[b]House Name:[/b] Karacid

[b]Head of House:[/b] Temir Karacid

[b]House Specialty:[/b] Sailing. The Karacids are known to be some of the greatest sailors on the continent, boasting a large navy. This navy is used to fish for fish and crabs, as well as being used to raid enemies for loot and gold. The Taurician Raiders are fiercely known throughout the world as fearful pillagers and raiders.

[b]House Ancestral Weapon:[/b] Ocean's Bane. An ax made from the bones and teeth of the legendary sea-wyrm, Ashara. The ax is said to become charged when doused with sea-water, giving it deadly accuracy, damage, and durability. The ax holder is known as "The Scourge of the Seas", and rightfully so.

[b]Important members:[/b] 
Temir Karacid - Leader of Tauricia, Temir Karacid is the Warchief of the islands. Inheriting it from his older brother Baitzas in a bloody duel for the throne, Temir is considered harsh and cruel to his enemies, yet just and kind to his people. Young warchief, yet has the strength to rule his realm. Current holder of Ocean's Bane, and The Scourge of the Seas.
Katal Karacid - Wife of Temir, and mother to his son, Katal was once a captive of the Tauricians from a raid on a Coastal Riverfront Town. She was spared for her Beauty, and married the then General Temir.
Etyum Karacid - Son of Temir and Katal Karacid. Heir to Taurica, and only an infant.
Jo-Gal Karacid- Teenage son of Baitzas Karacid. His father was brutally slain in a duel by Temir Karacid, and Jo-Gal was forced to flee the islands in order to stay alive. Current Location unknown. Considered weak for a Taurician.
Larha Karacid - Young daughter of Baitzas Karacid. Strong willed woman. Fled Tauricia with her brother Jo-Gal after her father's death.
Guryt Karacid - Youngest Son of Tymun Karacid, and younger brother to Temir. Weak for a Taurician, but has the mind of a genius. Spymaster for the horde, and well-educated scholar and adviser to the warchief.
Hzell Karacid - Uncle to Temir, and brother of late warchief Tymun Karacid. General of the Taurician Fleet, and once of the most skilled warriors in the realm, and leader of the "Taurician Horde".
Jejin Karacid - Older Sister to Temir, younger sister to Baitzas. Powerful diplomat for the Tauricians, and bachelor-ate.

[b]Nation/Realms Name:[/b] Tauricia

[b]Sigil[/b]: [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/N43BsCt.png[/IMG]

[b]House Motto:[/b] Conquest and Might

[b]Region/color on map:[/b] Southern Isles (Blue color)

[b]Race name:[/b] Human

[b]Racial appearance:[/b] For a Regular Adult Male Taurician: Average height is 5 feet 8 inches. Average weight is 150lb. Skin color is white.

[b]Racial traits:[/b] Excellent Seamen and skilled Martial Warriors. Known to be good fishermen as well. 

[b]Capital:[/b] The City of Civola

[b]Capital Population:[/b] 40000 people

[b]Other Major Settlements:[/b] 
Jade Point - A strategic Castle on the closest point to the mainland on the Taurician main island
Ugaria Island - Prime Fishing Location, known for fish and fishermen.
Harramatz Island - Crab Island. Home to plenty of crabs and lobsters.
Rock Gutxi - The military deployment point for the mainland. This is where most of the raiders and ships meet to plan, coordinate, and execute raids.
Rock Handi - The Trade point for Tauricia. For the nations that are either too far away to raid, or friends of the Tauricians, this is where they meet for trade and diplomatic agreements. Most of the embassies and trade outposts are here.
Zorrotzak Puntua - The Prison Island. Home to captives caught during raids and sparred. All that is known is that once they enter, the captives' fates are sealed.
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/du35u1U.jpg[/IMG]

[b]Population:[/b] 1,886,400 people across all islands (except Zorrotzak Puntua, calculations there are a bit off).

[b]Culture:[/b] The biggest difference between Tauricia and the rest of Elyden is the religion. Tauricians do not worship Kammeth, but instead worship Akop, the Taurician God of the Sea. Akop controls Tauricia, since Tauricia is dependent on the waves. Priests of Akop are called "Sea-Shamans". Akop also has an evil side, Bkot, the God of the Depths. So who sink far beneath the waves enter the realm of Bkot. When a Taurician dies a warrior's death, or dies having lived a good and honorable life, he is buried at sea. Mermaids of Akop help the soul float up from the body and help guide it to Akop's Cove to feast for all eternity. Those who were cowards or evil do not receive help, and sink to the bottom of the waves, where Bkot chains them to the bottom of the ocean for all eternity, and to linger in darkness forever. The culture also is very coastal. Most of the products from the sea, and so the culture shows in fisher-garbs, water-proof clothing, and heavy furs. Seafood is the main diet, though farms of Limes and Oranges are found in warmer waters to help prevent scurvy. 

[b]Type of Government:[/b] Primogeniture Succession of Strength - Eldest Son (or Daughter if no sons exist) inherits, but may be overthrown by anyone who has the strength to beat the Warchief in a duel to the death. This rarely happens, but it makes the Warchief train to become the strongest of the people in case of a challenge.

