at its head, the Eastern Bloc produced tones of weapons and instruments of war far and beyond the likes of which had been seen within the aresenals of its rival nations.

However, for many hundreds of years, peace was the general norm, thanks mostly to the midigation of the great nations of Sobvast and Uscana, who, being the major powers of the so called "Interior Bloc" had long stood between the Eastern Bloc and the nations of the rival Southern Bloc, who had long been idological and economic adverseries. However, with the dissolusion of Uscana due to a vast barbarian invasion and the near annihlation of Sobvast due to a coup by a high level Monster Cult, the Ritterlands saw fit to profit from this oppertunity and invade their most despised rival, the nation of Strace. Strace had long competed with the Ritterlands specifically in the trade of manufactured goods, with Straceian engineering and crafstmanship often being considered superior in spite of the Ritterlands advantage in mass production.

Unleashing their vast airship fleet, the largest and most well armed in all of Aumodora's known history, the Ritterlands utterly devastated Strace, leaving the nation in ruins within a week and commiting attrocities across the board with the combined usage of both the infamous "Swarchguard" and the first combat usage of the now dreaded "Devilhunds". The forces of the Eastern Bloc would continue to wage a terribly one sided war against both the nations of the Southern Bloc and eventually invaded several unallied nations, all for territorial gain. With word of this savage war of conquest, the nations of both the Northern and Western Bloc, as well as the Trepi Alliance north to the Eastern Bloc and several other unallied nations, joined forces against the Eastern Bloc. The rallying cry for many nations was both fear that the forces of the Eastern Bloc would continue their conquest until all of Aumodora was under their control, and also the attrocities commited specifically by the forces of the Ritterlands.

The resultant thirty year conflict, refered to as the Bleak Years, saw the desperate nations of the so-called "Great Alliance" stand against the combined forces of the Eastern Bloc, offically ending with the Siege of the Iron City, which saw the last peice of sovergin Ritterlands territory conqured by the forces of the Alliance. Now, all that remains of the Ritterlands is an unihabitable cesspool, a massive swath of industrial wreckage and ruin, posioned by the desperate industry, utterly destroyed by war, not even the monsters dare venture into what remains of the Ritterlands.

Scattered reports indicate that reminants of the Ritterlands airship fleet is still in operation, elements of it often raiding primitve settlements or even staging invasions of larger cities. Though a problem, the general populace considers the reminants little more than a nusiance, little more than pirates, a far cry from the apocylptic terrors they were considered to be nought but a few years ago.

Generally speaking, the Ritterlands was an authoritarian dicatorship, enthralled with the art of war and the power of technology. The people were known to be harsh and duty oriented, considering one's sation in life, whether that be a professional occupation or a personal role, the most important facet of being an individual. The people of the Ritterlands are credited with (though more often blamed for) the faith known as the Cult of the Iron Lord. The cheif relgion of the Eastern Bloc's smog filled cities and the basis for the so-called Swarchguard, an infamous Knightly Order of transhumanist monster hunters and ultranationalists, the Cult of the Iron Lord is a merciless and pitiless faith. The Iron Lord is less a god and more the animistic spirit of industry, the very essance of what the people of the Ritterlands held as the ideal image of humanuty. The tenents of the Cult were that mankind must attain dominance over all the world, utterly exterminate of brutally subjugate all other races, creeds, and ideologies. Emotions such as love and compassion, or ideals such as mercy or charity were considered repugnant, weakness incarnate. The ideal human being is ruthless and driven to their duty, pure in function and form, without any scruples or regret in their actions. Thusly, the most fanatic adherents, the Swarchguard, went so far as to become one with their venerated Iron Lord. The Swarchguard had their flesh, and some would say their very souls, stripped away, placing their consiousnesses in hulking suits of armor. In this act they considered themselves clensed of what they considered weakness, what they considered impure and corruptable. The Swarchguard, and many other adherents to the Cult of the Iron Lord, hold that human flesh is weak and malleable, while iron and steel are imutable and pure. Thus, one must be as iron, the Swarchguard simply took this ideal to the logical extreme, and thus are now immune to many of the failings of humanity. While many look at the Swarchguard in horror, the people of the Ritterlands see them as divine warriors, immune to the temptations of monsters and what little humanity remains within them, they are of hate and iron, duty and purpose. To the Ritterlands, the Swarchguard are the next step in mankinds apotheosis.

