Where Wood Meets Stone, and Ships Are Born
Name and Placement
Surgog is a smaller but vital kingdom in the southern stretches of Cathall. It shares its eastern border with Elber, western reaches with Kru, and its southern edge touches both the Sea of Witriss and the island-speckled waters of Garuff. The rugged forests to the north edge into the base of the Kelwood Range, which acts as a loose buffer with more central territories.
Though compact in size, Surgog’s geographical advantages, especially its access to vast forestland and southern sea routes, make it one of the most strategically and economically significant kingdoms on the continent. Its coastline, rich in natural harbors and strong coastal winds, has long made it the shipyard heart of Cathall.
Geography and Environment
Surgog is a land of contrasts and cooperation. Its interior terrain is made up of heavily forested plains, often blanketed in morning mist and speckled with groves of ancient trees. Towering cedar and ironwood trees dominate the highlands, particularly around Mistsong Vale, a sacred woodland said to be favored by both the Wood Elves and the Mothers.
To the west and along the coast, the terrain becomes increasingly rocky and rugged, giving way to rolling cliffs, basalt inlets, and shale beaches. The Kelwood Mountains, rising from the heart of the kingdom, are home to deep quarries and abandoned mines, many of which have been converted into Dwarven towns, workshops, or archives.
The kingdom’s many rivers, including the Runevein and the Twiddle Stream, flow toward the port capital of Port Woozle, the largest and most trafficked port in southern Cathall. These waterways are vital trade arteries, but they also serve as symbolic boundaries between Elven glades and Dwarven stoneholds.
Culture and Society
The kingdom of Surgog is remarkable for its delicate yet enduring partnership between two very different peoples: the Wood Elves and the City Dwarves. While minor races such as Murmils, Gnomes, and Humans are scattered throughout the region in modest numbers, it is the Elves and Dwarves who define the kingdom’s tone, governance, and heritage.
Wood Elves are largely decentralized, dwelling in self-sustaining communities amid the vast woodlands. They are caretakers of nature and spiritual leaders, keeping alive the songs and oral traditions of Sola, the Mother of Life and Light. Their lives revolve around forest stewardship, ceremonial gatherings, and the ancient craft of blessing lumber before its use, a rite believed to imbue ships with resilience and longevity.
City Dwarves, by contrast, are builders, traders, and navigators, centered around the capital city of Port Woozle. These Dwarves pride themselves not only on their metallurgy but their mastery of maritime engineering. Their innovation, precision, and ambition have turned Surgog into a kingdom of exceptional shipwrights.
In daily life, mutual respect and balance govern the relationship between these peoples. Elves provide the sacred wood. Dwarves craft the hulls. Both recognize the other’s vital contribution, and though disputes are not unknown, they are rarely allowed to linger. A joke shared in both races: “The Elf builds the dream, the Dwarf makes it float.”
Government and Leadership
Surgog is ruled under a dual-system governance, combining hereditary monarchy with collective representation. The titular head of the kingdom is the Dwarven King, whose line has ruled for centuries from the granite-seated Hall of Lathrim in Port Woozle. However, true power is shared with the Council of Progression, a balanced body of three Wood Elves and three Dwarves, each selected from among their respective people by vote and merit.
The king’s main role, aside from ceremonial duties and oversight of trade, is to cast the deciding vote when the council is deadlocked. This practice has allowed centuries of stable governance, with both races feeling heard without any single faction dominating the kingdom’s path.
Most local governance, especially in Elven territories, is handled communally through grove circles or guilds of green, while in Dwarven cities, it is the Forge Lodges and Builder’s Circles that serve as municipal and legal bodies.
Trade and Economy
Surgog’s economy is founded on trade, shipbuilding, and exploration. The kingdom is credited with the invention of the Mernal, a gold-based currency that quickly became the standard unit of trade throughout Cathall. This innovative coinage was developed shortly after the Age of the Fathers and quickly spread due to its measured reliability and divine symbolism, its size is said to match the pinky tip of Mother Witriss herself.
The Port Woozle Shipyards, both above and below ground, construct the majority of vessels used across Mernac, from warships and merchant carriers to elegant pleasure barges and swift skimmers. Each vessel undergoes a blessing rite conducted by both Elven and Dwarven clergy, and some consider a Surgogian ship to be a holy vessel.
