Vodonispace is the principal crystal sphere of the Vodoni Empire and is ruled with an iron fist by the Emperor Vulkaran[4] from the Imperial Palace on the planet Vulkarus.[1][3]
Overview[]
For hundreds of years, Vodonispace has been at the heart of an ever expanding web of conquest as the tyrant, Vulkaran the Dark, has slowly worked his way across the infinite vastness of space. The might of the Vodoni Empire is unmatched in the universe, and the Emperor currently rules Twelve Spheres of Known Space the old fashioned way: kill your enemies before they kill you; crush all resistance before it grows; mercy is for the weak and gutless; and the end always justifies the means. Needless to say, the Vodoni aren’t the happiest people in the universe, and neither are the inhabitants of the eleven other spheres within the Empire. Vulkaran rules with an iron fist, supported by his merciless Vodoni enforcers, who carry out his wishes without question. These horrible, blood-thirsty lycanthropic warriors are the scourge of the Twelve Spheres and have no respect for any living creature.[1]
Location[]
Vodonispace is part of a stable configuration of 12 spheres in the phlogiston known as the Vodoni Empire, which includes Golotspace, Gorthspace, Kofuspace, Kra'akenspace, Lostspace, Passarspace, Salzarspace, Thasiaspace, Vergonspace, Vodonikaspace and Zalanispace.[2][3] Vodonispace connects via the Flow to the Known Spheres of Realmspace, Greyspace and Krynnspace.[5][6]
The Weird[]
The Weird is a strange inky black region of space located somewhere in the Flow between the Known Spheres and Vodonispace. The Weird is considered a particularly dangerous Dark Region, in that legends claim it turns the living into the dead, and the dead into the undead. Dark Regions are mysterious black amorphous clouds of negative energy, and are so rarely encountered that very little is known about them, their nature or their origin.[7]
Celestial bodies[]
Vodonispace is a heliocentric system, with the system primary, a fire body known as Vodoni Prime, lying at the center of the sphere and orbited by 4 planets, their satellites, and an asteroid belt.[3]
Vodoni Prime[]
Vodoni Prime is the system primary of Vodonispace, and is a small blue-white fire body which burns with a strange blue light.[8][9]
Sala[]
Sala is the first planet in orbit around the system primary of Vodonispace, and is little more than a huge ball of molten lava.[8][10][9]
Vulkarus[]
Vulkarus, also known as Vodon, is the second planet in orbit around the system primary of Vodonispace, and serves as the capital of the Vodoni Empire.[8][11][9]
Grog[]
Grog is the third planet in orbit around the system primary of Vodonispace, and is primarily an agricultural center. This world has two moons.[12][13][14][9]
The Web[]
The Web is a huge shell of asteroids that envelopes the three inner planets of the Vodoni sphere.[15][16][9]
Calandia[]
Calandia is a small, barren icy-blue planet, and is the fourth celestial body in orbit around the system primary of Vodonispace. This frozen earth body has a single, small moon.[17][14][18]
Crystal shell[]
From the Phlogiston the Vodoni home sphere appears as an enormous black sphere. The interior of the dark shell appears to be literally encrusted with precious metals and gems,[19] blasted deep into the strange black crystalline material by forces impossible to imagine. The stars of Vodonispace are precious gems, which flicker and sparkle with the strange blue light cast by the sun at the center of the sphere.[20]
Vodoni Spelljammers[]
The Vodoni Empire utilizes a number of unique spelljammers built for them by the Zalani shipwrights. All Vodoni vessels incorporate the distinctive winged appearance preferred by the gargoyle-like craftsmen, and the vessels themselves are masterpieces of workmanship. These vessels include the Nightwolf, the Hunter-Killer and the Werewolf. Also unique to the Vodoni is the Imperial War Galley named the Vulkarus.[21]
History of Vodonispace[]
Centuries ago the ancient Vodoni realized their sun was going to explode in a cataclysmic supernova. In an effort to save themselves, the Vodoni turned to a powerful and influential warrior named Vulkaran the Dark to lead them. Realizing that the gods were unable to save his people[11], Vulkaran decided that the only course of action available to them was to evacuate the entire population, and immediately ordered that every available spelljamming vessel be commandeered for the great exodus.[9]
Meanwhile, realizing that the supernova was inevitable, the greater supernatural entities of Vodonispace were faced with a choice of their own: either remain within the sphere and face possible destruction or leave and risk losing their divine power. Just as the future seemed hopeless, the Crystal King, ruler of the Ruby Court (the ancient Vodoni pantheon of gods),[22] proposed they create a vessel which they could inhabit until the danger had passed. The only stumbling block was that they would have to be bound within the vessel. As the time of the nova approached, more and more of the various greater supernatural entities, including Windreaper[11] the seer and the four Elemental Lords, agreed to the proposal and were bound to the crystalline vessel, known as the Eye of the Gods.[23] On the eve of the great exodus, the Crystal King placed the Eye of the Gods in the hands of the one mortal he felt he could trust to release them once the danger had passed, the young Emperor Vulkaran.
