Nation Name
Edontas

Ethnic Peoples
Edontian
Pathy (Considered derogatory depending on inflection)

Ethnic Description
The Edontians are generally short and pudgy when they are rich, and short and stocky when they are poor. Most of the men reach a maximum of 5'6 or so, while their women are a few inches shorter -- Despite their stockiness, they are generally said to be a loud people with a presence that far outweighs their stature. Whether it is a genetic fault, mark of poor hygiene or diet, or a side effect of the culture's affinity with pipe-smoking is unknown, though many Edontians have crooked, sharp, or naturally missing teeth. To "Smile like an Edontian" is a common derogatory expression meaning "To show off" due to the popularity of false teeth, gold caps, and other custom dentistry in Edontas' upper circles.

Black or brown hair and olive skin are common traits, though the southern Edontians are generally paler with browner hair, whereas northern Edontians are of ruddier, darker features -- Both have curly hair, thick eyebrows, and thick body hair, which are all seen as stereotypical Edontian features. The men are either short, broad-shouldered, and packed with fatty muscle, or somewhat less short but taut and lean, whereas their women are usually short and full-bodied; Edontian women are frequently viewed as sultry temptresses, whereas their men are viewed as thieves and drunks. Almost all Edontians are brown-eyed, though those born with green eyes are considered lucky. No full-blooded Edontian can have blue eyes or blonde hair, and the two are stigmas tied to bastardy.



History
Edontas was given to Leiredon the Red as a slight for his perceived lack of skill on the battlefield during Ardall's conquest. Comprised mostly of sandy pine forests, sulfur bogs, rocky hills and packed hollow ground above large cave systems, "Ardall's Gift" as it was known, would set Leiredon against Ardall subtly, which would be the beginning of the country's anti-Imperial mindset.

Worship of Staloth over Eirtu and Elonar never rose to much popularity due to the original lack of funding for any national force of guards, police, or the church of Staloth's clergy in Edontas. Originally abandoned by Leiredon for the first two decades of its existence while he sailed along the Sunrise Sea, Edontas and crime have been synonymous since its literal founding. It was the site of few events of historical importance until The Great Uprising, when a company of sellswords led by Flitkor the Blind usurped the ruling House of Edon. Flitkor's first order of business would be to found his own great house -- his second would be to gather forces to march on the Imperial city, a war of usurpation that had already been in progress for several months.

After the end of The Great Uprising, Flitkor the Blind returned to Edontas to rule as king, sending forces to aid in House Osgar's rebellion, backing out once they had comfortably established relations with Osgar and won a princess from their defeated foe. The only other use of Edontas' military was fifty years after their aid in The Blackfield Rebellion during The Seven Prince War, a skirmish between House Flitton and House Oaken.

Since then, Edontas has only been spoken in the mouths of nobles for their dependency on foreign crops to sustain their population, and the unwholesome strangeness of their current ruling family, lead by Valdemar Flitton.

House Name
House Flitton

House Members

King Valdemar Flitton
Princess Gertrude Flitton
Prince James "Bagface" Flitton
Prince Wiliam Flitton

House Words

Through Guise of Night
The words of House Flitton, "Through Guise of Night" refers to their literal and metaphorical use of darkness. Literally, the words are a simple threat: Those who oppose the Flittons are not usually met on the battlefield or in duels, but disposed of through assassination, imprisonment, or intimidation. Additionally, the Flittons signature mounts are direbats, which can only be flown at night, an advantage that the family has historically used for infiltration and escapes rather than open combat.

House Sigil
A brown direbat on a dark blue field, encompassed in a black border. The direbat represents Flitkor's mount and House Flitton's ancestral tradition of bat riding, while the dark blue field represents their comfort with darkness and the night, figuratively and literally. The border represents the security and control they maintain over Edontas, which is a culturally lawless and harsh place.

House Seat
Cavernhall, as its name suggests, is built into a massive cave system. It appears deceivingly small on the surface, though the majority of the structure is actually underground. It is a dank, musty castle that always seems to have water dripping from the ceiling, and the building is filled with an unpleasant coolness to the air brought in by the caves. From the surface, Cavernhall is a short, squat castle made of yellowing white stone, built into the mouth of a large cave overlooking a cliff. The wall encompassing the surrounding area is built of the same white stone as the castle itself, and is decorated at each of its corners with a batlike gargoyle.

Inside the castle, it is kept warm by a fire at the center of the great hall and small cauldrons of sweet incense hanging from the ceilings, though it is still drafty, and the halls seem to wheeze and whistle from the cave winds and drafts. All of the metalwork, from the doorknobs to the candle holders, is slowly oxidizing copper, and at the end of the castle's great hall sits King Flitton's copper throne, which has grown green where his hands lay from sweat. Directly above it hangs the gold-dipped skull of Flitkor the Blind's direbat. Further into the castle's tunnels, the rooms and passageways become less and less paved and carved out until you are simply in a cave that has torches available. It is unknown how far down the Flitton Cave goes, though there is a certain point that no man has been able to ascend known as "The Drop", which is believed to go hundreds of feet straight down until reaching a small reservoir attached to the Mottem Expanse.

The mouth of the Flitton Cave is home to the largest colony of bats in Edontas, and likely the world, who servants of Flitton feed daily. Among the colony are the Flitton's direbats, which are bred for their intelligence and size -- Though they leave each night to hunt, they return unfailingly before the sunrise. The castle itself was originally built with wide corridors to allow Flitton direbat access to the castle as well, though this practice has fallen out of fashion.

House Heirloom

Flitkor's Crown
An eyeless helmet made of enchanted steel. It is said that the wearer can understand and communicate with their mount as well as Flitkor, a suspected Beastmouth, at the cost of their sight. It was first worn by Flitkor the Blind during the Battle for Southcliffe during The Blackfield Rebellion. Inside the helm, it has been described as "Unpleasantly cool and hollow-sounding".

House Themes

Blood - The Flitton direbats are often thought to be vampire bats, though they are only simple carnivores who eat birds and livestock. Despite this misconception, the Flittons have a lot of blood imagery: Valdemar has impure blood, Bagface bled for five years, Oren is described as a "Half-blood", and so on.

Blindness - The founder of House Flitton was Flitkor the Blind, their words allude to being enveloped in darkness, and their secret knowledge passed down throughout the family is echolocation. Their artifact and ancestral helmet covers ones' eyes and lets them control bats, which can't see in daylight. Darkness is arguably their theme as well, but not as much as blindness.

Tradition - The Flittons have a lot of unnecessary traditions -- They name each of their first-born with V-names to protect them from a stillbirthing curse, they raise and train direbats from an early age simply because their founder did hundreds of years ago, and the use of echolocation is taught to heads of the house once again, because tradition dictates it.

Capital City
Cragkeep is a tightly-packed Edontian city surrounding Cavernhall, House Flitton's ancestral keep which sits in a rocky patch of forest for the sake of pleasant aesthetics, surrounded by a four-sided wall. Like almost all of Edontas, Cragkeep has dirt roads and thatch-roofed wooden buildings, though it still maintains the cramped, discomforting dirtiness of a city. Cragkeep is surrounded by five vertical log walls with entrances and exits on opposite sides, meaning that traders and in theory, invaders, would have to encircle the city five times before entering. It is known for its fogginess and thriving marketplace.

Banner Houses

House Caunie of Coddleston Keep
Flitton's largest banner house, which makes up the bulk of their servants and royal officials. Their sigil is a white hare on a blue and green checkered field, and their words are "Sprinting to Arms". They control an almost equal amount of land to House Flitton, though theirs is mostly forest rather than cities and mines. They are known for their fast, well-bred horses and woodcrafts.

House Buckley of Goldenfield
House Buckley has historically controlled vast buckwheat farms, and have been known for an attempted rebellion, as well as their large size, brown hair, and yellow-brown eyes. Their sigil is a plain yellow field -- It was formerly a blue scythe on a yellow field, but after an attempted rebellion in the third age ending with Vordred Flitton II cutting the hands off of Lord Buckley for his treasonous acts, their sigil and words were changed. Their words, which were formerly "Strength and Protection" are now "Strength and Penance".

House Espen of Dunhill
A small banner house known for their production of buckwheat bread and Edontian ale. Their words are "Bountiful, Plentiful, Dutiful", and their sigil is a bundle of wheat and a scimitar on a two-tone purple field. Their current lord, Luthor Espen, is a devout follower of Red Yevism.

House Hockor of The Black Bog
The smallest of Flitton's banner houses. Their seat is a small wooden fort hidden in the center of an acidic marsh known as "The Black Bog", and their sigil is a triskelion made of three black fish encircling a red sun on a green field. Though the smallest, poorest house, they are feared by many for their ancestral tradition of cannibalizing their enemies, a banned practice they are rumored to uphold in their deep, hidden away marsh. Their words, still unchanged, are "Devourers of Men".

House Croftcairn of Croftcairn Valley
House Croftcairn's words are "The Valleys Welcome Few", and their sigil is a brown boar on a teal field of black arrows. Aside from their coal mines, they are known for being tall, fat, and unsmiling. Their seat, Crofthold, is constantly enveloped in a thin fog of smoke -- their ancestral coal mine, not a hundred yards from their castle, has been lost to a coal fire and has been slowly burning away for four decades.

The land of Caerulmoste is a vast drainage basin in the landscape, with most of the terrain residing below sea-level. A series of estuaries and tidal marshes separate the basin proper from the ocean and as such all rivers, streams, and lakes in Caerulmoste consist of brackish water. A number of large, prominent bogs dotting the land segregate channels of flowing water from the ocean and bordering lands, rimmed by sinkhole formations and the presence of carsus topography. Water collects in a large body of water, lake Tunis, near the border that then drains into a cavern system. The cavern system, referred to as the Mottem Expanse, features a subterranean saltwater river that runs for hundreds of kilometers beneath the mainland.

