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Thanks a bunch, guys! I’ve never played Dishonored, but I’ve been meaning to check it out. Only problem is I suck at stealth games.
The Floating Archipelago
About a hundred massive rocks are floating in the air over the Azure Sea. No one knows exactly why, which of course means that there are hundreds of theories explaining it (such as: The Flying Isles contain a unique mineral that is, under certain circumstances, lighter than air; They are frozen in time and have simply remained at their altitude as the rock below them has slowly eroded away; They were enchanted by some long-forgotten ancient magician; The very rock is alive and it is very hydrophopic).
Except for the island that homes The Dragon Turtle none of the islands are settled by any civilized species, though one of them contains the one remaining laboratory of Herpu the Preposterous and the Opal Guard regiments assigned to protect it.
Herpu the Preposterous was a professor of the University of Kar-Sharyk. Despite the objections of his fellow faculty members he established laboratories on two of the islands in an attempt to learn the secret of their levitation. Apparently he succeded, since after years of study one of the islands promptly fell out of the sky, (presumably) killing Herpu and his many assistants. The resulting tsunamis wrecked untold havoc on cities and villages all around the Azure Coast, most famously destroying the Jade City of Lengsh.
The majority of the Kar-Sharyk University faculty was executed by the Opal Dynasty for being insufficient in preventing the catastrophe, their defence of, “We told him it was a stupid [redacted] idea!” falling on deaf ears.
The Ruination of Lengsh, as seen from the Moonstone Library
On the island of Lengsh lie the ruins of The Jade City. Once the greatest city in the world, now only a few corroded spires and the head of the Bronze Titan can be seen over the surface of the marshlands. Most, if not all, of the legendary artefacts of the city must have been consumed by the marsh at this point, but hopeful treasure hunters still probe the waters for Tabatat’s Diamond Egg, The Sceptre of Thunder, The Secrets of the Eleven Songs, The Blue Korridor of the Moonstone Library, The Tear-polished Demon Sword of Bebetare and the Eleventh Astral Gate, among many others.
But the Lengshian marshlands are home to many dangerous creatures and spirits; it’s not unusual that exepeditions never return (though in fairness, that is also because few of them never arrive. To quote professor Penia the Honest: “If we did all the things we said we were going to do we would never get anything done”).
Honu-po’o-kea the Dragon Turtle
Honu-po’o-kea is in many ways unique among dragons; she is by far the largest of them, being almost 400 feet long, and she is the only (known) specimen with the peculiar turtle shape. Unlike most other dragons she also doesn’t seem to associate with either man or fae, though she’s not outright hostile unless provoced.
The Dragon Turtle spends most of her time on her island home, floating over the Azure Sea, but she can occasionally be spotted in the physical world in the vicinity of Hawai’i.
The University of Kar-Sharyk
When Kar-Sharyk chose to establish his first aetherial laboratory on the Cliff of Persh he could hardly have imagined that it would eventually evolve into the most highly respected magical university on the Eastern Continent. These days Kar-Sharyk is considered to be the greatest Aetherial researcher the world has ever known, but back then he was thought of as just another dabbler in the magic arts, conducting his mediocre experiments with the usual delusions of grandeur that comes to a young sorcerer. The turning point came when he took in a group of exiled pixie drones to work as his assistants. As the years went on it became evident that the pixies not only had a surprisingly long lifespan, when they were safe from being picked off by birds of prey, but they also had a natural talent for academics. With the help of his acolytes Kar-Sharyk quickly rose through the ranks of the Saphire Magocracy, and was chosen as Saphirical Archchancellor at the age of 89. As he lay dying just a few years later he charged his pixie apprentices to continue his great work.
Now, 700 years later, they are as diligent in pursuing that task as ever before.
Prime Auxiliary Shurpi
Of the hundreds of pixies who were tutored by Kar-Sharyk himself only four remain, and Shurpi the Observant – the oldest of them – is the head of the university, as he has been for the last 200 years. Despite his venerable age and small stature Shurpi is a force to be reckoned with. He has survived hundreds, maybe thousands, of assassination attempts by the Opal Dynasty, ambitious faculty members and a multitude of Pixie queens who still consider him and his ilk apostates and traitors.
Thanks, Vectorman! I’ve got to say I’m pretty pleased with it, myself.
Portuguese light infantry
From left to right:
First ranger Bak Eun-soo
Rangers are commonly recruited from allied partisan or guerilla units. They provide their designated units with often vital information in regards to the local terrain and hostile forces while also acting as a link between the unit and the civilian population.Chief Surgeon Lúcio Prado Calixto
Specialized medical personnel were experimentally introduced into the Portuguese army during the Second Imperial War of 1847. Portuguese army surgeons are highly trained in providing medical care to injured soldiers and are rarely directly targeted by hostile fire due to their reputation for treating enamies as well as comrades.Combat Mage Osvaldo Ruiz DiasFirst
It takes at least ten years to train a halfway decent combat mage, but the investment is well worth it. Combat mages are extremely highly valued troops; they can summon spirits to act for them, conjure up mists to obscure terrain, astrally sense the location of hostile forces, read the minds of prisoners or lob fireballs at entrenchments. Because of this they wear no specials markings to reveal themselves as astrally gifted, since unlike the surgeons any enemy soldier with half a brain would do well to consider them top priority targets.Portuguese army badges
Every Portuguese soldier is given a bronze badge that signifies their rank. These are a few of them.
Top row: Ranger (Dragon), Chief Engineer, Sergeant
Second row: Combat Mage, Engineer, Demolitionist, Lieutenant
Third row: Surgeon, Grenadiers’ Corporal, Munitions Carrier, Grenadier
Fourth row: Chief Surgeon, Rifles’ Corporal, Mechanized Gunner, Rifleman
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