Merge League

The Merge League is a member of the Communist Protectorate, the most prominent and powerful communist nation after Scande itself. It is also thus far the Protectorate's most successful presence in the Fringe.

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Flag of the Merge League

Land

The Merge League is the largest nation in the Merge Dimension, spanning a huge land area across both worlds I and II. The bulk of the League's territory is on the Tornal continent of World I, though it also holds territory in South Gizar and the Crescent Islands of World I, and the Exodus continent of World II is home to the League's capital.

Population

As with most of the Merge nations, a majority of the population is human, though a few examples of elves, midges, sylphs and goblins are to be found within the League's lands. In addition, the island of Istory is home to several varieties of intelligent undead, lead by powerful liches who were once the city's mages before the destruction of the Leviathan War.

Religion

There is no official religion in the Merge League, though the various gods worshipped in the Merge Dimension have shrines in a few of the towns and villages of the League.

There is also a secretive but influential devotion to the Dark God Chaos in the Merge League; a small cult of Black Wizards has taken to worshipping him, and Lord Alkar has given his permission to these Chaos worshippers for the use of space in the Tower of Black Magic for their ceremonies. It is unknown how, exactly, worship of Chaos came to Merge, though what records do exist point to Black Mages first taking up the Dark God's fellowship in the year 6 WR, well before Merge's discovery by the Web.

Officially, Alkar does not sanction the worship of Chaos or any other gods, and publicly he upholds the Travinist virtue of the secular state, though he leaves the farmers with their ancestor worshipping and rain gods, and even allows his Black Mages to worship Chaos. But privately, many suspect that Alkar himself also worships Chaos.

Economy

The Merge League is one of the major food producers of the Communist Protectorate. It routinely trades food to Scande for weapons and industrial machinery. The League is a socialist state with an extensive public works and social security network. The common man is protected and cared for by the mages of the League, in exchange for the common man's toil in the farms.

Domestically, the League's has only had one trade partner within the Merge League since the Leviathan War: the Kingdom of Surgate. This has necessarily ended with the defeat of Surgate at the hands of the coalition of Guardia and Bal. The League used to have an alliance and steady trade with Tycoon, before that socialist nation was overrun by the Dwarven Skull Empire. Through the Protectorate, the League retains diplomatic ties with the government of Tycoon-in-exile.

Law

The law of the League is harsh, and uncompromising; Alkar's will is absolute. Law is handed down by Alkar, and administered in the cities by Magistrates appointed by Alkar and the Council of Sorcery.

The people of the League enjoy very few protections under the law; the law protects the League, more than its citizens. The people of the League are free to worship what gods they will, but they are far from having the right to free speech. Dissent against the League or the Protectorate is forbidden, in any form. For commoners, the punishment for dissent is death. For spellcasters, the penalty is the Rune of Othlorx and banished from League lands. A wizard below the rank of Archmage would find the torment of the Rune next to unbearable, and quickly go mad with rage. Acts of self-mutilation are not at all uncommon among young Runed wizards. Even those who learn to live with the Rune will find it difficult to survive outside the League's borders; when Alkar called together Merge's wizards, there were many in the lands that did not form the League who came to resent them for it. Lynchings of exiled League wizards is the next most common cause of death, after insanity.

There was a temporary cessation to executions and use of the Rune during the reign of Stantalias the Red as Chairman of the Council of Sorcery, but Alkar's return following the end of the Leviathan War saw the law of the League harden once again.

Government

The League is formed through Six Schools of Wizardry: Black Magic, White Magic, Red Magic, Blue Magic, Time Magic and Summoning Magic. Each School is headed by a Grand Master, and together the Six Grand Masters form the Council of Sorcery, the primary governing organ of the Merge League.

Leading the Council of Sorcery is Lord Alkar, Grand Master of Black Magic and Chairman of the Council. At the League's inception, the Council held the pretenses of parliamentary procedure, but after Lord Dornar's coup d'etat Alkar tightened his grip on power over the League, and the days of Council voting procedures are but a memory now.

The wizards are the ruling class of the Merge League. Next to Aryth during the era of the Glory Tower, the Merge League is the model magocracy of the Web. In the League magical ability translates directly into political power and a voice in matters of policy. At one time it was that the members of a School of Sorcery could elect their Grand Master, but since Dornar's coup that power rests solely with Alkar by way of appointment (as he hand-picked the successors to the renegade Grand Masters he killed following the coup). Still, members of a School are still allowed to call a vote of no confidence in their Grand Master, and recommend that he be replaced. Alkar may choose to accept or ignore the demands of a School, though this has not yet come up.

