Setting information

We are still writing on the setting and the characters. This means that we will further supplement the information about the setting and characters in the coming months. If you already have specific questions about the setting and characters and you can’t find the answers on this website yet, please contact us at trials-of-torment@arttobelieve.nl

The island Noiris

Just outside the empire Cendara you can find the island Noiris. Different families have been living here together for generations. All are of the human race and there are currently about 400 inhabitants.

The island has rich agricultural soil, meadows, small farms, a lot of trees, rock formations and small beaches. Because of their abundant harvests, all the inhabitants live in prosperity. They do trade with a lot of other islands and with the empire Cendara. But outside traders are never allowed on the island of Noiris.

They have a small group of traders who handle all trade on behalf of the island of Noiris. Those usually sail to the island of Wokai to arrange their trade contracts or ship supplies from there. Occasionally they sail to the empire Cendara to negotiate directly with the traders of Cendara.

The inhabitants of Noiris, except the few traders, never leave the island of Noiris. They live in a closed community with strict rules and age-old traditions. There is a strict hierarchy:

1. The priests of Noirith (five at the moment)
2. The Council (three people)
3. The head of the family (there are 54 families at the moment)
4. Heir apparent of the family
5. Rest of the family

Men and women hold equal regard in the community and they can get all the positions.

The Goddess Noirith

Almost all the daily activities, traditions and celebrations on Noiris are for the goddess Noirith. She is believed to live on the island Noiris and feeds herself on misery, pain and fear. If you please her enough, she grants you protection, healing, food and prosperity.

The priests know how to communicate with her and they translate her wishes to the inhabitants of Noiris. They teach the people how to please her. They also listen to the people and serve as conduits for their pleas to the goddess Noirith. The five priests of Noiris are very important as without them it would never be possible to live in such good harmony with the goddess.

An example of a daily tradition is the Meal thanking: before each meal, the goddess is thanked for the food. The head of the family designates the family member to receive the honour and hands him or her a straw. This family member can choose who he or she is going to hit. Then, without saying a word, a hand is put forward and is struck three times. The harder the hitting, the better the meal will taste. Besides the daily traditions, they have some festivals and celebrations at Noiris, all to please the goddess Noirith. Like the Festival of First Seeds; a festival where the people of Noiris commemorate their first wish being granted by Noirith. When the first inhabitants arrived on a rocky island, agriculture was impossible. By listening to Noirith's dark wishes, the islanders were rewarded with the germination of their first seeds. This important moment was when the people of Noiris realised that they could have anything they wanted if they learned to live in harmony with Noirith. The island Noiris was born along with a new way of living.

Situation during the larp

Although the goddess Noirith grants almost all their wishes, the islanders have missed something important for more than twenty years now; newly born children. Since they don't want to allow foreigners on their island, this is becoming a serious problem. The islanders tried almost everything and begged the goddess Noirith for new children. It seems that their desire for children is greater than what they offer Noirith, according to their priests.

As a desperate attempt to please their goddess more, they have now even asked foreigners for help. Firstly by having the traders seek the aid of foreign healers during their trade missions. They had some come to their island, but these too have not found a solution.

The inhabitants are now desperately awaiting their most important festival: festival of first seeds. During this festival the goddess grants a wish if she is sufficiently pleased. The inhabitants want to prove to Noirith that they are worthy of seeing their greatest wish come true. They realize that they will have to sacrifice more to Noirith than they ever have before. That is why, for the first time in their entire history, they have invited foreigners, who can lay claim to the wish as much as they do, should the foreigners win. In this way, the islanders hope to challenge themselves even more in hopes of proving to Noirith that they can serve her better than anyone else. That the arrival of the foreigners challenges them to new impulses and inspires them to new forms of pain, fear and misery.

Part of the Festival of first seeds are the Trials of torment. Before the trials, the three families that have meant the most to Noirith in the eyes of the priests are selected. The losing family of the previous Trials of Torment is the fourth participating family. This way this family can prove to Noirith that they have improved themselves.

The Trials of Torment are held at the sacred site on the island of Noiris, where the other islanders are not welcome while the Trials of Torment are in progress. The priests guide the Trials and the participating families. The family that causes the most misery, pain and fear during the Trials of Torment will be rewarded by Noirith. They are granted a wish that is proportional to the offerings they provided.

Outside the island Noiris, nobody knows about the Trials of torment. Simply because the islanders have had no need to talk about this. They do talk about the Festival of first seeds, the symbolism and the wish granted by Noirith.

This year's Trials of torment, they have invited friends of one of the foreign healers to their island. And they asked the islanders of Wokai, their most important trading partner, if they wanted to participate in the Festival of first seeds. On the neighboring island of Wokai they live in a similar way to the island of Noiris and there they also worship the goddess Noirith. The main difference is that on Wokai Island they allow foreigners, so multiple races live on Wokai Island. Moreover, the goddess Noirith does not live on Wokai, so her powers are slightly less strong there.