Name: Kingdom of the Celand

Location: 
[img]http://i.imgur.com/XLPLDSQ.png[/img]

Background:

It has been over a thousand years since the Celii tribe overran their neighbors and established a kingdom. All that is left from that time is fragments, ancient legends, and the names of enemies who mean nothing outside of the stories. In the time since, the Cels have solidified and civilized, have ruled over most of the surrounding peninsulas, and then lost that hegemony over centuries of bad luck and cultural decadence. The slide into failure is better recorded, but not completely understood, by the Cels.

In recent years, this trouble has been in part due to the increase in raids from the north. The Cels do not recognize the tribal distinctions of their northern neighbors. For them, the people of the north are all simply the "Ice-People", but despite Celish pretension, Ice People raids have had the painful effect of decapitating the rural population from their city dwelling elite. Raiders pierce the countryside and the nobility hide in their walled cities until the threat has passed. This has caused an increase in the authority of local strong-arms and officials, who can provide a measure of protection that the King and his court are either unable or unwilling to provide. 

In older times, Kings were able to provide sincere protection for their people. Armies could be paid and kept to defend against threats. In modern times, brave men are rarely kept on the payroll of the monarchy, and the will toward violence is driven into inter-family feuding and street brawls that gain nothing for the Kingdom as a whole.

The capitol is Celund, a sprawling city of personal mansions built like castles, of multiple markets, temples, and universities, where families long descended from ancient warriors compete over the revenue streams of their dying Kingdom. Their technology is well up to the task of handling the tribal Ice-People that threaten them, but their cultural malaise off-sets this advantage and puts them in competition with peoples they would never dream of inviting to dinner.