The Cabal

Towns

• 1 City Vanard
• 30 towns over 25000
• 50 towns over 5000

Population

Land

Wealth

The Military

Population

Government

What its Famous for

People

Lord Gellan Protector of the Cabal

Life has been interesting for Lord Gellan, born in Vanard, he moved to Jordatt with his family when they set up a Jeweler's there. At 24 he joined a group of adventurers from Vanard who happened to be in the area. Eventually he ended up back in Vanard with them. One of his companions had killed a Kureshtin officer, and so Gellan led the whole group into the Vanardian sewers. When down in the sewers, they faced many dangers, not least the Kamrac'ar, a fast and viscious monster let loose by the authorites to prevent anyone using the sewers. Living down there for some time the group found many useful items, not least the Dragon helm of Dorn'kral. Eventually they began to fight a guerila war from within the sewers. Joined by The Hawks they were soon causing the Kureshtins a lot of problems. As they grew more successful their numbers grew. The on 1095 K.D they moved out of the sewers and took the city. The Kureshtins then fought a losing battle for the rest of the country, with support from Jordatt the Cabal was free. Gellan was made overlord of the city and a senate formed. Once established the senate reduced Lord Gellans powers until he was little more than a figurehead. Gellan is on record as having agreed to this lessening of his powers. However the senate has since become a less idealistic government, and is now intent upon building their own empire, a aim Lord Gellan completely disapproved of. 

 

Lord Vhardel Sumnac

A Hawk, Lord Vhardel commanded the great fortress of Torlan Grim in the Grimbol Pass . He was the latest in a long line of hereditory commanders of Torlan Grim

Ulaf Ordenargo

One of the more suprising personlaities of the Cabal, Ulaf is an unassuming ex member of the Council of Mages. During the rebellion aginst the Empire, led by Lord Gellan, Ulaf argued with the Mages guild. Insisting the the guild should help the rebellion. When they finally refused Ulaf led a number of mages from the guild and founded the Ordo Magus Militaris; providing magical assistance to Lord Gellan and the rebellion.

Organisations

The Hasada

The Hasada are a new group set up only many years ago by Reda Walheda an exile from Imikien. They provide a bodyguard service for the rich. All their training is directed towards keeping their client's away from dangerous situations; and if that is unsuccessful to get between them and the danger. So far only one of the Hasada has lost his life, the rest are in high demand. Their services don't come cheap. standard prices are six gold pieces per day plus living expenses and one hundred if their actions directly save their client's life. There is also an extensive list of payments to be made in the case of injury or death. The Hasada at present number ten active members, though another six are in training. These should be ready for active service in about six months. Some Hasada are

• Yinran A human from the southern continent
• Dellese A femal half elf
• Garrahnar A northern plains horse nomad
• Silestan An elf

The Silver Heron

The Silver Heron are the secret police of the Senate. Almost nothing is known about them, just the usual sort of rumours you would expect.

• They know everything that goes on.
• They are part of the Mages Guild.
• They have a free liscence to kill even Cabalian citizens.
• Them and the assassins guild are one in the same thing

 

The Mages of the Tower

There is not much to say about the guild of Mages. They keep themselves to themselves, very rarely involving themselves in business of the city. They do have an annoying ability to appear anywhere in the city they choose and at any time however the Guild has recently agreed to limit that. The Guild is an almost independant organisation to the city; they have little repect for the senate and have resisted any attempt to bring them into line. There are several reasons for this.

• The unity of the guild. All guild members realise what they have and don't want to loose it. There has never been an instance of a guild member breaking the rules.
• Access. Unless you are a mage, or travel with a mage it is impossible to gain free access to the Tower. It is possible to enter the huge entrance hall, where a mage will appear to attend to the request. It is not recomended to waste the mages time.
• The value of the guild. The presence of such a large concentration of mages in one place inevitably brings in trade that the city cant afford to loose.

Any person wishing to do commercial business with the guild should go to the guild shop on Bordan Lane. The shop with a mage's hat hung outside called The Mage's Hat, suprise suprise! 

