[b]Nation Name:[/b] Tairre'Tal [u][b]Races of the Nation[/b][/u] Eldar High Elves Elves Wild Elves [hider=Nation History] The Kingdom of Tairre'Tal as it now stands was first unified under the rule of Draanuv Bargagniir, hailing from the ancient High Elven city of Taln'e. Draanuv was the Prince of Tairre'Tal, heir to the ruling Aaytarne dynasty that had ruled that city from its founding, building the Citadel of Sereenost as their place from which to govern. During the time of Draanuv, Tairre'Tal had consisted of only Taln'e and its surrounding small towns and villages, and the city of Taln'e was closed off to access by all non-High Elves. The Aaytarne dynasty had subjugated the city to this restriction since its founding, in order to close off Taiirrean culture from the influence of the perceivably warlike and uncivilized outsiders. This had led to a prospering and unique culture in the city, as well as all of the benefits of homogeneity, but was also a severe economic drain on the kingdom. Merchants from outside of the kingdom's reaches were forced to deal with intermediaries in the small settlements outside of Taln'e, and foreign goods were unpopular even in the border regions of the kingdom. Upon his ascension to the throne, the now King Draanuv lifted the city's race laws, progressively allowing first all Elven species and then the more civilized Humans, Dwarves and other races access to Taln'e. The Tairrean economy received a massive boost, and waves of merchants and diplomats were sent forth to mend Tairre'Tal's relations with its neighbours and establish wider local trade routes. The crown's debt and bad international reputation were both mended, and the influx of coin allowed the Kingdom of Tairre'Tal to fund its first major military expedition. East of the city of Taln'e stood a massive forest, easily twenty or thirty times the size of the kingdom. The forest was populated by three foes of Tairre'Tal worthy of note. The first, and most innocuous, were the local Wild Elves. The Wild Elven clans tended to stick to themselves in their respective regions of the forest, and some of their clans had even formed amicable trade relations with the kingdom under Draanuv's leadership. Of a more pressing concern to the kingdom was the ever-abundant population of Barghest in the forests. The Barghest, fearsome, monstrous wolves that terrorized the Wild Elves, were occasionally known to pick off wanderers into the deep woods, or even make small expeditions with their wolf packs into the plains surrounding Taln'e, to feed on cattle or a particular unlucky High Elf. Worse still than the Barghest were the most ancient and feared enemy of Tairre'Tal, the one which Draanuv's expedition had been primarily sent forth to deal with: the Goblins. The forests were home to dozens of bickering Goblin clans, with all of their species kind represented somewhere in the deep woods. Draanuv's expedition (later dubbed the Rasalka, or 'Great Dance'), turned upon the inhabitants of the woods in reverse order of their danger to Tairre'Tal, picking off the weakest first. Slightly less than half of the Wild Elf clans submitted to the might of Taln'e without need of skirmish, intimidated by the sheer size of the army sent forth to conquer them, and eager to find themselves free of having to worry about Barghest attacks or Goblin raids. The first battle of the Rasalka was against the Daennir, the second strongest of the Wild Elf clans. Their clan name would soon become the word for an arrogant fool in Tairrean culture, and for good reason. The Daennir, seeking to prove themselves the mightiest of the Wild Elf clans, sought to punish Draanuv for his conquest of the forests and send his men marching back home to Taln'e. Every single able-bodied Daennir of sufficient age rallied forth and together amassed a great army to fight off Draanuv's expedition. In the ensuing battle, the Daennir found that their decision to stand and fight the expedition was a poor one. Part way through the battle, the Wild Elf clans that had joined Draanuv's side had encircled the site of the battle, cutting off the ability of any of the Daennir warriors to flee. It was an utter massacre. After the Daennir formation broke, those who had fled who killed by their cousins that had submitted to Draanuv. Those who surrendered after the battle had been lost were put into the custody of the Wild Elf clans that assisted Draanuv during the battle. Finally, those who continued to resist Tairre'Tal after the battle was lost, including the Chieftain