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[b]Kingdom name[/b]: Kovangrad
[b]Flag (picture required)[/b]:
[hider=flag][img]http://i.imgur.com/o9COwfNm.jpg[/img][/hider]
[b]Location[/b]: Capital marked with black X. 
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[img]http://i.imgur.com/1NAEdmMm.jpg[/img][/hider]
[b]Capital[/b]: [b]Velkovan[/b]
The city of bridges and the prophetic wind. Velkovan is the oldest settlement of the northern elves and the one their nation takes its name for. Velkovan started and a humble settlement built on the hilltop, bordered by the fork in the River Isha keeping it defended on three sides with the mountains to its distant north. 

Like most elven settlements Velkovan's buildings are spread out and placed with seemingly no rhyme or reason to outsiders, each one having grown from the foundations of their precursors built by the first settlers who would go on to gather together to form the city. The hilltop where the original longhouse once stood has since been shaped to accommodate the royal palace that stands with its commanding view of the winter forests. Further down the hill, scattered throughout the city walls are the various shrines to the saints.
    
[b]Ruling dynasty[/b]: 
King Vasellion Val Tethris AKA Vasellion III "The wave opener" (Deceased. Died of natural causes.)
Queen Svetlana Val Tethris (210, now ruling as sole monarch)

Prince Vasellion IV (155, married with one child, doesn't see his wife much. Is fine with that. Has trained in the royal war cadre.)
Princess Mira Val Tethris (102, Unmarried, childless, is considering a future in the church.)
Prince Ulrich Val Tethris (63, Tired of being treated like a kid. Wants to see the world.)  

Royal servants:
Osren Alrich (221, captain of the guard and the royal war cadre. People joke that Svetlana inherited him from her late husband.)

Ryska Wozen (168, royal liaison with the Aldresh. Loves to drink!) 

[b]Dominant Race[/b]: Elfkind

[b]Kingdom Traits[/b]:
[b]A breaker of webs[/b]: Most elves are solitary creatures by nature, leading them to become very private individuals. That alone is not enough to keep trained spies at bay of course, not that work is done by the Aldresh. An outfit of agents and spy hunters founded in the age of the bear when Kovangrad closed its borders, made to ease the old kings paranoia in keeping foreign eyes and influences at bay. After the cataclysm their powers were severely limited and their numbers lessened but the order survived in their noble patrons who were happy to keep a shield against quieter threats.  

[b]Developed infrastructure[/b]: An elf's home is his castle and their long lifespan gives each of them plenty of time to improve and add to their family home, making it and themselves one with the surrounding land. The craftsmen of the north may not be famed for the beauty of their work but the harsh conditions they live in dictate that their craft be of a quality good enough to stand up to the winter storms each year, with each noble taking responsibility for the roads on their land to make sure supplies may travel whatever the conditions and so that no village becomes isolated.

[b]Schools[/b]: All elves are slow to mature compared to other races and the lands of Kovangrad do not suffer fools idly. For the sake of the collective good one of the ancient kings ordered compulsory education for every elf child until they were fifty where they would learn the long history of their people and be given over as apprentices so that masters would have a way to pass on their knowledge. The schools of Kovangrad have lasted to this day and even created a scholar class, eager to gain fresh knowledge of the wider world. Ironically the monarch who first created the first teaching halls' name has been lost to time.   

[b]Military Traits[/b]:
[b]Knowledge of war[/b]: When the elves of Kovangrad commit to something they do so wholly, some dedicate their whole lives to learning warcraft. Veteran warriors must first learn the treaties of war as layed out by St Minerva while also studying the strategies, essays and philosophies of warfare, as laid out by previous cadre leaders.  

[b]Trained troops[/b]: Each noble house maintains its own standing army, known as war cadre's. Profetional soldiers to an elf, trained to fight by their cadre veterans and champion before being brought together and taught to function as a unit by their leader. Years of training and mock battles put the northern elves on par with veteran humans and orcs even before they've seen their first true battle.

