[hider=Nation: Hammerfell: The High Kingdom of the Na-Totambu and the Ra Gada] The High Kingdom of the Na-Totambu and the Ra Gada Notes on the Name: While officially “The High Kingdom of the Na-Totambu and the Ra Gada” is the official name of what once was the province of Hammerfell, Hammerfell is stil used to refer to the now-independent nation both inside and outside of its borders. Location: The City of Sentinel on the Southern end of the Lilac Bay to the Port City of Rihad just north of the gold coast, and from the Island of Stos M’Kai to Dragonstar in the North and Elinhir in the east. Geographical borders consist of the Lilac Bay, the Colovian highlands in the south, the ocean in the west, and the far edge of the Dragontail Mountains in the Northeast. Notes on Sructure: As a High Kingdom, Hammerfell is composed of smaller kingdoms—like Rihad in the south Hegathe in the west—city states—like Dragonstar in the northeast and the island of Stros M’kai— and nomadic tribes—like the Alik’r and the Ash’abah of the Alik’r Desert—that have sworn fealty to the High King, who has personal holdings of his own. Military Information: • Hammerfell has a standing army of about 15,000 troops drawn from all corners of the realm, with the ability to raise about 33,000 in total in the event of serious conflict. However, that 33,000 is split up between the many realms that make up the High Kingdom, and would take a considerable amount of time to raise for a broad offensive mobilization. Defense of regions left to local rulers in the short-term, giving them free-reign to defend themselves until reinforcements can arrive. • Hammerfell possess about 7,000 ships, giving them the ability to easily transport their standing army, and up to about 22,000 troops should that man be raised. • Unofficially, Hammerfell allows pirates to dock in its port cities unmolested, so long as they do not attack ships belonging to or trading with Hammerfell. Should Hammerfell from an official military or trade alliance, they will be forbidden targets as well. These pirates are estimated to number about 700. • The Ash’abah tribe, numbering just under 1,000, actively pursues and represses undead activity within Hammerfell’s borders. They could be called upon by the High King to aid against any undead threat. Because of cultural stigmas related to interaction with the undead and the use of magic, the Ash’abah are outcasts, which limits their movements within Hammerfell. • Hammerfell’s military does not officially hold any mages whatsoever. This is related to a cultural stigma against the use of magic, and those Redguards who do openly practice magic are outcasts for it. Redguard clergy, be they of the Divines or Yokudan pantheon, do not practice magic as a result of this, and are not considered combatants unless otherwise enlisted. • Hammerfell is actively pursuing a rediscovery of the techniques of the ancient Yokudan Ansei, or “Saints if the Sword.” (Note: While this shall be pursued by Hammerfell no matter what, it will not come to fruition without express approval separate from the overall application. The lore from the games paints the Ansei as very powerful figures, able to form powerful weapons from their own spirits. I am more than willing to role-play without being able to field any, but I would like to know if I could do so in a limited fashion) Icon: [img]http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2013/214/1/2/the_elder_scrolls__flag_of_hammerfell_by_okiir-d6gbfk0.png[/img] [url=http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Elder-Scrolls-Flag-of-Hammerfell-390204288]Source[/url] (Note: This guy has some pretty awesome stuff, which some of you may want to snag for your own flags. Either way, I recommend checking it out.) History: For centuries, the Crowns and Forebears of Hammerfell have been in a state of tension and conflict. When Hammerfell rejected the White-Gold concordat, and the Aldmeri Dominion invaded the desert province, they, for the first time almost since the destruction of Yokuda, found unity. To solidify this unity in a way that would last for the duration of, and after, the war with the Dominion, King Vird-si of Rihad, who ruled a predominantly Forebear realm, married his daughter to King Azzhlan of Sentinel in the North, a Crown. The union of these, the two most powerful Forebear and Crown realms, is credited by many as the only thing that has kept Crowns and Forebears from once again breaking out into civil war. With the death of the old king Vird-si in the war, and his son and heir of the same name being untested, Sentinel was widely considered the strongest realm of all the holdings in Hammerfell. This, and the guaranteed allegiance of Rihad from the aforementioned marriage, led to King Azzhlan becoming High King of a united, independent Hammerfell. This united realm is an exercise in compromise between the traditionalist Crowns in the north, and the metropolitan forebears in the south. The name itself comes from the Yokudan names for the two groups: Na-Totambu refers to the Crowns, and Ra Gada (from which the word ”Redguard” originates) refers to the Forebears. The Name is an example of how the High Kingdom has many traditionalist trappings. Given tensions between Hammerfell and the Empire, after the White-Gold Concordat officially ceded much of southern Hammerfell to the Dominion, as well as Hammerfell and the Dominion even after the signing of the Second Treaty of Stros M’kai, even the metropolitan Forebears have been reluctant to pursue international trade on the scale of the Third and Early Fourth Eras. [/hider] [hider=Character Sheet: Azzhlan, High King of the Na-Totambu and the Ra Gada] Name: Azzhlan, High King of the Na-Totambu and the Ra Gada Appearance: Like most Redguards, Azzhlan is dark-skinned and wiry of hair. He is muscular, though no more so than the average Redguard swordsman, and is almost as tall as an Altmer. His formal attire consists of silk robes billowing around brightly polished steel chain. At his hip is a scimitar made of the highest quality ebony. Bio: Azzhlan was the second born-son of the Crown F’othta, King of Sentinel. The city of Sentinel, capital of the realm of the same name, was a center of trade, bringing in great wealth to its merchants, who were then taxed by F’othta. This brought in great wealth to the northern realm, and Azzhlan was immersed in it as he grew up. As a result of his Crown heritage, he was also immersed in Yokudan