of the Daennir, found themselves executed. When the expedition pushed forward to claim the now undefended Daennir villages for Taiire'Tal, they found instead a horrifically morbid sight of ravaged corpses and pillaged buildings. The Goblin clans, having seemingly learned of Draanuv's expedition and rallied together a multi-Clan army of their own, had mistaken the Daennir for one of the Clans sworn to King Draanuv. As a show of their resistance, they'd completely wiped out every single remaining member of the Daennir that hadn't fought against Draanuv and been executed. The second largest and most infamous of the Wild Elf clans had been completely destroyed, with the scant few prisoners taken after the Battle of the Daennir soon assimilated into the respective Wild Elf clan they'd been put into the custody of. The massacre of the Daennir, combined with the lack of success in the first battle against the expedition, was enough to convince the remaining Wild Elf clans that resisted Draanuv to submit. One of the most recently destroyed villages that the expedition stumbled across was still populated by a small contingent of the offending goblins. Alarmingly, the goblins seemed to have managed to tame the Barghest that plagued the forests, several of them having been pitted on members of the expedition to allow the goblins to flee. King Draanuv, on his horse, with his Royal Guard, slew the Barghest and pursued the goblins out of the village and into the woods. All of the Barghest tamers were caught, and it didn't take much for them to inform the expedition of the (mostly) unified Goblin armies, the location of their settlements and what their leaders were planning. The Goblins were spared, and scouts of the expedition followed them back to the mustering point of the Goblin armies to try and arrange a peace with the clans. None of the scouts returned. Enraged, Draanuv led the expedition south, to the point where the Goblin armies had been told to amass. The Wild Elves accompanying the expedition were sent north, to force the submission of the Goblin settlements north of the wreckage of the Daennir clan. The proven but weary High Elf expedition would have to battle the Goblins and their Barghest monsters without the assistance of the Wild Elves, and on the Goblins' home ground. Even the march to the Goblin lands was not without challenges. The green-skinned raiders and their fearsome pets assaulted the expedition's ranks at least once every hour—attacking and then retreating, although usually only the former successfully. Once reached, the woods inhabited by the Goblins were relatively easy to distinguish from neutral and Elven lands. Unlike the Wild Elves, who had fluid borders between their tribes' lands and did little to disturb the natural environment, the Goblins were infamous for their cleanly marked divisions of the forest. Crude fences, heads on posts, defaced trees and primitive writings all clearly displayed which section of trees belonged to one clan and which to the other. Helpfully, though, the goblin clan's borders seemed to be missing their guards by the time the expedition arrived. There was no question between Draanuv and his generals what was responsible for the open borders; their guardians have been sent off to join the Goblin army. It was only after several hours of marching deep in goblin-infested forest that the expedition would meet the long told of unified Goblin army. It would not be the last of the expedition's battles with the Goblins. The Battle of Harym was not an easy one. Named after the segment of woods in which the battle took place (which would eventually become the site of a Tairrean city), the Battle of Harym was the bloodiest fought in Tairrean history. More than half of the expedition force remaining after the Battle of the Daennir and the Goblin raids was killed at Harym, alongside about a third of the overall goblin population in the forests. Draanuv himself and his hundred man Royal Guard all managed to escape completely unscathed, according to legend—during the battle, they'd formed an impenetrable square of swords and shields after the main formation broke, and their isolated regiment was swamped with largest portion the goblin masses. Other Elven regiments found themselves in similar situations, and many of these regiments would eventually fall, surrounded by rings of dead goblins. The order of the battle after the expedition's formation broke is unknown. All that's remembered is that the regiments found themselves cut off from each