Due to the widespread presence of aquifers and unstable peat-laden terrain every village, town, and city is built wherever there happens to be naturally occurring layers of non-soluble rock. A large number of settlements are exclusively built onto the sides of shallow cliffs; others are built in long, jagged lines; others still are arranged in chaotic starburst formations. Due to the limited number of these solid rock formations, no new settlements have been made in hundreds years and nearly each existing settlement has been present since before the formation of the kingdom, and even the old empire itself.

The wildlife of Caerulmoste is heavily adapted to the high-salinity marine environment. There exists almost no woodland, with herbaceous plants dominating the landscapes and the sprawling interior bogs. Countless amphibian and reptile species thrive therein, with a smaller number of grazing mammals, and a tremendous number of bird species. The saltwater crocodile is Caerulmoste's apex predator, followed closely by the inexplicably malign dire turtle.

The gross abundance of peat makes Caerulmoste one of the most fertile regions on the continent, as well as one of the largest producers of fuel. The widespread presence of aquifers and and the high groundwater content makes mining ventures extremely hazardous, and so the region produces little in the way of ores and metals. Similarly, while the region has incredibly high biodiversity there is a dearth of woodland, limiting the sources of lumber.

Due how specifically adapted most of the wildlife in Caerulmoste is to the high-salinity marine environment, most species including plantlife cannot flourish outside of Caerulmoste - nor can many species from outside the region survive within. The foremost consequence of the fact is that the region acts as a quarantine zone for outbreaks of plague - that which ravages the rest of the continent tends not to make it past the boundaries of Caerulmoste, since vector wildlife usually cannot enter the region. Vice-versa, plagues that break out within Caerulmoste tend not to spread beyond its own boundaries (disregarding the human factor in both cases).

Caerulmoste is periodically afflicted with seasonal hurricanes as well as the occasional tsunami. Rather than viewing these as disasters, the local populace have been harnessing both natural forces to their own benefit. Most crops are specifically grown at specific elevations so as to benefit from silt deposited by rising tides while still remaining just high enough to survive being waterlogged. Similarly, every settlement is built upon rock formations that segregate the flow of running water within the drainage basin (as previously described) and so tend not to be affected by the surging water levels despite existing below sea-level, as all flowing water in channeled to the lowest point of the drainage basin at Lake Tunis.

Other than the settlements, Carulmoste is noteworthy for its sophisticated system of canals. Originally made to assist with irrigation prior the the unification of Ardacia by Ardall the Conqueror, many of these canals were retrofitted in order to host water locks that could be used to relocate ships from the sea and through the many rivers of Caerulmoste to eventually reach the Mottem Expanse, and vice-versa.

A land that has remained unchanged for millenia, Caerulmoste has been thoroughly mapped for centuries with no appreciable changes in topography. Its population has neither appreciably shrunk nor grown, and business and chaos both proceed apace at a regular schedule. While some would call the land and its inhabitants stagnant, others would prefer to call it stable.

Demonyms: Caerulmostes (formal), Bogken (common slang), Halfwits (derogatory slur), Saldered (archaic derogatory slur now considered informal address).
Languages: Damptongue (native), Common, Halfwit (creole of Damptongue and Common).
Currency: No official currency or mint (Freely mixes and uses currencies from neighboring regions).

Imports:
-Common Metals
-Precious Metals
-Gemstones
-Basic Currency
-Lumber
-Stone
-Weapons and Armor
-Dairy Products

Exports:
-Grains and Cereals
-Herbs and Spices
-Meats
-Seafood
-Leathers
-Bones
-Furs
-Tailored Clothing
-Really Shitty Rugs and Tapestries
-Medicinals
-Fuel

During the revolt that led to Ardall the Conquerer's fall, the region of Caerulmoste played virtually no part in the skirmishes and battles that took place. The indigenous peasantry were more conservative in their ways, and the imperial knights and guardsmen stationed there - some of the most feeble and unimpressive individuals in the service to the emperor - remained at their posts rather than turning upon the regional governor, Duke Chorsen. The absence of any major fortresses or barracks, along with the region's faint strategic value and the hazardous terrain, garnered little in the way of interest by neighboring rebellion forces.

Upon learning the rest of the empire had dissolved and that Emperor Ardall had been slain, Duke Chorsen declared himself emperor and sent out orders to the settlements of the region to mobilize for war. His messengers never returned, and one by one his followers abandoned the Island of Will as supplies dwindled without relief shipments to sustain them. When men were sent to forage for supplies, they too never returned - and so Duke Chorsen, in his final days, became furtive and paranoid, convinced that enemy agents were waging an unseen siege upon the Island. Eventually, the whole of the island was emptied save for the Duke himself.

Throughout Caerulmoste, life carried on much as it had even in the absence of a governing lord. The settlements continued to trade with one another and neighboring regions. Taxes continued to be collected, stored in local strongholds, and spent. The only thing that truly changed was the assignment of new guards and militia within the settlements; who were informally appointed by the remaining guards.

Several times, neighboring regions attempted to annex smaller settlements near the border of the drainage basin, or else the Church of Eirtu would attempt to appoint a new regional governor - only to be met with the response that the region of Caerulmoste was still ruled by the venerable Duke Chorsen, and that all affairs of the region were in order.

Decades later, a committee was formed in order to regulate the activities of a merchant's guild that had gotten too greedy. In order to consolidate themselves, the financial committee moved its headquarters into the now abandoned Island of Will, from which they began to audit the finances of the entire region. A few more decades later, every position in the committee was occupied by the members of a single family - the Soneillons. Deciding to do away with the pretense that they did not de facto rule Caerulmoste, they announced that Duke Chorsen had finally passed away and declared their patriarch King of Caerulmoste. His most sensible eminence King Raros, first of his line, ascended the throne and continued to manage the region much as the committee had for the last several decades - and all in Caerulmoste agreed that this was a most acceptable arrangement.

Since those days, the Soneillons have maintained a loose practice of regal behavior. The royal chambers in the Keep of Will are infamous for being the worst royal residences in all of Ardacia. The members of the family regularly commingle - in every sense of the word - with the indigenous peasantry. Perhaps the most shocking of their behaviors though is the occasional, willing forfeiture of tenure by standing kings who view governing the region as an annoyance, usually passing the crown on to whomever seems best suited to the job within the family.

The Soneillons are generally well-regarded for their founding and support of the Questor Order Secular, the company of Questors who venture Ardacia to challenge adversity and the malicious. Likewise though, most of Ardacia's nobility have distanced themselves politically from the Soneillons due to their occasional clashes with the Church of Eirtu.

Record of Phano Soneillon, adviser to King Raros Soneillon, first of his Line.

This document is intended to serve as a permanent record of detail concerning the Regalia of Office of the Ruler of the region of Calrumoste - for consideration and consultation of whomever it may concern.

It is known by many that for a time, the late Ardall the Conquerer kept within his service a sorcerer of some merit and skill, though the very reckoning of his ken be blasphemy. Ardall eventually figured this basic piece of common sense out and had the sorcerer executed - confiscating his many devices and personal effects, many of which were secured away upon the Island of Will.

Most of these foul items were seized and destroyed by flame; in particular a number of malign texts as well as a number of perturbing and profane icons, totems, and artifacts. However, a small, select number of these items were deemed harmless and indeed crafted with benign function if not intent. All but one of these items were remitted to the custody of the blessed Church of Eirtu, but as our newly ascended House lacked anything in the form of regalia - the good and proper King Raros Soneillon, first of his line, deemed it most fitting to secure the item in question as the regalia of his line.

The item is a staff, measuring nearly a meter and a half in length. It is rendered of cold iron, embossed with gold and with filigree of electrum, with many curious designs depicting the many phases of the moons above, rendered in pearl and ammolite. The head of the staff is encased in a solid sphere of lead, upon which is mounted a curious crystalline structure to which I was forced to consult another amongst my house to learn was a Dodecahedron in shape. The mineral is known by few as that of Pitchblende, carved and shaped by unnatural forces as the cut is known to not occur naturally amongst Pitchblende.

The staff functions much in the manner of a dowsing rod, though with perfect accuracy. Those who deign to wield the staff become immediately aware, as though struck by divine epiphany, of every deposit of the mineral Pitchblende within many kilometers (mayhaps surveyors speculate the range is twelve though there be no fine way to affirm this).

Though this discovery was initially frowned upon as unfavorable - as it is known that Pitchblende is a most ominous mineral, striking illness and fatigue amongst those who handle it worse than is seen even amongst those who work with mercury. However, this soon turned a fortunate finding when the very function was used to discover several new, uncharted cavern systems and sinkholes - as well as identify areas within the Mottem Expanse that were unsafe to excavate. Although admittedly of minor assistance, this same function proved iteself most useful again as the Astronomers of Laevo Lighthouse did affirm that the use of Pitchblende could be used to assay the frequency and occurrence of Grand Storms.

Having wielded the staff myself briefly, I will now describe the precise sensation of the heightened perception it does bestow.

Firstly, one becomes specifically aware of a number of small and large masses that exist without their vision, such as one might know a large building is around a corner or behind a wall though they cannot see it. Secondly, they become specifically aware of the exact orientation of direction by which these masses reside, much as one might assay in which direction a child's marble or perhaps an egg has rolled when fallen beneath a table. Thirdly, they become aware of their approximate spatial relationship with the aforementioned masses, capable of determining the rough distance between themselves and each mass much as a hunter might be able to guess the distance between themselves in the wilds and the nearest town or village.

The masses of Pitchblende thus perceived do appear to be few and far between, existing largely in small clumps but occasionally also found as large, flat beds beneath the earth - when wielding the staff, these are clearly discerned as distant points and sheets, much as one might discern the general shape of a distant and unclear object.

For the purposes of safety and security, the staff should never be wielded by any save a member of the royal family, preferably accompanied by another member - though it is understood that the staff should prove most useful in the hands of a foreman.

At the time of this writing, the number of true mines within Caerulmoste might possibly be counted on both hands - and there is little expectation that this situation might change in the near or distant future. Barring particular need for the staff, such as discovery of a bed or clump of pitchblende within the region, it has been determined that it is to be kept securely upon the Island of Will.

Nation Name
Kingdom of Aaldorenfeald.

Ethnic Peoples
Aaldoren.

