Overview

The Isle of Mull is located off the southwestern coast of the continent, known for its dark red sands and long history entwined with the god Craigor. Settlements ring the forest all around the island, with the capital, Gorr, located in the south. Although Craigor worship is the most prominent, the people here worship many gods, with Baldoria, Messarias, and Death being more popular. Once described as a land of pure conflict, it is said to be the birthplace of Craigor. Long only well known in the West, Mull has come to be known as the premier exporter of mercenaries in the world. Their warriors are not only exceptional in combat, but are renowned for fighting as a cohesive unit.

A theocratic nation, Mull has sculpted their system of government based on Craigor’s ”Rules of War ''. The diplomatic face of the nation and leader of the army is known as “The Magni''. This position is currently held by a Commander in the Craigor faith, Magni XXXVI is a Krosan. A Senate composed of veterans handles the day-to-day affairs of the nation, with a Tribunal of three of its members at the head. This tribunal has veto power over decisions made by the Senate.

“Kobol, Second son of mankind. I charge you to go forth and find what is still. With my mace you shall move it. Go forth and find what is flat and with my axe you shall reshape it.” These words, attributed to Craigor Himself, are the source for the titles “The Mace” and “The Axe” used for the two defenders and personal bodyguards of the Magni.

The center of the island is covered in forest controlled by Glibben of the Court of Blood, who are near-constantly fighting the nation. The Court of Blood is considered to have a higher population of Tormentors than many of the other Glibben Courts. This has given the people of Mull a consistent enemy, with the government declaring any Gibben of this court to be “kill on sight” - though many individuals have been known to make pacts with them in secret. The people of Mull do often consider it a blessing from Craigor, offering them a powerful opponent on their own Island. However, given the interactions are near constant warfare, the relationship with the Glibben on the island is strained and contentious.

Mull maintains fairly good relations with several other nations, though it may be due to fear of starting a war that foreign relations go smoothly with those who know Mull’s reputation. Mull imports food and grain from Myra, textiles from Bollen, and weaponry and armor from far away Rodbar.

Culture

Military service is mandatory. At 15 you are conscripted and given an aptitude test to determine how one can best serve. The formal service begins at 18 and lasts for 4 years, and once the 4 year service is up, Citizens can choose to continue service or pursue another profession. Because of the Forest and Court of Blood on Mull, everyone who survives the 4 years has spent some time fighting Tormentors.

During your first year of service at the age of 18, Soldiers send fresh recruits out for a ceremony referred to as “The First Taste.” The new soldiers are thrown by themselves into heavily infested Glibben Territory, and must return alive. Veterans ask them “How was your first taste of Blood?” referring to the Court of Blood.

The Scions of the Mind are an offshoot of the School of the Mind. These warrior-psionisists apply Psionics only towards the end of combat and war. They tend to lean into the Telekinesis and Telepathy disciplines. The Scions believe all their energies should be focused towards defeating their opponent, not defending themselves.

All on Mull worship Craigor, but other gods are well represented too. In going out into the world as mercenaries and attackers, Mull's soldiers learned more about other gods, and saw new ways of thinking about their own faith. Bringing back with them new ideas about Meserias, Death, and Baldoria, the population of Mull embraced the Revelry after battle, praising the Death of their enemies, and honoring the Death of their fellows, and recognizing the gifts of Meserias to win extended conflicts.

The Mess Hall is a large feasting hall, fashioned after a military mess hall, that doubles as a Temple to Baldoria. It is a place of revelry and music, where warriors returning from expeditions and combat with Glibben come to drink and swap stories.

The Halls of the Dead are both a museum and a Death Shrine. They hold some of the most prized artwork and artifacts of Mull. The halls are decorated with reliefs of the greatest conflicts and artifacts associated with important figures who have passed into Death’s Realm. All hallways eventually lead to the main Death Shrine where warriors of Mull may resurrect when they die.

The Greatforge is located just outside the city; it’s where adherents of Meserias and Craigor alike fashion arms and weapons for the Army of Mull.

Kobol Day, more formally known as “The Day Kobol Struck Ain” is the Festival, but most call it Kobol Day. Only devout priests, and those of the Tribunal will refer to it as “The day Kobol Struck Ain.” The day is celebrated with a 24 hour fight on the Field of Craigor. Old retirees volunteer so that the total size of the army is not depleted as every able bodied person participates. Dying is not generally the rule, the objective is to win the conflict, however deaths frequently occur for every fight. The glory is in the combat, not in the killing, and so in victory or defeat, all participants are honored and feel reverence towards their culture, and god. The festival is held once a year, and lasts from Sun up to Sun up, with great bonfires illuminating the combat past the sunset. The Altar of Magni is located in the middle of the Field of Criagor, the Altar is a huge pile of discarded and broken weapons and arms, all from the Kobol Day festival.

History

The oldest history of Mull tells the stories of the 100 year wars. It is not known how many hundreds of years have passed since these glorious battles took place. These wars were fought by competing factions of people living on Mull. Some stories claim the sands of Mull were not red until soaked with the blood of warriors in these ancient battles. Other stories say the sands of Mull are red with the blood of Ain, the first man, who was killed by his brother, Kobol, the chosen of Craigor. All tales of the 100 year wars are both brutal and glorious. Most people on Mull assume they are descendants of these ancient warriors, but at this point no one knows which faction they might be related to, and there are many conflicting stories about which factions even existed. It is definitively agreed that the winning faction were the chosen of Craigor, and that since the wars ended Mull has been one people. Some say this is when the first Arch Commander, Magni the Wise, made himself known on the Fields of Craigor within Gorr the capital of Mull and declared his “Rules of War” which were given to him by Craigor Himself at the site of the Altar of Magni on the Fields of Cragior.