Wizards in the League exist at three stages of political power, corresponding roughly with their potency with spellcraft: Apprentice, Mage and Archmage. By far, the majority of wizards are of the Mage rank, and most of the League's Magistrates are Archmagi. Apprentices are rare, simply because the League does not encourage all of its citizens to study magic. This is exactly the opposite of the Mysidian model of Magocracy: the Merger model restricts access to the politically empowered class of society, and sets up the wizardry as the elites, whereas the Mysidian model fosters magic-use in all areas of society.

To become an Apprentice, one must either be kin to an Archmage, or the offspring of a Mage. Apprentices who are not already related to a spellcaster may be "adopted" by a Mage if the permission of an Archmage is given, or by an Archmage if the permission of a Grand Master is given. Because the higher ranking wizards are well aware that their power in the League lands comes from their exclusivity, most Archmagi are loath to ascede to a request to adopt a non-familial Apprentice.

Internal Politics

There are no internal politics in the League.

The wizards of the League all get along.

The League is at peace within itself, with no elements vying to take power away from the great and powerful Lord Alkar.

Those that dare defy the amazingly wonderful Lord Alkar shall suffer Death or the Rune.

All hail Lord Alkar the Black!

Foreign Politics

As a member of the Communist Protectorate, most of the Merge League's friendly foreign relations are with its fellow communist states -- which at present are limited to Scande, Tycoon-in-Exile, the FTSR, the Orkish Tribal Union, the Quelban Republic and communist Kuvalla. The Merge League has chilly relations with Mysidia since Sage Pax's break with Lord Alkar; Alkar does not consider Mysidia an ally at all.

Within Merge, the League once had unusually friendly relations with the Kingdom of Surgate -- due in part to Surgate's King Meldin being the brother of the League's Lord Kellsig the White, Grand Master of White Magic. This friendly relationship allowed the Protectorate to smuggle weapons to Quelban rebels in the Kingdom of Bal, resulting in Bal's loss of its home territory and the exile of its government to the Kuzar continent. As a result of this, Bal and its Guardian allies invaded Surgate and took its capital, killing King Meldin in the process.

The League has no dearth of enemies. The League fought a disastrous defensive war against the Dwarven Skull Empire during the Leviathan War. The war ended only with a ceasefire between the DSE and the League, and the conquest of Tycoon by Dwarven forces, so tensions are still high along the coast. The League is also presently in a state of war with the Kingdom of Guardia over the rise of the Quelban Republic.

Worus and Bal are both no friends of the League; both Kingdoms have been targetted by Alkar's Seeder agents, who aim to topple these nations' governments and foster Revolution.

Military

The League boasts some of the most powerful land forces in the Fringe. The Merge League fields an army of wizards numbering in the tens of thousands, supported by powerful magically-animated Golems that outnumber their wizardly masters nearly three to one. Espers, summoned and controlled by the League's Callers, can appear in little more than an instant as reinforcements, in numbers great enough to double the size of an existing army.

Infrequently, one finds Scandian armament and hardware among the League's soldiers. Combined with their magic, and the unpredictable element of espers on the battlefield, the firepower boasted by the Merge League's ground forces is simply awesome.

Apart from ground forces, the League has little else in the way of military strength. The League fields a navy of Scandian made ships, but uses them mostly for transport and travel among the two worlds of Merge.

People

Lord Alkar the Black

Founder and absolute ruler of the Merge League, he is believed by the League's commonfolk to have returned from the dead at the end of the Leviathan War to save the League's peoples from the brink of destruction. In truth, after having been slain by Lord Stantalias the Red, Alkar was resurrected by Lord Kellsig, and endured a period of exile before returning to reclaim leadership of his nation. Soon after Alkar endured a second coup d'etat, lead by Lord Dornar the Caller. This time, Alkar was not bested; he defeated the rebelling Grand Masters, and slew Lord Dornar, Lord Tempis of the Clock, and the young Black Mage who had once been his apprentice, Alwurt the Black. After Dornar's Coup, Alkar stripped the Council of many of its powers, and now has more absolute power over the League.

Lord Kellsig the White

Kellsig is the brother of Surgate's King Meldin Hasami. He is the source between the relatively friendly relations between Surgate and the League, and the friendship that developed between Meldin and Alkar. Kellsig resurrected Lord Alkar after he was slain by Stantalias, and he helped Alkar return to power in the League at the close of the Leviathan War.