[b]Good equipment[/b]: The signature techniques of the northern blacksmiths are truly allowed to shine in their weapons and armour. To be given the task of outfitting a cadre is to be given a sacred duty. These skilled craftsmen pour their sweat and tears into these rugged works of art, making each warrior stride forth like a knight in their own right. 

[b]Seaworthy[/b]: The northern seas are cold, rough and all together unpleasant at the best of times. It took plenty of broken hulls and prototypes but over the generations the design was perfected to handle the murderous waves of Kovangrad's shores. If they can dock there, they can dock anywhere.     

[b]Economy Traits[/b]:
Rich with ores: The eastern coast of Kovangrad is rife with mountains. One of the earliest things the first builders did was pilfer them for stone. It didn't take much encouragement for the mountains to give up their bounty of ores that can be found in almost every good that comes out of the country. 

[b]Industry[/b]: One of the first Dawnwake merchants to sell wears from Kovangrad back in his home described the goods as having a "Solemn dignity about them." Whatever one might say about the beauty (or lack of) in their works no one can deny the quality and durability of the northern crafts. Nor the quantity of works the elves are capable of producing over their lifetimes, earning their home the nickname "The workshop of the east."  

[b]Ports[/b]: With the ascension of Vasellion III began the age of waves, Kovangrad came out of its age of isolation with a vengeance as the withered villages along the coast were given the resources to renew their old ports as the borders opened and the northern elves struck out in the name of business and trade.     

[b]Flaws[/b]:
[b]Arguable claims[/b]: Alliances formed through marriage are common the world over, but for a long time the Kovangrad nobility were not open to the rest of the world. This lead to most of the major noble lines marrying into each other through distant cousins and adopted wards at some point. With Vasellion's death there are fresh whispers of those claiming that they are more entitled than his widow to take the throne, or that they were more entitled to it than him in the first place. None have made open grabs for power yet but should be handled with care.

[b]Overly powerful Clergy[/b]: Kovangrad has always been a place steeped in faith, with paying respect to God and the saints being a small part of everyday life. But the cataclysm 300 years ago was taken by many as a sign of the end times, sending many into the arms of the church to sure up the state of their soul. Though the generation of elves that lived through those times has since passed on the effect is still felt in their children. The clergy now wields great power in the land and their voice can be heard weighing in on almost all matters, such is their wealth and power over public opinion that they can make or break someone should they choose. 

[b]Reputation[/b]:
The elves of Kovangrad are often thought of as a cold and brooding lot, distant even by the standard of elves. Humans and orcs of the past 300 years know them best as builders, tinkers and craftsmen who's stamp marks a product of fine quality. Though far from major traders, Kovangrad ships are becoming a less rare sight in trading ports. They may have also come across an overly shouty missionary in their city streets.

Little is known for certain about the country beyond its coastal cities and since Kovangrad hasn't taken part in any major conflicts in the past few centuries they aren't considered notable for their warriors or armies. All in all they're often dismissed as a cold and isolated part of the world, content to toil away in obscurity. Something they intend to change soon enough.

History: The age of the bear was a time of isolation. The northern nobility withdrew into themselves as king Stanislaus The Pious sought to purge his realm of outside corruption and (to his paranoid mind) internal threats. It was a time of stagnation, bickering civil conflicts and dogma. It would last for three generations.

Then came the cataclysm, the great drowning. News of it reached Kovangrad, shaking people's hearts and faith to its core, for many it sounded like the end was coming.

The current king, Demitrus, would pass less than a decade after this tragic event and the crown was taken up by his nephew, Vasillion. A fiery dreamer to many he proclaimed to cast off Stanislaus' shadow and open their borders to the world. A grievous blow had been struck to civilisation and Vasillion claimed it the duty of all to help mend the damage that had been done. Thus began the age of waves.

As with most things this change came slowly in the elves and though to shorter lived races their isolation is a thing of history it's shadow still hangs over the new generation of northern elves. 

Vasillion would live long enough to see his vision grow beyond its foundations but never truly achieved. The task now falls to his widow, Queen Svetlana, who seeks to renew their line's strength in trade and foreign ties.
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