The relationship between Mull and Myra dates back to the drought. When the Army of Mull marched on Myra, the city of the gods surrendered before battle began. They sent their highest ranking Priest of Craigor to negotiate with the Army carrying banners of the god of War. Mull was appeased with offerings of food from the agriculturally comfortable Myra, as well as offerings of War. The Kingdoms of Firth had been pillaging from Myra for years, and Mull was offered the opportunity to defeat this enemy of their new friend. As long as soldiers of Mull would fight for Myra, Myra would feed the people of Mull.

The Firth Wars carried on for decades. The early battles took place just outside Myra when would-be pillagers came to attack only to find the city now guarded by a formidable army. Firth, believing they had a right to Myra’s wealth of resources, came back with an army of their own. As time went on the battles over Myra, and sometimes inspired by nothing more than the losses of the previous battle, moved towards the Isthmus of Bollen. It is said that thousands of soldiers died on those battle grounds over the years. While the original deal had offered to feed Mull in exchange for defense of Myra, it became common for the people of Myra to give additional gifts to soldiers from Mull, seeing that they took their oath above and beyond.

This sparked a golden period on Mull, where they were flooded with supplies and gems from Myra. In a way, some on the island consider it a period when the Army of Mull became soft, as richer citizens looked to the arts: poetry, painting, and theater. The subject of the art was always war, but with this focus on the arts was also the growth of religious sects to Baldoria, Meserias, and Death.

After the drought ended Mull had less need for their relationship with Myra. They continued to keep forces on guard to defend the growing nation, but wars with Firth had settled with the return of the rains after dragging on for decades. There were some soldiers of Mull growing restless, looking to bring glory to their people, they decided to explore the world in search of a well-matched foe. A fleet of seven ships set out to sail east in the spring of 42AR. Sailing further than anyone from Mull had ever gone, they followed the coast, and eventually saw a fortress on the horizon. Rodbar was not prepared for an attack, and surrendered quickly to the invasion. With many among their ranks celebrating a clear victory, and ready to loot the city for all it was worth, Commander Brulin Ragna looked to his far too easily defeated foes and asked for the weapon that pierced his armor to be brought forth. The spear in question was the sturdiest he had ever seen, a work of art in the eyes of a warrior. Commander Ragna made an agreement with the King of Rodbar. As long as Rodbar made the long journey to Mull at least once a year with a respectable selection of such quality tools of war to trade, he would keep back his soldiers from pillaging Rodbar this day. He would take enough of their goods back to Mull to show the promise of what was to come. And if Rodbar failed to follow through, he warned that they better be ready for a real war.

In 65AR after the Breaking shattered and rearranged the energies of the world they were pushed to change as centuries of knowledge were lost, and the Q'riddick reappeared. They became extremely renowned for their professional armies that fought Q'riddick and regiments of soldiers were sent to many places across the West offering their services for payment.

When The Faceless ravaged the world around 140AR Mull was not directly affected, at least not on Mull. The armies of Mull were once again out in the world traveling for hire to beat back the beasts. This is when the Army of Mull came to be recognized across all of Ashriya, and it is still common for mercenary troops from Mull to be found in places across the world.

In 161 during the First Surge, great earthquakes shook the island nation. Many structures were severely damaged and there was a great focus on the rebuilding effort. The floors of the Great Forge had cracked open as the reverberations ripped across the land. The damage stopped right before the Mighty Anvil in the center of the forge, and it was said to be intervention from the gods, and a sign that Mull would rebuild stronger than ever.

The Third Surge is when the forests rose on Mull resulting in a huge loss to their island. The Forests covered most of the island overnight, and with the forest came a new enemy: the Glibben of the Court of Blood. As the forests grew, the main city of Mull, Gorr, was spared, but hundreds of acres of farmland and smaller settlements that had existed from the golden age on Mull were destroyed. Families displaced, and survivors flocked to Gorr, leading to the city being packed. To accommodate the overcrowding, many regiments of the Army of Mull were sent out in the world, some to boost defenses in Myra where they had a long standing history of presence, others traveling looking to offer their services. The soldiers that remained on Mull began a grim, and seemingly continuous, conflict with the Court of Blood, trying to fight back the Glibben to be able to expand the bounds of Gorr. The conflict with the Glibben was never resolved, and some form of border skirmish continues to this day.

In 242AR after years of keeping soldiers stationed in Myra despite little conflict, Corsic launched a surprise raid that killed a significant portion of the Mull mercenaries and successfully sacked the settlement of Myra. This embarrassment sparked a war between Mull and Corsic. The sacking of Myra is considered to be the first battle. Embarrassed by their failure Mull set sail up to Corsic to hit them hard in retaliation. Corsic defended their home territory pushing Mull back to Myra, a second embarrassment. One year after the battle of Haalren, Corsic warriors came back down to Myra to retaliate against the soldiers of Mull. Scouts on Western Ocean saw Corsic’s ships coming and they were able to prepare for the fight further from Myra’s borders. This battle was fought on the Isthmus between Bollen and Myra. After three long weeks, Corsic retreated.