Ethnic Description
The people of Aaldorenfeald tend towards darker features, such as brown eyes and black or brown hair. Their men are of average height and build, but their women tend to be tougher than those of foreign lands, taller and stockier. The Aaldoren are built for poor conditions—hairy, and with stark, hard facial features, they are well-suited to labour and to making the best of tough terrain, and tough times. Those who call Aaldorenfeald their homeland can get by with less than the people of the rest of Ardacia, enduring through famine and other hardships easier than most.

Culture
The Aaldoren are a utilitarian, moralistic people, largely distrustful of outsiders and their vices. They very much tend towards seeing themselves as apart from the rest of the continent, a people unto their own. The root cause of this sense of separation is Aaldoren morality, which is strict and unforgiving, making even the more draconian lords of foreign kingdoms raise an eyebrow. This instilled dedication to righteousness leads the Aaldoren to look down on outsiders, viewing them at best as neglected souls in need of virtue, and at worst as sinful influences, to be avoided or destroyed.

Drink is the Aaldoren vice, and just about the only vice tolerated. The Aaldoren jokingly refer to alcohol as "the price of virtue", as its abundance and popularity as the sole culturally acceptable excise is what prevents the men of Aaldorenfeald from reverting to more hated escapes. Gamblers and flesh-peddlers are despised by the Aaldoren, chased away from Aaldorenfeald's towns and villages just as quickly as they can flow in from the rest of Ardacia. The Aaldoren's dedication to drink has given them a reputation as drunkards in the lands beyond their own, a stereotype that is not entirely inaccurate. Alcoholism is common in Aaldorenfeald, although the free flow of booze also means that the devil's nectar has less of an effect on the Aaldoren; they can drink more and be impacted less, making Aaldoren runaways in foreign lands every barman's favourite customer.

The dress and diet of the Aaldoren is not unusual for their location in Ardacia, but many of their distinct customs are strange and difficult for outsiders to understand—often intentionally so. Foremost among these is the 'Rord', an Aaldoren cant especially common in the border areas of Aaldorenfeald, which see the most foreigners. Rord is a mixture of the Commontongue and the Oldtongue, with many pronunciations changed to allow for speech to occur as quickly as possible. Rord is always spoken rapidly, but specific phrases in Rord tend to be superfluous, declaring obvious information needlessly to give the impression that more is being said. An example of this is the phrase, "Abodan say scandborn becuman segnrike", which translated literally would mean, "I declare that strange men have entered the righteous kingdom", but is generally understood to be an invitation to begin speaking in Rord. Many Aaldoren cannot hold an entire conversation in Rord, but do understand certain specific phrases and words. Many Aaldoren greetings and songs are spoken in Rord, even when only Aaldoren are present, and it has become something of an informal second language to many.

A facet of Aaldoren culture that is essential for visiting foreigners to understand is Aaldorenfeald's obsession with the dispensation of justice. A Rord phrase common to the Aaldoren is "Háligdóm ær Ástandennes", or "Righteousness before Survival", and its meaning is clear: it is better that a man be righteous than that he live. As such, the Aaldoren do not shy away from executions, even for what might be considered minor offences in other lands. Another aspect of justice in Aaldorenfeald, which has caused small political crises in the past, is the kingdom's universal approach to law; the law is the law in Aaldorenfeald, and all men, whether peasant or lord, are equally subject to it. It has happened in the past that lesser lords of foreign lands have broken the law in Aaldorenfeald, and their families expected leniency due to their relative's status, inevitably to no avail.

This equity also extends, albeit to a lesser extent, to broader society in Aaldorenfeald. Although the kingdom of the Aaldoren has its lords and its smallfolk like any other kingdom, there is not so great of a cultural divide between the two in Aaldorenfeald as might be observed elsewhere. A free peasant with great riches could not be easily distinguished from a lord in Aaldoren lands, eating the same food and wearing the same clothes. Aaldoren nobility is even known to occasionally intermarry with the kingdom's landed gentry, a fact which makes marriages with Aaldoren noble families be seen as undesirable in the other kingdoms of Ardacia.

History
Aaldorenfeald was created out of nothing. Its boundaries were not dictated by geography or created out of a personal union, its people did not share at the nation's founding anything binding them to one another, and there was no strange magical phenomenon or other shared experience of any kind that contributed to the formation of a fledgeling national identity. The Kingdom of Aaldorenfeald was both sired and born out of war.

The arrival of Ardall the Great in Ardacia monumentally changed the political and social structure of the continent. The land that is now Aaldorenfeald was not conquered in any particular campaign or in any particular year, and its people both did not embrace Ardall's reforms easily and did not reject them violently. The formation of Aaldorenfeald could be most accurately said to have occurred just after Ardall's conquest, when he was dividing his new empire among his generals. Orrion Swithwulf, the last of the seven to stake his claim, simply pointed his finger on a blank spot on the map and said, "Here". With that word, Aaldorenfeald was created.

The etymology of the word 'Aalodren' is believed to come from the Oldtongue, although its meaning is uncertain. In contemporary Rord, a language influenced by the Oldtongue, Aaldoren refers only to the people of Aaldorenfeald, with no alternate meanings to act as clues for the word's descent. Some have affectionately claimed that the word means "just" or "righteous", but these are almost certainly anachronisms, contemporary revisions by the Aaldoren of today to try and glorify the country's past. In truth, the word 'Aaldoren', like the people it refers to, seems to have just appeared, spontaneously, as if grown out of the Earth or spoken accidentally and carried on.

The first recorded instance of the inhabitants of the area of Ardacia under Swithwulf hegemony being called 'Aaldoren' was in the latter part of the Second Age, in a conflict in Aaldorenfeald that substantially weakened the region's armies, immediately preceding The Great Uprising. The chroniclers of history spoke of Aaldoren fighting on both sides of the Black Woods Rebellion, named after the forest occupying much of the country. House Addloman, whose Lord Vinnder ruled over the western part of the Black Woods as a vassal of House Swithwulf, had always opposed the Church of Staloth. The increasingly unpopular nature of the reigning Emperor made Vinnder courageous enough to try and wrest control of Aaldorenfeald from the Lord of House Swithwulf, Lord Terron, an ardent follower of that church as a descendant of one of Ardall's generals. The Addlomans were joined in rebellion by Lord Flotsmer of House Brimgiest, who ruled over the eastern portion of the Black Woods, as well as by a not-yet-regal House Osgar, led by Lord Peter. The combined armies of Houses Addloman and Brimgiest matched those of the Swithwulfs, and the military prowess of both House's Lords allowed them to swiftly defeat the Swithwulf armies shortly after the war's declaration, and lay siege to Axabroc, the seat of House Swithwulf. With the armies of both their allies tied up in the siege, however, House Osgar was left managing those Aaldoren houses loyal to the Swithwulfs and the Emperor. Outnumbered four to one, House Osgar lost a series of bloody skirmishes against the Swithwulf loyalists, eventually forcing what remained of Lord Peter's army to retreat into the Osgar seat, Hebban, and hope Axabroc's walls broke before Hebban's did.

To their surprise, only days after they had sheltered in Hebban, Flotsmer Brimgiest turned his army besieging Axabroc against the Addlomans. Flotsmer had planned the betrayal all along, but had needed House Osgar to be out of the picture before they could confidently defeat their rival Addlomans. The entire Addloman force was destroyed in the Massacre at Axabroc, as the Swithwulfs hiding inside the castle joined the traitorous Brimgiests in slaying both Vinnder Addloman and his assembled army. The Brimgiests then took over the entirety of the Black Woods, storming the Addloman keep and slaughtering the family and their few remaining fighting men—losing in the process, however, Lord Flotsmer, who was slain by the daughter of Lord Vinnder with a kitchen knife. The whole of Aaldorenfeald would have then fallen upon Hebban, if not for the gruesome death of Gertrude Arda, the very day that the Swithwulf and Brimgiest armies joined the siege.

House Swithwulf found itself in an awkward situation. They sought to extinguish House Osgar and take firm control of Aaldorenfeald, but their loyalty to the royal family demanded that they send their armies and those of their vassal houses abroad, to stamp out the various rebellions occurring elsewhere in Ardacia. If they attempted to storm Hebban, they stood to lose a large portion of their men against their entrenched foes. As such, Lord Terron Swithwulf left behind only a token force of Brimgiest men to continue the siege of Hebban, taking the bulk of the Aaldoren armies under his command to march off to join the Crow King in his ill-fated attempt to retain power. Not a day had passed after the departure of Lord Terron that Lord Peter Osgar marched his own men out of Hebban, defeating the weakened army of House Brimgiest and taking the ineffectual son of Lord Flotsmer prisoner.

The victory at Hebban worried the Swithwulf's vassals. They were off fighting all across Ardacia with their armies, while at home, Lord Peter's armies were stood to take vengeance against them, pillaging their countrysides with relative impunity. The arrival of reinforcements to Lord Peter's army from the rebellious House Flitton of Edontas complicated matters further, leaving an army large enough to storm castles, and opposed to the Emperor and the Church of Staloth, the only real fighting force left in Aaldorenfeald. One by one the former loyalists of House Swithwulf quietly deserted, sneaking off in the night with what men they could back to their homes. They even sent letters to Lord Peter, pleading with him to stay his hand and spare their lands, and insisting of their new-found hatred for the Empire. In short order, the last Aaldoren vassal house loyal to House Swithwulf was destroyed; the Black Woods were cleansed of Brimgiest men by the Osgars and Flittons, and the keep of House Brimgiest pillaged by Lord Peter. Lord Terron Swithwulf was now the only Aaldoren Lord left loyal to House Arda, and the only Aaldoren Lord still outside of Aaldorenfeald, participating in the broader Great Uprising.

