[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/Dh1tswn.png[/img] [img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjY2LjI0OGE4My5TRzkxYzJVZ1NHbHlZMlZ1LjAAAA,,/prince-valiant.regular.png[/img] [img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjg4LjI0OGE4My5VblZzWlhKeklHOW1JRU55WldGbmRXeHMuMAAA/prince-valiant.regular.png[/img][/center] [center] [hr][/center] [hider=Creagull][center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/63/b0/98/63b098a2ff4f7cf7a08a840e0f20d9d8.jpg[/img][/center] ◤ [sub]O V E R V I E W[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list][i]Creagull[/i], also called [i]The Wetlands[/i], is a low-lying region in Central Ardacia plagued by frequent floods, storms, and monsoons. Since being forced to end their practice of slavery with the arrival of Ardall the Conqueror, there has since existed an uneasy relationship between the descendants of slaves and the descendants of their masters for hundreds of years. This distance has created two distinct cultures in the region; The dour, philosophical aristocrats of the Highlands, and the unruly, marsh-dwelling Lowlanders. Since the beginning of the Third Age, they have been ruled by House Flitton of Cavernhall, an unpopular family with strongly isolationist policies, though as of The Godfall, they have been usurped by a lowlander banner house.[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]R U L I N G H O U S E[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]House Hircen[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]E T H N I C P E O P L E S[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]Gullish/Gullmen[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]C U L T U R E[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list][hider=Highlanders][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/jTx9kEY.jpg[/img][/center] The culture and philosophy of Creagull's Highlanders is allegorically portrayed through the painting [i]Corvanus in His Study[/i], a portrait of Corvane Flitton, the father of Corvanist Philosophy and grandson of Flitkor the Blind. He is depicted in a traditionally Highlander garment; a silk tunic, made extravagantly baggy to ward away the regional heat and show the amount of silk the buyer can afford, bathed in golden light in an otherwise dark and shadowy room as he contemplates a bust of his grandfather. To study the tenets of Highlander culture (And thereby Corvanist philosophy) would be more easily done studying the features of Corvanus in His Study -- A reverence for history and tradition, a golden juxtaposition with the shadowy and bespoilt landscape, and an unspoken indication of elegance. Before Corvanist philosophy was the accepted school of thought, while Highlanders began calling themselves "Highlanders" and not "Highmasters", the culture of Highlanders could be more succinctly described as "Gullish Nationalism". Creagull being the second of the conquered kingdoms to bend to Imperial rule, very little of their national identity was ever tied to any supposed [i]Nokonian[/i] superiority so much as [i]Creagull's[/i] superiority. Since the days of old, Highlanders have been a people proud for their culture of refinement and aesthetics in the continent's most uninviting landscape. Because their homeland is plagued with daily rain, Highlander cities are built with irrigation systems designed to cascade excess rainwater through aqueducts similarly to waterfalls. Because Highlanders segregate themselves from their Lowlander countrymen with tall stone walls, the interior of these walls are painted with vibrant murals. Because their tall mountain keeps are constantly battered with storms, the Highlanders keep candles in large glass orbs known as "Sun Lamps", so that they might bask in an artificial sun even on the grayest, rainiest days. Highlander food, typical to their culture's unsteady balance between urbane refinement and gaudy extravagance, is prepared to impress the consumer in some way, be it through an abundance of spice, salt, or vinegar; the three most expensive and coveted ingredients for Highlander cooking. Though usually described as unpleasantly sour by outsiders, Highlander's pride in seemingly all of their cultured history does not end with their cuisine. The Highlands of Creagull are home to some of the most comically extravagant food in Ardacia, be it through their dishes that are served alive or partially alive -- though this is typically only seafood -- or their "simpler" dishes that have been drowned or boiled in a flavorful broth and eaten whole. Additionally, because water in Creagull has always had parasites more often than not, Highlander tastes dictate that the less like [i]water[/i] a beverage is, the [i]better[/i] it is. With the introduction of Corvanian philosophy, there has been a