Scions [Fantasy|OOC]

[Reverend Norv]

Fair enough. I had assumed from Krugmar's description that most of the Southron powers held various longstanding historical claims to the Mootland, which would make conflict over it a matter of honor for everyone involved, regardless of their assessment of its actual value - and I read Serebyan as particularly likely to be stubborn on a matter of honor such as that one, hence the three wars. But if those assumptions were mistaken, I can sure change the history.

The center of Serebyan is actually the smaller of the two islands that form the west coast of the inland sea. The Mootland is far from the interests of traditional Serebyan. The only reason that the Dominion controls the parts of the Mootlands that it does, the lake to the border, is because of Serelyodan desire to control main tributaries for the Aratska River Valley. The Serelyodi would have conquered up to the lake about 900 years ago and reached the current borders by at least 500 years ago. The Dominion, already disliking non-humans, would not be apt to conquer the subhuman lands. Given that, you could probably seize the Mootlands up to the first lake during the War of the Great Houses about 500 years ago, but they'd have been reconquered within a few decades. Afterwards there could be wars and skirmishes aplenty, but the borders are not liable to have changed much. At least long term.

Makes sense. Since those three wars were intended to provide some more recent experience for the Mark's forces, and since it's important to the Ironmark's regional role that it's never lost a war outright, I will just change the opponent in them from Serebyan to Tervain. That adds some tension to the Mark's current attempt to support the Tervain rebels, which is a more interesting dynamic anyway.

[Krugmar]

Sorry for my absence this week, became quite busy and have been unable to finish my post. It will hopefully be up this weekend, with some additions to the OP as well.

[Reverend Norv]

No worries at all. Just flagging this for your attention when you get the chance.

All four parts of the app are now done. I will work on an IC post sometime this week. Krugmar, could you let me know what the situation is with the Tervine rebels, since Hereward and his advisers are embedded with the rebel army?

[Krugmar]

No worries at all. Just flagging this for your attention when you get the chance.

All four parts of the app are now done. I will work on an IC post sometime this week. Krugmar, could you let me know what the situation is with the Tervine rebels, since Hereward and his advisers are embedded with the rebel army?

Sorry must have missed that.

I'll try to produce a rough map when I get the chance, but the western portion of Tervain is currently contested, with the rebels having taken a number of key fortresses and cities, and having established a makeshift capital in Monroyel.

Militarily the situation is still pretty bad, despite a few victories. They can't win a true war of attrition, but tying down Nekhur long enough coupled with some decisive victories could help create a coalition.

Politically they are gaining support from more Tervine nobles, particularly those in the south. Those in the north are more wary, but have been passing on information from Varla.

[Reverend Norv]

Figured you wouldn't mind me taking both sides of a basically inconsequential battalion-sized engagement with a bunch of Balorenes. It's a good way to jump-start the issue of more overt intervention by the Mark.

[The Knights of Azorea]

I've somehow got myself writing up an application for half-troll steppe nomads on the other side of the world from anyone else, so huzzah for that.

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Essential Details

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Name of Race: Harhūm – “Trollkin”

Appearance:Standing only slightly taller than men, two things mark the trollkin from their human cousins in form. First is their hide – the pelt. Trollkin are covered to a greater or lesser extent with shaggy fur, coloured according to their ancestry and dividing them into three broods. Second is their lanky, greyish form – their arms especially hang lower than those of men, while their grey-silver skin hangs tightly around shifting and knotted muscle.


Description: Supposed kin to the myth-ridden Hār-Trolls of the icy south, the Harhūm are a wild and untamed people. Voracious of appetite, Short-lived, and famously stubborn, they rarely bother with laws and morays beyond their own blood-codes and clan customs. Adoption is a constant in life, with poorer men being “adopted” by wealthier ones – providing service and labour in exchange for honour and the protection of a family. Oaths are held to zealously – to break an oath is to face death and the spilling of all of one’s blood on the dirt, like a slain pig – an incredible shame to bear. Bound only by the rough laws of kin and strength, the trollkin are a warlike and unquiet addition even to the steppes, let alone to the settled folk beyond.

Three broods – the silver, gold and copper pelts – make up the people as a whole, with each brood divided into dozens of warlike tribes, ruled over by Erkhar warlords and assemblies of broodmothers. They survive by herding cattle and horses, as well as through hunting and foraging. Troll-kin raiders frequently carry off slaves from the surrounding settled peoples and from human steppe-riders, while merchants sell furs and horses for food, slaves, weapons and gold.