Luwhe
"The teachings of Saint Lithuraus are clear, 'Ye shall not suffer a monster, or its sympethisers, to live, lest they make misery for ye or thine kin. Verily, the only thing worse than a monster, is he who dares to hold covenant with a monster. Cast out these cursed from thine homes, lest they bring ruinantion unto all mankind.'"

The home of the Order upon Aumodora and savior of the Bleak Years, the country of Luwhe is located on the northernmost cost of the island. Unlike the nations of Sobvast, the Ritterlands, Freocudor, and several others, Luwhe is like a majority of the other smaller nations of Aumodora in that they have not the advanced black powder or Eluht archotech weapons of these aformentioned nations. Instead, Luwhe remains much a nation of the sword and spear, with only the wealthy or elite being able to afford even the most rudimentary advanced arms. However, as the people of Luwhe have long respected the ways of their ancestors as opposed to the untried ways of the new, firearms and the like are often considered folly when comparied to the more reliable bow and blade. Regardless, Luwhe has long held an interesting history, both widly irrelevent, and at the same time, of extreme import.

This dubious status is held primarly because Luwhe is the nation from which the faith in the Cheif God first came to the island of Aumodora and where it continues to reign in its purest form. While other Order allied nations have either become lax or radical in their interpretations of the scripture, Luwhe's Knightly Orders and generally benevolent lords mantain a constant balance between faith and the demands of the real world. Thus, its borders are considered some of the safest in all the land, with the threat of monster invasions and corruption warded off not only by the vigilance of the Knightly Orders but also the holy selpechure of the famed Saint Lithuraus. Said to have founded the famous Bright City of Acuty (capital and supposed founding city state of the Luwheian nation) the Saint was said to have been a paladin of the highest order, and was slain in battle with a monsterous dragon. Her remains, forever enshrined within the Cathedral Eternal, are said to create an aura of purity and piousness that not even the New Demon Lord herself could dare set foot within Luwhe's borders without bursting into holy flame. The truth of the matter is a little more tame, as the Saints aura of purity does indeed keep much of the land pure and drastically weaken more powerful monsters of a close relation to the New Demon Lord (such as Succubi and Dark Preists) but the barbarians of the interior and more mundain, beastly monsters, are free to roam so long as they are not caught by members of the Knightly Orders.

During the Bleak Years, the armies and Knightly Orders of Luwhe became embroiled in the conflict against the Eastern Bloc, seeing the attrocities of the Ritterlands as a direct insult to all that the Cheif God stood for. Though considerably less advanced than the forces of the Eastern Bloc, the forces of Luwhe and their fellow Nothern Bloc allies arrived late in the war when much of the Eastern Bloc's resources had been exhausted and were both well trained and bolstered by their faith in the Cheif God. Thus, they inflicted several great defeats upon the forces of the Eastern Bloc, though their casualties by the end of the war were grevious to say the least.

Generally speaking, the culture of Luwhe is one of near total benevolence. Their faith and dedication to the Cheif God and the Order make the people of Luwhe dutiful and kind, often first to assist those in need and the last to back down from any perceived unfairness or injustice. Morality and the value of ones word are paramount, and ones honor is considered his most precious possession. However, it should be noted that anti-monster sentiment within the nation of Luwhe seems brutal to forginers from other landmasses, as it is often a policy of zero-tolerance. If a monster, or barbarians from the interior, are discovered within the borders of Luwhe, they will be hunted down by elements of the many Knightly Orders of Luwhe until they are either driven out or captured and, most likely, executed. Many wars with the often moster allied barbarian tribes have hardened the people of Luwhe to the likes of the monsters themselves, thus making them rather ruthless in their prosecution as enemies of the state. However, the Bleak Years have seen many a seasoned Knight fall in battle, leaving only a few venerable paladins left to carry on the Long Watch, and creating a vast pool of young, inexperienced, and soft Knights. Only time will tell if this leads to the utter ruination of Luwhe, the Beacon of Faith.

+Time constraints mean that as of now only this much of the setting has been posted, soon I shall make ammendments and add more content to the blog (if such a thing is actually possible, otherwise well, new blog) for those who have actually read this far, good job you get an internez. Also please, leave a comment, tell me what you think so far and if a story in this setting appeals to you. Thank you and happy erm monstering? Monstereering? Monsterologying? Whatever, thanks!+