Alphatian colonial Kingdoms in the Hollow World
by Pol GinésIn this scenario the Alphatian mainland sinks underwater in a combination of earthquakes and tsunamis (Rad's Doomsday Device, or any entropic conspiration of Alphaks and evil Inmortals). As LoZompatore calculated in his what-if scenario, "most inland areas have at least 2-3 hours of warning before being flooded (up to 8-9 hours for northern Shyie-Lawr and southern Blackheart)".
When the cataclysm is starting, nearly all the kings and queens if the Alphatian mainland, and many high level wizards, teleport to Sundsvall, both to feel safe in their palaces and embassies there, and to have a meeting of the Council with the Empress.
At that moment, the Alphatian Inmortal Patrons decide to instantaneously transport Sundsvall to the Hollow World to be sure that Alphatian elites and their way of life are preserved. Sundsvall appears as a non-moving floating city 1000' over the Neathar jungle, not very far from Malpheggi swamps.
For some weeks, Alphatians have to repair and adapt their capital, which was not designed to be a flying city. Also, many magics do not work correctly in the Hollow World: lots of charmed monsters and creatures become rebels or crazy, summoned elementals in workshops and noble towers are the worst. Nobles discover that "Raising Dead" no longer works, and are terrified by that. The Empress can no longer use "Wish" as her main deterrence weapon to keep law and order. Without teleport, kings and nobles feel shipwrecked. It is difficult to feed the 250.000 population of the city but temples and clerics will do their best.
In the next months, Alphatian kings and ambitious nobles will explore the North-east of Iciria, understand the political and technological situation of this world and will try to create their own personal empires.
Dragons of Iciria, which had been in the highest point of geographical knowledge and raw power, understand that there is now higher power: lots of wizards with lots of magical treasures. To survive and profit, the dragons offer their alliance to different Alphatian factions, trying to obtain the best of the new situation: powerful allies and magic and the riches of their enemies and of weak Hollow World native powers.
Wizards understand that they need dragon allies and native manpower, magic is not enough. Wands and staves will eventually be spent and creating new ones is now much more expensive (usual sources of components are not there, no teleport). Everybody has to take a side. Most population simply wants to remain in Sundsvall with Eriadna and the Imperial forces. They hope the Empress will find the way to return the city to the Yellow Sun World. But ambitious lords leave Sundsvall and create kingdoms and armies, always hoping about conquering the floating city and its remaining treasures.
This is the political scenario 1 or 2 years after the Arrival (perhaps when the outerworlder PCs go there, or when a campaign with native Hollow World PCs starts).
1- SUNDSVALL: At the flying city remains Empress Eriadna with one fourth of the military, most of the clergy and most of low-level nobles. One of the Imperial Man-O-Wars is loyal to her. Queen Eldrethila of Ambur, Queen Detteria of Arogansa and Queen Llynana of Bettellyn are with her. Master Terari (that is, former Emperor Tyllion), her lover General Torenal, all the clergy of Inmortals Razud and Alphatia remain with her. That's enough to protect the city from other factions... by now.
2- TITLAPOCA: This Azcan peninsula with kind and decent governors is now the base of King Valdemar XVI of Foresthome, all the Alphatian clergy of Ixion (as Titlapoca secretly kept the cult of Otzitiotl) and lots of non-magic-using military tired of the limits to them in Alphatian culture. They are allied with clans of native opal dragons. They hate the nasty Bettellyn and Arogansa factions.
3- AZCAN UNDEAD EMPIRE: All the Empire, except for Titlapoca peninsula, is now controlled by an alliance of Blackheart evil wizards, and cultists of Alphaks and Hela. They transform Azcan lands in an undead using culture. They use Azcan hunters to hunt alive dinosaurs to sacrifice them in pyramids in special ways to obtain stronger skeletons and zombies: lots of undead dinosaurs to their service, carrying hordes of jabalin, atlatl and bowmen fighters. Green dragons of the jungles ally with the new lords of the empire; they obtain power treasure and meat. Atzanteotl clergy is hunted down and killed (some manage to go to Schattenalfen cities) and the temples re-dedicated to Hela and Alphaks. The few Lawful Azcan people try to escape to Titlapoca.