history and language. He has been fluent in the latter from a young age, and was enamored with the old Yokudan heroes as a boy—the Ansei in particular. Being second-born, he was not in line to inherit his father’s throne, and when he came of age, asked his father’s leave to join the provincial branch of the Fighter’s Guild to seek a glory of his own. F’othta consented, and had a scimitar crafted from imported ebony for his son to use. As a member of the Fighter’s Guild,Azzhlan traveled all around Hammerfell alongside his guild mates, vanquishing those monsters that even Hammerfell’s hearty populace could not handle on their own, and occasional ventured forth into the surrounding provinces. As a Crown, he had been raised with a dep respect for the past, and to follow the traditional Yokudan pantheon. However, the vast majority of his guild mates were Forebears—the traditionalist Crowns often frowning on those who joined such Imperial institutions. Initially, there was great distrust between him and them, but as he did battle and shed blood alongside them, a bond was formed, and Azzhlan acquired a respect for the Forebears that would last for years to come. Azzhlan journeyed far. He vanquished giant scorpions, exterminated bandits on trade routes into Cyrodiil, fought off an incursion by the Foresworn into Hammerfell, and even worked with the infamous Ash’abah to bring down a necromancer. In these travels, Azzhlan acquired a respect, not just for the Forebears, but for the broader spectrum of cultures in Tamriel, and came to see the isolationist tendencies of most of his fellow Crowns as more then antiquated. He also built up a good deal of fame, not only for being a Crown in the Fighter’s Guild, but also for how effective he and his compatriots were. This time, though, came to an end. Disease swept through Sentinel, and both his father and elder brother, who remained childless, grew deathly ill. Knowing what was to come, he quit the Fighter’s Guild to return to Sentinel. The Guildmaster assigned his closest friends to accompany him on his journey, as bodyguards. They arrived after much of the city was in better health, but covertly, so as to avoid fanfare. His brother had already passed, but he was in time to see his brother interred. F’othta barely clung to life, and having just enough time to great his returned son, he bade him farewell for the final time. Azzhlan ascended to the throne of Sentinel to a world on the brink. Close to home, tensions were high between Crowns and Forebears, though this worldly Crown gave both sides pause. Abroad, the Aldmeri Dominion was embarrassing the Empire, and all eyes could see that war was drawing close. When at last it broke out, Azzhlan led the forces intended to relieve the besieged south, only to be pushed into the Alik’r Desert by the Elven aggressors. It was here that Vird-si, Forebear King of Rihad, proposed a strategic marriage. If Crown and Forebear tensions should break out into infighting, Hammerfell would be lost to the Dominion, so Vird-si thought that a marriage between Sentinel, the mightiest of the Crown lands, and Rihad, the mightiest Forebear realm, would bring strategic unity to the province. Azzhlan married Vird-si’s daughter, Nisira, the day that the Imperial city was captured by the Dominion. It was not a marriage of love, but Azzhlan and Nisira respected each other enough, and found each other attractive enough, that it was hardly a miserable marriage. As the Imperial City was recaptured, so began the campaign to retake Rihad. It was a hard-won victory, and cost Vird-si his life. Despite this, morale was high. With the Imperial City retaken, and the Dominion on the back foot in Hammerfell, things were looking up for the Redguards. Then Titus Mede II signed the White-Gold concordat, ceding much of southern Hammerfell to the Dominion. Natually, all of Hammerfell rejected this idea: the south may largely be Forebear land, but even the Crowns would see it ruled by Redguards. Then the Emporer denounced Hammerfell as an Imperial Province, which all felt as a stinging betrayal. The Fighter’s Guild in Hammerfell was soon defunct, as all of its Redguard members—including the Guildmaster—deserted. Azzhlan soon found all of its old friends at his side. Then the full might of the Aldmeri Dominion fell upon Hammerfell. A lack of hostility was hardly enough to guarantee Redguard survival, they needed total unity. The only ruler acceptable to both Crowns and Forebears was Azzhlan, the worldly crown joined to the Forebears in marriage. The thought of being ruled by a Crown was not something that almost any Forebear relished, and Crowns did not like the idea of following prospective heirs of Forebear blood, but all acknowledged that he was the only candidate both sides found palatable. What’s more, he had enough experience in battle that Hammefell-at-large felt hopeful that they had a chance under his command. And so the war raged. For five years there were gains and losses, but the united Redguard forces eventually forced the Dominion to sign the Second Treaty of Stros M’kai, pushing the Dominion from Hammerfell. However, none believed that the Dominion would hold up their end of the Treaty should Crowns and Forebears again break out into violence, so all the realms of Hammerfell swore fealty to Azzhlan. Age: 32 Skills: • Sword Combat • Diplomacy • Resource Management • Military Strategy and Tactics Personality: Azzhlan is a proud man. He has pride in his accomplishments, pride in his people, and pride in his country. He is under no illusions about his people’s abilities, and acknowledges their limits, but sees the good as outweighing the bad. This leads him to a position of optimism in regards to his people, and his realm, that has spread to the rest of his life. His pride also extends to his history—specifically, the history of Yokuda. Azzhlan has, over several years of fighting defensively, developed great patience. It is his way to wait for something until the opportunity arises to strike. Azzhlan has a long memory, and is aware of disrespect and dishonor. Large scale betrayal, humiliation, deception, and other despicable actions inspire great anger in him. It can easily be said that he is over-sensitive to these things. When he feels that he has been wronged, forgiveness does not come easily to him, and revenge, while hardly ever his highest priority, is always a part of his strategy. Faction: By Blood, he is a Crown. [/hider]