The Comati

The Comati Empire was once a sprawling and advanced society, boasting spectacular architectural exploits. They existed on a peninsula in the far south, jutting up into the ocean and tucked alongside the Coma mountains to their south. While the Comati were a prosperous nation, they were also a fractious one, broken by civil unrest and war between rival provinces. The arrival of Orcs at a pivotal moment undid their empire, condemning them to wander as refugees far from their homeland. As their nation fell, various groups fled its borders, each retaining some aspect of their homeland in different ways, keeping alive the patchwork of cultures that was the empire. Among them, the Erlides are the most well known, a bohemian and vagabond group that travels the countryside. While far from the largest, or first to land in the rest of the human realms, their wandering has made them the stereotype of their peoples.

History

The Comati formed out of the vanguard of humans pursued by the Orcs. Settling on their peninsula in the south, they were afforded some time to establish themselves before the rest of their people were harried north. Sedentary and settled, they were better prepared to resist the advances of the Orcs, who were more interested in spreading northwards across the plains than into the hilly landscapes at the foot of the Coma mountains. With some sort of a frontier developed between them, the Comati were left mostly to their own devices, suffering the odd raid or invasion, but otherwise able to survive on their peninsula. This lasted for generations, allowing them significant time to build up and advance their own culture. And yet they suffered the same troubles as even modern states, wracked by civil unrest and monstrous creatures, while also trying to subdue rogue political factions within their own cities. All of this culminated in a fatal combination that weakened them precisely at the moment a major Orc incursion breached their borders. Too disunited to resist, the Comati lost several major engagements and ultimately surrendered the bulk of their lands.

Those who could fled northwards, either by boat or in a gruelling flight overland, while the rest were either killed or enslaved. Those fleeing on foot ultimately settled the doomed kingdom of Calema in the north, while the Comati boats arrived on the shores of the Routot in the north. Far from welcome, however, these refugees were looked upon suspiciously. Tolerated but not accepted, most Comati were forced to the fringes of society, scraping a living as labourers or filling other unwanted jobs. Many were disunified even within this group, allowing old provincial prejudices to segregate them from one another.

Society

Nobility

While the Comati were once ruled by a noble aristocracy, this is no longer the case. Similar to the Noreya, any nobility they once had fulfils little more than a ceremonial or social leadership role now, having little legal basis behind it. Oligarchy was the political system of the old empire, with key families holding swathes of land from which they drew influence and power. These were then beholden to the Imperial house, who governed with their approval. Today the old ways are gone, with Comati having mixed into the society of wherever they were hosted.

Conflicts

Pomp and Cowardice

The Comati were a warrior people, and one with abundant emphasis on honour and order. Yet this was their downfall as much as it was their making, leading them into countless civil wars and periods of unrest. When the Orcish onslaught came, most of their legions were occupied with one such conflict, drawing them out of position and weakening their forces at a vital time. Initially, few believed it was as large a force as it turned out to be, refusing to abandon their petty feuding to unite against the Orcs. Engagement after engagement was lost, until the finally unified Comati were too weak to resist. Losing ground and cities, what remained of their forces was pushed up the peninsula, set on making a last stand at Cuffi. Yet when the Imperial forces arrived there, they found the city already emptied, its population having fled the coming storm rather than make a doomed salient of the city. Cursing their cowardice, the rest of the Imperial forces were forced to flee as well, having no time to make the necessary preparations. This grudge is one held by many against Comati who claim lineage from Cuffi, with those lines having been stripped of their honours upon landing in the north, if not outright killed.

Imperial Prerogative

When the Comati empire fell in days past, the Orcs that invaded eventually took on elements of their conquered foes. They lived among the ruins and rebuilt them to their own tastes, modelling their society into an imitation of the one they had replaced. Captured slaves were used for their knowledge, teaching the Orcs architecture and administration. Stories of this mockery drifted northwards over the years, carried by Elvish merchants who had limited trade with the new civilization on the peninsula. Dreams of returning south and rebuilding an empire sustained Comati youths, stories of past glories held as evidence of their destiny. Adventurers would gather bands and head south to reclaim some of their territory, only to trickle back north, bloodied and defeated. They carried more detailed reports of an Orcish empire, the Sekani, who had replicated the Comati success, and even sought to surpass them. Enraged, a call went out to unite an army, drawing adventurers from across the human realms. The army landed on the tip of the peninsula near Cuffi, taking the city by surprise. And yet the Sekani were much better prepared than the Comati had been, and responded quickly. Here is where the front has remained between them, with Cuffi and its surroundings besieged by Orcs once again. Supplies flood the city from the north, while adventurers and patriots arrive daily to seek glory and coin.

Daily Life

The Comati are a collection of peoples, each carrying elements of the provincial heritages. Mostly they are organized around communal family living, living with extended family groups for security and support. Passionate and prone to outbursts, they often lack self-control, finding themselves often in trouble. They feel insults deeply, carrying grudges forwards with them. Their communities are linked through festivals, each observed with varying levels of celebration. Despite being amalgamated for the most part in other cultures, they maintain links to their own past, passing them to their children and keeping then alive.

