“Where the reverent pray and the Traders Trade.”
Overview
Permia, often called Greater Permia, is one of the most politically and culturally influential kingdoms on the continent of Cathall. Spanning both a significant stretch of mainland and a large offshore island, Permia is defined by its dual nature: one rooted in sacred legend and philosophical enlightenment, the other in bustling trade, worldly pleasures, and shifting political alliances.
While many kingdoms in Mernac trace their strength to military conquests or divine favor, Permia’s influence is earned through diplomacy, religious openness, and unmatched exportation of truth-binding materials and rare spirits. The capital city of Goldmont, perched atop the awe-inspiring cliffs that share its name, is revered as one of the holiest sites in all of Mernac. According to the Scribes and Sages who know of such things, it was here that Siberlee and Barak communed at the dawn of creation to imagine the pantheon of Mernac’s gods.
This reverence has shaped Permia into the only kingdom where temples to all twenty of The Mothers and The Fathers are not only permitted but encouraged to thrive openly side by side. Despite this profound religiosity, Permia is not without vice. Its mainland hub, Port Mystic, serves as a commercial capital of Cathall – and a sanctuary for smugglers, mercenaries, courtesans, and confidence artists from across the known world.
Permia is known for its warm climate, fertile hills, vineyards, ancient ruins, religious landmarks, and proud cultural exports. Among its most famous products are Permian Brandy, long considered the finest liquor in Mernac, and Kellium Ink, a magical substance that only records what its writer believes to be true. Together, these offerings symbolize what Permia has become: a kingdom where pleasure and principle, faith and pragmatism, are not opposites but threads of a unified cultural tapestry.
Geography and Environment
Greater Permia straddles two distinct landmasses: its island capital, Goldmont, and its expansive mainland region, centered around Port Mystic. The topography of both regions varies greatly, though each contributes to the kingdom’s complex identity.
The Goldmont Cliffs, a towering range of golden-veined stone, are among the tallest seaside escarpments in Mernac. These cliffs rise dramatically from the southern waters and are rumored to hold ancient caverns carved by the gods themselves. Goldmont city was constructed upon the flat shelf atop these cliffs, affording it natural protection from naval assault and panoramic views of the seas beyond. Legend holds that this very spot is where Siberlee and Barak dreamt of the divine, creating the template for the gods and goddesses to come.
The island’s interior is lush and fertile, dotted with vineyards, monasteries, and sacred groves devoted to various deities. It enjoys a mild temperate climate, with sun-soaked summers and gentle winters moderated by sea winds. Ancient standing stones and circular shrines can be found tucked among hillsides and hidden valleys, many of them predating written history.
On the mainland, the terrain is flatter but more commercially developed. Port Mystic, the kingdom’s largest trade hub, sits at the mouth of the Anteryne River and connects to inland routes across Cathall. Surrounding the city are low plains of mixed woodland and farmland, along with small coastal marshes home to amphibious wildlife and trade-friendly estuaries.
The Kitchor Forest, located to the northeast of Port Mystic, is a place of ill repute. Bandits, highwaymen, and wanted fugitives are said to vanish into its depths, protected by a magical gloom that confuses travelers and makes even well-worn paths treacherous. Rumors persist of several secretive fairy communities hidden deep within, protected by enchantments and illusion wards cast long ago during the Age of Elsen.
Despite the duality of the land, both regions are intrinsically linked by ferry, philosophy, and law. And together form one of the most harmonious and religiously diverse realms in all of Mernac.
Culture and Society
Permia is a melting pot of Races, faiths, and disciplines. Though it is predominantly Human, nearly every race in Mernac can be found within its borders. Dark Elves debate philosophy with High Elves on the goldstone patios of Goldmont; Dwarves and Gnomes operate bonded cooperatives in Port Mystic’s Merchant Guild; even a few of the more isolationist Murmil, and even Troll families have been known to reside quietly in the wooded hamlets between capital and coast.