Kellsig does not like Alkar in the least, but Alkar is still somehow able to control him. There is something in Kellsig's past, something Alkar has a hold on and which Kellsig wishes to remain a secret; so Kellsig serves Alkar still, and bends completely to his will, even at the cost of his own soul.

Lord Tohm the Blue

The oldest member of the Council of Sorcery, Lord Tohm is the Grand Master of Blue Magic. Despite his age, Tohm is irrepressible and energetic. He personally participated in the Battle of Atlantis, where he lost his left arm to Balefire.

Tohm counted himself a personal friend to Lord Stantalias, but ultimately was persuaded to join with the other Grand Masters in calling for Stan's ouster. This was something Tohm has never forgiven himself for, especially knowing that it resulted in Alkar's branding poor Stan with the Rune of Othlorx. Tohm survived Alkar's rout of Dornar's Coup -- but only barely. He now retains his place as Blue Grand Master, but is kept on a tight leash by Lord Alkar. It will take a good deal of coaxing to get him to rebel against the Black Grand Master again.

Lord Sheevis the Red

Sheevis is a snivelling sycophant who was named Grand Master of the Red Mage Fellowship after the exile of Lord Stantalias. He was put in this place by Alkar himself, because Alkar judged Sheevis to be competent enough for the position, and he admired Sheevis' rather enthusiastic style of grovelling. None was more surprised than Alkar to find that Sheevis had buddied up with Lord Dornar's insurrection.

Sheevis survived the Coup, like Lord Tohm, but is now considered to be on probation. Sheevis now goes out of his way to prove his loyalty to Lord Alkar, and has become Alkar's spy within the Council of Sorcery.

Lord Listener of the Clock

Listener is the former Magistrate of Tule, and was selected to replace Lord Tempis as Grand Master of Time Magic after Dornar's Coup. A decent spellcaster, Alkar judged him to be sufficiently inept and ambitionless enough to pose no immediate threat. Plus, it didn't hurt that Listener hails from Alkar's home town.

Lord Sendak the Caller

Sendak is Dornar's replacement, hand-selected by Lord Alkar to serve as the new Grand Master of Summoning magic. A squat, hirsute man with a shaggy black beard, Sendak has little in the way of parliamentary etiquette, and whatever his skill with summoning he tends to embarrass himself more often than not when he is called to speak on behalf of the Callers. That is part of the reason Alkar selected him: Alkar sees Sendak as a buffoon, and feels secure that he can rely on the summoning Grand Master to possess little in the way of the drive and ambition that made Dornar, in the end, more of a pest than anything else.

Lady Selphin the White

Selphin is Lord Kellsig's daughter, and was Lord Stantalias' betrothed before the Leviathan War. Selphin remains one of her father's closest aides, and he and Alkar use her as the League's emmisary to Surgate. Alkar has taken a shying to Lady Selphin since returning to rulership of the League, and may yet ask Lord Kellsig for her hand.

Selphin endures Alkar's fawning to provide Stantalias with information; unbeknownst to Alkar, she is the one on the inside sending Stantalias word of the arms shipments coming through Surgate and bound for Quelb.

Commander Goethus the Black

Goethus is a massive man, practiced both in the art of war and black magic. He is the Commander of the Brigade of the Icy Heart, an elite group of war-wizards who saw some of the most bloody conflict during the Leviathan War. From their experiences in the Leviathan War, the Icy Heart has earned a reputation for excellence in defense and amphibious combat. They are the most respected and feared of the Merge League's three Brigades.

Goethus is near completely encased in shining blue crystalline armor, and a heavy cloak of furs clings to his spiked shoulders. His head is shorn save a queue on the back of his head, and his face is masked by skull-motif warpaint. He looks like something of a cross between the village witch doctor and a paladin -- though, by reputation alone, one would know that he was anything but paladinic. From his belt hangs his sheathed scimitar, Soulreaver, a needle gun, several pouches and a string of three shrunken Dwarf heads. Goethus is likely the single highest ranking wizard in the Merge League apart from the Grand Masters themselves

Normally, the Brigade of the Icy Heart is found on World I in any number of the shoreside fortresses which the Brigade built during the thick of the Leviathan War, but Goethus' current assignment brings him and the Brigade to World II, to the Exodus side of the Great Bridge. His orders are to keep any Balians from fleeing across and, should the need arise, to charge in and invade Bal from behind, sandwiching the Kingdom's forces between the Quelbans on one side and the Brigade on the other.

