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[center][h2][u][b]Tairre'Tal[/b][/u][/h2]
[img]http://pre10.deviantart.net/0551/th/pre/i/2013/215/a/3/the_elder_scrolls__flag_of_valenwood_by_okiir-d6gfuoo.png[/img]

[b]Government:[/b] Constitutional Monarchy. The head of state by right of blood is limited in his or her authority by the Koramallen, a non-partisan unicameral legislature elected to directly by the citizens of the various districts of Tairre'Tal.

[b]Ruler:[/b] King Draanuv 'the Shield' Aaytarne, Lord of Sereenost. Draanuv's full royal epithet, "The Shield That Held", is often shortened to simply 'The Shield', and is in reference to Draanuv having survived an infamous assassination attempt by his political opponents in the Koramallen.

[b]Trait:[/b] Tactician.

[b]Preferred Location:[/b] Grey.

[b]Predominant Race:[/b] Taurn'edhel, or High Elves. They're a humanoid species, frailer, less numerous, but more agile, longer-lived and wiser than man. They tend to be built gently, have light features, and are known for their high degree of sophistication in the area of arts and culture. The Taurn'edhel possess an extremely disciplined and regimental culture, but still hold great pride in their democratic institutions and the freedoms they provide. The capital of Tairre'Tal, Taln'e, is the heart and mind of Taurn'edhel society, and the city's crowning feature—the Citadel of Sereenost—is the prime example of the Taurn'edhel style of architecture, emphasising ornateness over stark utility and favouring smooth lines, soft exteriors and pleasant interiors full of natural light and extravagantly decorated. The Taurn'edhel aim to live life not to its fullest, but to its highest and most noble, and even the poor of the race desire above all else to present themselves with dignity and poise.

The largest minority in Tairre'Tal are the Calen'edhel, the Forest Elves. They reside, as their common name infers, in Taiire'Tal's denser woods, living out nomadic existences as hunters. They tend to shy from large towns and cities, those of them who choose to leave the forests settling in small, tight-nit villages at the forest's edge, mostly among their own kind. The Calen'edhel are not represented in the Koramellen, except those rare few who reside in Taln'e or the kingdom's other noteworthy settlements, but do not overly begrudge this as they tend to be apolitical, interested only in being able to continue their traditional lifestyles—a modesty the Taurn'edhel are happy to oblige. The Calen'edhel have darker features than their city-dwelling cousins and are both considerably shorter and considerably less interested in courtly manner. Whereas the Taurn'edhel spend their days designing towering constructs of stone and entertaining themselves with games of the mind, the Calen'edhel are content to live simply, making camps alongside the trees and practising their talent with bow and blade. Another stark difference between the Calen'edhel and Taurn'edhel is their attitude towards sexuality. Whilst the Taurn'edhel are monogamous, taking on only one committed partner (at a time) for their long lives, the Elves of the Wood are quite licentious. Sex between uncommitted partners is common place, even the norm, and relationships between the nomads of the forest are never exclusive. Even sexual taboos such as homosexuality are accepted among the Calen'edhel. This liberal attitude to sexuality wavers among the village-dwelling Calen'edhel, who are more strongly influenced by the Taurn'edhel culturally and tend to mimic them more closely than those Calen'edhel who live in the forests.

[b]History:[/b] Taiire'Tal has historically consisted only of Taln'e and its immediate environs. It was the first ruler of the Aaytarne dynasty, Queen Kalina the Great, who gradually extended Taiire'Tal's domain over all of the forests of the Calen'edhel, by way of a combination of military might and fabulous riches, simultaneously coercing and purchasing the loyalty of the Calen'edhel chiefs. Only a single tribe of the Calen'edhel, the Daennir, was made a casualty of this otherwise peaceful conquest. The Chieftain of the Daennir refused to accept Queen Kalina's authority regardless of the might of Talne's armies or the splendour of riches she offered in exchange, and his insistence on independence drew the support of a significant minority of the population of the other tribes, who abandoned their own people to join the Daennir and resist Queen Kalina and Taln'e. The Queen, unsatisfied with being known in future generations for having conquered most, but not all, of the Calen'edhel, marshalled the full strength of her armies and sent them to war against the fiercely independent Daennir. In a long and bloody guerilla war, the Daennir fought bravely, but simply could not match Taiire'Tal's superior strength. In the end, all professed members of Clan Daennir were slain, and all their sympathizers sent back to their own clan's lands to be punished as their chieftain deemed fit. The portion of the forest that the Daennir had called their own was burned and cleared, a final punishment to the dead tribe for their resistance, on its ashes Queen Kalina constructed the city of Kalina, which was seeded with Taurn'edhel settlers and became Taiire'Tal's second largest city before the end of Kalina's reign.
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