Location: The temperate forests and steppe of the distant south.

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Essential Details

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Name of Realm:Herek Uluz – The Bonecharr Folk

Rulers: Ar-Beleg, Erkhar: A Wind-scarred and ancient Trollkin, Ar-Beleg rules as the tribe’s Erkhar. In theory, the Erkhar is the tribe’s ultimate warleader, the bringer of tribute and giver of gifts around which the people are united. Ar-Beleg has ruled a decade, the capstone of a life of raiding, warring and unshakeable faith.

The Matukh: The eldest mothers of the tribe act in assembly as the Matukh. They decide disputes within the tribe, and their venerable word is law.

The Arhul: The youngest and most impetuous, too, have their assembly in the Arhul – the black-tent, a specific yurt in each major band where prisoners and slaves are kept. Here, young warriors make boasts and oaths, and express their bloodlust to the Erkhar.


Cultures and Races: Harran Uluz Harhūm – The Silver-Pelt kindred of Trollkin make up the vast majority of the tribe, since by its nature it is defined by clan-kinship rather than by territory and subjects. Dwelling in the poorest steppe-land, the Uluz dwell in many tribes, of which the Herek are but one. Their herds are small, their horses lean, and their bellies often empty. With a deep respect for tradition and the word of elders and mothers, along with an always fiery and bloodthirsty brood of young warriors, their tribes are as fractious as any.

Urhūm – The Urhum are those human steppe-riders and communities bound by oath, adoption or blood to the Uluz. They are a strange folk, sitting half between the trollkin, the free human riders of the steppe and the sun-worshipping farmers of the north.

Hēlu – The Hēlu are slaves, usually human, bred in captivity. Regarded as little more than chattel, Hēlu are afforded little attention beyond their use in shepherding and as pack-animals. Any skilled Hēlu, especially any metalsmith, though, is likely to swiftly find himself adopted, by force, by his captors.


Religion: The Harhum revere the sky and its winds above all else. Often the wind is conceptualized as a pack of wolves, roving amidst the heavens, and it is from their blood and fur that the Harhum regard themselves to have come into the world. Their love of the open sky leaves them to regard storms and great birds as portentous, and to the practice of sky-burial, with bodies being ritually prepared and dried out (so as to avoid the spillage of flowing blood, which they consider an abomination). The line between religious practice and law is intensely blurred - the blood-codes that dictate proper behaviour are regarded as the accumulated will and wisdom of the ancestors, both as successful trollkin in life and as powerful spirits dwelling in the sky after death. Worship is not, itself, subject of much ritual, and there is no priesthood other than those old Harhum wise enough to remember and repeat tales and tradition.

History: The Hārhum say that, in the distant past, the Hār trolls were born when the blood of a wounded wolf froze and was blown apart by the wind. The shards, they say, became the eldest trolls, as the fur of the dying wolf was torn away by the chill. Many tales are told of the trolls and their battles in ancient days, but it is the tale of three brothers, Silver, Copper and Gold (Ulu, Kem and Huac) that commences their history.

The three were said to march into the steppe. After many battles with the local Urhūm, the Open Sky bestowed on them each three wives, though the Huac in his arrogance stole one from each of his brothers, and the slighted Kem took one from Ulu. With only one wife, Ulu’s clan grew slowly, and was pressed outward into rougher lands at the edge of the steppe.

How long it has been since then is a mystery to all. The trollkin have no writing, and their reckoning goes little further back than the legends told of by the eldest brood-mothers. The Herek Uluz in particular say that their tribe began when a Harhūm sat grieiving over the pyre of his brother, slain in war, and painted his face with the ash of charred bones.

Since then the tribe has existed under a succession of Erkhan, scratching out an existence on the edge of the steppe and raiding or trading with the humans as suited them. A decade ago, though, Ar-Beleg took power. Ruling for ten years, his reign has been an exceptional period of stability, and many whelps who would otherwise have died young have grown to manhood – both a boon for the tribe in war and a threat in peace, since the old troll is not all he once was.

