Promethea

Promethea was a country in Terrasect. It was destroyed a few months before Kira Kael conquered Chezao.

Originally Promethea was known as Strongham and was home to the Ferox, progenitor of the thieves. After Dragnoth Slythe conquered Strongham, one small region to the south remained unnoticed. A group of refugees formed a community there and named it Promethea, the "new land." Over time the city was populated by three Guilds and a number of non-Guilded civilians. The thieves also found a use for Promethea and for a time were regular visitors.

An invisible magical dome once covered the city, shielding it from all mapping attempts and from detection by Dragnoth's Magridd mages. The dome's final failure led to the fall of Promethea, since Dragnoth was able to find and destroy the city once the dome was gone.

There is an effort underway to revive the city.

Terrain
Promethea was the name of a small region in the south of Strongham. Its terrain makes profit nearly impossible. To the south, high white cliffs fall sharply into the ocean, preventing large ships from docking to trade. A ring of mountains block all other directions. The western mountains (the Black Mountains) separate Promethea from Chezao. There is a Pass through the Black Mountains, but the Pass is widely considered too dangerous to use. The northern mountains block Promethea from the Northern Marches, where the noble Northern Families live. To the east are the impassable Forcystan mountains.

The city of Promethea was mostly confined to the coast, where ocean air keeps temperatures mild. All the land from the city to the mountains was cultivated by homesteaders, generally non-Guilded, who improved the naturally-rocky soil over years and years and eventually provided most of Promethea's food.

People and culture
Promethea was founded in responce to Dragnoth Slythe's world-conquering wars. It was meant to be a safe haven for refugees. As a result, most of Promethea's people stayed put once they arrived -- they didn't travel back and forth from Promethea to other nations. Exceptions included Guild members, who were often sent on missions outside the city, and thieves, who came and went as they pleased.

There was not much crime on a surface level in Promethea. The city was run by an alliance of three guilds who keep the peace. However, all three guilds were internally plagued by corruption.

Prometheans tended to fall into one of five categories: they either belonged to a Guild (Kalivos, Demmana, or Filgaea), were thieves (the "Fourth Quarter"), or were non-Guilded civilians (the "Silent Quarter"). Each social group tended to stick with their own kind.

Kalivos
(For the full article on Kalivos, click here.)

Kalivos was the Guild of Mercenaries. Their founder, Barish, conceived the original idea of Promethea. When he died his wife, Ives Tamerlane, brought the dream to fruition. Kalivos was respected in Promethea as its original founding colony. Its members tended to be social, strong people who could be counted on to defend the city in times of trouble.

About twenty years before Kira took Chezao, the city was conquered and destroyed. It was a traitor from Kalivos who led the Black Chain into the city. However, the Chain was driven out and the city was rebuilt, and over time the traitory was forgotten.

Kalivos was dispersed when Promethea fell.

Demmana
(For the full article on Demmana, click here.)

Demmana is the Guild of Assassins. Its headquarters are in Forcystus. In Promethea its most recent leaders were Cathal and Anaias "Gaia" Kael, parents of Kira Kael, but both died in the war against Chezao.

Promethean Demmanans were generally quiet, reclusive, and non-social. Up until the Kaels took over, Demmana forbade relationships of any kind, and that feeling remained even after Demmana members began starting families. Before the Kaels Demmana was ruled by a twisted tyrant named Damascus who was accused -- but never actually convicted -- of raping and killing numerous townspeople, then using his authority to hide the evidence. All of this combined to give Prometheans a bad feeling towards Demmana. Their members were not well-liked.

Demmana still exists, but its Promethean branch was dispersed.

Filgaea
(For the full article on Filgaea, click here.)

Filgaea was the Guild of Mages. The name was a bastardization of "Fils d'Gaia," a sect of mages from Forcystus that crossed the mountains to escape persecution. Its founders created the dome that protected the city.

Most of Filgaea's mages were killed when the dome failed. The few survivors have dispersed.

Fourth Quarter (thieves)
(For the full article on the thieves, click here.)

When Promethea was founded, the thieves made up the city's fourth population (added to Kalivos, Demmana, and Filgaea). They were jokingly dubbed the "Fourth Quarter." Over time the thieves were less and less welcome in the city and eventually ceased to travel there, but they still use that name to refer to themselves as a whole (since normally thieves differentiate between raptors, thieves, pikeys, and tribal groups).

It's rumoured that the thieves' "Isla" can be reached from Promethea. Adept climbers may be able to scale the cliffs down to a tiny forgotten cave where boats are sometimes tied. Other than this, the thieves have not been a steady presence in Promethea in many generations. They committed a great many acts of war against the city during the Kaels' reign, including setting off nail bombs in city streets, and are despised by most Prometheans.