other, and the onslaught only ended once there were no goblins left to charge at them. After achieving victory, the severely weakened expedition, cut off from supply lines, limped back north to friendly wood in bitter-sweet victory. They'd buried their own dead in Harym, but neglected the piles of goblin corpses for practical reasons. Once in the lands of the friendly Wild Elves, the expedition was nursed back to health, and awaited reinforcements from Taln'e. When they arrived, the reaction was underwhelming. Most of the properly trained men had already joined the expedition when it had first set out, leaving only a few hundred in the way of reinforcements for the expedition. Draanuv was forced to take on a large number of Wild Elf levies, which represented a potential source of disunity in the expedition's ranks. The Wild Elves did not speak Standard Tairrean, instead talking in a variety of unique dialects only barely comprehensible to the High Elves. Draanuv would end up being proven wrong, though, as the Wild Elves were much more experienced in the goblins' swarm tactics than the High Elves were. Upon the second visit of the expedition to goblin lands, casualties were far less numerous, and expedition forces were better able to deal with the periodic attacks by the remains of the goblin clans. Before the war was over, half of the pre-war goblin population would be dead. Once peace was signed, with the three remaining goblin clans all coming to an agreement of evacuating the forests, all traces of goblin settlements were dismantled. In their place, Draanuv built Harym, populating the city with a mixture of settlers from Taln'e and some Wild Elves who chose to live a city life. The latter were much less common, though; most Wild Elves who were interested in relocating to a city after the Rasalka moved to Enedum, a sister-city to Harym built specifically to house Wood Elves. Over time, both Harym and Enedum would develop the same pluralistic nature that Taln'e had, with the three main varieties of Elves in Taln'e intermixing enough and assimilating into High Elf culture enough so as to make them virtually indistinguishable. Once power in the Tairrean forests was completely consolidated, Draanuv chose to build a great city to commemorate his victory. The city was named 'Aluar', in honour of the tribe on who's lands it was to stand. The Aluar were one of the first Wild Elf calsn that submitted to Tairre'Tal, well before the Battle of the Daennir. Since the tribe's lands were coastal, the city became the only port in all Tairre'Tal. Aluar houses a large population made up mostly of cosmopolitan Elves, who see fit to the Tairrean navy. Talathya, the northern tundra, was the next realm of Tairre'Tal to be annexed. Unlike the others, it was not taken by conquest. Two hundred years after the annexation of the forests, the three cities constructed in the conquered lands were booming, but the High Elves of Taln'e were populating too rapidly to maintain the city's high standard of living. Draanuv made contact with the Eldar Council, the democratic rulers of the city of Nortessa. The city was sizeable, but had only a small population made up of a thin majority of Eldar and a significant standard Elven minority. Draanuv sought to annex Nortessa and its surrounding lands into Tairre'Tal, and offered the Eldar Council positions as regional governors of the territory after its incorporation. The Eldar Council initially refused Draanuv's written requests, and so the King was forced to make an official visit to plead his case. The Royal Guard and Court Archmages travelled with King Draanuv through the Tairrean forests and north, into the tundra, towards Nortessa. Once they neared the city, the royal caravan was beset upon by a lone individual, old and dressed very simply. The figure shouted warnings to the royal caravan, telling them to turn back and not to visit the city, but before he could reach the perimeter of the Royal Guard he was killed on spot by three figures following close behind him on horseback. The men on horseback were members of Nortessa's Guard, under the employ of the Eldar Council. They informed Draanuv that the figure was an Archmage, a firebrand in Nortessa that strongly opposed Taln'e holding dominion of the city. Draanuv was unhappy with the man having been killed, but decided to press onward to Nortessa, eager to expand the Tairrean northern frontier and perhaps discover the identity of the would-be attacker. When Draanuv arrived in Nortessa, he fell victim to what would