Vaga: Vagal was a bright, quiet girl who loved stories, songs and knowledge above all else. When her mother offered her a gift, she simply asked for language—the language of magic—so her people would be able to write down everything that was important to them, so they would never forget their truths and their tales.
It is said that this is where the Vagan mage language came from, and that those who can wield its power are the direct descendants of Vagal herself.
Vaga has been, as a general rule, a peaceful nation throughout its history, but the mage women are known to be fiercely protective of their secrets as well as the land granted to them by Aegos. It was encroachment upon this land that led to the Mage War. Where the lands of the Four Winds were once divided fairly evenly, Vaga now controls its own lands as well as the majority of those that were once controlled by Yigris.
In addition, Vaga controls a small island off its eastern coast called Magehold. It is said that this island was formed completely by mage work and that all the mage women’s most important secrets are kept there.
Vaga is ruled by the Council of Queens—one greater queen and seven lesser queens, ranked in power. Socially, they practice polygamy, as one woman may marry several men. Sons of mage women are highly sought as breeding husbands.
The Balklands: Balkar was the eldest of Aegos’s children and the strongest. He was born of the mother’s tryst with Hadriak, God of the Seas. Like his father, he was smooth skinned and sharp toothed, but like his mother, he was curious and kind. When she offered him a gift for his people, he asked for knowledge of healing and herbs so that he and his people might help each other survive.
Thus was born the Balklander Medicants, who through their brews and herblore are said to be able to raise the dead, cure the incurable, incite love from hate, and bring swift, silent death.
While Balklanders may appear menacing, most are jolly and fun loving. They can be trained in the art of combat but are often more comfortable in more compassionate roles such as caregiver, physician or priest.
The people of the Balklands are ruled by a child ruler who gives up the throne when she or he comes of age. They are advised by a council of twelve, who are chosen at random from all walks of life and all areas of the country to serve for a period of five years. When a child ruler comes of age, she or he is replaced by another child chosen at random from all of those born seventy-two moons earlier.
Ladia: Elladia was Aegos’s youngest child, a shy, patient girl who enjoyed tending her gardens more than she enjoyed tending to her lessons. When the mother offered her a gift, Elladia knew immediately that what she wanted for her people was that they should always know peace and never grow hungry.
Her mother was quite proud of her requests, and so she granted her both gifts—the everlasting peace of neutrality and the magic to keep her people fed, no matter their hardships.
The Ladian elders are so secretive that almost nothing is known of their magic. However, the landscape is clear enough. There is sparse vegetation, but their large herds are famous even beyond the shores of the Four Winds. The lands are dry and rocky, yet every year, they supply the rest of the continent with grain, sugar and produce.
Ladians as a people are reclusive and isolationist. Their merchants do trade, but only within their harbors. The Ladian process of government is unknown.
Yigris: The last of Aegos’s children, Gris, was shrewd and clever, though selfish and unkind. He watched as his sisters and brother made their requests, and he found them all silly. He wished that his people would always have gold to make others do their bidding. He believed that gold was the solution to all of their needs, and he knew he could always count on his brother and sisters to help, should the need arise. His people would have gold to compensate them, so, of course, they would agree.
It is said that the sigh Aegos released upon hearing his request was loud enough to be heard on Far Coast, but she did as he asked and used her power to fill the earth under his lands with deep, plentiful veins of gold. In her kindness, and even though he had not asked her to, she even gave his people, known as Aurors, the power to draw magic from their gold.
Some time later, Gris grew lonely. He had hordes of gold but no one to share his great golden palace with. One day, he saw a pretty young woman in the street outside his palace selling flowers. He started to watch her every day. He became infatuated with her, but she spurned his advances.
The girl’s family was rather poor, despite the prosperity of Yigris, and Gris solved his loneliness by purchasing a marriage contract, against the girl’s will, from her father for a pile of gold.
It is said that Aegos was so angered by this that she wiped the memory of the Aurors’s magic from their minds, leaving Yigris with a finite amount of gold. In a rage, she turned her back on her selfish son.
The Secret Pact: The secret pact is the document that helped bring about the end of the Mage War by uniting the criminal aspects of Yigris underneath the city with the respectable nobles in the city above. One family, House Daghan, has held the remains of the city-state of Yigris in a peaceful stalemate for over one hundred and fifty years. The document was signed by Jenn Daghan and his sister, Olyn, and it gave her control over the thieves, whores, assassins, pirates and mercenaries of Yigris, while ensuring that Under would pay taxes to the King of Above. By uniting during the Mage War, the two groups were able to keep the Vagan mage women at a distance while they negotiated a cessation of aggressions.
Above: Above is the aboveground portions of Yigris that rise upon hills, leading upward to Palace Hill. It includes Brighthold, Merchant Row and Whitebeach. Unofficially, the term also refers to the noble and merchant class citizens of the city.
Socially, the people in this group are conservative. They do not mingle with other classes, and they follow a strict patriarchal rule.
Under: Under is the aboveground portions of Yigris that sit at sea level, including Dockside and Shadowtown, as well as the entirety of the underground tunnels beneath the city. Unofficially, the term also refers to the peasants and criminal elements within the city of Yigris.
Socially, the people in this group are much more liberal than those in Above. They do not generally wed, and they follow a loosely matriarchal society.
The Church: While most people of the Four Winds worship Aegos, the Yigrisian branch has taken on a more commerce-driven ideal. They cater to the noble and merchant class in Above, while often participating in the dealings of those of Under. Even the temple itself contains hidden depths used for the lesser-known workings of the Holy Aegosian Church.
The Dalinn: The Dalinn are a specially trained elite group of priests and priestesses in the Yigrisian church who serve the goddess through sex acts. They are highly respected and sought after, both for their prowess in the sexual arts and for their closeness to the goddess. A night with a Dalinn can cost a small fortune, and most who’ve experienced it will say that it was a fortune well spent.
The Ain: The Ain are an elite squadron of two hundred warriors who are trained and maintained by the Holy Aegosian Church. Housed within the depths of the Slit, they guard the secret banks of the church. The last time they were called into active battle was during the Mage War, when nearly two-thirds of their number died at the hands of only a handful of mage women.