The ragtag Vodoni fleet fled their home sphere into the phlogiston in search of a safe haven. Eventually they discovered a crystal sphere, but when they approached the system's five planets, they discovered they were already inhabited. What happened next is unknown, but the ancient Vodoni went on to annihilate the entire native population, erasing all trace of them. The Vodoni then claimed the sphere as their own, naming it Vodonikaspace in honor of their new home world, Vodonika (meaning 'New Vodoni').[24]
When Vulkaran judged enough time had passed and that it was safe enough, elements of the Vodoni fleet eventually returned to Vodonispace. They discovered that their home sphere had undergone dramatic, even cataclysmic, changes. Kathyk, the huge fourth world named for a past Vodoni Emperor, had been utterly destroyed, creating an enormous debris field that completely enveloped the three inner planets.[25] The sun, Vodoni Prime, meanwhile, had become a small, unstable, flickering blue-grey star at the center of the sphere.[9] They also discovered that the enormous blast had scoured the entire sphere clean of all indigenous life, sparing only those creatures living deep underground.[24][26]
By this time, Vulkaran the Dark had shown his true colors. Declaring himself the absolute ruler of the Vodoni,[12] he betrayed the gods and refused to release them, choosing instead to keep them imprisoned within the Eye of the Gods.[27] He then banned all religion, on pain of death by fire, and declared himself the one true god of the Vodoni.[11] With the aid of Mongrelle, his Court Sorceress and High Councilor,[4] Vulkaran created a ruling elite of spellcasters, named Vodoni breeders, who would serve him as governors and administrators.[28] Mongrelle and her breeders then created a race of blood-thirsty, merciless, and above all else, utterly loyal, lycanthropic warriors known as Vodoni enforcers.[29] Vulkaran and his wolf-headed warriors would go on to conquer 10 more spheres, establishing the Vodoni Empire, and entrenching his rule over all subject peoples, including the Vodoni.[12][30][9]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Vodoni Empire article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Introduction, page 3
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 5: The Great Assault, page 45
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix A: The Vodoni Spheres, pages 51-53
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix B: Non-Player Characters, page 55
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Introduction, page 2
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 1: Small Universe, page 6
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 2: Strange Bedfellows, page 16
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, sidebar, page 26
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix A: The Vodoni Spheres, page 51
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 28
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 27
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 21
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, pages 26-27
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, sidebar, page 27
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3:Reconnoitering, pages 25-26
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, sidebar, pages 26-27
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 20
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix A: The Vodoni Spheres, page 52
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 2: Strange Bedfellows, page 13
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 18
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix D: New Spelljamming Ships, page 58-59
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 6: Crescendo, page 50
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix E: New Magic, page 60
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Appendix A: The Vodoni Spheres, page 53
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 25
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 4: The Siege of Calandia, page 32
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 5: The Great Assault, page 44
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Vodoni, Breeder section, page 61
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Vodoni, Enforcer section, page 62
- ↑ Grant S. Boucher, SJA4 Under The Dark Fist, 1991, (TSR Inc.), chapter 3: Reconnoitering, page 24