Tikar, the Sorcerer Kingdoms

The time before the conquering Iitanish Empire is shrouded in darkness. Not much is known of that time but that the people who lived there wielded dark magics and praised blood thirsty gods. They were conquered all the same. The Iitanish armies brought with them their plate armor and forged steel. They slaughtered all who resisted and enslaved the rest. They brought down the mighty Liir'ellar race, erasing their culture from the world. They built one of the mightiest cities known to man and reigned for a thousand years.   The death of an empire started as it often does; with a whisper. The native Tikarian worked in the shadows, scheming and plotting to throw off their yoke. They worked their way up the ladders of society in places where it mattered, bribing and murdering their way into government and military positions. Where they could not infiltrate, they secretly weakened and destroyed. Finally, they made their move. The sorcerers of the Tikarians called forth shadows and demons of blood. Their warriors slaughtered their masters, driving them from their forests and cities. A millennium of subjugation was at an end.   Now, the Tikarian sorcerers rule in the place of their Iitanish masters and they are no less cruel. Once again, their bloodthirsty gods stalk the forests and priests make terrible sacrifices. The last general of the Iitanish empire fled back across the sea and the sorcerers watch the waves for any return. The Liir'ellar continue to be enslaved and forced into ghettos and farms. For the Tikarians, life is better than ever, but for everyone else in their lands, it is a frightful and dangerous existence.   The temperate rainforests teem with verdant life. Cedar and fur trees tower above the tallest buildings, providing shelter for bears and great cats to stalk their prey. Cities of obsidian and granite rise from the fern-choked ground, home to stepped temples and twisting terraces. The largest city was once the capital of the Iitanish Empire, Procul Vigilia. Its walls were carved of pink coral that gleams in the coastal sun. The buildings there are built in grids with shallow gabled roofs, arched windows, and carved pillars. Most foreign people reside here, for they are unwelcome anywhere else.