A Reaper's Guide to: Darokin

[Paroxysm]

Darokin. A name that is synonymous with death, destruction, sin, and blasphemy. Ruled by the false emperor Shenfald Destrakghery, Darokin boasts an army of unimaginable number and strength, though the Emperor, himself, is the most fearsome, and freighting aspect of the "dark" nation by far.

Before Shenfald Destrakghery took power, Darokin was a nation that willingly acted as a beacon towards both human and in-human races, drawing on those who wished to start anew, or to escape the persecution of neighboring nations; however, things were not always better in Darokin and the then-current Empress had a penchant for vanishing for long periods of time, leaving the nation's parliament in utter disarray, and corruption soon ran rampant through the streets of even the capital, Thrydfe.

It was during these times of social and civil turmoil that Shenfald Destrakghery took power and began to revolutionize Darokin; likewise, just as the previous Darokin had its share of problems, so, too, did this one, and nothing would ever be perfect, just different.

Regardless, the more important facts of Darokin come after the change in leaders, not before:

Darokin is a mountainous country and is protected on all sides by a huge chain of mountains. Geographically, Darokin ensures to keep this in mind when building new settlements, and everything is arranged outwards from the center, which is inhabited solely by its capital: Thrydfe. Each settlement is built within a circular border and each ‘sphere’ has its own terrain type, a vastly different type of land than prior to Shenfald’s rule.

The only exceptions to the circular ‘rule’ are the settlements built on the outskirts of Darokin territory; likewise, these settlements are built outside of the mountain chain and can only gain access into the country through a single mountain pass. Because of the limited amount of entrances into Darokin and the relaxed rules pertaining to the exterior settlements, these places tend to be built up, taking advantage of the lucrative trading opportunities with merchant caravans having no choice but to pass through them, and while there is a large military presence in these settlements, the people tend to ignore it outright; these settlements are also most densely populated by humans, as well.

Each mountain entrance into the Darokin ‘shell’ typically leads straight to Thrydfe, provided one follows the most obvious path, and the further one progresses into the nation, the darker it becomes. In a combination of celebration for destroying Cizok’s Imperial city and to prevent further foreign aggression, Shenfald blanketed the capital city and several other territories in darkness, earning himself an eclipse themed nickname in the process.

When finally entering Thrydfe, it becomes increasingly more obvious that life in Darokin is a matter of interpretation, as the streets are filled with the dead in single file march, and there is not a living soul throughout. Indeed, Thrydfe is the “City of the Dead’ in every sense of the word, and boasts only one living being, Emperor Shenfald Destrakghery.

Little known, however, is that from Thrydfe, one can enter the underground, which connects all of Darokin, but is only accessible from Thrydfe, itself.

Offtopic: Work in progress.