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Assets

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Notable Cities:

Notable Cities: The Helek Uluz have no cities, and are too poor to have any permanent camps of note. Only a few semi-sedentary yurts sit in their territory, while in the remainder of the year they wander what land they can defend.

Economy: Four pillars hold up the economy of the Uluz; herding, hunting, trading and raiding.

Herding is the greatest of these. The daily lives of the trollkin are consumed by the maintenance, movement and protection of their herds, both of cattle and horses. Their shaggy, long-horned cattle are well suited to the steppe, producing milk, blood, meat, leather and shaggy hide. Wealth is measured in cattle, with individual famillies maintaining their own herds with the assistance of Hēlu slaves and “adopted” dependents too poor to have their own cattle otherwise. Horses are more valued, being a necessary part of daily life on the steppe. Bred for sturdiness and swiftness, a trollkin’s steed is his truest friend – they learn to ride young and seldom leave the saddle for long. The rearing of horses is a respected art, and any trollkin worth his freedom has at least a few horses following in his train.

Milk, both cattle and mare, is used for cheese, cream and a thick fermented beverage that young trolls are dangerously intemperate with. Blood is boiled and roasted into journey-cakes, while meat is dried in the steppe-wind and chewed while riding. Leather and hide are used for clothing and for the construction of large yurts and smaller personal tents. Meat is perhaps most crucial – the trollkin are built, moreso than humans, to dine on flesh, with horses especially being considered prestigious fare for feasting. Sheep and goats are sometimes kept, too, and eaten in turn.

Hunting and foraging provide much of the rest of a troll’s diet. Hunting with great hawks and dogs, the Harhūm chase civet, wolverines, ermine, pole-cats, beavers, lynxes and all other such fare they can find, often even travelling to the temperate woodlands for bears and forest reindeer. Fowl are also hunted, with fine feather cloaks marking out wise old broodmothers. The trade in furs, then, is a source of great profit for the tribe, with middle aged men and their wives often turning from raiding to the fur trade when their own sons go off to war for the first time. In exchange, they seek the goods of the settled world; grain, honey, wine and especially iron weapons and tools.

Raiding is a constant in nomadic life, both on the steppe and off it. Harhūm youths engage in somewhat ritualised raids against their fellow trollkin, where it is expected (though not universally upheld) that only unmarried women and slaves will be kidnapped and only cattle will be stolen. Among humans, though, raiding is altogether more brutal – all humans not adopted into troll-clans are fair game for enslavement and plundering. Raids beyond the steppe require more co-ordination, but are growing more common by the year as rumours of the wealth of iron, silver, wine and slaves to be taken in the soft lands of settled folk grow ever louder, and space on the steppe wears thin.

Population: No more than 15,000 or so, decentralised and spread across a small, northern patch of the far southern steppe.

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Military

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Command: The Erkhan is at the head of the tribe’s warriors, though in practice individual clans often have their own Ilkhans, who are usually chosen internally from a clan’s experienced warriors to act as the Erkhan’s lieutenants. Usually the eldest son of a household will command his brothers and any “adopted” male relatives.

Strength: All men and women ride, certainly, and almost all are well familiar with the bow, but they are embroiled in the defense of their homes from petty raiders and most are far from warriors in any meaningful sense. Most she-trolls are pushed towards the defense and management of the home, while only young he-trolls seeking glory and those veterans well ensconced as warriors may truly be considered to be an army. Perhaps 3,000 fighting trollkin in all, split up into clan-hosts, certainly only a few hundred “professional” warriors consistently at arms and on call.

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Diplomatic Relations

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Diplomatic Relations
Interests:
Their local cousins, as possible subjects, allies, and enemies.
Rivals:
The human clans of the temperate woods and the farmers to the north.

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Other Information

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Location: A northern patch of the steppe in the distant south of Minilar.

[Krugmar]

-snip- Trollkin

Very interesting, happily accepted!

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Sorry for my absence, had a much busier week and long weekend than anticipated. I don't plan on abandoning this RP anytime soon, but due to my unfortunately busy schedule it'll become more slow than I'd like it to be, and my updates to the OP will take some time. If anybody is anxious to have their kingdom, race, religion, creature etc. featured more quickly then send me a paragraph or so that I can add to it, otherwise I'll get around to it eventually.

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Figured you wouldn't mind me taking both sides of a basically inconsequential battalion-sized engagement with a bunch of Balorenes. It's a good way to jump-start the issue of more overt intervention by the Mark.

