Tag: srlm
Playaban Tribesfolk (Rhyl)
Posted on October 6, 2026 in Steel-Realms
The Playaban Tribesfolk were an advanced Pine Tribe living in the Forest of Rhyl in ancient times. Unlike the many settlement Tribesfolk Ruins in the Forests and Hills of of Rhyl remains that are in grottos and the forest floor, the Playaban clan/culture built into the harder stone. there is no record of them after the Dragon was put down, though this culture is believed to have ended during its reign or perhaps because of it.
It is unknown where the clan came from exactly (there is no specific mention in Early History of the Pine Tribes), but they were the clan that held the longest against the settlers of the Kingdoms of old Rhylan as they took control of the area. They vanished mysteriously, literally overnight. The ruins were left empty and barren, with no evidence of how they managed to carve harder stone than limestone with such intricacy.
It is thought they simply gave up, and fled westward into The Wyldes, rather than be overrun by the heavier warriors coming from the south and east, settling the forest lands. The exact manner of their intricate carvings has never been discovered, though a few theories exist.
Chronicle of the Locales/Culture
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability & Meticulous Record Keeping may improve usability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these. Specific Lores may increase the chance of knowing specific elements.
Trivial Outcome / Very Easy Difficulty & Pervasive Knowledge
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
Simple Outcome / Easy Difficulty & Common Knowledge
For those native to or long-dwelling in the region, ALL Common Knowledge may be Pervasive.
Minor Outcome / Average Difficulty & Uncommon Knowledge
There is a grotto deep in the forest of Rhyl that the su_permalink id=”56520″]Playaban[/su_permalink] held to be sacred for some unknown reason. It is overgrown and non-descript now.
Rare Knowledge / Very Hard Difficulty
It is known they fashioned strange tools and used harmonics – sound has always been important to the Tribesfolk in song and magic.
The Playaban tribesfolk referred to the Dragon of Rhyl as “shaiultaen”.
Old Rhyllian/The Broken Tongue (dying language)
Posted on October 6, 2026 in Steel-Realms
Maximum Level of Learning is ‘Mastery‘. Old Rhyllian/The Broken Tongue – Pronounced “rill-ee-an” – One of the languages of the Steel Realms. It is a Faelen type language. The ancient Lineages, Families, and NPCs of the Grand Duchy of Rhyl once spoke Old Rhyllian/The Broken Tongue, but no more. They do maintain older records written in the old dialect.
History of the Language
Origins
The Broken Tongue (originally “Old Rhyllian”) is a mixture of Gladnorian and Dundarian languages. Originally it was more of a dialect.The Broken Tongue is a cultural “treasure” once kept alive by the families of old rhylan.Censored
The High King made an effort to eradicate it. It created an impediment to unifying the north and was a rallying cry for separatist groups in the Kingdoms of old rjylan. The Free army of rhyllian was wiped out by the Lich Lords, though helped buy time for The Autumn Wall to be built. The dead on the field who were risen by the Lich Lords used it to divide and confuse defenses. It became a weapon to fan the flames of strife and conflict used by ghoul and vampire agents of the Lich Lords. This led to it being outlawed and its demise. It is now called The Broken Tongue – the language used to break the unity of the north.
Spiteful Use
Though that was a failure, many powerful undying agents of the Lich Lords in the north speak it from hatred to the living. Its very speaking has been corrupted by the Frostfang winds torturing and twisting its utterances from dry undead mouths. Its use has spread to the leadership of the Lich Lord’s minions and armies. It is used to command the units of the Lich Lords armies.
Properties of the Broken Tongue
- If the living speak it, their tongue dries and peels. Utterances of long thought tear and rip the throats of the living
- It is a lang that speaks back when the Frostfang blows strong.
- A writer cannot inscribe dreams in it.
- Within it now is a unit of time for the undead that have no corresponding match in humanoid comprehension.
- The language constructs itself in new ways the longer it is spoke without breath.
- It reacts to being understood, not being read.
North Gate Wall of Light
Posted on October 6, 2026 in Steel-Realms
The forces of the Lich Lords swept through Dundaria, and drove relentlessly to North Gate Pass, to conquer the western half of the kingdom of Dundaria. The Church of Light attempted to create a ‘Wall of Light’ in CY 5642 – a countering power of blazing heat and light to contain the menacing murderous Frostfang that was the harbinger of a wave of undead destroying the northern Kingdom of Dundaria.
While it ultimately failed, it did blunt the Lich Lord’s mass of unorganized minions and slowed down their conquest. The Lich Lords forced the Frostfang south, taking massive power to change its direction after setting their sites on the Kingdom of Rhylan instead of the remaining west of Dundaria (Kaaldian lands now). The cold of the Lich Lord’s ultimately overwhelmed the Wall of Light, but it took a decade and blunted its power considerably.
By the time their armies turned south and pushed into the lands of rhyl directly, efforts to build The Autumn Wall had already begun, and the Wylden Autumn Winds of Rhyl met the Frostfang, blunted it, eventually stopped it through the heat transference of the deep forest and colder north.
CY 5642 The North Gate Wall of Light, while ultimately failing to stop the Lich Lords advance, is still celebrated by many Followers of The Church of Light as a triumph.
The Wylden Autumn Winds of Rhyl
Posted on October 6, 2026 in Steel-Realms
Wylden magic controlled by the Druids of Rhyl keeps The Autumn Wall from freezing, distributing the flesh-stripping cold of the Frostfang from there into the Great Forest of Rhyl.
It is the main effect that makes the ground and air colder than it should be, and fog banks leave ice and mist and low clouds wander and distribute snow flurries all around the forest (even in summer). A few locales are warded, and the Elven Wealds and North Pines maintain normal weather for the area. Flora and fauna have adapted over thousands of years, with adaptations sped up to protect them by the Druids of Rhyl that oversee the Wylden Autumn Winds of Rhyl.
It rankles the Church of Light that their effort of the North Gate Wall of Light failed, and the Wyld faith succeeded in their absence.
Nuureith “the flint breaker” (faerie legend)
Posted on October 4, 2026 in Steel-Realms
The Tale of Nuureith is an ancient elven tale is about the first of the Aelves of the faerie race on Helca. It is obscure, vague, short, and most scholars are unsure to believe it, or to treat it as myth. Its exact moment in time is unknown, but considered tens of thousands of years before the Time of The Crossing of the Blood of Saemon. Perhaps a hundred thousand – certainly from the Time of the Green Paths.
This knowledge is considered RARE or even HIDDEN. It is not referenced by available texts of the Modern Age of the Steel Realms.
The Tale is it is Commonly Known
Nuureith was part of the first arrivals on Helca of the ancient and original Aelf lineage from the Faeywyld, travelers of the Aelfpath and explorers of the stars. Nuureith came to Helca with his clan. For thousands of years, the elven population grew slowly on solitude and safety. He and his brother were tasked with journeying east from their Aelfpath “sprout” (the name of which and location is lost to modern history). They came to a strange place in a great forest, and came upon a great treasure that is lost to memory. It is said that they spent years investigating it, observing it, and that a jealousy grew in him. He slew his brother with a flint knife, and became the first of the corrupted Faeydark elves of the Steel Realms. His final fate is unknown, but there are no further mentions of him.
Details: The exact details contain cultural details, descriptions, and references that are obscure and alien, clearly marking it as long before the modern age. This tale is a similar tale to the biblical “Cain and Abel” narrative that portrays the evil of murder, jealousy, greed, and violence and is mostly considered and allegory.