@babbysama I like the concept of a rivalry being ended by marriage. Though perhaps during the medieval period? During pagan times there were really just a bunch of different chiefdoms in Reheba, and a marriage at that time might make one particular chiefdom friendly to those in the south coast of current day Cordonova, but probably not the rest of the chiefdoms, who would probably look at those of the south coast as rivals for siding with this chiefdom.
400 years ago Reheba was united as a feudal kingdom, and the Forentinan religion had taken roots on Reheban soil well before that. Perhaps the marriage takes place then? I'm thinking that such a rivalry would last a long time and evolve after all. If you would like to pursue the idea of doing it during pagan times, I'm sure we could think of something. To me though the medieval period seems to me to be the best option.
I think it might be fun to read what would happen during something like a reformation. Especially if it's coupled with a peasant revolt. The tensions between those on the western coast and those of the Veldt and the south also sounds interesting.
@babbysama I've noticed that the Kingdom of Reheba and the Grand Duchy of Cordonova are geographically close, and with that being the case I was wondering if we could collaborate on the history of our nations and perhaps some dynastic relations. If you'd like to, I'll send you a PM of my ideas and we can discuss them and your ideas, etc.
If you'd prefer to use the thread to discuss the collaboration that's fine too, but I'm leaning towards the PMs if only for the fact that I felt I may have been cluttering the thread on my previous attempt at collaboration. Thank you for your time.
@TheSovereignGrave In the spirit of collaboration I also have an offer for you, though considering the geographical distances between Reheba and the Kingdom on the Ardäin I'm not sure how much we could do with the history. I'll PM you my ideas if that's alright. If you'd like to use the thread that's alright too, but like I said, I don't want to clutter up the thread too much. Thank you for reading.
Well, I just changed the shield for my nation, and I think that the current shield is considerably less ugly than its predecessor.
Apart from that going on for me, I have a question for those I may be role-playing with. I think it'd be interesting to know.
What do you think will happen in your nation if a reformation event happens? I'm just curious.
I'd imagine that in Reheba such a thing would be put down swiftly. Though there are printing presses, and it's within the realm of plausibility that if they are routed on the battlefield, those remaining would try and use the printing press to their advantage. I think it also depends on who takes over the kingdom.
None of it is yet decided of course, but pondering makes for a good way to pass the time.
@Aristo I have a few questions regarding the Ambrusian church and the Fiorentian faith in general. The nuances intrigue me, plus I think it'd be good to know a few basics of the faith.
Does the Fiorentian faith have a holy book? What of commandments? Would the average service look like a regular mass from the time? Are there any sacraments or rites that are clearly laid out?
Moreover I'd like to thank you for working with the map and overall devoting time to this. It's appreciated.
Though on second thought in regards to the possibility of a royal marriage or the lines mixing, I'd imagine that we could probably leave that to the Role-play. Otherwise, are we agreed? If so, I'll get to writing.
@LloydTurquoise I was thinking the war would be support for a foreign noble. Though at this point it would be minor support. The noble in mind is mentioned in what I've written so far in the history. His name is Godric. During his time there were two other kingdoms. One to the east, and one to the north. His would be in the southwest. The revolt happened due to an empty treasury of the reigning line. It's highly possible that once Godric got things running again he'd try and invade and take a small province of the Eastern kingdom. It's quite possible he would offer the Vohemian monarch of the time some land in this Eastern kingdom if they would help him in his war. The current borders could be fairly recent, with the expulsion of Vohemian nobility in this place taking place say... 100 years ago?
Perhaps after a long and bloody conflict? I'd also be open to the nobility leaving peacefully, or anything you yourself may have in mind.
In addition, is there any possibility of the royal lines mixing? Edwynn has four daughters after all, and I'm sure he'd have loved to have used them as bargaining chips.
These are the things I've been thinking of. If you have any other ideas, or want to revise what I've written down, I am more than open to discussion.