Lord Terron returned to Aaldorenfeald when it became clear the Emperor was losing the war. He had been almost entirely abandoned by his banner men, and he was not in the mood for more war. He swiftly marched with what was left of his army to Axabroc, breaking the siege placed on it by the houses which had just betrayed him. Lord Peter mustered the few hundred fighting men of the returned vassal houses to his cause, ready to take down Lord Terron in one final battle, but it was for naught. From their seat at Axabroc, House Swithwulf offered peace with House Osgar. The kingdom would return to its state preceding the Addloman's call to arms, but no longer recognizing the authority of the Emperor, and with House Osgar, instead of House Addloman, in possession of the western half of the Black Woods. The other lesser Houses of Aaldorenfeald—tired of war and eager for peace—accepted the offer. What was worse, House Flitton, whose armies had fought with Peter since the departure from Hebban, agreed to the Swithwulf terms as well. The head of House Flitton, King Vors, had made a deal with House Swithwulf. He took Lady Candace, the beautiful young daughter of Lord Terron, as a wife for his first-born son Varryl, in exchange for agreeing to the peace (and thereby depriving Lord Peter of the main part of his army). In spite of the betrayal, Lord Peter stubbornly insisted upon a single alteration to the terms before Aaldorenfeald would have peace. The western Black Woods would go to House Swithwulf instead of House Brimgiest, and the Brimgiest dynasty would be stripped of all their lands and titles, their household absorbed into House Swithwulf, and their lands in the eastern Black Woods forfeit to House Osgar. Lord Terron, desperate for peace, accepted, finding himself with new lands to manage, new cousins to meet, and one fewer daughter, but also an end to war.

The beginning of the Third Age was a time of peace and growth in Aaldorenfeald. Those who had followed the Church of Staloth, like reigning House Swithwulf, converted without conflict to Yevism—adopting all of the intense devotion to faith of any recent convert. The population grew, even as some foreign kingdoms stagnated, and the culture that now demarcates the Aaldoren from the rest of Ardacia began to develop in this period as well. Rord, which had previously been used only in those lands which had never converted to the Church of Staloth, to practice their faith in secret and avoid persecution by Imperial authorities, began to spread throughout the rest of Aaldorenfeald. No longer separated by faith, all of the regions of Aaldorenfeald began to trade with one another more freely, and intermarry with one another, so often in fact that they began to marry with outsiders much less. News of constant persecutions in foreign lands gave the Aaldoren the picture of the rest of Ardacia as a decrepit place, full of those who defy the law and the Gods. A more stringent sect of Yevism developed, Red Yevism, which preached dedicated, unwavering abstinence from sin, permitting only the consumption of alcohol, which was used in Red Yevist ceremonies. The sect's name arose from the colour of the blood they demanded of sinners, unlike those Yevists in the rest of Ardacia, whom punished their ne'er do wells with exile. The rise of Red Yevism would also herald the beginning of the end for House Swithwulf, as it was on the sect's back that the First Aaldoren Civil War was fought.

House Swithwulf had become as dedicated to Red Yevist teachings as the rest of Aaldorenfeald, but was suspicious of the organization's growing political authority. This politicization of faith was part of a trend affecting the whole of Ardacia, and leading to the dwindling prestige of the other Great Houses. Determined to end the Church of Eirtu's power in Aaldorenfeald, the Swithwulfs decided to pit the Red Brothers against the Black. They announced an end to the practice of execution, forbidding the Red Brothers from extracting the blood of the sinners that had earned them their name. Many traditionalist Black Brothers from foreign lands were brought in as well, to take over the administration of many of Aaldorenfeald's churches from the Reds. TO BE CONTINUED

House Name
House Osgar.

House Words
What Eyes Neglect.

The words of House Osgar have a multitude of different meanings. Firstly, they describe House Osgar's lands, and Aaldorenfeald and its people in general: a harsh, ugly kingdom, full of hard and unwelcoming people; the kind of place that your eyes would quickly neglect in deciding between one area of Ardacia or the next. Secondly, the words are an insight to the tactics of the Aaldoren in wartime, their expertise in ambushes and striking weary foes when they least expect it, when their eyes are neglectful. Third, "What Eyes Neglect" is an allusion to the sigil of House Osgar, the wolf with purple eyes, representing sovereignty. House Osgar aims to achieve an entirely independent Aaldorenfeald, under their firm control. With this in mind, the current political state of affairs, Aaldorenfeald's position within a confederated Ardacia, is something to be neglected in favour of independence.

House Sigil
Purpure eyed black wolf rampant upon a barry of eight, gules and grey.

House Seat
The seat of House Osgar is the castle of Rytael, located in the north-central region of Aaldorenfeald. Rytael was built in a forest clearing, carved out of the surrounding Black Woods, a densely forested region occupying the kingdom's north. Rytael is not especially imposing at first glance, relatively small and plainly constructed for the keep of a Great House. However, the structures within the walls—a tower at each of the four corners and a main keep in the centre—are both tall and have extensive underground storage sections. This allows Rytael to stockpile enough food to keep the fortress' defenders supplied through lengthy, multiple year long sieges that might starve out more impressive looking castles. The most important defensive feature of Rytael is not its large stockpile capacity, however, but its position within the Black Woods. An army attempting to siege or storm Rytael would have to enter into the dense forests, forcing it to break ranks and leave itself vulnerable to harrying. Rytael has two gates: one along the south wall, called the King's Gate, and another along the north wall, creatively dubbed the North Gate.

House Heirloom
House Osgar's ancestral heirloom is the longsword Abiron. Massive and heavy (even for a longsword), Abiron is supposedly able to cut right through even the thickest plate armour with ease. It is said that in order to ensure that the Lord Osgar is always a man of strength, he must be able to wield Abiron before he may be crowned King of the Aaldoren. Like some other Aaldoren traditions, this has caused minor civil wars in the past.

An artefact of history, Abiron was wielded in battle by King Rytael, the first King of the Aaldoren from House Osgar, after whom the fortress of Rytael is named. Rytael used Abiron, which was then a short-sword, to slay the last Lord of House Swithwulf in single-combat, ending both the First Aaldoren Civil War and the bloodline of House Swithwulf. Afterwards, the newly crowned King Rytael, insistent that Abiron was not large enough a sword for a King, ordered that the blade be reforged to combine it with the battle-axe used by the last Lord Swithwulf in their duel. After the smith presented the newly reforged Abiron to him, Rytael was so pleased that he named the smith a Lord, presenting to him in recompense for his work the former seat of House Swithwulf, Axaweald. In gratitude of House Osgar's generosity, the new Lord named his household 'House Abiron', renaming the fortress of Axaweald to Abiron as well, in recognition of the family's unique ascent to lordship.

Capital City

The capital and largest city of Aaldorenfeald is Hebban, located in the eastern part of the Osgar crownlands. A metropolis, rivalling the other great cities of Ardacia, Hebban is nonetheless a righteous settlement, its streets as calm, orderly, and free of vice as any other in Aaldorenfeald. It is the largest city in Ardacia to be bereft of whorehouses, and possibly has both more churches (and more alehouses) than any other place known to man. Of the former, the most notable is the imposing Blodbold Cathedral: a massive, spired church, decorated with red stained-glass windows. Blodbold is the mother church and symbolic centre of Red Yevism, and is the site at which the kings of Aaldorenfeald are crowned, married, and laid to rest; no common man or lesser noble may use Blodbold for these purposes. The Red Yevist cathedral dominates the scenery of the city's west, which is home to the manors of much of Aaldorenfeald's landed gentry and lower aristocracy. MORE TBA

House Héahgestréon
The oldest of Aaldorenfeald's noble houses, having governed their lands as chieftains of the Héahgestréon Tribe long before the Conquest. The ancient, gentle hills of House Héahgestréon's territory is the birthplace of the Rord language, and Rord is the language of the house's words, "Háligdóm ær Ástandennes" (or 'Righteousness before Survival'). House Héahgestréon's keep is Andredweald, a stone fort built over top of the region's tallest hill. Their sigil is the scale of justice upon a dark green field.

House Kempedson
The Kempedson River, which runs throughout the flat, fertile fields that dominate Aaldorenfeald's east, is the namesake of House Kempedson. The eastern shores of Kempedson Lake, from which the river originates, is also home to Kendrytown, the fourth largest settlement in Aaldorenfeald. The small castle in the centre of Kendrytown, simply called 'Kendry', is House Kempedson's seat. The Kempedson's words are "The Gentle Flow", and their sigil is a gold shield on a vertically bisected field, the left half light blue and the right half a darker shade.

House Dalden
The Daldens rule from their eponymous seat of Daldenard, situated along Aaldorenfeald's eastern coast. From there they rule the lands to the west, covering the kingdom's border region with Caerulmoste. Dalden lands are swampy, too acidic to be arable and too difficult to navigate to be useful for overland trade. This results in most of the Dalden's peasants working along the coast, as fishermen, giving the interior of House Dalden territory an eerie quietness. This gave rise to both the minimalistic words of House Dalden, "Silence", and the house's rather empty sigil: a field of black with a single, dark green vertical line running across the right border.

House Abiron
The words of House Abiron, "None More Loyal", make clear their devotion to their liege-lords, House Osgar. This devotion is born of history; the Abirons were a low-born family of simple blacksmiths before the first Osgar King of Aaldorenfeald, King Rytael, granted them their nobility and all their current lands as reward for their founder's skill in reforging the Osgar's ancestral sword: Abiron. The hilly area over which House Abiron presides was Aaldorenfeald's crownlands before the First Aaldoren Civil War, and the Abiron seat, itself called 'Abiron', was the former seat of House Swithwulf, the original ruling family of Aaldorenfeald before they were destroyed by King Rytael. The prosperous city just outside of Abiron, Threeborg, is the former capital of Aaldorenfeald, under the Swithwulf era. Today it is the country's second largest settlement, and a major trade nexus for the country's south-west, known for the plentiful expert blacksmiths which have made it their home, under House Abiron's tutelage. The Abiron sigil is a upward facing sword, representing their namesake, on the same barry of gules and grey as the Osgar sigil.