Not at all. Nekhur's own troops are far from invincible, let alone the lightly-armed Balorene raiders pressed into action. I look forward to seeing more Men of the Mark in action.

My map of Tervain's situation is nearing completion, I just need to get the details of the various armies and their positions down.

[Reverend Norv]

Sounds good! I reckon I'll wait for Liecthenbourg to post, since they're the third actor in the unfolding situation in Tervain. Then I'll deal with Redwald warning Aliana in Monroyel, Hereward trying to get the Warden to escalate Ironmark involvement, and maybe a diplomatic attempt to rope in the support of Tamarask.

[Liecthenbourg]

Sounds good! I reckon I'll wait for Liecthenbourg to post, since they're the third actor in the unfolding situation in Tervain. Then I'll deal with Redwald warning Aliana in Monroyel, Hereward trying to get the Warden to escalate Ironmark involvement, and maybe a diplomatic attempt to rope in the support of Tamarask.

My apologies!

Its been a busy few days, I'm aiming to get a post up by tonight.

[Reverend Norv]

I'll aim to post this weekend.

[Ublia]

Well this looks very interesting. Would it be possible to reserve one of the two following locations? Here or here? Thanks.

[Elerian]

Well this looks very interesting. Would it be possible to reserve one of the two following locations? Here or here? Thanks.

I'd recommend you go for the second option, that way you'd be closer to the active players.

[Ublia]

Well this looks very interesting. Would it be possible to reserve one of the two following locations? Here or here? Thanks.

I'd recommend you go for the second option, that way you'd be closer to the active players.

Thanks, I'll take the second option then. Also, nice to run into you again Elerian and I look forward to crafting the Human-Dwarf Wars lore with the Dwarven player.

[Marzarbul]

I'd recommend you go for the second option, that way you'd be closer to the active players.

Thanks, I'll take the second option then. Also, nice to run into you again Elerian and I look forward to crafting the Human-Dwarf Wars lore with the Dwarven player.

I am more than happy to discuss and help create said lore!

[Ublia]

Thanks, I'll take the second option then. Also, nice to run into you again Elerian and I look forward to crafting the Human-Dwarf Wars lore with the Dwarven player.

I am more than happy to discuss and help create said lore!

Excellent! So I was reading your application and I just wanted some clarification on the Human-Dwarven War. Specifically, are you implying mankind just arrived on Imlit and Amattar? Or have the dwarves just been hold up forever in their mountains and never ventured to the coasts, where my kingdom would be? I assume you are implying the former, but I just wanted to clarify that.

Also, we should probably clarify our relations since the war. The dwarves rely on industry, with one group controlling (what I assume) what little fertile land they have access to. A such I was thinking we should take two approaches to our relationship. Option #1, mankind's control of the coast means it controls the bulk of the food and means of trade with the dwarves, while the dwarves have the precious goods the humans want. As such, in between occasional wars (based on changes in leadership) there is a great deal of trade between us. Whereby human merchants exchange foodstuffs for dwarven industrial goods that humans just can't imitate. Option #2, mankind remains very bitter towards the dwarves and vice versa. As such, a sort of Cold War is ongoing between us as a slowly industrializing and bitter human kingdom demands the raw metals and riches of the mountains that the dwarves are just unwilling to give up. As such, the last few decades (maybe even centuries) have seen a sort of back and forth conflict between dwarves and men.

[Marzarbul]

I was indeed implying it was mankind that arrived and not that my people have not ventured out. Though we rarely due as a whole. The most interaction we receive with the outside world is via our pilgrims, those whose services have been contracted to do various tasks (Architecture/Engineering, etc.), and via trade. Otherwise we tend to keep to ourselves and limit any sort of intermingling with others. Option 1 for history sounds very doable though I would think that there is some undercurrent of animosity between us. Seeing as we fought for some time and you were able to plunder many riches. Helping to start up your kingdom and therefore there might be some wishing to go back to see what other treasures are there to plunder. Just a thought on that. But as the humans your main point of contact is going to be the Kingdom of Gullinbursti since their domain extends to the surface. But yeah a somewhat Dale/Erebor vibe except with more stabbings.