What binds Permian society together is its unyielding commitment to tolerance and civility. A child of any race, faith, or identity can walk openly into the central plaza of Goldmont and be met with curiosity rather than judgment. In many ways, Permia has become a haven for those persecuted elsewhere, especially in matters of faith or personal truth.
At the heart of this open-mindedness lies The Concordia Doctrine, a foundational philosophy taught in schools, temples, and homes alike. It asserts that all divine voices are sacred, even when contradictory, and that wisdom lies in harmonizing discord rather than silencing it.
Permians are also known for their love of festivals and seasonal rites, many of which draw visitors from across the continent. Each year, the Brandy Bloom Festival celebrates the summer flowering of the Dazel Vine, used in the creation of Permian Brandy. The Festival of Signed Truths is held in autumn to commemorate the invention of Kellium Ink. During this event, treaties and old declarations are read aloud, allowing onlookers to witness any magical alterations that have occurred over the years as authors’ beliefs changed.
Social classes are fluid in Permia, determined more by education, merit, and service to community than by bloodline or wealth. Though aristocracy exists, it tends to serve an ambassadorial function. The real power is wielded by a rotating Council of Scribes and Seers, made up of philosophers, priests, record-keepers, and legal sages chosen every two decades by public acclamation and peer recommendation.
Magic and Religion
Nowhere in Mernac is religious pluralism more embraced than in Permia. The kingdom is the only place in the known world where temples, shrines, and altars to all twenty of the divine—The Seven Mothers and The Thirteen Fathers—are not only permitted but encouraged. In both Goldmont and Port Mystic, the skyline is punctuated with multi-faith sanctuaries, places of worship where sermons, rites, and festivals of vastly differing pantheons occur side by side.
This spiritual openness is not mere decoration. Religious scholars from every kingdom journey to Goldmont’s Spiral Dome, a four-story marble structure that houses a library of sacred texts said to predate even the Age of Races. Each of the twenty deities has their own consecrated chamber within the dome, and worshippers often spend an entire year meditating in each one to gain favor from the whole divine spectrum.
Magic in Permia is treated much the same way—diverse, refined, and ever-expanding. All thirteen schools of elemental and spiritual arcana are legally practiced, and colleges of magic exist in both the capital and Port Mystic. Permian spellcrafters are especially known for their focus on truthbinding magic, a rare form of enchantment that verifies intent, oaths, and emotion. These skills are vital to the kingdom’s diplomatic culture, and many of the world’s most complex treaties are drafted within its borders.
The famed Kellium Ink, invented centuries ago by Kalor the Fire Dragon, is still manufactured here and remains one of the kingdom’s most valuable exports. Created from dragonbone ash, crushed starpods, and a secret alchemical process, Kellium Ink magically adjusts written words if the beliefs of the writer change over time. It is used in treaties, contracts, and philosophical essays, and is a legal requirement for all royal proclamations within Permia.
The presence of such powerful spiritual and arcane traditions ensures that priests and mages are often one and the same. Most temple guardians are trained in both blade and spell, and the highest offices of state are held by those fluent in theology, diplomacy, and enchantment.
Unique Exports and Economy
Permia is one of Mernac’s most self-sustaining kingdoms, thriving on a steady stream of luxury goods, magical services, and diplomatic traffic. Its influence is not built on conquest, but on the exchange of truth, indulgence, and faith.
Primary Exports:
- Permian Brandy: A deep amber liquor distilled from Dazel Vine and aged in Everwood casks. Its rich flavor and mild hallucinogenic afterglow make it the celebratory drink of choice for monarchs, guildmasters, generals, and those with enough coin alike.
- Kellium Ink: Used throughout Mernac in every major political or legal document of importance. The ink is so valuable that it is often kept under armed guard and administered by state-licensed scribes only.
- Treaty Hosting and Scriptorium Services: Permia earns a small fortune each year by acting as host and mediator for inter-kingdom treaties. Its Coven of Neutral Scribes, a guild known for being incorruptible, is often hired to draft and witness pacts.
- Spiritual Pilgrimage Services: The temples of Goldmont, particularly those that lie directly above the Cliffs of Dreaming, attract pilgrims of all races. Visitors often leave tithes, offerings, or commit to seasonal labor as devotion.
