Corvis, Island of

Corvis is the site of what remains of the Empire of Urd (see below). When the first Urdish colonists arrived on Corvis, they encountered the natives, who called themselves Covari. The Covari worked in bronze, and worshiped the gods of nature; they were strongly distrustful of magic-users, to the point of burning or drowning anyone convicted of working arcane magic. At one time they had been a proper kingdom, but the last Overking of the Covari died without heir more than a decade before the first Urdish colonists arrived. The Urds, for their part, worked in iron and steel, and accepted magic-users at least as willingly as they did lawyers (which is to say, they did not consider performing arcane magic any sort of offense on its own). The Urds were, at least initially, outnumbered by the Covari, and so they entered into treaties with them and attempted to live peacefully among the natives. This did not last, and in the inevitable fighting the better organized and more advanced Urds easily subjugated the Covari. Now, in modern times, most Urdish citizens on Corvis are, at least in part, descended from the Covari; very few are pure blood natives. However, some still remember the old ways and the old gods, and dream of rising up and overthrowing the Empire.