House Hordweg
A mercantile house, dominating trade along Aaldorenfeald's eastern shores. The Hordwegs hold domain over the Blue City, Aaldorenfeald's third largest settlement, which is situated at the edge of a peninsula jutting out into the sea. The Hordwegs are famously impartial to the various civil disputes that occasionally arise between the Aaldoren houses, having neglected to participate in any armed conflict since the Great Uprising. In spite of this, House Hordweg possesses a rather substantial naval fleet, holding more than twice as many ships as the fleets of Houses Ecefrod, Bernaccia and Dalden combined. House Hordweg's seat is the tall, ornately decorated castle of Goldhouse, situated on a set of cliffs just outside of Blue City. Their words are "Weather the Storm", and their sigil is three vertical bars, the left and right both dark blue and the centre gold. On each bar is a ship, coloured black for the gold bar and brown for the blue bars.

House Niven
A westerly house, owning a small patch of territory along the border with Kedoren. House Niven's words, "As Good as Gold", are an allusion to the bounty of the earth for which their lands are known: salt. The rolling hills of Niven territory are littered with salt mines, and most of the salt extracted from them is exported—especially to the west, where it is sold to House Tyndall and their banner houses. House Niven's keep is Knife's Edge, which demarcates Aaldorenfeald's border with Kedoren and is located on the main road through which the two kingdoms conduct their trade. The Niven sigil is a red eagle on a quarterly field, the first and fourth quarters white and the second and third black.

House Ecefrod
Based out of their seat, The Ford, House Ecefrod has been party to a blood feud with House Bernaccia for hundreds of years. Since before the Great Uprising, the two houses have been at each other's throats, always selecting the opposing side in wars and other conflicts—in House Ecefrod's case in particular, often simply out of spite. House Ecefrod's keep, the Ford, is a new castle, and is not yet completely finished. Their ancestral seat was taken from them long ago by House Bernaccia, and in the years between its seizure and the commencement of the construction of the Ford, the Ecefrods resided in a humble wooden fortress, neglecting to build themselves a proper castle as they increasingly hopelessly clung to the notion of reclaiming their former one. This longing for the old Ecefrod castle, called 'Anwig', is explained rather artlessly in the words of House Ecefrod: "Anwig is Ours". The Ecefrod sigil is a black field, on which sits a white castle, symbolizing Anwig.

House Bernaccia
The winning half of the Ecefrod-Bernaccia feud. House Bernaccia's lands are delineated from House Ecefrod's by the Kempedson River, but it was not always so. In the days before the First Aaldoren Civil War, what is now Bernaccia lands was divided in three. The eastern half was possessed by the Bernaccians, but the western half was ruled by House Laidur, and a patch of territory south of the Kempedson, on which sat the castle Anwig, was commanded over by House Ecefrod. House Bernaccia had always laid claim to Anwig, alleging that the land on which it sits was unfairly allotted to House Ecefrod after the Conquest only because Lord Orrion Swithwulf, the first Lord of Aaldorenfeald, married a lady of House Ecefrod. When the Bernaccians fought with the victorious Osgars in the first Aaldoren Civil War, they asked to be granted Anwig as reward for their assistance, but were instead consoled with the more valuable but less meaningful lands of the dispossessed House Laidur. Only years later, after their service in the so-called Longsword Rebellion, was House Bernaccia's loyalty to House Osgar rewarded with Anwig. The castle has been their seat ever since, leading to their old seat, Mundbyrd, becoming a neglected ruin. The sigil of House Bernaccia is a chequy of green and blue, on which sits a white lion passant. Their words are "The New, the Bold".

House Aefterling
A noble Aaldoren house reigning over the western half of the Black Woods. Their seat, the Timber Fort, sometimes derisively called 'The Tinder Fort', is a very large (but primarily wooden) fortress, built over top of the stone ruins of the former seat of long-dead House Addloman. The Fort is located deep within the quietness of the Black Woods, far from large towns and trade routes. The rather ominous words of House Aefterling, "The Sharpest Blades", are not actually meant to be an intimidating warning to their foes, but rather a statement on the effectiveness of their ability to harvest the lumber of the forest over which they reign. Their sigil is a shield divided horizontally; the bottom half depicting a forest and the top half a starry, moonless night.

House Uxfrea
Descended from a bastard line of the defunct House Swithwulf, the Uxfreas nonetheless fought alongside the Osgars against the Swithwulfs in the First Aaldoren Civil War, smiting down much of their cousins' armies and earning themselves a reputation for excellency in war. In the modern day, the Uxfreas are especially renowned for their particular expertise in personal combat. The Uxfrea seat, Lambeth, is known for hosting an annual tournament—the Galden Tourney—on the week before the festival of Anathema. In the Galden, warriors of note from all across Ardacia come to determine who shall be crowned that year's "Galdensac": the (largely honorary) champion of mankind who will lead the people in their triumph over witchery for that year. Besides breeding warriors and calling witch-hunts, the gentle hills of House Uxfrea's lands are also known for their plentiful sheep and shepherds. The people of their area of Aaldorenfeald produce a great deal of mutton, wool and sheep's milk, the latter of the two commonly made into clothing and cheese, respectively. This makes the Uxfreas a relatively prosperous house, earning them the coin needed to conduct their tournaments. The sigil of House Uxfrea is a sheep on a field of green, and their words are, "Peace Perseveres".

Nation Name:
Kingdom of Rhaetia


Ethnic Peoples:
Rhaetians

Ethnic Description:
The people of Rhaetia are of the classic human stock, a tough, ingenious, industrious, and highly motivated species. Blonde and red hair is very common in this region, darker hair being much less so. Like most humans they breed quickly and there is never a shortage of new children to be raised in the true image of the Rhaetia Knightly Spirit.

The average male in the Kingdom is around six feet tall, usually has blue or green eyes and some variation in hair colour ranging from white to red. Albinos are not so uncommon that it would cause you to stop and stare. Men are typically clean-shaven and wear their hair short. Knights on the other hand tend to wear their hair to collar length and the only ones you find with a beard are Master Craftsmen as a symbol of their own skill set.

Women in Kingdom tend to be tall like the men, with fair hair, the longer the better, and strong lean figures. A woman who can fight is just as valuable as a man. Women have their own codes of conduct in some ways, and in fact tend to treat each other more civilly than the men do. The current fashion involves a long flowing braid down the back with a smaller braid that wraps about the right side of the head. Most have blonde or red hair, though the odd few are darker, hinting at their savage heritage. Some of the cruellest figures of the Kingdom happen to be female, the most famous being Mariel Skall, known for skinning her enemies alive and allowing her dogs to feast on the bloodied flesh. Not a pretty image, but one indicative of violence the fairer sex is capable of.


Geography:
It is easy to see why Rhaetia was chosen to be the landing place of Ardall the Conqueror. The land is fertile, lush and welcoming to a well-mounted invader. The Emperors use of horses, now copied by the Kingdom, made it possible for him to subjugate the region with ease. The coastlines are long white sand beaches broken here and there by ragged outcroppings of rock and fine natural harbours. Impressive still are the huge rivers that pour into the ocean, creating vast deltas and sandbanks. Following these rivers inland reveals a landscape of rolling plains, semi-rocky hills, excellent fertile soil and huge lakes. In the midst of it all is a huge network of Canyons, known quite as the Great Rift, all that remains of a great movement in the earth long before men came to Ardacia.

The Great Rift is rumoured to be so deep that no light reaches its bottom. It stretches over hundreds of kilometres, its many various offshoots stretching out like some great beast. In some places it has been bridged, in others travellers are forced to go deep into the canyons depths to cross the rushing angry over before climbing back up the far side. The land on either side of it is particularly wealthy in small hard gems of various colours, the Imperials harvested them for their toughness and beauty and the Kingdom has continued the tradition.

Spreading out from the rift lie great prairies, golden grasses and grains waving in the wind everywhere a man might turn. Hilltops are not so rare they are remarkable but any hilltop worth noting has a fort or tower upon it to keep watch for an enemy. Many of these, Imperial by construction, have fallen into disuse as their need diminished and the Kingdom only maintains the most necessary ones.

Roads are straight as an arrow here, running from one city, town or fort to the next. Built by the Imperial Army to allow for quick travel they are of excellent fitted flagstones and marked every mile by well chiselled marker stones. Where they cross a river, a fine bridge has been built, where they meet each other a town has sprung up. Very few settlements lie far from the main roads.

To the north the great forests encroach upon the plain. Smaller forests are common throughout the Kingdom but nothing like the immense woods that lie brooding on the furthest border. Being people of the horse, the Rhaetia tend to stay well clear of the woods save for logging purposes and even then it is a rare venture. Their own buildings are of stone taken from massive pit quarries.

The rivers are vast and deep, so wide in some places a man might not be able to tell where the far side ends and the plains begin. Ferry crossings are available in a few places but where roads end, river travel begins. Much of the trade and commerce in the Kingdom goes by the rivers, low barges with oars and square sails carrying the trade of the world up and down. In a few places there are waterfalls, cunningly avoided with a series of horsepower locks that can be flooded and drained to allow vessels to pass.

Lakes are equally deep and impressive, huge smooth surfaces that are always ruffled by the wind that never seems to entirely cease in Rhaetia. Fishing boats ply the surfaces and occasionally one is lost to something far larger than fish. The attacks only occur at night and for that reason the lakes, and even the rivers, can be quite empty at night save for the call of wild beasts and the roar of some huge creature.

And always there are the plains, huge wandering expanses that provide as much protection through their size as they do food. To move across the face of Rhaetia is to be watched for two days and a night before one comes to their destination. The amount of water that exists makes it easy for an army to move across its face but the creatures that lurk in the plains can be deadly to man and beast alike. Predators of grace, power and great cunning, they hunt man and horse alike if given the chance. The only sure way to ensure they cannot prey upon the populace is to burn their habitat.

One of the great fears in the Kingdom is fire. Every year infernos sweep the plains, burning and rejuvenating the landscape. This unfortunately often means man and horse as well for no horse can outrun the cleansing fire. The towns and cities have their walls as much for military defence as for keeping the flames from entering their streets. This is not always an advantage; one only needs to be told the story of Luneberg. This once growing town found the flames licking at its walls and the populace inside discovered that the town had been built in the wrong area when the wind was unable to lift the smoke and so several thousand died within the walls of smoke inhalation. The town still sits empty today, the smoke blackened gates closed for all time like a giant tomb.

