The Chorate of Dwallutham

Patron: Dantalus (Simurgh)
Capital: Sunji
Primary Race: Ogre
Primary Language: Orluhn
Suggested Traits: Artist, Child of the South, Defiance, Focused Mind, Levelheaded, Seductive, Work Hard
Regional Feat: Great Song

Description

Organized around monolithic stone bastions from which music can be heard to echo at all hours of day or night, the cities of the Chorate are among the most secure in Zenáthras.  Much art and culture is produced there and the ogres are generally recognized as a race of rare creative genius.  However, it is an unspoken truth that many of their kind do not find it a comfortable life and it is not unusual for an ogre to sell everything they own, purchase weapons and armor, and take to the roads to spend out their (usually brief) days in battle either as a mercenary or against the monsters of the Direwild to the north.

The lands are ruled by the simurgh Dantalus advised by a choir of ogre elders.  Though generally peaceful, every so often tempers will flare and council meetings can turn to savagery.  The ogres are removed enough from their past to avoid outright murder, but it is also true that more than pride comes away bruised or bloody from these confrontations.  For his part, Dantalus is philosophical about these outbursts, admitting that they may be an inevitable consequence of the ogres regaining some small part of the magic that once created them and drove them into their legendary frenzies.

History

In past ages, the brutish ogres were monsters bred through cruel magic, a fusion of orc and troll blood that resulted in a savage creature of tremendous physical strength, prone to uncontrollable flashes of rage.  They were released upon the people of Zenáthras, where they proved to be one of the most enduring threats imaginable.  But during the Era of Heroes, their numbers were thinned considerably by adventuring crusaders who beat them back wherever they threatened civilized lands.

But with the destruction of the Well, something...went out inside the ogres.  Born from the numinous energy of magic, it seemed that there was also an important element of magic in their souls that burned away with the Well.  What was left was a timid, confused husk of a creature, the rage gone to reveal the true weakness beneath.  And so the ogres might have passed away into legend, yet another forgotten relic of past ages, except for the Lord of the Choir, Dantalus.

In his youth, the powerful simurgh had been a companion to many heroes, including the likes of Blind Vez'roon.  He had wandered long since the Traitor's War, seeking to find some meaning in everything that had transpired.  When he came upon the ogres, they were in their most dire straits, driven about by goblins as if they were little more than whipped dogs.  Amazed, Dantalus drove the goblins away and approached the ogres, seeing what they had become.  It was then that he resolved to raise them up, to use their loss of fury as a way of redeeming their species.

It has been a long, arduous process, but slowly Dantalus has taught the ogres to find themselves within the beat and tempo of song, to accept the gifts of art of his Dantalus' own, shared magic to replace the dead hearts of rage inside them.  Now Dwallutham is regarded as a nation of rare beauty, respected and beloved by those who dwell in the light yet powerful enough that even the Imbaran raiders stay far from her craggy shores.

Foreign Relations

Dwallutham is a popular port of call for ships from the Tide Princes and Marukeem as they are generally kept free of Imbaran raiders.  Sunji even has one of the few airship piers outside the Council, with several of their own craft making runs, though it usually serves more as a landing point for visitors from the Council or Estruaza.