cultural shift to better beverages being more like [i]blood[/i], such as Bloodwine, a beverage made of a sweet red wine, typically a port, mixed with blood that has been chilled and stirred. It is believed to increase longevity, though it is a more old-fashioned tradition that has somewhat fallen out of fashion. Highlander fashion is, in a word, contemporary. It is said that Highlanders are like magpies in that they pick up that which is fashionable and shiny, and stick it onto whatever they already have. Highlanders typically apply powder made of talc and wheat starch to make themselves appear paler, and perfumes made of oil and flowers to make themselves smell sweeter. Even the poorest Highlanders wear warm, inviting colors, whereas the richest adorn themselves with gold for their jewelry, silver for their cosmetic dentistry, and silk for nearly all else.[/hider] [hider=Lowlanders][/hider][/list][/color] ◤ [sub]R E L I G I O N[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]- -[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]E C O N O M Y[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list][hider=Highlanders][/hider] [hider=Lowlanders][/hider][/list][/color] ◤ [sub]M I L I T A R Y[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]- -[/list][/color] [/hider] [hider=Fogton][center][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b1/35/87/b13587f2f4b1b0dc1986c4a0cb141cd5--fantasy-town-fantasy-art.jpg[/img][/center] ◤ [sub]O V E R V I E W[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]The city of Fogton surrounds Cavernhall, which has been accordingly sacked during the recent conquest of Kentham Hircen. Though only minimal damage was done to architecture at the city's walls, the subsequent panic, looting, and chaotic nature of the Hircen's attack has shaken the city. Several land-owning families of highlanders, some branches of Creagull banner houses, have been rounded up and killed by peasantry.[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]N O T A B L E L O C A L E S[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]- -[/list][/color] [/hider] [hider=House Hircen][center][img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Godfrey_Kneller_-_Portrait_of_P.Potemkin_%281682%2C_Hermitage%29_-_contrast.jpg[/img] [sub][b]King Kenten III pictured with The Scepter of Flitkor the Blind[/b][/sub][/center] ◤ [sub]H E A D O F H O U S E[/sub] ◢ ◤ [sub]M E M B E R S[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]King Kenten Hircen III Prince Godfrey Hircen Prince Melvan Hircen Princess Reliwen Hircen Princess Sophitia Hircen[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]W O R D S[/sub] ◢ [list][color=gray][b]Risen above Reason[/b] [sub]The words of House Hircen carry two meanings; They are firstly a merged form of their old house words "Risen above Reigns" and the words of house Flitton, "Ruling by Reason", to reflect their claim to the Glendale throne through conquest and marriage. Secondly, they serve as a boast that within Creagull, the Hircen's voice outweighs the voice of reason -- If King Hircen is standing at the heart of a storm and remarking on the sunny weather, then it is [i]sunny[/i]. If King Hircen recalls an event differently than a historian who witnessed it, that historian is [i]mistaken[/i]. If King Hircen demands ten ships be built in a day, whether or not the request is [i]reasonable[/i], it will be [i]done[/i].[/sub][/color][/list] ◤ [sub]S E A T[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]Cavernhall, as its name suggests, was built into a massive cave system by house Flitton, who carried a tradition of direbat husbandry. The castle appears deceivingly small on the surface, though the majority of the structure is actually underground, built into the natural cave complex near the castle. It is a dank, musty fortress that does little to keep out Glendale's frequent rains, filled with an unpleasant coolness to the air brought in by the caves. Its corridors are oddly tall and wide, which was originally to allow the Flitton's direbats space to fly within the castle walls. 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.[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]H E I R L O O M[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]....[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]T H E M E S[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]....[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]H I S T O R Y[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]....[/list][/color] ◤ [sub]S U B J E C T S[/sub] ◢ [color=gray][list]House Hircen of Hornkeep House Cragmor of The Craghall House Hockor of Burvale House Mossel of Greenstone House Brackish of Seal's Cove House Stonric of Stormgully House Rustar of Fenhome House Tyde of Flood Tower[/list][/color][/hider]