Depict an epic scene from a lost mythology, featuring gods and monsters engaged in a celes

TL;DR:

[CANON-ALIGNED]

Founded By:

The early Tall Kings, descendants of the first Sarnori tribes that unified the Sarne basin.

Conquered by:

Aftermath - The Doom, and The Bloody Years: Many Sarnori cities fall to the Rise of the Dothraki following the decades after the fall of the Valaryian Freehold.

Trade and Economy:

Imported exotic luxuries, war-horses, woven cloth, and skilled martial service

Current Ruler:

High King Alexthar Mazor, a stern monarch famed for his dazzling court and unyielding pride, now seeking alliances with the Free Cities and the Orosian League to defend Sarnor’s last bastions.

Surviving Cities:

Rathylar, Saath, Sarnath, and Sarys.

THE KINGDOM OF SARNOR

Established: Pre-history, before written records,

under Huzhor Amai.

SARNORI GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY:

At the height of its power, the Sanori Kingdom stretched across the fertile lands watered by the River Sarne across much of the northwestern portion of Essos. Bordered along the west by Qohor, it stretched towards Omber to the northeast, and towards the deep forest of the Ifequevron further east. The Sarnori’s dominion extended so far as fifty leagues from the shore into the Shivering Sea. Eleven great cities marked the heartlands of this ancient civilization, hubs of power and trade that once knit together a now diminished people.

The Sarnori people trace their descent to Huzhor Amai, a legendary king born of the last Fisher Queens. He is said to have united or subdued the Cymmeri, Zoqora, and Gipps through conquest and marriage, forging them into the people known as the Tall Men.

For more than two thousand years, their quarrelsome kings ruled across the central grasslands, trading with east and west alike, fighting the Qaathi, and shifting their alliances between Valyria and Ghis during the Ghiscari Wars. After the fifth and final Ghiscari War, the Valyrians moved to conquer the Sarnori, being ever preoccupied with rivalries in Valyria itself; instead, Sarnor remained a trading partner with Valyria, and perhaps a useful buffer against the nascent Dothraki from the northeast of Essos's central grasslands.

THE DOOM OF OLD VALYLRIA AND THE BLOODY YEARS:

After the Doom of Valyria, while the Free Cities fought to become the successor to Valyria, the Tall Men ignored the Dothraki threat, even as khalasars began to raid across their eastern borders. Accustomed to them being little more than a nuisance, some Sarnori kings tried to use the Dothraki in their own wars, offering them gold and slaves and other gifts to fight against their rivals. Khal Mengo, who had united all khalasars under his rule, accepted the gifts but then burnt fields, farms, and towns to allow the grasslands to return.

The Tall Men did not realize the danger until Mengo's son, Khal Moro, led his khalasar to the gates of Sathar. The men of Sathar were put to the sword, while the women and children were carried off as slaves. Three-quarters of them died on the march to the Ghiscari city of Hazdahn Mo. Sathar was burned to ash. Rather than uniting against the Dothraki, the Sarnori kings of Kasath and Gornath fought each other for Sathar's plunder.

THE SARNORI PEOPLE:
The Tall Men (Tagaez Fen)

The Sarnori people, the Tagaez Fen, or the Tall men in the common tongue, are one of the oldest examples of human society within the landmass of Essos. Almost universally tall in stature, slender, and long-limbed, their skin hues vary in appearance from light umber to a deep, bronze-brown. Dark eyes ranging from grey to nearly black, and long faces give them a solemn aspect.

Men and women both keep their dark hair long (ranging from shades of deep chocolate to onyx black) and often keep their locks oiled, coiled, braided, or bound with shell and bronze clasps. Charrioteers are known to wear lacquered braids of their favored horse’s mane woven into their own locks.

SARNORI LANGUAGE AND CULTURE:

Among themselves, the Sarnori preserve a dialect descended from the old tongue generally used in the songs of minstrels, the high court, and the prayers of priests. General discourse and trade are carried on in the ‘common or trade’ tongue of Essos. A traveler might note that the Sarnori speech is rich in proverbs and archaisms, with turns of phrase that echo their epic past.

Famed riders and warriors, the Sarnori go to war clad in steel and spider silk tunics, mounted on coal-black mares. Both men and women are trained with spear and bow, for it is customary for them to fight in chariots. It is not uncommon to see daughters riding alongside fathers on river patrols, or wives driving their husbands’ war-chariots. The greatest of their champions fight from scythed chariots drawn by blood-red horses, often driven by their spouses or the second-born daughter, in a place of honor.

The Sarnori often wear tunics dyed in a variety of muted greens and grays, beautifully and richly adorned with embroidered geometric patterns, shells, river pearls, or gilded sinuous ‘river’ glyphs. The most distinctive of their clothing is known as the ‘rivercloak’, a waterproof mantle worn by all who live along the River Sarne’s tributaries. They are dyed in various shades of blue, from deep to pale, and are fastened with bronze brooches often shaped as river creatures, such as the heron, the carp, or the otter. The hems and borders of the rivercloak are worked with intricate designs telling the story of their wearer; a journey may be marked in river pearls, or children might be remembered in shell patterns along the fringe.

When a Sarnori dies, their cloak is displayed upon their body during funerary rites. Most are then set upon funeral rafts, their cloaks wrapped about them, before being put to the torch upon the River Sarne. The spirit is carried to the gods, and the rivercloak, with its shells and stitching, is consumed as part of the soul’s passage.

The greatest warriors, however, receive another honor. Their bodies are displayed for three days in the Hall of Heroes before being laid to rest in stone crypts along the riverbank. It is believed that their spirits serve as guides for the souls of the fallen and guardians of the city. Only their rivercloaks are burned so that the gods may know their deeds in full.

CHARACTERISTICS

HEIGHT (feet/inches):

6'0" to 6'10"

COMPLEXION:

Ranging from light umber to a deep, bronze-brown

HAIR:

Natural shades ranging from deep chocolate brown to onyx black

EYES:

Range from shades of grey to black

SIZE:

Average
The Sanori almost universally tend towards being tall in stature, slender, and long-limbed.

AVERAGE LIFESPAN:

90-110 years

COMMON RELIGIONS:

SURVIVING CITIES OF THE SARNORI KINGDOM:

SARNATH OF THE TALL TOWERS:

For centuries, Sarnath was the jewel of the Sarne River basin; its wealth is unparalleled among its sister cities, but much of it is now diverted to fortifications, mercenaries, and river patrols...

SAATH, THE IRON PORT:

Saath thrives as a naval power and war economy rather than an importer of luxury goods. Its river brings grain, furs, and timber from the inland, while its harbor draws whalers from Ib and merchants from Lorath...

RATHYLAR, THE SENTINEL OF THE SARNE:

Rathylar’s wealth lies not in luxury but in strategic control. Its tariffs on goods moving up and down the Sarne keep it alive even as other cities crumble. The city is a staging ground for caravans heading east and a river hub for northern ships...

SARYS, THE DELTA JEWEL:

Despite the danger from roving Dothraki and Lorathi pirates alike, Sarys still thrives as a gateway to the Shivering Sea. Guading the delta from incursion, her trade is the lifeblood of the kingdom...

VEIL OF FIRE GAME OF THRONES INSPIRED ROLEPLAY ​

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