[b]Influence and relations:[/b] Tauricia is pretty isolated from the rest of the world, yet its neighbors know too well the Tauricians. The Endless Plains, The Stormgully, and The Windfall Hills have experienced Taurician raids in the past. Many have been on Coastal villages, but raiders have managed to sack the city of Maelstrom Bay in Windfall Hills in one of the bloodiest sieges fought by the Tauricians. 

[b]Military:[/b] The navy contains over 200 ships consisting of 150 triremes and 50 galleys. During war time, that number is boosted to 400 ships with 300 triremes and 100 galleys (War does not include raids). 9400 raiders use these ships, and contain hardy adventurers and warriors raised by the warchief when a raid is ordered, or in times of war. Less then 20 catapults are used, for major cities and walled locations are rarely attacked. Horsemen are non-existent in Tauricia. The raiders are a combination of warriors and archers, with the warriors being split into heavy, medium, and light warriors. This force strikes fast and hard, and leaves a bloody trail in its wake. The military is called the "Taurician Horde". The leader is assigned by the Warchief.

[b]Landscape:[/b] Most of the islands are sandy and rocky, except the main island, which contains some mountains and forests within it.

[b]Wildlife:[/b] Crabs, lobsters, trout, perch, tuna, salmon, shrimp, crayfish, boor, bears, deer, falcons, and whales are the most noticeable animals.

[b]History:[/b] Long long ago, during what the Tauricians call "The Age of the Depths", the evil God of the Depths, Bkot, possessed a mighty sea dragon near the coast of the main island. Her name was Ashara, and like most dragons, she would rule over the humans with a cruel iron fist. Her reign lasted for hundreds of years. Then came the last war of the dragons. Ashara held on to the Southern Islands while her brethren died on the mainland. The people were forced to work in the sea for her, or be drowned/burned. Then came a nameless man, who the Tauricians called "Akop's Savior". It is said that this man challenged Ashara to a duel for the islands. The fighting was fierce, yet the man fought on with burns and gashes. He knew that only certain materials could pierce dragon flesh, so he improvised. Leading Ashara to an island in the sea, he lured her inside. He then used a magic spell and caused the island cave to collapse on the dragon. The dragon was crushed by the mountain, one of the few times a dragon was killed without the aide of a Makitherin weapon. Before the dragon's corpse sank, the hero plunged into the water after her. He caught up to the dead dragon, and made Ocean's Bane out of the bones and tooth, and was considered a great warrior. He vanished soon afterwords, never to return again. Some say he was Akop in flesh, others say he only managed to defeat Ashara due to powers given to him by Akop. Regardless, he left them to found a kingdom for themselves.

The Isles were divided, and soon caught the eye of the Phoenix Throne. A group of soldiers was dispatched to get these islands into the empire, but died in the process of negotiations. An army then invaded Tauricia. While the Tauricians were skilled fighter, they were not united, and fell easily. The Southern Islands were given to a Governor from Skyhaven to manage. 

Karaca Karacid was a powerful warrior from Civola, the largest of the Taurician states. During the time under Tauricia was under the Phoenix Throne, he managed to strike deals, or flat out invaded, all of the major Taurician warlords, forming what is known as the Taurician Kingdom. Karaca managed to kick the Governor out of power, but his diplomatic skills were enough to ensure that Phoenix Throne soldiers would not be sent to restore order to the islands. He also managed to get Ocean's Bane, though how he got it died with him. Karaca Karacid is considered the first Warchief of the Tauricians. He fought against the spread of the Religion of Kammeth, and fought to keep the worship of Akop alive. He passed on, leaving his son Tymun to lead the Kingdom. Tymun saw his chance to split away from the empire during the coronation assassination. He declared Tauricia an independent realm, but was killed by Phoenix Soldiers before seeing his dream of independence come alive. Baitzas Karacid inherited, and shocking his brethren, he asked for peace from the Phoenix Throne, and swore fealty to the boy king. His younger brother Temir would not have it, and challenged Baitzas to a duel, and killed him. Temir was declared Warchief of Tauricia, and scored victory for Tauricia from the Phoenix throne. Time will not tell if Tauricia will fully be independent. 

[b]Strengths:[/b] 
I. Masters of the Waves: The Tauricians are masters of sailing. Their ships are some of the best in the world, and they are known to be deadly in naval combat, as well as landings and invasions.
II. Bloody Reputation: The Taurician Horde murders without compromise or mercy. They are feared throughout the continent as savaged warriors, bent on loot, blood, and glory. These men will gladly throw themselves into deadly situations, and fight like lions until death.

[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
I. Lack of other forces: Few catapults, no horses, this means that the Taurican Horde is not really diverse in terms of what is in it. With the lack of siege equipment, attacking any stone walled fortifications would be very hard and deadly for the Tauricians. As such, raiders tend to stick to the coast.
II. Lack of Intelligence: Brave, yet dumb. Taurician Intellect is below average compared to the other nations. While they can read and write, things like math, science, and tactics are difficult to some Tauricians. This means attacks are not well coordinated, an as such, often scrambles into villages for loot and getting out as quickly as possible. 

[b]Export:[/b] Seafood found only in Tauricia, whale oil for lamps, goods from raids.

[b]Import:[/b] Iron for weapons, wood due to lack of forests for ships and buildings,stone for castles and forts.