Lustria
Lustria is a place that features in Warhammer Fantasy.
Contents |
History
The Slann record that Lustria was originally attached to the Southlands, just as real world South America was attached to Africa. As part of the Old Ones plan, the two were separated and changed from barren wastelands into fertile jungles. It was around this time that most of the Lizardmen Temple-Cities were founded and populated.
Skaven were the first of the younger species to vie for control of Lustria. There Clan Pestillens infected many Lizardmen, particularly the larger species, with a plague that weakened their power and caused many of their cities to fall into ruin. This was only reversed with the rise of the snake god Sotek, around the Imperial Year 0, who drove the Skaven out of Lustria.
Before the discovery of Lustria by the Norse, a trading vessel from the Old World was caught in the fierce currents off the coast of Araby and swept into the swirling waters of Ulthuan. The wrecked ship was washed up months later on the south eastern shore of Lustria. Unbeknownst to the crew, one of their passengers, Luthor Harkon, had been a vampire and although all the humans died in the disaster, the vampire and his off-spring lived and founded a new realm of undead in the New World, known as 'the Vampire Coast'.
The first human to reach Lustria (and survive) was the Norse seafarer Lost Erik, who recorded landing on an island just off the coast of Lustria and looting gold from Lizardmen. He failed to realize the extent of the land and it was drawn on maps as a small cluster of islands. This story is based on an amalgamation of real world events that led to the European discovery of the Americas; first the Norse expeditions to North America, and the voyage of Christopher Columbus, who failed to realize he had discovered a new continent.
Lost Erik's son, named Losteriksson, was the first Old Worlder to reach the mainland of Lustria. After trekking inland in search of treasure, Losteriksson and his men left Lustria as rich men, only to return and settle down where they first landed, naming the settlement Skeggi, after Losteriksson's daughter, the first human to be born in the New World. The name 'Skeggi' is perhaps a joke by the writers on the name of the British coastal resort of Skegness, often referred to as 'Skeggy'.
Since Losteriksson returned with gold and riches, Lustria has been a popular destination for adventurers seeking to make a fortune and this has resulted in several Lizardmen cities being looted. The increase in traffic to Lustria has also increased the number of ships wrecked on its coast, which has served to swell the number of helpless victims the undead of the Vampire Coast can add to their ranks.
Overview
The jungle continent of Lustria is the most hostile environment outside the northern wastes of Chaos. The stifling air is so hot and humid that any warm-blooded intruder will quickly weaken and become sick. The ancient, thick canopy and dense mass of vegetation on the jungle floor quickly result in any sense of direction being lost. Lustria is home to a massive array of poisonous and deadly species, from the tiniest bloodmaggot, to monstrous predators similar in size and temperament to the ferocious drakes of the Old World. The quagmires and bogs that pervade Lustria harbour pockets of poisonous gas and further deadly creatures. Worse still are the strains of deadly diseases laced through the mud and decaying plant matter on the ground. At night, the jungle resounds to the hideous roars and earth-shaking footsteps of its monstrous denizens, making sleep all but impossible. Those who have somehow found respite or collapsed with exhaustion often awake to find some of their number missing, dragged away in the night by silent predators. Clustered with great edifices and perpetually lashed by tropical rainstorms and violent cyclones, the megalithic temple-cities of the Lizardmen are sometimes visible from the few areas of jungle where it is possible to see the storm-wracked sky, clearings preceded by abandoned monuments and totems that break the unending ocean of vegetation.
Locations in Lustria included:
- Skeggi : a Norse settlement at the Northern coast of Lustria.
- Fire Bogs :
- Magritta : an Estalian settlement in Lustria.
- Culchan Plains :
- Hexoatl : a city in which the oldest living Slann, Lord Mazdamundi resides.
- Itza : the oldest of the Lizardmen cities and the first to have been founded by the enigmatic Old Ones. The Slann of the first spawning, as well as Skinks, Saurus and Kroxigors, were all created by the Old Ones so that they could participate in the building of Itza, each race being responsible for a separate aspect of the city's construction.
- Quetza : a ruined Lizardmen city which became infested by the Skaven of Clan Pestillens. From here, plagues spread virulently through the jungle, devastating many other cities.
- Chaqua : Lizardmen city where the rise of the serpent god Sotek was first prophesied. A great migration of Skinks spread the cult among the other cities.
- Vampire Coast : situated in the Southern coast of Lustria and inhabited by the undead who were ruled by a ruthless vampire pirate named Luthor Harkon, a mad vampire of the Von Carstein bloodline with the area named after him.
The principal inhabitants of Lustria are the Lizardmen, whose cultural trappings are based upon the Maya, Aztec, Inca and Toltec people. The rain forests of Lustria are full of brightly coloured birds, large reptilian creatures and many poisonous insects that make human habitation difficult.
Approximately four-fifths of Lustria is covered by dense jungle with trees older than humanity and soaring hundreds of feet into the sky. Plant growth is very thick, often broken only by temporary game trails, and shrouded in dense fog. Although outsiders typically perceive this as a single uniform biome, Lustrian natives are familiar with many distinct environments within it, such as ferntree valleys, titanic skywoods and moss-covered flood zones, each of which hosts its own native perils. Many species of this plant life are carnivorous, such as spikethorns, creeper vines and blood-hungry spore clouds.
The Lustrian forests are home to numerous and diverse animal species, most of them dangerous to outsiders. Many stinging insects are found here, which swarm through the air or hide among vines and can grow to the size of a fist. Large hunting cats and cannibalistic monkey-kin are also common predators. The dominant form of life here, however, are the many species giant reptiles. Cold Ones hunt in packs along game trails, while Terradons nest in the canopies. Stegadons freely trample through the jungle, creating temporary open paths before these are reclaimed by the rampant plant life. Long-necked sauropods prey on creatures in the treetops, while Thunder Lizards tower over the canopies and eat clouds. Carnosaurs are the dominant predators here, and feared by all other beings. The deepest jungle areas are home to creatures not seen elsewhere, such as many-legged giant beasts, serpents with feathered wings, and the Arcanadon.
Creatures that inhabited the region included:
- Bloodwasp :
- Itxi Grub :
- Sabre-Toothed Tiger :
- Pliodon :
- Arcanadon :
The other inhabitants are all recent arrivals who have come to Lustria from their homelands in the Old World. Their major settlements are along the Eastern coast, though there is at least one group of immortal women descended from the Norse living in the jungles. These women are known as Amazons, a direct reference to the warrior women who lent their name to the real world geographical equivalent of Lustria (see Amazon Rainforest). Another group of inhabitants are the Pygmies who are longtime enemies of Slann. It is unknown if any pygmies are still alive.
Organizations that operated in the region included:
- Amazon Sisterhood :
- Valkyries :
Inhabitants
- Luthor Harkon :
Notes
- Lustria was created by Games Workshop and featured in the setting of the Warhammer Fantasy universe.
In other media
Video games
- In Total War: Warhammer II, Lustria featured in the sequel turned-based strategy video game.
- In Total War: Warhammer III, Lustria featured in the sequel turned-based strategy video game.
Appearances
- Warhammer Fantasy:
External Links
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