“Long ago we made our transgressions, something we can never be forgiven for and something we can never regret. Our future is one of righteous struggle and a glorious heart. Strive, Strike and Stride, for the world owes you no favours.”
The Dendarr Nations are a place of great life and ambition, whose people are quick to smile and quicker to stand firm in the face of their enemies. Believers in true heroism and a life well lived, the Dendarri are welcomed all over the seas as skilled sailors, warriors and partiers. Prone to independence and a social directness which could be construed as clumsy, they can sometimes let their larger-than-life personalities get ahead of them.
Beneath the golden armour and golden promises is a history that holds the fate of existence in balance. A story of gods, heroes and danger that the Dendarri can never forget. For all of this is simply preparation for what comes next.
Known History and Geography
It is likely that the Dendarri trace their history back to a number of local tribes in the far northeast of Esterra, combining hillfolk, plains farmers and sailors of the Northern Explorers Sea. Many nations that this great ocean touches have histories with travellers, raiders and traders aboard angular ships bearing painted eyes for hundreds of years. It is likely that this history empowered the foremost nation of Dendarr, known as Kameiros.
Kameiros is a city-state of considerable size and holdings. The eponymous city of Kameiros is a place of luxury and wealth, with a long history of both purchasing the wealth of the North East as well as taking it at swordpoint. For many travellers, its powerful reinforced quay set between two sea breaking mountain ridges, its long stone promenades and fine fortress temples is all they see of the Dendarri lands.
West of Kameiros, as the mountain ridges drive northwest and southwest, the lands open up into the landed Kingdom of Phaleron, ruled by the Emerald Kings of Aggamaris. In the breadbasket of the Dendarri, it is said that Kameiros holds the coinpurse, Aptheos the scabbard and Phaleron the cookpot. Historically the largest in both population and in land, Phaleron is a place of rolling scrub hills, farm-filled flood plains and crag-top settlements.
North of both Phaleron and Kameiros, atop a vast plateau lies the Kingdom of Aptheos, the crucible of the Dendarri. Little is known of this hermit kingdom, save for a reputation to produce ‘Dendarri Vandekotos’, warriors regarded equally for their skill as well as their headstrong stubbornness. Entry for outsiders is forbidden and the people of these lands rarely travel.
Many ports recall rumours of Dendarri wars and rivalries, but the rugged terrain and Kameiros’ monopoly on the seas meant that tales were often focused on the wealthy port kingdom and its ambitions. But it is generally thought that the Dendarri have a long history of petty wars, rebellions and skirmishes between each other, as well as the knowledge that the royal lines within the three current kingdoms are certainly not ancient lineages, with there being plenty of lost crowns within the graves of the Dendarri. But as far as is known there has not been a Dendarri war of kings in nearly a hundred years.
The Dendarri are also known to not carry the faith of the Spheres. In the past, this objection has been stringent, with those being the images of the Divine not being allowed entry into Kameiros, but this has lessened in recent decades. What is known is that the Dendarri religion, known as ‘Agonas’, pushes the Dendarri on a life-long pursuit of wealth, power, scholarly study and physical strength.
Recent History
While details remain rare, it is known that the Dendarri fought a war against the Onyx Aristocracy over the last twenty years. While the results of the conflict are as unknown as the particulars of the war, in the year 218 it is widely reported that the Dendarri nations entered into a peace agreement with The Onyx Aristocracy. Since then Dendarri ships have once again been seen upon the waves, trading as they did before. Notably, the Dendarri maritime raids on nearby nations have also ceased in the last twenty years.
The Dendarri are common sights in ports across Esterra and beyond, their triremes and biremes are a welcome sight for those seeking mercenaries and raw goods such as Beast Bone and Suns Iron.
In the year 222 The Concord established an embassy to the Dendarri Nations based in Weiland. The embassy has been accepted by the Kingdom of Kameiros and currently maintains a consulate in the city. Following this, the Archkonos Rhota of Queen Thestori of Kameiros has made herself the receiver for Concordian correspondence and is contactable through the ‘Call Winged Messenger’ Ceremony.
In the year 224, The Concordian Senate published a summary of the Dendarri religion ('The Chrisma'), written by the lead envoy in Kameiros, Count William Talbot of House Whitefeather. This document is now publicly available despite its heretical nature. Concordian Documents - Chrisma Of The Argonas
Look and Feel
The Dendarri Nations draw predominantly from heroic ancient Greece of myth and legend for their aesthetic and feel. Clothes tend towards large single pieces for both masculine and femine stylings such as long tunics and sweeping gowns. Colours tend towards dark and deep colours, particularly blue and green. Metals are often gold or bronze, with silver and steel being seen as ‘without the warmth of life.’ The most well-known style of Dendarri equipment is the muscled breastplate, which has been spread across the world by their sailors.
The Dendarri Nations in Play
The Dendarri Nations are nearly as far from The Concord as possible while still being a part of Esterra, laying on the North Eastern coast facing onto the Explorers Sea. They speak both their own ceremonial and high language known as ‘Freetongue’ but the wealth of Kameiros has made Tradespeak (represented by English) universal over much of the Kingdoms.
On the whole, the Dendarri treat The Concord well and the future before the two groups looks promising, however, the looming spectre of the Onyx Aristocracy and mysteries of the Dendarri are constantly felt. The exact opinion on The Concord held by the various kingdoms is still a growing one. In this distant past, Iron Valley holdings in Anderslee as well as the Bailes would have been targets for the since lapsed Dendarri sea raids.
The Dendarri Nations are tradeable through the port city of Kameiros. Naval investments travelling to this distant luxury will likely return with Beast Bone, Suns Iron and Hartswood, as well as with rumours of this land of heroes.
Characters may contact the Dendarri through the 'Calling Winged Messenger' ceremony, addressing the communication to Archkonos Rhota in Kameiros.
The information here should be sufficient to create a character who has a background connection to the Dendarri Nations, likely as someone who has traded with them (either in Kameiros or in the Ports of The Concord such as Lerona Mere) or perhaps fought alongside Dendarri mercenaries at some point. A background that includes additional travels within Dendarr or requires more information than is presented here is unlikely to be approved.
As the Concord has only recently reentered into considerable contact with the Dendarri, much of this information will be out of date, founded on rumour or likely to change.