Thank you so much for giving me the time to produce this massive piece, it is very much appreciated!
This picture depicts Albhopel, the chief settlement of the Merefolk, which lies at the very tip of the continent of Evroz. The Merefolk are widely renowned as expert shipwrights and potters. When a member of their kin dies, a pot that the deceased made in life is ceremonially broken and stored for later use. These cut shards are used to adorn the rooftops of their buildings. The towers you see are wind-catchers that cool the buildings in the hot southerly clime, though some serve as chimneys.
The Merefolk of Albhopel play a major role in the story of Concavia because of their deep connection with the northern Talanos temple of Hearghof, which is where our main character, Arrowaun, is from. The Hearghof send a master Witchto Albhopel in exchange for a ship. A Witch lives out his days in service to the Merefolk and is eventually returned to Hearghof on the ship the Nunacairn get to keep. The story of Concavia begins when a Witch returns alive to Hearghof, bearing an important and grave message.
Here is some lore concerning the origins of the Merefolk. It is an excerpt from the book itself:
“Long ago in the Days of Copper, the Dark witches of the Talanos gave themselves over to the Dwalves, seeking hidden craft and greater might. They wormed their way into the high halls of Talanā, rose to rule, and bent the mighty kingdom to the will of their shadowed lords.
Over many life-years, a hidden worship of Tàmhas took root in the heart of Talanā and was suffered to spread beneath the shadowy hand of the Dark-witches. This black fellowship turned the tale of the beginnings upon its head and hailed the dark god Tàmhas not as foe, but as a god wronged. It held that by helping to bind Tàmhas’ soul once more to his body, that is, to Concavia itself, his followers would be led to a better life after death in the new world yet to dawn.
Through the Dark-witches, the Dwalves wrought their will to lay waste to the northern land of Upergora. Their aim was to shatter the warding-mark that held Tàmhas’ soul outside the world’s bounds. But Mehter flew down from Gelh with her host of Albes and withstood them.
The Dark-witches and the Dwalves came so very near to breaking the binding that held Tàmhas beyond the world. To end the war that had brought such wreck to the world, Mehter loosed her Great Flood. The waves swept away the halls and holdings, that they might never again grow so wide or so strong. To see that such might should not rise again, she shaped the land-wights who tear down steads that take too much from the earth.
To break the strife that had brought such wreck to the world, Mehter loosed her Great Flood. The waves swept away the halls and holdings that they might never again grow so wide or so strong. Lest such might should rise again, she shaped the land-wights, who tear down steads that take too much from the earth.
As a bane for their foul deeds, the Dark witches were turned. Mehter doomed them and stripped them of the Craft, so they might never again work spells. Their kin were cast into the sea in the foul shape of Meres. Their legs were turned to fish-tails, their fingers were bound by webs, their skin grew blubbery; their new shape was a token of the wreck they had wrought on the world. When all her might was worn out, Mehter fell into an unending sleep beside Leuada, and so began the lower days of iron.
In time, these “merefolk” took land-dwelling mates, that they might beget children who could walk the dry land and do their bidding where they themselves could not go, as once the Dwalves had done with their forebears. From such mingling came the Meregemong (halflings) and Waymeres (land-meres), and from blood was born a new law.
Among the Merefolk, blood is law. The more Mere-blood one bears, the higher one is held. The shallow-blooded wait on others; the deep-blooded are lords.
Some Mere still bow to Tàmhas. These are called Sirens or Sirenos by the landfolk. But not all Mere follow shadow. Some are called Meremaids and Meremen, and they trade and deal with their far kin, the Talanos, who outlived the Flood and kept to the old ways.”
Anyway, I know Humanity Lost is what you all signed up to the Patreon for, and this little break has got me chomping at the bit to dive back into that setting. I’ve been jotting down ideas and refining the script further, and I can’t wait to get to those parts in the story. I’ll be focusing solely on Humanity Lost from here on out, so let’s dive back