Lastly, in the southwest, a small spit of land separated from the mainland by a narrow channel and a single bridge. Here, almost as if completely alien from the rest of the region, is a temperate rainforest. Massive trees endless streams cover the spit and logging has been forbidden on it since the early days of the Emperor. This is the home of the Pegasus. Long protected by its imposing look and separation from the mainland hunters, this little ecosystem has allowed the survival of the Pegasus until it was discovered by Ardall soldiers. Several Pegasus were killed before the Emperor could declare them protected creatures. Now it is a rite of passage for Knights of Stonehaven to venture into the forest on foot and tame a Pegasus before they can even begin training for the elite ranks of the Order.

Culture:
Generally speaking the people of Rhaetia consider themselves superior to all of the other peoples they encounter. This is most likely a result of being the first conquered by Ardall, and so benefitting the most from his patronage. They are an arrogant, and sometimes rightly so, group of people. They are the jack-of-all-trades and work hard to achieve mastery in all that they do.

The very nature of being human however ensures that there is a wealth of corruption and sinister goings on, and those who seek to work evil are just as skilled as those working for a better world. An undercurrent of kidnappings and sale of citizens is not uncommon, even if illegal. The existence of a Pro-Imperial undercurrent still exists and religious turmoil is almost constant.

Some Imperial customs can still be found in the styles of Dance enjoyed in Rhaetia, for no one can resist a classic Crazatian Whirl. It is a dance where a man and a woman alternate in taking quick steps over a pair of crossed swords to an ever increasing drumbeat, accompanied by Imperial Pipes of course.

Education is encouraged in Rhaetia and multiple universities and colleges exist, including a Mages College on the Island of Terazlein, in the centre of Selena Lake. The name of the lake, incidentally, is taken from a young woman who is said to have cried the lake into existence when the Imperial Army first destroyed the native temples that once graced the island. A story, but a good one. The various educational institutions tend to specialize in one thing or another. The most well known across the entire continent is the Navigators College. Here, amongst the great libraries of the Imperial founders, a young men or woman of any nation is welcome to study the world. Once they have found an interest they are encouraged to travel and seek out that interest, study it, and return with knowledge to share. The College even helps fund expeditions. The Navigators are generally considered friendly to all and not required to hold allegiance to anyone but themselves.

There is of course the most important topic in Rhaetia, one that could be devoted to a thousand books but the shorter version is more interesting and leaves out the bit about breeding. That topic is of course horses. The citizens of Rhaetia consider themselves the People of the Horse. When the Imperial Army first landed the locals viewed the horse with awe and terror. As they were absorbed into Imperial society they came to master the great creatures and that custom has never changed. Every family owns at least one horse, for it would be unthinkable for them not to. The horses are more precious than slaves, or even some Rhaetia lives if pushed.

The Knights of Rhaetia are the elite of the Army. Each Town or City is expected to provide at least ten percent of its populace for the full-time service of the Kingdom. Of these, at least five percent must be mounted as Knights. These Knights ride the biggest horses, are often the strongest men and women, and dress to impress. Bright colours, fancy horsehair plumes, dyed sword tassels, flashy banners, they are all marks of the Knights of Rhaetia. Many an enemy, the Imperial Army included, saw these Knight, first known as the Helvetii, and laughed. That laughter turned to silent admiration and even fear, for though they may look fancy, the Knights of Rhaetia can fight, and fight well. Be it in massed units or individually, there is no army that can match them in hoof to hoof combat. Needless to say, one would not want to ride into a swamp or the forest as a Knight of Rhaetia.



For that task the Kingdom has a large levy of local troops. Every male and female of Rhaetia is expected to serve two years, from their 18th to 20th birthdays, in the military, and then one month a year thereafter. They fill the ranks of pikemen, Foot soldiers, Flatbowmen, and artillerymen. They fight in massed blocks and are as dangerous as the Knights if not as skilled. Elite units exists amongst the footmen of course, the Great Swordsmen are renowned foot combat troops and respected by their mounted peers. Engineers are highly educated breed and work with their weapons full time.

The very Culture of this Kingdom would not be complete if we did not discuss the presence of a creature even more stunning, even smarter and stronger, ever more early than the horse. This is, of course, the Unicorn. This stunning creature, built in all appearances like a horse but with a savage horn growing from its forehead, remains untamed by all but the most noble of Rhaetian Knights. It is so valuable to the people of Rhaetia that it graces their flag and all the shields of the noble houses.











History:
The Kingdom of Rhaetia was initially a region awarded to Ardall the Conquerors most daring and reckless General, Dunstan Thorne. The City of Rhaetia, a rebuilt masterpiece compared to its former image, sits at the mouth of the river that flows down from interior and empties into the bay directly across from the old Imperial Capital and the Island of Gideon. Among Thornes more notable officers was an excellent cavalry officer who bore the name of the modern house he sired, Helvetii. The Helvetii, as his unit would be called, waged war on behalf of Ardall and aided in subjugating much Ardacia.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The peoples who inhabited the area that would one day play host to the initial invasion were a tribal people. They hunted in the summer and moved inland in the winter on small riverboats, rarely going beyond sight of their own red sails if they could avoid it. They fought small skirmishes with each other, stole each other’s women, and in general bothered no one else.

It is no surprise of course that when Ardall arrived he over awed the simple river folk. Those who would not join him died, and those who did soon lost any semblance of who they had once been. None now can even say for certain whom their chief was, they had no written language.

Instead Ardall settled his own people in the region, parcelling it up amongst Army officers as was custom. This ensured a loyal following at his back as he conquered the remainder of Ardacia. Dunstan Thorne served nobly, earning much wealth and gratitude from his employer, eventually turning his little Manor at Rhaetia into a thriving seaside port and main stop for ships coming to and from Gideon.

The fortunes of Rhaetia were tied to those of the Ardall Royal Line. Things began to get even worse as the crow King took the throne. The Duke of Rhaetia, the great, great grandson of Dunstan Thorne, began to chaff under the heavy taxes and the waste created by the building of the Ashen Arena. Working in secret he quietly approached other Houses to look for assurances that should he raise his own banner against the Emperor, others would follow.

The Crow King had his spies and soon got word of the traitorous actions of his once loyal Duke. The Imperial Armies marched on the same day that Brandon tossed Gertrude into the Ashen Arena. Rhaetia burned the next day. The entire Thorne clan was destroyed and the Duchy and title transferred to the same Helvetii family for reasons not entirely clear at the time. It seems, since then, that the official dispatch naming a different leader was waylaid and a forgery appeared. It will come as no surprise that the guards for the messenger had been Knights of Helvetii.

The Duke of Helvetii quickly moved to join the other Noble houses in their march on the Imperial City. The few battles that were fought were hardly something to sing songs about. The Imperial Army wanting nothing more than to return to its own lands and when they at last departed the Noble houses were left with a huge power vacuum. Helvetii would dearly have liked the title of Emperor but the decision was made that no one should have it. Instead the other Noble families left the Imperial region in Helvetii’s hands and marched home. Helvetii declared himself King, stating that he was related to the former Emperor by some distant relation. It was a weak and pathetic attempt but it was enough to allow the remaining loyalists to grudgingly accept him, as well as keep the former leadership at enough of an arms length to appease the newly freed local populace.

Since that time the Helvetii family has worked diligently to tighten their own grasp over the region, stamp out any dissent, and most of all, protect their own position. Now, with the destruction of a heavenly orb, religious troubles are threatening to tear the Kingdom apart. There have been suggestions from amongst the Kings staff that they consider retaking the Island of Bread as well and firmly add it to the Kingdom.

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House Name:
House Helvetii

House Members:






House Motto:
Through Difficulty

House Sigil:
A white rampant Unicorn on a field of red and blue. Red, Blue and White are the Colours of House Helvetii.

House Seat:

Stonehaven is a huge seaside Fortress City built around the large natural harbour that acts as the link between the Island of Gideon and the mainland. One of the few regions of high cliffs along the entire coastline can be found here. This was the initial landing place of Ardall the Conqueror and his armies once they had secured The Island of Bread and the Island of Gideon. The fortress itself was of Ardall's own design and proved the only part of the city Imperial troops could not take when they burned the city during the great Uprising.

House Heirloom:
Serpents Breath, a complicated enough name for a weapon that looks like any common blade. No great jewels adorn this weapon but, when covered in blood or breathed upon, it reveals the intricate patterns of a dragon along the blade. It is said to be the same sword that Ardall used to kill the last dragon.

House Themes:
WIP

Capital City:

Rhaetia has undergone some serious changes in the past years, most notably being burned to the ground by the Imperial Army. Now the Helvetii have rebuilt the majority of the city. Bigger walls, a more open concept, greater emphasis on green spaces and water have all been included to make Rhaetia one of the more attractive cities in Ardacia.

At its centre, rising high above the streets, is the great Helvetii Military Academy. This building, designed to awe and impress, is where every true master of war comes to learn and train with like minded people. Admission is not exclusive to nobles of Rhaetia, in fact many instructors come from the content over, and students from even further than that. Here, amid the high arches and vast windows, a noble man or woman might learn all they can about waging war, or all that can be learned without actually picking up a sword.

Banner Houses:

Nation Name
Kedoren
Athiar was the old name of the region, meaning “west” or “westerly” in the local tongue.

Ethnic Peoples
Kedorian

• Holdsmen (northerners)
• Freeholders (southerners)

Geography



Kedoren is divided into two parts by the Windwall Mountains (locals refer to them as “The Windwall”), a great mountain range stretching from the Bay of Lights in the west to the Vaincur hills in the east. The mountains derive their name from their peculiar ability to stop the wind. The storm winds blowing in from the north pelt the mountainside with snow and rain, but upon cresting the Windwall, they emerge significantly warmer and drier. These winds travel over most of the south, giving it a surprisingly warm climate.