4- MALPHEGGI SWAMPS: King Verothrics of Randel creates a "dragon kingdom", although other kings refer to it as the "lizard-kingdom" or "swamp-kingdom". He is helped by 12 dragon-knights (traditional order from Randel) and 13 loyal alphatian dragons that were in Sundsvall when the disaster. They killed some imprudent black and green dragons and lizard-men chiefs and took control. Now they have negotiated an alliance with the remaining black and green evil dragons and the lizard-men clans.
5- OLTEC LANDS: Queen Kryndilia of Haven (Cl36 of Kagyar), with all the clerics of Kagyar and Koryis, and her friend the artist Milertendal (MU36) have obtained the alliance of native blue dragons and rule the Oltec cities in a benign way. They also reached to Kogolar lands to obtain Kogolor mercenaries. Their secret allies are mountain races unknown in Alphatia such as pechs and galebduhr. Kryndilia is the main ally of Eriadna and Oltecs now can commerce with Sundsvall expeditions.
6- SHADOW WIZADS WITH DARK SCHATTENALFEN: Idon II, king of Eadrin, an Elf master of shadow magics, has created his own new kingdom helped buy unescrupulous adventurers, dark shadow wizards (there was an Academy in the embassy in Sundvall), 5 shattenalfen cities and some Atzanteotl clergy that came from Azcan persecution and offered him his help. But they lack dragons.
7- DECENT SCHATTENALFEN: 3 cities of Schattenalfen, in the highest areas of the mountains, have been freed of their darkest lords and now discover a new way of living their culture under the rule of King Sildreth II of Greenspur (Cl28, of Alphatia), many pegataurs from Sundsvall, good clerics and nobles from Greenspur and the alliance of Lawful ruby and crystal dragons. King Sildreth is friendly to Eriadna and Kryndilia, but he prefers a defensive and isolationist strategy.
8- ICE ELVES: ice elves were traditionally isolationist but they have to change their ways if they want to survive. Acroshiye, King of the Shiye Elves, with a few guards, is now here as a counselor and ambassador of Eriadna. There are also alphatian clerics of Nordic Inmortals, a few flying ships of the Imperial House of Thera and imperial troops to help Ice Elves. Eriadna diplomats try to bring crystal dragons from those mountains in an alliance. With their magic users and iron mastery, Ice Elves can not be allowed to fall under control of evil ambitious Alphatians.
9- AROGANSA SLAVISTS IN NEATHAR GRASSLANDS: slavist nobles and lords from the Alphatian Kingdom of Arogansa, many military officers and clerics of Alphaks have created a slavist kingdom in Neathar northern plains and grasslands. They have 8 flying clippers, Alphatian riders of griffons and pegasi, and have taken control of Neathar riders of giant hawks. Two of each 3 Neathar clans and tribes from this area pay tributes of warriors and slaves to this faction.
10- A WARRIOR KINGDOM OF THE FOREST: ambitious King Edjer of Frisland (M21, Int18) has gathered frislander guards and nobles and many ambitious and cruel Alphatian nobles and has brought into submission nearly all the Neathar tribes of the forests. There are also ogre tribes in the forests which are dinosaur riders and clans of giants: afraid of the fireballs and lightning bolts of the Alphatians, they have joined them with promises of loot. But Edjer has no dragons and only a few and small flying ships.
Each "colonial" power, and even native powers such as the Merry Pirates and Traldar Cities, could obtain strange allies from mountain or jungle clans of humanoid, unsuspected invisible fey kingdoms, nomadic centaurs, beast-men mercenaries, unknown reclusive dragon clans, awakened undead that could not be reached buy Hollow World low magics... The future is uncertain.
