Pathfinder Chronicles - Gazetteer - Asamnet

Varisia sometimes put in to Nisroch to trade or repair
damaged vessels, but strangers seldom linger long in the
shadowlands of Nidal, finding its people inhospitable and
suspicious of outsiders. Art and music are all but forbidden
in Nidal, and much of the nation’s culture involves esoteric
mysticism related to shadows and darkness. Recent reports
from spies amid Andoran’s Gray Corsairs suggest that
pirates from the Shackles dock in Nisroch with increasing
frequency, but little is known of the reasons behind their
visits and the implications they might have for Nidal’s
relationship with Cheliax, which constantly wars with the
pirates along Garund’s western coast.
Along Nidal’s eastern border, in the foothills of the
Menador Mountains, the small city of Ridwan serves
as the center of worship for the faithful of Zon-Kuthon.
Adherents believe that the rift limned with black f lame and
cloying smoke in the city’s central square is the spot where
the Midnight Lord first emerged upon Golarion. The site
is a powerful gate to the Deeping Darkness, a particularly
vile chasm at the heart of the Plane of Shadow, from which
Zon-Kuthon’s clerics pluck legendary nightmare beasts.
Once sufficiently dominated and broken to the will of the
Umbral Lords, the othwerworldly shadows serve Nidal at
home and abroad.
Since the fall of Nidal 370 years ago in the Everwar,
“abroad” has most often meant Cheliax, where shadowcasters
trained in Ridwan and Pangolais support the
diabolical legions of that nation’s transformed government.
For centuries after their humiliation in the Everwar, the folk
of Nidal bristled at Cheliaxian occupation and inf luence.
During the struggle for the throne following Aroden’s
death, the Umbral Court threw its support behind the
House of Thrune, which rewarded the act by withdrawing
Chelish agents from Nidal once its own power was assured.
Now Nidal stands once again as its own entity, yet remains
intimately entwined with the darkness at Egorian.
Nirmathas
WAR-TORN WILDERNESS
Alignment: CG
Capital: Tamran (9,730)
Notable Settlements: Skelt (5,400)
Ruler: Forest Marshal Gavirk
Government: Meritocracy
Languages: Common, Varisian, Hallit
Religion: Erastil, Gorum, Iomedae
The people of Nirmathas are in search of a national
identity, a search frustrated by a perpetual state of war
with their southern neighbor, Molthune. During the
years of turmoil following the collapse of Cheliax,
Molthune’s governor claimed the southern reach of
the Fangwood as part of his newly independent nation.
Gazetteer: Nations
Soldiers from the regional capital at Canorate ensured
political stability, but soon came to be resented by the
locals of the port city of Tamran and the rangers of the
Fangwood as agents of oppression. For years, Cheliax had
stripped the region of resources while providing little
in return. When new mandates from Canorate simply
changed the f low of exploitation from one city to another,
the promise of a new era collapsed. What started as a few
minor acts of sabotage soon blossomed into a guerilla
war for independence.
The early years of the conf lict were bloody and
disorganized, with bands of woodsmen and other irregular
troops acting independently. All of this changed when a
half-elf trapper named Irgal Nirmath united a handful
of groups into one sizable force. As his victories mounted,
Nirmath drew more rebels to his banner. His legend
spread throughout the north. Even the commanders of the
Molthuni forces began to respect the cunning and might of
Irgal’s Axe, as his force came to be known.
After 7 years of war, an uneasy border solidified and the
rebels declared the newborn nation of Nirmathas. Irgal
had precious little time to enjoy the fruits of his cunning,
as he fell to an assassin’s blade in 4657. With no central
government, the nation stood on unsteady ground. That
autumn, the leaders of Tamran and the forest town of Skelt
gathered to select a new marshal to lead the defense forces
and the nation as a whole. The same system has been in
place ever since, with a council of elders selecting a new
marshal every 4 years based entirely upon military skill.
While some would prefer to select a leader based on his
skills in diplomacy or trade negotiation, the unstable
nature of the region and its hostile southern neighbor do
not allow for such indulgences.
The current Marshal, Weslen Gavirk, hails from
Tamran, a city sacked five times since the founding of
Nirmathas. Growing up in the city bred in Gavirk a deepseated
distrust of Molthune and a strong compassion for
the victims of that nation’s aggression. Gavirk directs
his forces from the city, preparing for a major campaign
against Molthune’s new construction at Fort Ramgate,
hoping to destroy it before it can be used to launch an
invasion of the Fangwood.
The people of Nirmathas are a fiercely independent folk,
consisting primarily of woodsmen, artisans, and trappers.
With the nation’s entire economy based on the bounties
of the Fangwood, the Nirmathi treat the forest as a sort of
sacred ground that must be held at all costs. They are on
good terms with the folk of Lastwall, with whom they share
the wood’s northern reach, and the people of Varisia. A
recent passage opening through Bloodsworn Vale has given
Nirmathas an independent trade partner on the western
side of the Mindspin Mountains, a vital link to finished
goods and weapons.
3
45