[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/zI5Ozch.jpg?1[/img]
[color=OrangeRed][h3]Il-Kavallieri ta 'Rhaetia[/h3][/color][/center]

[color=OrangeRed][b]Leader:[/b][/color]
Grand Master Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi

[color=OrangeRed][b]Culture:[/b][/color]
The Il-Kavallieri ta 'Rhaetia lie to the far west and is covered in dense rain forest supported by a rich abundance of resources that allows even the poorest to live comfortably, the similarities stop there. Festivales are common among the Island communities, all in honour of the Great Phoenix, a monstrous bird of fire, or the Delfini, a great dolphin. 

Poised at the Western tip of the mainland, in a region where the warm southern currents collide with the cold northern ones to create three growing seasons that make for a rich kaleidoscope of colours and traditions as the sun warms the region. Winters here are mild in temperature and roughly three to four months long during which Rhaetians rarely see sunlight as it rains almost incessantly. The winter is also known for its heavy storms that batter the jagged coastline. 

Meat is rare in Rhaetia and the locals specialize in ocean going dishes, there are few places in the world you can find such a wide and delicious variety of shellfish. Wine is popular here, grown in the rich volcanic soil that can be found all across the island. 

Rhaetians' speaks one main language. The Knight-Mage and Navigator Classes are the main source of contact with the outside world as Rhaetian vessels set sail for distant lands in search of riches and adventure.

In their distant past, when the great Empire who once ruled them collapsed, The Islands suffered conquest by a race of Elves who subsequently left their mark in ship building, architecture, language, and genetics as many in Rhaetia are taller and fairer than their neighbours. 

Rhaetian peoples are not ones for conquest, or even the pursuit of wealth, but rather of knowledge and freedom. They are famous for vast libraries, excellent universities, going where few others have dared to go before, and for championing the cause of the weak and helpless. 

To get to those distant lands the Rhaetian's relied heavily on their Elven ancestors and their now closely guarded shipwright techniques to build the fastest vessels on the ocean. These ships, beautiful to the eye appear to skim across the ocean rather than through it. These vessels are not large however and rely on speed and the skills of their Knight-Mages and Navigators to escape danger and cross unknown stretches of ocean. 

[color=OrangeRed][b]Religion:[/b][/color]
Rhaetians worship the Delfini and the Dolphin, two mammals long associated to being the only creatures of the great oceans not out to destroy their ships. Navigators study the two species until they are able to communicate with them, via telepathy, and count on them for guidance in long journeys, knowledge of excellent fishing grounds, and warnings of oncoming storms.  

The Knight-Mages worship the Phoenix as a sign of power and rebirth. 

[color=OrangeRed][b]Attitude to magic:[/b][/color]
Where the Flowering Republic has leaned toward technology, the Rhaetians could not survive without magic. It is used to protect their ships, their homes, and their islands from all comers, either through its direct use by Mages, or through powerful runes.  

[color=OrangeRed][b]Places:[/b][/color]
[hider=Il-Belt ta 'Rhaetia]
Rhaetia, known locally as Il-Belt, or The City, in the common tongue, had been built around a magnificent natural harbour, called the Grand Harbour, that faces Northeast and is bounded to the north by Stallett Point and further sheltered by an isolated breakwater, and is then bounded to the south by Xabla Point. The Northwest shore is formed by the Sciberras peninsula, which is largely covered by Il-Belt and its suburb Floriana. 

That peninsula divides Grand Harbour from a second parallel natural harbour, Salvaġġ Harbour. The main waterway of Grand Harbour continues inland for nearly a kilometre. The south eastern shore of the harbour is formed by a number of inlets and headlands, Three Cities: Cospicua, Kalkara, and Senglea, have been slowly absorbed by Il-Belt to encompass the whole harbour.

The Grand Harbour lies at the centre of gently rising ground and has Il-Belt grown up all around the twin harbours and up the slopes so that the whole bowl is effectively one large fortress protected by massive landward walls and three huge sea gates.

The Great Library and several of the finest Universities are here, as is the Grand Archive, a massive building made of obsidian that houses hundreds of thousands of powerful artifacts recovered in distant lands. [/hider]

[color=OrangeRed][b]Brief History:[/b][/color]
Rhaetia, like the Flowering Republic, was born of the collapse of an ancient Empire. As the Empire decayed and began to fracture, Rhaetia and it's surrounding islands were subject to invasion by a Race of Elves from across the Western Sea who ruled the islands for some 400 years, their culture, language, and magical abilities becoming an integral part of the populace. For hundreds of years the Elven ships came and went to the West until quite suddenly they stopped, and nothing was heard from the distant homeland again. Even today Rhaetian ships sail in search of their distant land of origin but have been unable to locate it. The search goes on.

Those Elves who remained in Rhaetia still hold positions of power but wisely gave up much to the local population in order to preserve their lives. Rhaetians, now more half-elf than true human anymore, showed an infinity for the sea and began to forge an unmatched exploration fleet, guided by the teachings of their sea faring Elven ancestors.

That love of the sea brought with it the knowledge of ship building and Rhaetia has became well known for its excellent fast warships, smaller than many traditional human navies, but swifter and far more dangerous. The ever present threat from their south and the Flowering Republic has kept the Rhaetians ever aware of their weakness in population to wage war should any enemy manage to defeat runes and navy.

Secure in their distant stronghold, Rhaetian's began to seek out the injustices of the world and put them to sword. A unique class was born among them, the Knight-Mages, or Paladins, who roam the world at large singularly, or with armies, searching for monsters to slay. 

[color=OrangeRed][b]Military:[/b][/color]
There are two distinct classes in Rhaetia, the Navigators, who command individual ships, and the Knight-Mages, who protect the home islands and wage war across the sea. Navigators are Mages in their own right but their skills are directly linked to the sea and the use of ships. Knight-Mages, land based, are the force that gives pause to any would be invaders.

[color=OrangeRed][b]Location:[/b][/color]
Rhaetia lies at the Western tip of the mainland on the small island jutting into the ocean. 

[color=OrangeRed][b]Post Catalogue:[/b][/color]