Exports include:
- Ship hulls and keels, finely crafted and seaworthy
- Blessed timber, marked with Elven seals
- High-durability metals and fittings
- Navigational devices and sea charts, many of which are seen as semi-magical
- Explorers-for-hire, often Dwarves trained in long-distance navigation
The kingdom also imports luxuries, rare herbs, and magical items, largely through its extensive secondary ports and merchant fleets that span Mernac’s seas.
Religion and Beliefs
Surgog’s dual-race heritage is reflected in its unique religious practices. The kingdom is perhaps the only nation in Cathall where dual devotion is not only accepted but institutionalized. The Wood Elves of the highlands worship Sola, the Mother of Life and Light, while the Dwarves of Port Woozle and the Undercity are devoted to Witriss, the Mother of Virtue and Strength.
What makes Surgog remarkable is the fusion of these faiths. It is common for Elven priests to speak the teachings of Witriss alongside those of Sola, and Dwarven smith-priests to invoke Sola’s warmth before a long forging session. In fact, many temples in Surgog are split-hall sanctuaries, divided into two altars. one for each Mother. Services are often held jointly, with hymns blending Elven melody and Dwarven chants in perfect harmony.
The Council of Faithful Flame, an interfaith organization of both races, oversees temple operations and festival observances. Seasonal festivals are designed to honor both Mothers, and pilgrims from other kingdoms are often surprised by the spiritual unity on display.
Other Mothers and even a few Fathers are acknowledged, though secondary. Worship of Barak or his closest followers is not tolerated within Surgog’s borders, and the penalty for doing so is permanent exile from all city ports.
History and Origins
Surgog’s roots are tied to the Post-Union Era, shortly after the Races of Man spread across Cathall. The earliest accounts mention a series of trade camps and drydocks constructed by wandering Dwarves from Hob and nomadic Elven boatwrights from the forests of Elber.
These settlements quickly evolved into a cross-racial alliance, formed not through war or conquest, but through necessity and shared ambition. Dwarves needed wood. Elves needed tools. The partnership grew into a symbiosis, then a civilization.
The formal Kingdom of Surgog was established with the signing of the First Maritime Compact in 712 AM. This agreement created the Council of Progression and named the reigning Dwarf smith-lord, Brollim Stonecaster, as the first King. His descendants have ruled ever since.
The Dwarves’ claim that Surgog was the launching point of Mernac’s Age of Exploration, having “discovered” at least four continents and countless islands, is hotly debated across Mernac, but only in places where a Dwarf isn’t close enough to overhear.
Exploration and Reach
No kingdom in Cathall, perhaps even Mernac, has sent out more ships than Surgog. Since the dawn of their seafaring legacy, Surgogian vessels have traveled to Ooloo, Brangrin, Garren, and the Tian Islands. Their sails bear the iconic mark of the Twin-Mothers Sigil, a sacred emblem representing Sola and Witriss, woven into every masthead flag.
Surgog’s Deep Explorers Guild, operated primarily out of Subdock Seven in the Undercity of Port Woozle, funds missions to track unknown currents, map uncharted islands, and recover magical artifacts lost at sea. Many of these ventures are sponsored by foreign scholars, nobles, and even secretive religious orders.
Beyond exploration, Surgog also maintains minor port cities and colonies scattered throughout Mernac, many of which operate semi-independently but fly the colors of the Crown of Stone.
Relevance
Surgog’s impact on modern Mernacian affairs is profound. As the primary shipbuilder and currency innovator, it holds sway over global trade, diplomacy, and even warfare. Many kingdoms rely on Surgogian vessels for their fleets, and even hostile kingdoms tolerate diplomatic ties to secure new ships or navigation instruments.
The kingdom’s stability and balanced governance make it an ideal neutral ground for political negotiations, and several major treaties—including the Baywind Pact and the Lunar Accord—were signed in Port Woozle.
The kingdom’s quiet but far-reaching influence continues to grow, not through conquest, but through trade, craftsmanship, and exploration.
Quotable Lore
“A ship forged in Woozle may ride the waves of any sea, but never forget: it’s the Elven whisper in the mast that makes it listen to the wind.”
– Durnim of Drift, sailor-poet
“Surgog is not a kingdom of kings. It is a kingdom of hands—one to shape wood, and one to hammer stone.”
– Lysha Vae, Council Speaker of Mistsong Vale
“If Witriss taught us strength, and Sola taught us life, then we owe Surgog to both. That is the truth beneath every keel.”
– Inscripted above the Harbor Gate of Port Woozle