As a result southern Kedoren is more hospitable than most other regions in the north, able to sustain a wider variety of crops and livestock. The land consists of low hills and plains, dotted by the occasional forest. Small rivers and streams crisscross the landscape, flowing from the Windwall Mountains into the Jade Gulf. There is only one river large enough to accommodate ship travel - the Greylin and it is of strategic importance.

North of the Windwall Mountains, it’s a different story. Tundra stretches as far as the eye can see and the sparse forests are confined to the northern foot of the mountains. Even in summer, the air is chilly and the wind bites, little refugee can be found, save for the odd hill or rock formation. The region is beset by near-constant storms originating from the sea. Plants and animals are scarce, as only the hardy survive.

If one were to travel further north, they would eventually reach the Singing Mountain, which goes all the way to the sea. The name is two-fold: it is both derived from the Singing Sea and, as locals tell it, from the way the wind “sings” as it passes through the mountain’s gullies and canyons. Needless to say, it is an ominous song. The mountain has a dark history and no living man has managed to reach its peak, giving it a fell reputation.

The Windwall Mountains are renowned for one other thing – their incredible bounty. High-quality iron, gold, silver and even precious stones are mined there. On the whole, Kedoren is rich in ores, even smaller mountain formations and hills have bountiful veins of useful metals. Another point of interest is the Round Lake, situated in the south-east of the kingdom. The Greylin empties into it, finishing its long journey from the Windwall Mountians in the north. What’s more, the Round Lake drains into a series of caverns that eventually open up into the Mottem Expanse, allowing ships to reach distant Caerulmoste. Understandably, this makes it one of the most important geographic locations in Kedoren apart from the Windwall.







Ethnic Description
Kedorians are a fair-skinned people, inhabiting the north-western parts of the continent. They tend to be on the stocky side, with height averaging between 5’3’’ and 5’8’’. Hair ranges from blonde to brown; black is rarer, but not uncommon in the south. Green eyes remain the most widespread, although hazel and brown have become more common in the past centuries, a result of Ardall’s people mingling with the locals.

Few would describe Kedorians as beautiful, but their rugged features and muscularity are memorable to say the least. Their men are broad-shouldered and thick-necked; women tend to be curvy, with wide hips. As travelers, Kedorians have been exposed to a range of climates, so they are resistant to plagues and sickness. The ones living north of the Windwall are naturally resistant to the cold as well.

On the other hand, their close relations and smaller genetic pool mean that some disorders are passed from generation to generation. Kedorians are more likely to develop allergies and more than 5% of the population suffers from a sickness which prevents blood clotting. Some children are also afflicted by a form of paralysis known as the Creeping Death, which typically manifests at an early age, but can develop during adolescence as well. (if found early, the afflicted children are killed out of mercy)

Culture
Kedorians are adventurous, driven, free-spirited, prideful and above all pragmatic. Their culture is one of contrasts, a strange mishmash of local beliefs and traditions melded with the teachings brought by Ardall and his people.

To understand Kedorians, one has to understand family. Nearly everyone in Kedoren is related to each other in some way, a result of the extended families which made up most of the ingenious population before Ardall’s conquest. It’s often said that in Kedoren, you could be your own uncle (though never in front of Kedorians, unless you’re begging for a fight). This is perhaps unfair to Kedorians, who view incest with utter contempt and was one of the main reasons Ardall’s foreign gods could never fully be accepted. What passes for incest is an important matter and the woman of the household is responsible for making sure that the blood lines are not completely intermingled.

Most Kedorians can easily name their third, fourth and even fifth cousins, while staunch traditionalists keep track of even their most far-removed relatives. Even if you’ve never met a relative it is expected to know their name, their parents and who exactly your common ancestor is. Refusing to help family is looked down upon universally; it is not uncommon for a rich merchant to shelter a vagabond only because their great-great-grandmothers happened to be sisters.

Their tumultuous history and unique geographic features have forced them to learn to adapt in order to survive. While many other peoples on the continent concern themselves with abstract notions such as honour, Kedorians prefer to focus on the materialistic. Social standing and wealth are extremely important, a Kedorian’s greatest fear is to die poorer than their father. As a result, foreigners tend to view Kedorians as dishonest and greedy.

Kedorian culture is competitive to a fault, dominating most aspects of life. Brothers compete to see who will bring the most wealth to their house, sisters compete to have the most handsome suitor and cities compete to be the most prosperous out of their neighbours. Competitiveness is reflected in their games as well – all children play ball games, frequently rough and bloody, well into their teens.

As already mentioned social standing and pride are important to Kedorians. They are deeply concerned with how society perceives them. This gives a purpose to most everything they do. Yes, a rich merchant might shelter a far-removed relative down on their luck, but not out of good will; they will do it because it will raise their standing with the rest of the family. Even seemingly random acts of passion usually have a purpose behind them. Foreigners are wise to remember this when dealing with Kedorians.

Another interesting aspect of Kedorian culture is the status of soldiers. While Kedorians are first and foremost renowned as crafters, it was their soldiers who kept the region independent for centuries. Nowadays, Kedoren boasts a professional army. Lords do not levygrey soldiers, instead they maintain a constant force of battle-ready men, who are paid in gold or salt. Those who do not serve a lord ply their services as sellswords, willing to fight for any man with enough coin to afford them. Kedorian mercenaries are acknowledged as dependable and disciplined troops that can be counted on as long as they are paid. Mercenary work is so common that even landed knights and minor nobles can often be found hundreds of leagues from home, fighting for a foreign cause.

Ambition and daring are important for a Kedorian. Their merchants travel far and wide in search of profit, while their craftsmen are often employed by rich patrons from different kingdoms. In recent times overpopulation has become a problem in the south, causing many young men and women to emigrate to neighbouring kingdoms. They are generally met with a healthy dose of distrust, but most can agree that the skills they bring to a community outweigh the negatives.

Kedorians are famously pragmatic. If something doesn't have an everyday use or doesn't bring wealth to its owner, it is viewed as worthless. This means that art, music and other "frivolous" activities are seldom practiced by Kedorians. They are hungry for knowledge and read books, but only ones that are practical and can be applied to their crafts. Plants are grown not for their beauty, but their uses. Kedorian cities and castles are utilitarian, decorations are sparse and largely reserved for the very wealthy. Monuments and statues are extremely rare, but if you see one, you can be absolutely certain that whoever it depicts deserved it.

Men and women have distinct roles in Kedorian culture. The only acceptable professions for a male are as a craftsman, merchant or soldier. The firstborn son inherits their father’s wealth and craft, the second son is apprenticed to a guild (usually a different craft), while the third is encouraged to become a soldier. This principle holds true on both ends of the social spectrum. Women on the other hand care for the spiritual health of the community, just as Elonar orbits and supports Eirtu. Priests are exclusively female, as they are believed to be closer to the realm of the gods. It is a vital role for society, as Black Sisters are skilled healers and surgeons. Kedorian scholars are also completely female, with only a tiny fraction of men taking up the vocation. In poorer, rural areas, most people are naturally farmers, but this division of society exists there as well: men are expected to provide for their family and have a final say in matters, but women are generally the masters of the household.

Though unified as kingdom, Kedoren has never been a united land. People largely identify with their family and city first, rather than the kingdom itself. On top of this, there is a long-standing division existing between north and south. In general, the south is composed of the Freeholds dominating the planes. Once little more than hill-forts, they eventually developed into prosperous cities and centres of trade. They were the first to rise up against the Crow King. The north is made up of the Holds guarding the mines and quarries in the Windwall Mountains, as well as the settlements north of them. They tended to be loyalists and resisted the south for many years, even after the fall of the Empire. Overall it can be said that the south is generally more progressive and populous, while the north is composed of powerful noble families, with traditional views, which make them more martially inclined than the south.

















History
Kedoren traces its history back to ancient times, when the region was still known as Athiar. Most of the locals inhabited isolated farming communities, which were essentially large extended families. The population was small, so it was customary for sons to move out of their father’s farmstead when they came of age. They would then establish new farms (still relatively close to their birthplace) and claim more land for their family. In times of trouble, the families would band together in fortified hill-forts, referred to as Holds, where they stockpiled food and supplies. Farms could be destroyed and crops burned, but as long as the family survived, they could rebuild. Each Hold was a community unto itself and they largely remained isolated from one another.

The northern tribes on the other hand moved across the tundra, following the herds they hunted. (and occasionally crossing the mountains to raid their sedentary cousins) The ones that dwelt around the Windwall Mountains had a rudimentary knowledge of metalworking, fashioning crude trinkets from gold and silver.

Little else is known of them, as they were quickly absorbed by Ardall’s conquest. True to their pragmatic nature, the majority bent the knee instead of resisting; they were content to carry on their farming, while enjoying the protection offered by the Emperor’s troops. Those that proved more difficulty to reason with, especially north of the Windwall, were swiftly brought to heel and subjugated.

Ardall was quick to see the importance of the region and so he sent one of his most trusted generals, Corrin Adal, to oversee it. It was given the name Kedoren, the exact meaning lost to time, but many claim it was in honour of Adal’s own birthplace. The region was rapidly developed, mainly exploited for its huge quantities of iron and gold, which were sent to the capital. Stone quarries were opened as well, the material used to build the castles and forts Adal commissioned.

The local Athiar Holds proved perfectly situated to keep the local populace in check, as a small garrison could easily keep track of the scattered farmsteads around the Hold. In time, these hill forts become proper fortifications, while the garrison commanders become minor lords. It was agreed that the lord and his men would protect the farmers, while they would deposit a part of their produce as tribute. This practice gave rise to the Freeholds that now dominate the entire south of Kedoren.

The distinction between local and Imperial was quickly blurred. In a few generations the people of Athiar were completely integrated in Imperial society, to the point where only their genetic features could set them apart. The “them” and “us” attitude still existed, but it was between the various Freeholds and cities, not between invaders and subjugated.

Meanwhile Adal had been busy building up the seat of his future House. He had settled on a strategic spot of land, a high cliff situated on the banks of the Greylin River. Adal had initially given it another name, but by the time of his son, it was referred to as Highcliff, the capital of Kedoren and House Adal’s seat of power. A road was built, which led down from the quarries and mines of the Windwall all the way to the Imperial capital in the distant south. Naturally, it passed right through Highcliff’s gates, meaning that the ruler of the city controlled the road which was the lifeblood of the nation.