Commander Invocante the Black

Invocante is the Commander of the Brigade of the Flaming Fist, one of the three Brigades that make up the Merge League's military. The Flaming Fist is geared more toward offense and siege, as opposed to the Icy Heart's defensive specialty. For this they have been given the bulk of the League's Siege Golems -- enormous quasi-aware stone and metal constructs of mecha-scale.

Invocante dresses in the traditional white turban and robes of a Sword Mage, and carries a pair of enchanted blades on his belt. He is related to Goethus by marriage, having married Goethus' youngest daughter, and following the wedding received a dispensation from the Council of Sorcery to become Goethus' apprentice. He rose quickly in skill of both arms and the arcane, and is now an Archmage, like his father in law. Invocante served with the Icy Heart in some of the most bloody defensive maneuvers of the Leviathan War, and Goethus hand-selected him to lead the Flaming Fist following the war's end.

Commander Tyranthraxus of the Clock

Tyranthraxus is one of Alkar's closest aides, and the primary inventor of most of the Merge League's arcane devices and weapons. His inventions drove the creation of the Brigades of the Flaming Fist and the Arcing Talon following the Leviathan War. Following Dornar's coup, Tyranthraxus was Alkar's first choice to become the new Grand Master of Time Magic, but Tyranthraxus refused. Instead, Alkar placed him in command of the Arcing Talon, the fleet of airships the time mage had built for the League's use.

The Arcing Talon is the Merge League's airforce. Relying on ancient salvaged technology from the Crescent Islands, as well as Karnakker innovation and the import of various Scandian and Ticonderan technologies, the Talon's fleet is small but somewhat impressive. Though an airfleet is somewhat of an anachronism in an age where true power among nations is expressed by the construction of space ships, the Merge League has chosen to expand its arcane rather than technological arsenal in the Talon's ships. The typical Arcing Talon airship boasts magical shielding devices and weapons that theoretically are a match for their magitek equivalents. A few ships are also rumored to be able to retain atmosphere and travel into space, though this has not been corroborated.

Tyranthraxus himself is a powerful Time Mage, and is also rumored to be an adept psionicist as well. The secret truth of the matter is that he is a renegade Amethyst Great Wyrm, masquerading in the guise of an old time wizard. Only Alkar is aware of this, though other ancient dragons (like Lofwyr) would probably recognize Tyranthraxus' name and remember the story of his exile from planet Draco.

Major Cities

Exodus City (the Towers of Sorcery)

Exodus City is the sprawling capital of the Merge League, dominating the central plains of the Exodus continent and built up over the years in the shadow of the six spiralling Towers of Sorcery. The city is truly the heart of the League's magocracy; every wizard in the League comes through Exodus at one time or another, and all Apprentices must come here before they are promoted to the rank of full-fledged Mage (the only recognized magical academies in the League are found in Exodus).

Tule

Hometown of Lord Alkar the Black and Lord Stantalias the Red, it could be said that the League itself was born in this city. Tule is almost a secondary capital for the Merge League; it is the administrative nexus for the League's World I assets, and has a direct land-portal to afford movement between Tule's Government Building and the Council Chambers in Exodus.

During the Leviathan War, Tule was the site of some of the most violent battles against the DSE. The Dwarves sieged Tule for the better part of the war's duration, until the Brigade of the Icy Heart broke through the Dwarven ranks and pushed them back into the sea.

Carwen

Carwen is one of the League's most important agricultural centers on World I. Though it, like Tule, was sieged for a good length of time, the Dwarves did not succeed in taking the city.

Carwen sits on the eastmost shore of the East Inner Sea on the Tornal Continent, on the northern border of Worus. It is the staging point for the Flaming Fist's invasion of Worus, and as such the city is presently playing host to a large number of Merge League war wizards.

Istory

Istory was once a center for magical research in the League, where the people lived in peace while raising their sheep. The city was destroyed by SRAN orbital bombardment as part of a Dwarven ploy. Though it is now a misty, blasted ruin, Istory's dennizens cling to the memory of life as the walking dead. Their leaders are the wizards who once cared for them, now ghastly liches.

These liches, lead by an undead Blue Mage called Trine, have allied themselves with Alkar. What employment Lord Alkar shall put these undead to remains to be seen.