become known as the Northern Plot. The Eldar Council Chambers were north of the city of Nortessa itself, and Draanuv was permitted to bring along only only two Archmages and seven of his Royal Guard for the last neck of the journey. The travel to the Council Chambers went without a hitch, but once he entered them, Draanuv found that he had walked into a trap. The doors of the Chambers closed by themselves behind him, then disappeared, where once there had been a door becoming only another section of wall. The Chamber consist of two stories, with nine seats on the second floor and ten on the ground floor. The ten seats on the ground floor were empty, and the nine on the second floor were bathed in unnatural darkness, the space around them illuminated, but the chairs and their inhabitants hidden by shadow. The Council members sitting in the upper story beckoned Draanuv and his men to take their seats on the lower floor, all of them speaking in unison, and all with a determinedly sinister tone. The King refused, and ordered the Council to cease their intrigues and take to their seats for discussion. The Chief Councillor smiled, illuminated his seat on the second floor directly opposite Draanuv, and ordered his compatriots to do the same. The King was alarmed by what he saw—each of the Councillors was dressed exactly like the man who had assailed his caravan upon entering Nortessa. Draanuv quickly deduced that the assailant had been a member of the Eldar Council who had tried to warn him of what his brothers had planning. Before Draanuv could finish his thought, he ordered his Archmages to slaughter every last trace of the Eldar Council members. Surprised by the lack of action after his demand, he turned to them, and found that each of his Archmages and Guards in the Chamber had disappeared, the corpses of Eldar Council members replacing their spots in the Chamber. The nine corpses, plus the one from just before Nortessa, combined to account for the vacancies of the ten seats on the ground floor of the chamber. These nine men had lured Draanuv here for assassination, and killed all of their fellow council members who'd voted against the plan. Draanuv refuses to relate the events that happened in the Chambers after he saw the corpses of the nine Eldar. It could be pieced together, though, that Arch Mage Kalina, somehow having fought out of wherever she'd been taken by the Eldar Council, had rescued Draanuv and defeated the remaining Eldar Councillors. Nonetheless, it is evident that Draanuv walked into the Council Chambers with nine men, and walked out with only one. The entirety of the Eldar Council was dead, as were all of the Guards taken into the Chambers with Draanuv, and one of his prized Archmages. Draanuv was only slightly wounded, with mostly cosmetic damage to his uniform and little in the way of enduring injuries. The King declines to comment on the details of what happened in the Council Chambers, including how Kalina had managed to sav him. To accentuate his silence, he had the Council Chambers burned down after his men took control of Nortessa, forever turning the memory of the Northern Plot into ashes. The Eldar Council was extinguished alongside their Council Chambers, and an influx of High Elves (smaller than the influxes into the three cities founded in the Tairrean forests by Draanuv) led to a permanent alteration of Nortessa's demographics. The majority of the city is now cosmopolitan Elves, with Eldar forming a large and influential minority. With Talathya annexed, Tairre'Tal came to its current geographical borders. The kingdom has stood as such for well over a hundred years now, its frontiers firm, safe and undisturbed, and its cities constantly growing both in size and population. The peaceful nature of the largely tamed landscape has led to Elves living much longer than they usually did during the Cataclysm. Without an elderly population to die out every generation, like in human societies, a span of only a few decades can drastically increase the natural population of Tairrean cities. With most of the nation homogenized, at least culturally, and need for more settlements increasing, the Tairreans have looked increasingly to populated the vast forest under their dominion. Small towns are sprouting up rapidly outside of Harym and Enedum, populated almost wholly by cosmopolitan High Elves moving away from the more densely populated cities. This settlement of the forests, in turn, angers Wild Elves. Pressure from High Elves and Wild Elves alike is on Draanuv to expand the horizons of the kingdom to allow more land fit for settlement by High Elves to be taken under firm Tairrean control. [/hider] [u][b]Important Characters[/b][/u] [hider=Draanuv] [center][img]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk50/Hazufel/Avatar%20Base%20Images/MaleWarrior-Elf-Serene.jpg[/img] [i]Draanuv, after surviving the infamous 'Northern Plot'—an assassination attempt upon his life proceeding the annexation of Talathya.