Kedoren prospered in the following decades: many cities and trading hubs were formed; the influx of craftsmen, merchants and settlers, coupled with the rapid advances in agriculture led to a population boom. The northern parts were somewhat tamed as well, with pioneers mainly settling around the bountiful Bay of Lights. The local tribes were absorbed or driven further north, where their few descendants eke out a living to this day.

This all changed during the time of the Crow King. Being one of the richest regions in the Empire, Kedoren was bled dry. The infamous Ashen Arena was built from the stone painstakingly hewed by thousands of slaves in the Singing Mountain to the far north. Kedorians bore the brunt of it, as even minor offenses were punished with a lifetime in the quarries. Huge taxes were levied on the cities and Freeholds to fuel Brandon Arda’s games; thousands of livestock were confiscated by the Imperial troops and sent to the capital for wasteful, decadent feasts. In short, the region was choking.

It comes as no surprise then that Kedorians were the first to openly revolt against the Empire. Rebellion first started in the Freeholds to the south, where peasants rose up against their Imperial overseers. Unfortunately for them, the Crow King’s men in Kedoren were numerous, sent there to guard the precious mines and quarries. The head of house Adal at the time, Alric Adal, was a devoted loyalist. The first uprisings were mercilessly crushed.

This backfired and instead of being cowed, more and more Kedorians began rebelling. Alric’s own son, Liran Adal, opposed his father and led the rebels. In a stroke of luck, the pressure from the other Houses on the capital itself forced some of Arda’s troops to pull back. This gave the rebels a fighting chance. Perhaps the most decisive role was played by the craft guilds and the local branches of the Mages Guild, who used their skills to supply the rebellion with a large quantity of crossbows. A lowborn peasant could, with a few months of training, bring down a fully armored knight without even getting close.

Riding the political winds of the time, Liran took a token force to the capital (which is the source of some ridicule in other kingdoms) and came back as King. This was not the end of the war for Kedoren however, as they had to deal with the sizable garrisons still loyal to house Arda. It is a point of pride for Kedorians that they eventually managed to win, with no outside help. It took the better part of a decade and thousands of lives, but in the end Liran came out on top.

A time of peace should have followed, but with the full strength of Kedoren now behind him, Liran had grown bold. He made war on his neighbours, taking some territories, but in the end he lost more than he won. After his infamous last battle, in which he lost more than half his army, King Liran Adal was executed by his own generals. With no heirs, House Adal was extinguished. This was the last time in history that a united Kedorian army marched outside the borders of the country.

No king claimed Kedoren for a long time. The Freeholds and cities instead remained largely independent from one another, instead they engaged in active trade and the occasional skirmish. Their wealth often made them the target of raids from neighbours and more than one warlord attempted to make himself King of Kedoren. This was the only time Kedoren presented a more or less united front, but once an invasion was beaten back they quickly reverted to their old quarrels.

This changed about two hundred years ago, when the two most influential families in the land joined in union. On one side was the northern Arren family, a line claiming descent from one of House Adal’s junior branches; most of the northern families supported them due to their lineage. The south was represented by House Lanster, one of the most numerous old families from the Freeholds. Torin Arren married Ilina Lanster and, in a stroke of political genius, decided to forfeit his name and create House Tyndall, the Royal House. This served to placate both north and south and their union was widely celebrated. They have been the rulers of Kedoren ever since.

House Name
House Tyndall

House Words
“By Kin and Hold” – This is a popular Kedorian saying, stretching back to the earliest days of the kingdom. Torin Arren adopted them as the words of his newfound House when he married Ilina Lugain.

House Sigil
A two-headed red eagle on a field of green and black, with a dark tower below it. The two colours represent north and south, while the eagle symbolises the unity of House Arren and House Lugain. The tower stands for the Blackfort, the seat of the House.

House Seat

Blackfort. The name given to the fortress overlooking the city of Highcliff. It was commissioned by Corrin Adal when he founded the city and was fully finished by the time of his grandson. It derives its name from the black stones from which it was made - the same stones which the Crow King later used to build his own Ashen Arena. An unfortunate circumstance, it was often remarked that keeping it was in poor taste, but nobody has bothered to rebuild it, as the costs would be staggering. When House Tyndall was founded, the king claimed the fortress as his own and his descendants have ruled from it ever since.

It was designed by some of the Empire’s best architects at the time, built to withstand long sieges. As the land around Highcliff is mostly flat, it was to be expected that the city could easily be surrounded. As a result vast storerooms were constructed within the cliff, while an underground stream can provide water in times of crisis. Rumours speak of a hidden passage leading into the depths of the cliff and exiting somewhere outside the city. Nobody knows for sure just how many hidden secrets the fortress holds, the Tyndall kings have tried to chart most of its underground passageways, but every generation usually manages to find yet another long-lost room.

The fortress itself is squat and not very large. A wall with four towers surrounds the keep, the only entrance is single gate located on the southern side. The only road to Blackfort passes through the city districts below, so an invader would have to fight their way through the twisting streets before they could assault the fortress proper. True to the Kedorian lifestyle, it is sparsely decorated on the inside - a couple of tapestries depict the history of Kedoren and some interesting foreign objects line the halls, but that's the extent of it. As far as royal residences go, it is not particularly impressive, but most generals would be loath to assault it.

House Heirloom
The Twin Moons -> An ancient pendant which was acquired by Corrin Adal when he first settled in Kedoren, it was kept in his family until their destruction and was then passed on to the rulers of the Blackfort, whoever it happened to be at the time. When House Tyndall took control of Highcliff and the fort, they came in possession of the amulet. Apart from the crown itself, it is seen as a symbol of their rule. As the name suggests, the necklace was composed of two parts in the shape of moons, depicting Elonar and Eirtu. Supposedly they were interlocked and granted some sort of enchantment to the wearer, though nobody has verified the truth of it as the second part was lost during Liran Adal’s ill-fated war.

House Themes
Betrayal of Kin -> Though Kedorians frequently talk of the importance of family, nothing is ever perfect. While communities tend to be tight-knight, there is also an abundance of rivalry and ugly feuds between family members when it comes to inheritance and property. Kedoren itself was formed when Liran Adal rebelled against his father and the first Kedorian king, Torin put out his son’s eyes and exiled him in order to save the kingdom.

Capital City

Highcliff. A large trading hub located on the banks of the Greylin River. This was the original seat of power for House Adal, who built their fortress on a hill overlooking the river. In the following centuries the city has vastly expanded, now straddling both banks of the river. Docks and warehouses line the river’s shore, servicing the ships that come to unload vast quantities of goods. An important road, the King’s Way, passes through the city. It connects the Windwall Mountains with the south and sees heavy merchant traffic throughout the year.

Highcliff has numerous shops, markets and guilds. They can be found on both sides of the river, though they are primarily located on the western side, called Old Highcliff by locals. This is also where the old, wealthy families make their home. It is composed of winding streets and blocky houses, made of the typical Kedorian white stone. The road snakes all the way to the Blackfort, which is the highest point of the city. Just under it are the noble manors – as a rule of thumb, the higher you live in Highcliif, the higher you social standing.

The eastern side, New Highcliff, is where the poorer residents live. The houses are densely spaced, with narrow streets passing between them. Though guardsmen regularly patrol the streets, one would be foolish to travel the twisting alleyways at night. New Highcliff also boasts a large number of affordable inns and taverns for travellers who can’t afford the luxuries of Old Highcliff. This is also where most of the city's warehouses are located, which means a sizeable contingent of guards watches over it.

Highcliff is surrounded by a thick wall on both sides of the river. It’s not clear who exactly commissioned it, as there was no King at the time, but all agree that it’s a testament to the wealth and prosperity of their city. The river is secured by a chain and flanked by towers, so as to prevent naval assaults. It is perhaps the second best defended city in all Kedoren and certainly the most populous.

Banner Houses
House Arren
An old southern House, rulers of Saltbrook. Perhaps the second richest and most powerful family in Kedoren, next to House Lugian. Their possession of the prosperous Saltbrook makes them very influential and the other southern Houses have deferred to them on many occasions throughout history. Their union to House Lugain through marriage led to the creation of the modern kingdom of Kedoren.

House Parhall
A southern House, rulers of Greybarrow. They are known for their hospitality, both to Kedorians and foreigners alike. Their main source of income is glass working.

House Banhill
A southern House, rulers of Arlind. The best crossbows in the kingdom come from Arlind, ask any Kedorian and they’ll tell you the same. Once a year a great tournament is held in the city, gathering folk from over the kingdom. Commoners and nobles alike engage in a contest of skill with the crossbow. The winner walks away with a fat purse of gold, courtesy of House Banhill.

House Crowton
A southern House, rulers of Greenport. Most of the family are merchants, making their fortunes by trading with the many foreign ships that pass through their city. They have a longstanding feud with House Strolund, whose former seat of power they torched many years ago.

House Lugain
The most influential northern House, rulers of Stonehold. House Lugain claim the closest descent to the ancient House Adal, the first rulers of Kedoren. Though many in the south have distanced themselves from the old Imperial Houses, the Lugains take it as a point of pride. Their control of some of the biggest mines in the Windwall have made them incredibly rich, allowing them to field the strongest and most well-trained army in Kedoren. They are staunch traditionalists and weary of outsiders.

House Strolund
A northern House, rulers of Port Torin. The Strolunds are an old family, even by the standards of the other noble houses. They are also the only bannermen of House Tyndall to have their seat and holdings north the Windwall itself. Their former Hold was sacked by the Crowtons in a trading dispute about two and a half centuries ago. In return for their loyalty during the War of the Eagles, King Torin built them a new city, which they named in his honour.

House Dumon
A northern House, rulers of Lindvan. Stone from Lindvan is of the highest quality, with no imperfections and the whitest colour. Naturally, the best stonemasons can be found here and they pay generous taxes to the Dumons for protection.