[Ublia]

I was indeed implying it was mankind that arrived and not that my people have not ventured out. Though we rarely due as a whole. The most interaction we receive with the outside world is via our pilgrims, those whose services have been contracted to do various tasks (Architecture/Engineering, etc.), and via trade. Otherwise we tend to keep to ourselves and limit any sort of intermingling with others. Option 1 for history sounds very doable though I would think that there is some undercurrent of animosity between us. Seeing as we fought for some time and you were able to plunder many riches. Helping to start up your kingdom and therefore there might be some wishing to go back to see what other treasures are there to plunder. Just a thought on that. But as the humans your main point of contact is going to be the Kingdom of Gullinbursti since their domain extends to the surface. But yeah a somewhat Dale/Erebor vibe except with more stabbings.

Cool, that all sounds pretty good to me. I may include some minor incidents in my history illustrating how while both our societies can co-exsist, human lust for dwarven riches and other factors have caused conflicts that have ensured there is a history of anti-dwarvism in the kingdom. Moreover, in terms of current relations, I was thinking we could argue that the strife in the north has caused my kingdom to become swamped with refugees (human and otherwise). Now the political factions of the realm are feuding over what is to be done, as some want to settle these refugees on dwarven lands (reigniting the war they've always dreamed of) or alternatively, we could include some new cult that's taken hold over the country, as a result of recent calamities, preaching that the dwarves are evil. Which of course would also excite tensions.

[Marzarbul]

Oh I like the whole resettling refugees on dwarf lands bit. That would get things heated for sure. But if you want to do the cult I would be down for that as well! I was also thinking about for my next post to put out a call for all dwarfs if they desire to come here from the North. Since so far I assume that all if any dwarfs are to the north are in diaspora like communities. I would also mention that dwarfs in the beginning used to hunt humans.... Since we thought yall were evil demons and such. So I would think that maybe such stories could impact yall of little men stealing babies or other legends.

[Ublia]

Oh I like the whole resettling refugees on dwarf lands bit. That would get things heated for sure. But if you want to do the cult I would be down for that as well! I was also thinking about for my next post to put out a call for all dwarfs if they desire to come here from the North. Since so far I assume that all if any dwarfs are to the north are in diaspora like communities. I would also mention that dwarfs in the beginning used to hunt humans.... Since we thought yall were evil demons and such. So I would think that maybe such stories could impact yall of little men stealing babies or other legends.

Awesome. We could even do a mix of all those ideas. Let's say the human refugees are overcrowding the cities, spreading this new cult, forcing the exasperated government or in some cases eager politicians to seize on the opportunity to resettle them on dwarven lands. As for your Dwarven refugees, we could have it that the human refugees are angered by how much support their dwarven compatriots are recipient from you and this causes even riots against my government. Thereby forcing the issue. Even better, the King could even be assassinated, amidst fears of a dwarven invasion (spread by the border lords who want a war to expand their power), setting off a reactionary movement throughout the kingdom .

[Marzarbul]

However you want to play it I am game. If you need more information just let me know.

[Reverend Norv]

I'll aim to post this weekend.

This obviously did not happen, but now that I am out of Alt-Div, I am going to buckle down and get to work on this. Sorry for the delay, all.

[Elerian]

I'll aim to post this weekend.

This obviously did not happen, but now that I am out of Alt-Div, I am going to buckle down and get to work on this. Sorry for the delay, all.

I should have more time to post after today, so I'll try and have something out soon as well.

[Ublia]

WIP. Is everyone still active here by the way? It seems pretty quiet...

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Essential Details

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Name of Realm: Kingdom of Solace

Rulers:

Warwick I ‘Iron-Heart’ Kur, King of Solace, Keeper of the Azure Concordat, Lord of the Shores, Protector of Men and Slayer of the Vile

Cultures and Races:

Religion:
The Solacian Pantheon: The Solacian pantheon is an amalgamation of old gods now forgotten in their original homeland of Minilar, who were brought to the south by the refugees that founded the kingdom. A very disorganized grouping that includes figures as widely worshipped in great temples, with daily rituals and sacrifices like the armoured, Sieg, God of War and Victory, to the mysterious and closed off, Kreon the Crowned One, and Sirena of the Tides, who is exclusively worshipped in great basilicas by her followers. In the end, though the Crown maintains a policy of tolerance and de facto Henotheism within the Kingdom to maintain order, as pledged by the Azure Concordat.