The Hawks

Formed at the time of Vashtar the Hawks were originally the elite bodyguard for the monarch. This continued through several reigns until Elredd the Mad. His reign threw Vanard into such turmoil that a coup d'etat soon followed. This was completely bloodless and the army found themselves holding power for the first time in Vanardian history. Fortunately the coup had been led by the Commander in Chief Slirondar al Marn, ancestor of the Marn Counts and a half elf of high honour, who had no intention of holding on to power. Immediately he stepped down in favour of the deposed monarch's nephew Galan; but in order to ensure Vanard was never hampered by such a monarch again he set the Hawks up as guardians of Vanard rather than the monarch. Forcing Galan to accept their right to remove him from power should he prove a liability to the empire. This right has remained ever since; although they have become more and more the monarch's personal force.
Originally numbering twenty they were chosen from the cream of the officer corps and instructed in their duties. There then followed an initiation ceremony in which priests ensured that a Hawk could never turn against Vanard. There have been several exceptions over the years but all have involved a great deal of magic. The most notable was Camplan the Mighty who slew King Vanarl V and several members his family before other Hawks killed him.
During the war of independance against the Empire the Hawks supported the rebellion led by Gellan. This cost them dear and the order was wiped out. With the return of the Monarchy the Hawks were re-established. They are now a young organisation but wih the same suporting magics and enthusiasm

 

Places

The City of Vanard

• Population 250,000

Situation

Set within a ring of high mountains and at the end of a long inlet, Vanard is idealy suited to be the capital of an emerging republic.

History

Vanard is an ancient city, not even the elves have recollection of its construction

The Grimbol Pass

The barrier against the Shorkai. This is the northen gateway to the Cabal. Within it is the great fortress of Torlan Grim. It, and their lack of organisation is the only thing that prevents the northern nomads sweeping down into the Cabal. Its is currently commanded by Lord Vaison Sumnac who has under his command 4,000 of the Cabals better troops. However there has been almost no communicaiton with the fortress recently

The Army

• Sec'arn
• Sec'al
• Sec'ai
• Korr'arn
• Korr'al
• Korr'ai
• Kwiv'arn
• Kwiv'al
• Kwiv'ai
• Morven'el
• Morven'arn
• Morven'al
• Morven'ai (Commanding over 11,000)
• Surr'el
• Surr'arn
• Surr'al
• The Surran (Commanding the whole Army)

The Vanatine

The Vanatine is the militia for Vanard. Made up mainly of ex soldiers who no longer wish to campaign the Vanatine also forms a substantial reserve Korr for the main army. ....... more on the Vanatine

The Royal Cabalian Rangers

A long with the Kormae the Royal Cabalian Rangers are considered the elite of the Cabal's military machine. They have their headquarters, not in Vanard, but in the town of Lanser. This gives them easy access to all terrains for training purposes. Their ranks are noramlly filled from the ranks of Caban in the main army, but do accept direct recruitment. Their job is to patrol all the borders of the Cabal, often the other side of the border is the area patrolled. They have retained the "Royal" suffix that had originaly been awarded them because they are the only section of the armed forces to have remianed intact throughout the occupation.
Their badge is the Head of a ten pointed white stag with a crown above it on a grey background. This is the original badge of    the brotherhood and has not changed. During the occupation the Rangers continued a guerilla war against the occupying forces. Destroying supply wagons, killing messengers etc. They were also the first to provide significant military support for Lord Gellan.

The Jeladarkian Free Bowmen

The Princes of Jeladark have always been staunch supporters of the Cabal. The current Prince even invited the Cabalian army in to clear the country of the Empire and has allowed a significant garrison to be placed there. A distinct contrast to the attitudes of the Morindian Turvan may be due to the lack of any military tradition on the part of Jeladark. Their only military claim to fame are their famous bowmen. Incredibly skillful and very fast they can provide a devastating hail of arrows on any enemy. Their only major drawback is their complete lack of discipline.