Notable Factions

Erlides

The Comati are not a unified group by any means. In the past, their society was stratified, divided between the patrician ruling class and the rest of the population. Beneath them were outcasts, lacking any tie to land or nobility and therefore existing at the fringes of society. These exiles made a living as entertainers and beggars, performing for scraps of food or other sorts of pay. When the empire fell, these outcasts could not afford passage by ship, and were forced to flee on foot from the Orc invasion. While the flight was gruelling, the scattered remnants of the Comati found refuge in the fledgling kingdom of Calema. When even that realm fell, those surviving became outcasts once again. Fleeing north, they drifted into the human realms, filling the old role they once had as itinerant traders and performers. Shunned by the existing Comati communities, as much for their ancestry as for being marked by the vampire king of Calema, the Erlides were forced to wander the countryside. Here they earned a reputation as thefts and vagrants, yet were able to scrape out a living off the hospitality of peasants, and the patronage of some nobility.

Notable Places

Cuffi

The ancient Comati city of Cuffi was known for its art and unique culture, isolated on the very tip of the peninsula as it was. When the empire fell, it was the last city that the Orcs were able to reach. Rather than fortify themselves, its inhabitants fled, condemning the rest of the empire to surrender as well. Centuries later, with past glories still fresh in their minds, an army of adventurers arrived near the city to begin the reconquest of their homeland. Their siege of the city was successful, but the Sekani Orcs were able to organize a retaliation, boxing the army in at the tip of the peninsula. The city now exists in a state of constant siege, defended by floods of warriors from the north while its inhabitants seek to rebuild their lost culture and society. Ships keep the city supplied with food and soldiers, while brave merchant ships arrive to carry off the few delicacies and treasures the city can part with.

Calema

At the fall of the Comati empire, many fled its borders. While most fled by sea, some were only able to make it up the coast on boats, or forced to flee on foot. These unlucky few were mostly caught by Orc bands, though some were able to make it far enough northwards as to be no longer a threat. Here they found other pockets of humans, clustered around the Kapsha mountains and fighting the Orcs for supremacy. Advanced as they were in education, the few Comati patricians that arrived here began to form more stable kingdoms. The Vampire lord Vea was the most successful of these, and he conquered the others to form the kingdom of Calema on the southern slopes of the Kapsha mountains. Up to his death, the Comati here were able to rebuild a fraction of their lost society, before once again succumbing to an orc onslaught and collapsing. Today, the ruins of this kingdom litter the region, avoided by almost all and considered cursed. Magical artifacts are rumoured to be housed within, though the monsters that dwell there deter all but the most foolhardy of adventurers. Nonetheless, Calema is an important portion of Comati history, though one that some would prefer were forgotten.

Notable Personalities

Giueseppe Tarantella, Mercenary Captain

Many of the Comati upon their flight to the northern human realms, found difficulty establishing themselves. Pushed to the fringes lf Routot society, they were in a similar place as the Noreya, used as labourers and craftsmen. Many were unable to put their skills to work, falling into lesser trades. The remainders of the Comati legions did not have this problem. Coming to a land where warfare was common, they found their skills as disciplined fighters in high demand. Mercenary bands were formed of the surviving legionnaires, carving out reputations for themselves across the continent. Many of these were treated as private armies by their commanders, led by patricians and used according to some nebulous political ambitions. Giuseppe is descended from one of these commanders, having inherited the company from his father st his death. Trained since birth into the hard life of soldiering, Giuseppe leads his men in the Midlands with charisma and competency. His band, the White Company, have made a name for themselves over nearly nine generations of mercenary work. Today, he seems content to keep them busy and sharp in the battlegrounds of thr Midlands, commanding a high price for their reliable work. Giuseppe has mentioned to his men about leaving to join the fight in Cuffi eventually, but seems to have little desire to do it thus far. Giuseppe is a man of average height, with long black hair and a sculpted beard. He is probably in his mid thirties, and has enjoyed a rough, if prosperous, life.

Juliana Fieschi, Dancer

The Comati that travel the countryside tend to be treated similarly to peasants, hassled by the authorities on their journeys. And yet they are a welcome sight in noble courts across the human realms, patronized for shows, and then quickly ushered on their way to the next court to be someone else’s problem. Some use these stages at court to create a name for themselves and their families, earning ever greater prizes and patronages in their quest for fame and coin. Perhaps the most infamous of these performers is Juliana Fieschi, a renowned dancer and courtesan in the Routot city of Houlm. Known for her performances, and also for her skills at fortune telling and other more mystical tasks, she has made a name for herself largely through her charisma and personal charm. She has a place of honour in the court of Archduke Alberic, and rumours of an affair between them abound. More substantial rumours exist about her involvement with Comati street gangs in the city, and how she uses her influence to protect and aid them. Some more hysterical voices within the city shout that she is one of the undead, and she has bound the Archduke to her every whim. Whatever the truth, Juliana is a tall and slender woman, with long black hair studded with gemstones and other jewellery. Her outfits are the height of fashionability, yet retain much of the same character one would expect from a Comati performer.