@Gendarme Yeah why not, I see you need a few imports that Vohemia provides and you have a few things that Vohemia would like. We could do a kinda trade meeting kinda collab?
Sounds good. I was also wondering if we could discuss some possibility of shared history, if it's not too much trouble.
It's all a bit WIP. I would have made the shield a bit nicer, but the usual software I use for making such things wasn't working, so I had to rely on GIMP, something I haven't used in a considerable sum of time.
Nation Overview
The Kingdom of Reheba is ruled by Edwyn II, a pious and fairly content widower whose wife died while giving birth to their sixth living child. When this happened Edwynn was distraught, but eventually found comfort in the church and its teachings. Edwyn II has two boys by the names of Ainsely and Radford. Edwynn also has four daughters, Juliana, Noreen, Synne, and Greta. All of the children are middle-aged or in their late twenties by now, and with Edwyn nearing his 67th birthday, the question on the minds of many of his subjects is whether he will die anytime soon. If so, the eldest son Ainsely will probably come to power.
Ainsely is much like his father in that he is a content individual, though he is a zealot who refuses to tolerate heresy and other religions. His brother Radford is the youngest of the two sons. An ambitious man and alleged schemer, many question if he will try and take the throne for himself on his father's passing. Reheba has been transitioning from the feudal system into an absolute monarchy. Though few nobles other than the royal family are happy with this state of affairs, as they do not have as much power as they once did.
Geography
Reheba is colored in orange. The large island is named Reheba, and the smaller island is called Behr.
Kingstead - The capital of the Reheban kingdom, Kingstead was founded after the adoption of feudalism by the southwestern chiefdoms. The city sits a safe distance away from where the Stavolt river and the ocean meet, but it is not so far away as to make a journey to the ocean or the river particularly costly or dangerous. Much of the industry of gunsmiths and artillery foundries can be found here, in addition to an ornately decorated cathedral dedicated to St. Fiorentino.
Belfry - The city of Belfry was formed from two close but separate villages 450 years ago. It is named such because both villages and their lords tried to build a taller belfry than the other, and thus technically gain a larger church. Constant renovations and additions were done to the two church's belfries for a time. It required the intervention of the local bishop to finally stop the rivalry, which had later become violent. Belfry is known for the production of fine leather and the mild cheeses associated with Reheba. It is also home to a fishing industry.
Trale - Trale is an inland city which sits near fertile land. To the northeast sits a mountain that gives the city its name. The surrounding villages around Trale produce much of its wool and food crops. In the mountains the soil is poor for most food crops, and livestock is raised instead. In the mountains there is a significant amount of iron.
Hance - Named after an ancient hero who supposedly fought a sea monster (Some question the veracity of this story) It is a hotspot for trade, and is known for its shipyards and at one point, its large forests. It has a fishing industry, and a few coal mines in the villages to its east.
Eelstone - Eelstone is named such due to a geological oddity. At one point there existed a large, curvy stone, and at first glance and from far away it would have looked like a giant snake or eel. Hence the name. The stone was later taken apart and used for housing. Eelstone has a large fishing industry, and is home to an equally large shipbuilding industry. There was once a substantial forest around Eelstone, but it has almost become uneconomical to pursue cutting down the trees of this forest, as it has been dwindling for some time.
St. Adalberos - Where St. Adalberos first touched Reheban soil, and where he did much of his early preaching and writing. Pilgrimages to the city are common for Rehebans. There is a cathedral named after Adalberos in the city, and in this cathedral lie his remains. Being a coastal city, St. Adalberos has a fishing industry. It sits north of the Calm mountains, which is known for holding precious gems and coal.
Stervon - "Stervon" is an old Reheban word meaning "Whale." The story of why Stervon was named "Whale," is not known for sure, but many speculate it is because long ago men from Stervon hunted whale, as they do today. Stervon is the largest and only city on the island of Behr. Stervon has some lumber in the hills north of it. Stervon, being on the coast, has a fishing and shipbuilding industry.