History: Originally founded by a diaspora of exiled Minilarians, whose own nations had been destroyed in the same period, Solace did not come into existence until the year 654 some ten years after their arrival, amid the newcomers war with the Dwarves. In fact, upon arriving on the shores of their new land, these folk warred incessantly with one another as they tried to carve out new petty kingdoms in a foreign land. However, upon discovering the Dwarves of the Gullinbursti, everything changed. As, but a few struggling cities not yet even furnished with stone, the men who would become Solacians were awed by the gold and luxury of the Dwarven mountains that their surviving scouts reported. And soon that awe turned to greed, envy and lust as the once squabbling human princes turned their equally insatiable followers upon the Dwarves of the mountains.

In the years to follow, the Umri Kazak as it was called by the Dwarves or the War for the Mountains as it has been referred to by Solacians, produced many tales of heroism and tragedy, before descending in madness after man’s greed got the better of him. Determined to draw the other Dwarven kings into their war with men, the Gullinbursti used the human princes’ greed to wreak unspeakable horrors upon their old rivals, drawing them to their side against the newcomers. In time, what had once seemed a one-sided slaughter by the ravenous armies of men, turned into stalemate and then a slow grinding defeat as for dwarf slain a dozen men seemed to perish in the mountain’s depths.

As such in the year 655 as man found itself being driven to the surface once more, Queen Regent Nadya ‘the Red Widow’ Drake of Sundershore summoned the other rulers of men for a united war council at the fort of Helmouth. There for thirty days and nights the Queen, who had lost her husband and all her sons to the fight with the dwarves, tried to bind the feuding warlords of men into an alliance with honeyed words and gold. And for thirty days and thirty nights she laboured in vain, finally, tiring of their bickering on the thirty-first day she endeavoured to break the deadlock, by creating a more powerful human kingdom to break the deadlock and dominate the others. To that end, she announced she would re-marry and asked that, hey and all their sons attend a feast that evening that she might choose a future husband. Eager to claim the hand of the beautiful red-headed queen, the kings did as she asked bringing themselves and all their sons, nephews and cousins to her sumptuous feast. However, as the music serenaded the jubilant crowd and wine flowed freely, the Queen’s guests began to feel a metallic taste on their tongue, their bowels tighten and their skin turn clammy. Within an hour they were gasping for air, with bloodshot eyes, while the Queen looked on with their generals, each bearing the remaining gold their masters had refused. When all was said and done, Queen Nadya walked over the bodies and with her new generals, fixed their seals to what would be known as the Azure Concordat. A document which announced the union of the petty kingdoms into a new entity: Solace. For these shores were the last solace their weary-people had and they meant to keep it.

In the years that followed Queen Nadya the Red Widow brought renewed energy to the war with the dwarves, but it was not enough. Three years later, at the Battle of the Iron Gates, she failed to break the Dwarves in one last desperate charge and was forced to ask for terms. There amid the corpses of her armies, the wounded Queen was forced to sign the Peace of the Iron Gates, which pledged Solace and men would never again attempt to conquer the dwarves, Nadya was a proud, but broken woman. Refusing to return in disgrace, she bade her eldest daughter to wed her eldest and most distinguished general, Gereon Pryce, entered her tent and took poison.

In the years that followed, the line of Nadya would continue to rule over the Kingdom of Solace and uphold the Azure Concordat to this day as princesses of her line would wed the intriguers and generals that extinguished the previous dynasty. Moreover, despite the treaty sealed with the dwarves by Nadya, pledging eternal peace with them, several kings and queens of Solace have sought to avenge her suicide by laying waste to the dwarves. However, much like their ancestress, each has failed and more often than not so too has their dynasty as a result of their efforts.

Now, in the year 1436 A.C. a new dynasty reigns, the Kur dynasty. Founded by Warwick ‘Iron-Heart’ Kur, a peasant turned soldier and general, the Kur dynasty seized power from the Tremayne dynasty that proceeded it in a vicious coup after a failed invasion of Dwarven lands. One that King Julian VI Tremayne rewarded by having the survivors, blinded, sparing only eye of every tenth man to lead his compatriots home. Already ambitious and now enraged, Kur rallied the embittered border generals against the then royal capital of Montroy, sacking the city and exterminating the royal bloodline save the princesses, whom he wedded to his sons and grandsons. Now, ten years later Solace has prospered under the iron-fisted rule of the Kurs, who now face their first real threat: a populist cult desiring war against the dwarves, ex-Tremayne sympathizers and a refugee crisis from the north.