- Arcane Consulting: Permian mages provide services to royal courts, universities, and wealthy merchant families, offering enchantment, divination, and curse removal in exchange for high coin.
Trade from Port Mystic connects to every major river system in Cathall and even reaches overseas kingdoms. The wealth of imports—spices, animal pelts, glassware, exotic fish, and enchanted flora—means Permians have access to more varied goods than any other kingdom on the continent.
Races and Inhabitants
Permia prides itself on its welcoming attitude toward all races, though it remains a Human-majority kingdom. The absence of discrimination in civic life is not merely a custom but enshrined in law: The Concord of Faces, signed in 2173 AM, declared it illegal to discriminate based on race, magical lineage, or religious affiliation.
Humans:
The dominant group in both government and population. Permian Humans are often pale or sun-bronzed, with deep-set eyes and elaborate hair-braiding customs that signify education and station. They favor flowing robes or double-layered tunics in colors that reflect their spiritual patron.
Elves:
High Elves often serve in the Council of Scribes and Seers, lending their centuries of memory and sharp intellect to governance. Wood Elves maintain sacred groves near Goldmont, often acting as keepers of the temples to The Mothers.
Gnomes:
Gnomes are particularly prevalent in Port Mystic, where they dominate bookbinding, warehouse inspection, and artifact appraisal professions. Many have risen to prominence as archivists and dealers of rare magical items.
Dark Elves:
Rare in Goldmont but more commonly found in Port Mystic’s lower quarters, where their skill in shadow enchantments and night market negotiations make them valuable, if controversial, allies.
Others:
Murmils, Faeries, Dwarves, and Merfolk can be found in small communities or passing through on pilgrimage or trade. Orcs are rare, though not unwelcome. Furs are almost entirely absent, as they remain secluded to Ooloo.
Myths and Moments
The Cliffs of Dreaming
It is said that Siberlee and Barak stood upon the Goldmont Cliffs at the beginning of time and dreamed the divine into being. The very stone is believed to retain fragments of those dreams, and some pilgrims who meditate at the edge for long enough claim to hear echoes of The One and The Other whispering across the waves.
The Pact of All Altars
In the year 1332 AM, a rogue cult attempted to outlaw all faiths except for those of The Fathers. In a moment of rare unity, followers of all twenty gods united to drive them out. The resulting decree, signed by every major faith leader in the kingdom, became known as the Pact of All Altars and cemented Permia’s identity as a sanctuary for belief.
The Poison Quill Trials
In 1867 AM, a disgraced noble attempted to forge a treaty using counterfeit Kellium Ink. The deception was uncovered when the words began to warp on their own, and the noble’s entire family was cursed by a spell bound to the original contract. The incident led to the founding of the Order of Truthbinders, a guild of scribes who ensure no forgery or intent-warped document ever passes through Permia’s courts again.
Relevance
In the modern age, Permia remains one of Mernac’s most vital diplomatic hubs. Goldmont hosts emissaries from every major kingdom, and its Spiral Dome is a required pilgrimage for scholars, priests, and politicians alike.
The truth-telling properties of Kellium Ink have made it an international standard for binding agreements, and no major war treaty is considered legitimate unless drafted under Permian oversight. This has also made the kingdom a frequent target for espionage and political intrigue.
Culturally, Permia continues to shape the arts, ethics, and magic of Mernac. It is the site of numerous universities, scroll halls, and the revered Vault of Voices, an oral tradition archive where spoken truths are sealed in crystal memory stones.
Politically, Permia often acts as a neutral ground during intercontinental disputes, and its commitment to balance and plurality makes it both beloved and begrudged by powers on both sides of Light and Dark.
9. Quotable Lore
“A god that cannot share space with another is no god worth following.”
— High Scribe Relmuth, 1533 AM
“One sip of Permian Brandy and even a Troll will tell you what he really thinks.”
— Port Mystic proverb
“We don’t wage war with armies. We wage it with parchment.”
— Lord Vass Talvine, Minister of Treaties