Being an island nation, the weather in Reheba is usually wet. The western sea is rumored to hold sea monsters and is a cause for much discussion. To the south of St. Adalberos sit the Calm mountains, a mountain range which holds much timber, coal, and precious gems. The problem with gathering timber and other resources in the Calm mountains however is that it is rugged and difficult to traverse terrain, making resource extraction arduous. A string of villages and a couple of towns lie in the Calm mountains, but apart from this the Calm mountains are not populated. The Trale mountains near the city of Trale in contrast are more populated.
Reheba's forests are turning into grassland, and most forests that aren't in the process of being cut down are preserved because they are in hard to reach places, such as in the mountains or some valleys. Other forests survive in some land belonging to the nobles, and some belonging to the royal family. These forests are used as a reserve for the nobility and the royal family.
Choose a color and draw your borders on the map. You are also at liberty to describe the geography, weather, flora and fauna of your nation here. Also to be mentioned are important cities or locations within your nation.
History
Rehebans have always been, as far as the records show, on the island of Reheba and the smaller island of Behr. The island was originally dominated by various tribal chiefdoms vying for power. Religion was pagan, with the worship of multiple gods and in some rare cases human sacrifice. It is no small wonder then that the Ambrusian church sent missionaries to Reheba to convert them from their heathen ways.
A notable Fiorentian missionary, and by the far the most successful was a monk from the Ardäin by the name of Adalberos. Captured from his monastery by Reheban raiders and forced to write of their glory on vellum, he adopted some aspects of Reheban life, and spoke to other slaves and even a few chiefs in parables about the greatness of God and his servant St. Fiorentino. Abalberos regarded his growing flock with much care, and he was an affectionate and overall decent man as far as the texts describe him. Indeed, the Fiorentinan religion spread across Reheba peacefully during his lifetime, and feudalism would be adopted a few hundred years later in some former chiefdoms. Adalberos was eventually canonized as a saint by the church for bringing the Fiorentinan religion to Reheba, and while it would take a few more generations for the Forentinan faith to truly grow and prosper, Adalberos had opened up the floodgates for other missionaries and holy men to come to Reheba.
By the time of Adalberos' arrival, a new enemy of the Reheban chiefdoms would rear its head for the first time. Raiders from the current day duchy of Örst on the southern coast of current day Cordonova had attacked Reheban vessels and raided a small fishing village near where the city of Hance is today. A long and sporadic war would go on for centuries. Truces were signed from time to time, and even a few peaces in some chiefdoms. Though fighting would always resume under another chiefdom, and peaces were at times broken.
By the medieval period, when Reheba was united by feudalism and the Fiorentinan religion, most people from Reheba viewed the Örstans as enemies to be brought to heel. The war had a chance to become steady, if only because some Reheban nobility now saw war more and more as an opportunity for increasing their own power on the mainland. Most Reheban nobility however had become sick of war, and wanted to spend their gold on more fruitful things. So to end the longstanding rivalry between Rehebans and Örstans, a marriage between a Reheban noble, and a Örstan noble was decided.
Another notable saint appeared during the time of Feudalism by the name of Hugh. Hugh was raised by a group of monks at an early age after he was left on the doorstep of their monastery. Trained well in theology, when the first major heresy broke out in northern Reheba, Hugh went out and openly argued against them. He converted a few back to the faith, but he was martyred by the orders of the heresiarch. After Hugh's death, the temporal forces in the evolving but still divided land called for a holy war, and with the aid of the church the heresy was crushed. Soon after these events, the first lords of the Roguelin dynasty would come to power, and slowly start to unify Reheba.
Reheba existed as a unified kingdom 400 years ago on the island of Reheba. The kingdom was prosperous and rich until the fourth king of the Roguelin dynasty died. Three of his four sons, rather than submit to their new king, warred against their brother for the throne. The eldest brother was exiled and his land split among his younger siblings. For seventy years these small kingdoms would wage war, each trying to unify Reheba. The Roguelin dynasty would eventually wither away due to a mixture of treachery, lack of male heirs, and inbreeding. The next major line of royalty in Reheba would be the Hewlett line, which would come to become kings through rebellion while the coffers of the southwestern kingdom were bare. They did this by manipulating the peasants to fight for them, claiming they would give them more rights.