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Assets

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Notable Cities:
Helmouth, Capital of Solace: Built around the fortress where Nadya slaughtered the feuding kings that proceeded Solace, Helmouth is built at the mouth of the Hel River and serves as the realm’s greatest harbour. This in tandem with it being ice-free makes, Helmouth a busy city, visited by merchants from far and wide as they seek to trade with fellow seekers of wealth. The city itself can be divided into four sections: The North End, the South End, Bridgetown and Darkmoor. Bridgetown, the most northern section of the city, lies outside the Nadyan Walls that surround Old Helmouth (The North and South Ends), and was once a simple hamlet that exploded after the Construction of the massive Kay Bridge that spans the Hel river. Today, it acts as the city’s suburb, and haven for more local traders and merchants as opposed to Helmouth proper. The city’s North End meanwhile, neighbours the Royal Arsenal and Shipyards where the army and navy are stationed, as well as some of the other seedier docks. As such the area has a reputation for being a haven for newcomers, refugees, sailors, soldiers and degenerates of all stripes with its hellish back alleys, dark taverns, red-lit brothels and queer temples. In stark contrast the South End, is the capitals most fashionable district as it houses the city centre, complete with the royal palaces, ministries, the Helmouth Exchange (with its great bazars and banking houses), greenspaces, beautiful temples, the envied Drake University (for non-magic users) and King’s College of the Arcane Arts. All of which is protected by the formidable Helmouth Citadel, a massive stone fortress, complete with a moat, high walls and a towering keep that sits atop Nadya’s Teat, a hill from which it dominates the city. Finally, recently amalgamated into the city is Darkmoor, a slum used to house whatever rift raff is not even fit for the North End, as well as the seediest theatres and blood-sport arenas.
Luxberg: Ancient origin place of the Kur dynasty, it is a smaller city than most would expect, and was once the capital of Nadya’s old kingdom of the Sundershore. Since then it has remained a popular port on the way to Helmouth, known for its bustling seafood industry, good hospitality and for building the fastest ships on the continent if its shipbuilders are to be believed.
Montroy: Former capital of the Tremayne dynasty, it once was three times the size of Helmouth, till the Kurs sacked it during their successful coup. Now, it holds a third of that, the rest of the population having left for greener prospects in Solace or having been killed. Still, the city is a sight to behold, as ruined Basilicas of Serina the patroness of the Tremayne family, stripped monuments once gilded in bronze, grand aristocratic and royal palaces, and thriving marts jot the landscape as a skeleton population scampers around. Nonetheless, an active group of Tremaynists call the city home, even if that means being under the watch of the King’s secret police, which oversee the city from the old university.
Pryce: Once boasting a name now forgotten, the city was renamed in honour of the dynasty that succeeded Nadya and originated from this city. Located among the border marches of Solace, Pryce is a military town and industrial city, thanks to trade with the dwarves and metals found in the hills and mills fed by Longwood forest on the border. Moreover, the city boasts, a large garrison, courtesy of its position and has a powerful military governor in control.
Serene: The most northern port in all of Solace, it is a hash place, battered by the waves and winds from the Dwarven Mountains. Nonetheless, it receives traffic from Minilar, mainly these days in the form of refugees, who then head south for Helmouth, though trade does flow through the city. Unlike Montroy or Hellmouth it lacks in amenities, having a single spartan mart and is dominated by Froid Castle. A massive and ugly fortress, stretching into the sea, with its great shipyards and specially built military harbour.


Economy: (This can be brief if desired)

Population: (Please compare to a medieval nation in the 11th to 15th centuries, rather than a number, if you are unsure)

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Military

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Command: (e.g. commanders, hierarchy, structure)

Strength: (Remember that most medieval realms relied upon a small professional force, and a larger temporary semi-trained levy. There are of course exceptions, but the golden rule is on how and why your state can sustain such an exception)

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Diplomatic Relations

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Interests:

Rivals:

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Other Information

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Location:

[Liecthenbourg]

Fairly certain its still active, Ublia.

Just trying times, is all!

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Yes, still here, ready to start posting again!