Maelstrom Campaign - Major Nations: Fidelia

Fidelia is famously the seat of the Hierophant, the leader of the Church of the Teacher. From the great domed city of Yugorsk, the Hierophant interprets the will of the Teacher for His devotees throughout the Known World. When the need arises for decrees to be issued, then the Yugorskian paladins and the fanatical wild men of Fidelia can be relied upon to ensure obedience to the Teacher's laws.

The Hierophant is the sole authority in Yugorsk and much of southern Fidelia lies under the complete control of his clergy. Away from the warm coastal waters, however, the fertile land gives way to endless miles of inhospitable forest. Here the ground is covered in snow for much of the year, in some parts the snow never melts and only the hardiest are able to survive. This part of Fidelia is home to the tribes of wild men that are ruled by a secretive queen who lives deep in the hinterland. These tribes consider their queen to be the earthly incarnation of the Teacher and as such she is sacred to them. No man or woman not born to the tribes has ever laid eyes upon her and lived.

United by their belief in the Teacher, the people of Fidelia have often ventured forth from their isle to take His laws to the world. This has given them a fearsome and troublesome reputation with their neighbours who have not always chosen to follow the will of the Teacher as closely as they might. There have been no crusades during the rule of the current Hierophant however, and more and more visitors have come to the shores of the sacred island. There they discover that, despite the fearsome reputation of the wild men for bloodthirsty savagery in battle, Yugorsk and the surrounding land is the lawful home of wise scholars, mendicant priests and hard working merchants.

First Meeting
Few folk who visit Fidelia have reason to venture far from Yugorsk. The great city port is always busy with ships bringing goods from across Fidelia to the capital to trade. Yugorsk is famed as a centre of learning, there are vast rooms full of books in the some of the largest temples. Merchants and scholars are not the only visitors to Yugorsk; many pious followers of the Teacher come here at least once in their life to prove their devotion through the arduous and dangerous pilgrimage to the sacred city.

Some travellers do visit the hinterland. From the reports of those that have returned, we know the Fidelian tribesmen who live there lead a nomadic existence, driving their herds of vursk across arid tundra and through dense forest. Everything the tribes have they get from the vursk. The walls of their large circular tents which are assembled each night are made from vursk hair, matted and crushed together to make a thick felt. Even the bones and sinews of these prized creatures are not wasted by the wild men.

Fashion
The wild men from the hinterland tend to wear as much leather and fur as possible during the long cold winters. In summer, they shed their furs in favour of tight-fitting, woollen vests and overgarments. They disdain bright colours and decorations and prefer their clothing unadorned except perhaps for some religious symbol.

Yugorsk tends to be much warmer throughout the year, and folk here adopt lighter clothing with many preferring a basic military uniform or a priestly robe. Green and blue are always popular colours particularly for robes or coats worn over white shirts or undergarments. Many women from Yugorsk tend to cover their hair and few people wear jewellery which is regarded as being a vain practice of the impious.

Religion
The Teacher is the official religion of Fidelia. Worship of the other Gods is technically permitted but is rarely practiced openly. The Hierophant is the voice of the Teacher and his word is law in Yugorsk and the surrounding area. Walking the streets of Yugorsk, almost every one of them dominated by a great church or temple to the Teacher, it is possible to imagine that the people of Fidelia acknowledge the existence of no other God. In truth, the Hierophant has always made it clear that respect for the worship of all the Gods is part of the Teacher's laws, and small shrines can be found by those who seek them out.

The situation is somewhat different in the interior. The tribesmen are ruled by a queen whom they consider to be the earthly embodiment of the Teacher. However they do not worship their queen, that veneration is reserved for the Hunter, who they call Fedel. The teachings of Fedel are passed on in hundreds of different tales and legends which are never written down but painstakingly memorised by the young children of every tribe. Those who have studied these tales claim that there are great truths hidden in them. According to legend these tales are passed down by the queen whilst in religious trances that are brought on by the use of sacred herbs.

Trade
Yugorsk is an important trade city and barges carrying salted fish, firs and wood ply the waters of the bay, exchanging their cargoes for precious metals, weapons, grain and all manner of manufactured goods from the rest of the world. Fidelia supplies thick coats of vursk hair, dried timber and salted meat and fish in great abundance to neighbouring lands. In return she buys iron ore and more precious metals as Fidelia has no working mines. Despite this, the smiths of Yugorsk are well known for their metal work, particularly the suits of plate which are used to armour the warriors in the Hierophant’s armies.

The Hierophant's paladins patrol the streets of Yugorsk and the surrounding towns and cities night and day. As a result, a man or woman may walk safely, no matter how much wealth they carry. In fact it is claimed that if you place a gold coin on the floor of the market place in central Yugorsk then it will still be there the next morning. Fidelia is truly the home of the rule of law.

The Kamakuran Kyat and the Flembic Mark are always accepted in Fidelia. Rimici Capell Letters of Credit are not accepted however, as the previous Hierophant ruled that to issue currency was the province of rulers and kings, and so they were forbidden.

And so it began......

Dawn breaks, war looms, the evil Lord is gathering his armies to wage a campaign of destruction upon the free peoples of the world. It is up to I, Sir Maximilan Pegasus to stop him, with my trusted band of adventurers we must gather the enchanted sword of Tek, the Shield of Way-Lem and the amulet of Subsidence and together we shall slay this abomination! “TIME FREEZE” And bam, the fantasy world fades away, the enchanted sword of Tek in my hand is a rubber sword smothered in coloured ribbons with a laminated card cable tied to the hilt, I look down and I’m wearing plastic armour and unflattering heropants, and the magical world of my imagination washes away to reveal a field in Wigan, but you know what? It’s larp and I’m a larper, it’s what I do.
I started larping when I was 17, I’d never role-played before, I’d never played D&D or Warhammer, never played WoW or any form of online game, I’d never even read Lord of the Rings, I feel somewhat privileged that I hadn’t done any of those things, I think it gave me an untainted attitude towards what larp could be, I had no preconceptions about saving the maiden fair, slaying the dragon or smiting the liche, to me it was just a new thing to try.
It was cold, really cold, 10am on a September morning, the rain was battering down and I’d been given a faux fur tunic, a mouldy old sword and been pointed towards a man and told, “You’re monstering, there’s the ref he’ll tell you what to do.” I obeyed, I played wave after wave of zombies, orcs and various line monsters and to be honest, was cold, bored and hungry. That is, until lunchtime, the teams switched sides, I got into the kit I’d scrounged up, as with most first timers, a black trenchcoat. I took the mouldy old sword, stood with my fellow adventurers and it hit me, I’m a god damn hero!
Pow, there it was, a new larper was born.