The new Hewlett king Godric would give the peasants a few more rights, and he did so "gladly and with haste." What probably helped him make this decision was that there were now armed peasants in his land. Godric's successors would go on to incrementally grab counties and the occasional duchy of the neighboring kingdom until Reheba was somewhat whole. Godric's successor, Alfred the strong, allied with the Vohemian monarch of the time and offered them some land in the rival eastern kingdom if they would help with the war. Up until the last century a substantial stretch of land belonged to the landed nobility of Vohemia. A mixture of economic pressure and threats over the years from Reheban lords caused the Vohemian nobility of this strip of land to evict themselves from Reheban soil at the end of the last century.
The Hewletts reign to this day.
Society
Reheba is known for its mild cheeses and few dietary restrictions. In fact, almost any animal can be eaten in Reheban culture without the fear of social stigma save for dogs, cats, small rodents, frogs, toads, and various arachnids and insects. Whale is a delicacy among the nobility, as is seal. The people tend to be pious and follow the will of the Ambrusian church. Heresy is a cause for panicked hysteria, followed by military intervention if a heretic community cannot be persuaded to return to the church. Rehebans usually aid the Ambrusian order when possible. Partly out of fear, and partly out of devotion. Magic is regarded as rare and perplexing. The services of a wizard are seldom used by most people, and many wizards keep their magical abilities secret. Some wizards aid or cause damage to the communities they live in, but it is done within secret.
A Reheban saying around most coastal towns and in some places further inland is, "The anchor has dropped." The saying means that something is done with finality, or that a deed is finished.
What are the people in your nation like? How closely do they adhere to the Church? What is notable about their culture and how they do things? Feel free to elaborate, but keep it reasonable. History may play a large role in this section, and vice-versa.
Economy/Industry
Reheba has a considerable sum of subsistence farmers, but there are also a few commercial farmers. The majority of commercial farmers raise sheep or cows, though they primarily raise sheep. Reheban craftsman guilds have many well-designed and well made products, and the secrets of how these are made are somewhat well guarded. What could cripple Reheba is their reliance on various metals and timber that they simply don't have or are running out of. The economy is somewhat weakened by the gluttony of the Royal family and the extravagance of the nobility. Although generally a devout bunch, the Royal family is known for employing various monster hunters who once in a great while bring back live fantastical or exotic creatures to be eaten. Needless to say this decadence is looked down upon by the clergy. The nobility is usually bribed or threatened so they don't get in the way of progress, but the bribes tend to be expensive.
Reheba exports wool, iron, coal, leather, precious gems, and various weapons such as cannons and arquebuses.
Reheba imports sulfur, tin, and copper. Reheba is losing many forests due to a growing population and naval upkeep. It is highly likely timber will be imported soon.
Military
Reheba has given gunpowder and artillery a loving embrace. Its navy is a strong one with a decent sum of galleons, but it is reliant on an ever dwindling supply of lumber at home. The navy was built primarily to help protect trading vessels, but it is also used to protect the island nation from attack. The cavalry has not been reformed in any meaningful way in years, and mounted-men-at-arms still dominate the cavalry. What this means is that only those that pay for their equipment or the nobility usually ride horses into battle. They often use lances or occasionally swords, and are heavily armored. Recently there has been talk of the crown paying for replacement horses should a man lose his in battle, but whether this will happen or not remains to be seen.
The Arquebusier is often accompanied by men who wield pike and halberd, and the tercio formation is sometimes used in conjunction with the cavalry. Cannons are rarely used on the field, but are used on ships, in forts, and in old castles. They can sometimes be positioned around a town, provided there is enough time and labor to do so.