[/i] The King of Tairre'Tal. Bane of Barghest ('Bargagniir' in Tairrean) and Defender of the Forests. Draanuv is a legendary and immensely popular ruler, and directly responsible for the acquisition of the vast majority of the kingdom's current area. Draanuv belongs to the Aaytarne dynasty, which has ruled Tairre'Tal since its foundation, but has ruled longer than every other Aaytarne King combined. Previous Aaytarne Kings willingly resigned their role within the kingdom after losing the support of the people, but Draanuv has never had to, having earned himself near demi-god status in the eyes of the Tairreans. Draanuv is tall, even for a High Elf, and has a more human-like complexion than most Elves. He has black hair, an uncommon trait in High Elves but a signifying trait of Aaytarnes, and cuts his hair short, in the fashion of a warrior. He's decidedly stoic, being described as 'passionate but emotionless' by his subjects for his lack of emotional expression. A warrior-king, Draanuv is more of a fighter than an administrator, assigning much of his duties as King to administrators according to merit. The King still holds absolute authority over those roles that he delegates, though, being able to overturn any decision made for any reason he deems fit. Draanuv is a fair ruler, but very stern, unlikely to tolerate disloyalty or disrespect to him or his kingdom. [/center][/hider] [hider=Grand General Piline] [center][img]http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131112060826/elderscrolls/images/5/51/High_Elf_Face.jpg[/img] Foremost commander of the Tairrean military, second only to Draanuv himself. Piline hails from the noble families of Taln'e, and is married to one of Draanuv's cousins. His family has always been one of warriors, going back to the days of the Cataclysm—this served to spur Piline into following his family's footsteps and choosing a military career. Piline has the honour of holding the highest military status that any of his family members, past or present, have ever received. He's a competent commander, but a better diplomat, and was assigned his role to serve mainly as an administrator of war rather than an actual warrior. He's slightly less apprehensive than Draanuv, and a bit more prone to frustration and anger. Piline wears elegantly crafted ceremonial 'armour', made partially out of glass and gemstones, but mostly from various expensive fabrics. He wears his hair long, swept back, in traditional High Elf fashion. Piline was born early enough to see two Kings before Draanuv, and was assigned his role as Grand General by the second of those. Piline has a paternalistic attitude toward the uncivilized races—he sees conquest of the inferior as ultimately being for the mutual good of both Tairre'Tal and the uncivilized child race. Piline is responsible for a recent increased military presence in the the Tairrean woods, to pre-emptively avoid Wild Elf reprisal against High Elf settlements popping up in the forests. As Grand General, he tries his best to impose High Elven culture over all denizens of Tairre'Tal, making him unpopular among traditionalist Eldar and Wild Elves, as well as less traditionalist High Elves. [/center][/hider] [hider=Sinaur] [center] The highest ranked Wild Elf in the Tairrean military structure. Sinaur was born in a Wild Elf village in the central Tairrean forests, but spent most of his early life in Enedum. Sinaur is loyal to Draanuv, but highly critical of Grand General Piline, his immediate superior. Sinaur's Wild Elf heritage led him to becoming an expert in Nature, Earth and Force magic. [/center] [/hider] [hider=Niiror] [center] A High Elf, and expert in the Holy, Light and Fire schools of magic. Niiror is the twin brother of Quainn, and both descend from the nobles of Taln'e. Niiror has black hair, a small frame and large, piercing eyes. He's indistinguishable in appearance from his brother. [/center] [/hider] [hider=Quainn] [center] A High Elf, and expert in the Holy, Light and Fire schools of magic. Quainn is the twin brother of Niiror, and both descend from the