 

The Ordo Magus Militaris

The Ordo Magus Militaris is an offshoot of the Mages Guild of the Cabal. It was created at the time of the rebellion against the rule of Kureshtin when a member of the Mages Council, Ulaf Ordenargo, broke his vow of non interference and lead several hundred spell-casters to the aid of the rebellion against Empire Since then the Ordo has become more codified and has established close ties with the senate and the army of the Cabal. The Ordo regularly fields members in fights against supernatural foes where the steel of the army is insufficient. The Ordo also provides a counter against the magical forces of the Kureshitin Empire. Combining skill at arms with skill in magic the Ordo try to combine two realms that most believe are incompatible in large scale confrontations. So far the concept has not been proved. The Ordo was very effective in the small scale encounters of guerilla warfare but has yet to be involved in full scale pitched battle.
The Ordo has been granted land near the town of Odacre where a massive fortress and centre of learning is being constucted. This means that the town of Odacre is growing as people and tradesmen move here to support the Ordo. Although the Ordo has never been fielded in open battle small fighting patrols often accompany regular army patrols so that the members of the Ordo can be bloodeded in combat.
 The Ordo is split into two groups, The Chapter of the Way and The Chapter of the Sword. Both these chapters answer directly to the Ordo's Grand Master the founder member.

The Sanctum An order of Paladins

The Knights of the Sanctum also grew from the oppression of the Empire. Born from a small group of knights who wanted to fight for their country but were unwilling to compromise their code of conduct they too have become an influential group in Cabal and indeed the whole of the continent. From the begining the knights realised that without funds they would never become the force for good that they strove to become. The family of a knight by the name of Sir Jorgan Kell had a major interest in the small by profitable trading house of Miran. Upon his father's death Sir Jorgan turned the house over to the Sanctum. The name of the house was soon forgotten as the trading arm of The Sanctum grew. Now the Sanctum not only have a large cadre of well trained well disciplined and very well equipped knights, but they also have a large trading house with a reputation for scrupulous honesty. The honesty alone has led to a significant amount of business. The Sanctum is of course most famous for its banking system that provides the facility to move funds large distances very safely.The knights of the Sanctum are the most virtuous and noble knights in the whole of Holat. They are renowned for their honesty and defense of those unable to defend themselves. With a successful trading house to back them up they are probably the most formidable organisation outside the Empire.  They are not welcome in the Empire, however many venture there in the hope of striking a blow against the evil and decadent morals of that society.

 

The Navy

Magical Forces

The Judiciary

The Vanatine

The Thieves

The Assassins

Other Agencies

The Nature of the Government

Prior to the invasion by the Empire, the Cabal was named Vanard and was ruled by the Royal Line of Vanard. more information on previous rulers...

The country is now called The Cabal and is governed by a "peoples" senate, elected from the towns of the Cabal. There are fifty members from each of the major towns. However the monarchy and the nobles still have significant power, not least because many of the magical enchantments are keyed to the Royal family.

Prominent Players

Foreign Policy

Merchant

The House of Sinrain First Merchant House of Vanard

The House of Sinrain is the first merchant house of Vanard. However they are under continous threat from threat from the lower houses and in recent years things have become more viscious. 

The House of D'Sarle The Second House of Vanard

The house D'Sarle has for some time been the second merchant house of Vanard. The head of the family Deanac D'Sarle has for some time had his ambitions firmly directed at being the first house. The present core family of D'Sarle can be seen below. Many cousins and family friends are also employed by the family. There are at present about fifteen hundred people officialy employed by D'Sarle in the Vanardian empire.

The House of Sarodac An rapidly growing house

The house of Sadorac is a fairly new arrival on the Vanardian commercial scene. Its principal trade is in weapons but it also provides high securtiy storage and is building a reputation as the supplier of the rare and exotic.
 The company has the boast "If you want something we can probably get it" They never mention the cost! Client confidentiality is always guaranteed.!!

The Sanctum A noble order who also trade to support themselves.

Imports

Exports

Natural Resources

Currency