nobles of Taln'e. Quainn has black hair, a small frame and large, piercing eyes. He's indistinguishable in appearance from his brother. [/center] [/hider] [hider=Ilyaa] [center] The youngest mage in Taiire'Tal's ranks, and the second of mixed ancestry. Ilyaa was born of an Eldar mother and an Elven father from Enedum. She was raised in Nortessa, in her mother's homeland, and spent her early years exploring the tundra of Talathya. She has long, flowing white hair and pale skin, matched by striking blue eyes. She's a petite Elf, standing at a height well below the average for an Elvish woman. Illyaa specializes in Nature, Water and Air magic. [/center] [/hider] [hider=Admiral Erschwine] [center] The leader of Taiire'Tal's navy. Erschwine is a High Elf, hailing from Aluar. He's a capable personal captain, but is less remarkable at managing logistics, and leaves many of his duties as Admiral delegated to his inferiors. Erschwine is Captain of the Altarya, one of two Galleons operating in the Taiirean navy. [/center] [/hider] [hider=Arch Mage Kalina] [center][img]http://puu.sh/6HHTI/02338246de.jpg[/img] The most powerful mage in Taiire'Tal, Kalina has all of the arrogance typical of a High Elf and then some. She sees herself as completely without parallel, and has a certain amount of contempt for Grand General Piline because of this. Nonetheless, she still manages to remain loyal to Draanuv, but only for his accomplishments and utility to the nation, rather than merely because he wears a crown. Kalina is responsible for saving Draanuv from the Northern Plot, and has served as Taiire'Tal's sole Arch Mage ever since. She hails from Taln'e, and resides in Sereenost alongside Draanuv and Piline. [/center] [/hider] --- [b][u]Traits[/b][/u] [b]National Traits:[/b] 7 Spies, Spies Everywhere Agents Everywhere Peaceful Bread and Games Delatores Watchtowers Unsoiled Reputation [b]Population Traits:[/b] 9 Loyal Stand Tall Squeaky Clean Clean streets Fair Law Aqueducts Winged messengers Know your place! Small Town Talk [b]Academic Traits:[/b] 12 Medicine Schools Academy of Power University of War Agricultural Institute Tradesmen Academy Institute of Commerce Hunger for Knowledge Guardians of Knowledge Bards Super Herbalists Natural cultivation [b]Military Basic Traits:[/b] 4 Ambush Predators Strategists Superior Training Nightmares in the Trees [b]Archery Traits:[/b] 2 Perfect Fletching Crossbows [b]Infantry Traits:[/b] 1 Swordsman's School [b]Airborne Traits:[/b] 1 Sirens [b]Tradesman Traits:[/b] 9 Farmers Ranchers Master Carpenter Master Smith Master Stonemason Master Glassblower Trackers Industrious Strong Stone Foundations [b]Merchant Traits:[/b] 5 Gold Worshippers Longstanding Merit of Trade Welcome sight Trade Tongues Diplomatic savants [b]Magecraft Traits:[/b] 12 Elemental Fires Elemental Waters Elemental Earths Elemental Air Element of Light Storm Magi Nature Magic Force Magic Holy Magic Scholars of Power Reputation of Gold Arch-Spellcaster [b]Monster Traits:[/b] 1 Barghest [b]Flaws:[/b] 5 Abrasive Bound by Tradition Raiding Season, not Raiding Season Facts, facts, facts! Code of Honour --- [b][u]Territory[/b][/u] Capital City (Taln'e) Citadel (Sereenost, adjoining Taln'e) Large City (Aluar; Coastal) 3 Small Cities (Harym, Enedum, Nortessa; 2 Forest, 1 Tundra, positioned respectively) 3 Tundra 28 Forest [i]232 Regiment Points.[/i] --- [b][u]Army[/b][/u] 18 Regiments of Experienced Elven Infantry 4 Regiments of Experienced High Elven Infantry 6 Regiments of Experienced Wild Elven Infantry (2,800 total—84 RP) 10 Regiments of Experienced Elven Ranged 8 Regiments of Experienced Wild Elven Ranged 5 Regiments of Experienced High Elven Ranged (2,300 total—69 RP) 6 Regiments of Elite High Elven Ranged 3 Regiments of Elite Elven Ranged 3 Regiments of Elite Wild Elven Ranged (1,200 total-44 RP) 5 Regiments of Elite Elven Light Cavalry 1 Regiment of Elite High Elven Light Cavalry 1 Regiment of Elite Wild Elven Light Cavalry (500 total—25 RP) 1 Regiment of Royal Guard High Elven Infantry (100 total—6 RP) [b][u]Command[/b][/u] (WIP) [u]58 P Total[/u] One Normal Arch-Mage (Arch Mage Kalina, 15P) Four Normal Mages (Sinaur, Niiror, Quainn, Ilyaa, 29P) One Normal Commander (Admiral Erschwine, 3P) One Normal Great General (General Piline, 5P) One Normal Hero of the Realm (King Draanuv, 6P) [b]Monsters Units[/b] 58 packs of Barghest (1,740 total) [b][u]Air Force[/b][/u] 5 Units of Sirens (500 total) [b][u]Navy[/b][/u] 25 Sloops (500 Gold) 5 Galleass (600 Gold) 12 Windjammer (2,400 Gold) 2 Galleon (500 Gold)