FET: Liberation of Izzarra

Nation Breakdown

~The Brother States~

Kalart

Due in part to Kalart's tumultuous history, Kalartians have grown to value both craftsmanship and humility. Though the country is significantly smaller and weaker than their brother to the north, Mordo, the citizens of both nations feel respect for each other as equals. Kalart, currently led by King Tarok is the birthplace of healing magic, and it is where the greatest healers of the third age studied. In fact, Kalart produces so many healers that they tend to leave home to find work, occasionally sending money back home to relatives. While healers from other nations are certainly not uncommon, especially as one moves west, it is not bizarre to assume that any healer that you meet comes from Kalart. Kalart is a temperate country that experiences moderate to heavy rainfall year round, with many rivers carrying the water south back to the ocean. While aware of the conditions of Izzarra at present, the Seven Day Siege is still fresh in the minds of many Kalartians, and sympathy for the plight of their neighbors is difficult to find.

Kalart's government is a true Monarchy, and the King's word is law. The country is divided into provinces to ensure local leadership is neatly divided, but each local lord answers to the King.

Mordo

Arguably the most powerful country in the world, in terms of magic, military, and economy. With their own wealth of resources and land, neither the citizenry or the nobility are eager to expand, especially with the history that Mordo has had with annexation in the past. The influx of wealth from Izzarra is primarily confined to the nobles, and the citizens seem to have no sympathy for the Izzarrans who attacked their brothers from Kalart. Mordo is a country that is primarily dominated by wide plains, with mountains in the west  and south serving as a natural border with Ryine and Kalart respectively, as well as housing a great deal of valuable minerals. Additionally, Mordo is known as the birth place of combat magic, and practitioners of light magic in particular find the best possible training there, though some naturally take up the anima and dark schools as well. Kalart experiences a long wet season in the late summer, when the winds from the south carry wet air over the mountain range that marks the natural border between Kalart and Mordo.

Mordo has a council of nine elected from the nobility. Once, they simply advised the Monarch, but in recent years they are almost as powerful as the sovereign, if not more so from their closer connection to the common people.

~The Vissar States~

Welke

The Welks have been longtime allies of Kalart, even before the Brother Wars. The nation, being a peninsula, is subject to extreme weather variations, giving rise to hardy folk who strive for greatness both in the fields and on the sea. Though many of the sailors of Welke simply make their living fishing, a not insignificant number have turned to piracy, preying primarily on Chilcinne, Malda, and Kalart, as well as Mordo to a much greater extent. This causes tension with other governments but, as these pirate actions are unsanctioned, very little is done on official levels between nations. Further, especially in terms of pirate action taken against Kalartian ships, the Welke Monarch is traditionally quick to punish those found guilty of piracy. Welke is a hilly country, with very little flat land.

Like Kalart, Welke has a traditional monarchy. Being a smaller nation, more matters in Welke are handled directly by the King than in Kalart.

Chilcinne

Formerly a larger, more powerful nation before the secession of Malda, Chilcinne is now a shell of its former self. Having fought over Malda's secession for close to a decade, the Chilcinne royal family had drained their coffers in the effort to keep their nation whole. Even forty years later, the citizenry have little to offer in terms of taxes, and bandits run rampant across the country. Ridiculously enough, conditions are best along the Chilcinian/Maldan border, where the Maldan military is enough of a threat to bandits that they stay well back from their borders. Those living closer to the center of the country are forced to pay protection to local bandits, and what little extra remains is taken by the government. Measures taken to stop the bandits have all been met with catastrophic failure, and it is possible that the country may collapse in the coming years if they do not request aid from a sympathetic source.

The Chilcinne royal family rules in name alone, and bandit leaders scattered across the nation have more power than local lords.

Malda

Once part of Chilcinne, Malda won independence through bloody struggle with their mother country. Unlike Chilcinne, Malda came out of the exchange fairly powerful, led by a trio of nobles. The Maldan Three, as they are known on the world stage, have adopted a militaristic policy. Every town or city has a station of at least twenty armed men, and the law is rigidly and brutally enforced. First offenses are often met with dismemberment for minor crimes, and violent crimes are punished with death, often on the spot. Public opinion is heavily divided, becoming more positive toward the east, near the Chilcinne border, where lawlessness runs rampant. The further west one goes however, push back against these heavy handed policies grows. As the Maldan Trio grows older, it is expected that the coming replacements may reduce the military presence in the country.

The Maldan Trio have no use for nobles, and instead instated Governors around the country to both ensure their laws are enforced and to make swift decisions when there is not time for the Trio to convene on matters. Though the difference between a Duke and a Governor may be difficult to spot for a lay man, Governor's are generally hand selected from the military and do not pass their title, and cannot instate their own laws or taxes in their territory.

Rheane

Rheane is home to the final resting place of the Goddess Rhea. Though the stones around her have weathered throughout the years, her own form has lost no detail in all the years since she turned herself to stone. Worshipers come to pray before her daily, many of them Rheane natives. Rheane itself is a country of merchants and innkeepers, catering to those on pilgrimage to see the final form of the Goddess, returning from such, or those just passing through. Though the majority of the people of Rheane believe that violence, being what robbed the world of their Goddess, is abhorrent and should never be considered, a small number of Rheanine warriors, calling themselves the White Knights, have banded together as a force of retribution, striking down those who would target the passive Rheanine population. In recent years, they have spent most of their time and effort along the Chilcinne border, though after being rebuffed by the Chilcinne military, they will not cross the border of their southeastern neighbor, even to pursue murderers. Rheane does not have a strong central government, and national matters are decided at a summit, where representatives from each city gather at the foot of the hill where Rhea rests. There, the representatives address concerns both domestic and foreign. The leader of the White Knights also routinely attends these summits.

The National Summit takes place once a year, though in times of peril emergency meetings may be called.

Sudanta

Another large country that collapsed into smaller components, Sudanta now maintains positive relations with Qun and Kaite, and the scale of its own government is now quite capable of governing the lands before it. Sumana, the current Emperor of Sudanta, is well regarded by the populace at large as well as the leaders of Qun and Kaite. However, he is currently advanced in age, and has no heir at this time. Sudanta is a heavily wooded country, and the economy on the world stage is primarily centered on the export of lumber to other states. Viterine is one of Sudanta's most significant trading partners, exchanging tools and precious metal in return for wood, which is scarce in that region.

Sudanta is another example of a traditional monarchy, and mirrors Welke very closely.

Kaite

To the south of the great woods of Sudanta lays the plain dominated nation of Kaite. Kaites are a predominantly nomadic people from their adolescence until their later years, with many families driving cattle across the nation year round. Those cattle that have reached maturity are steered to market, generally by young adults from the various clans. Theft is harshly punished in Kaite, as it is in Malda. Similar to Rheane, the country lacks a formal government, and instead is headed by a council of elders from the various clans. Permanent towns do exist in Kaite, though primarily as trade hubs, and are chiefly populated by Kaites in their elder years and their children's children. Kaite is the only nation with growing conditions suitable for tobacco, which is cultivated by the elderly and children for export abroad.

The Council of Kaite is only ever called in times of need, and in those times very little is done across the entire nation, as the various clans have an interlocking series of alliances, grudges, and outright hostility. Individual clan leaders, however, are capable of mobilizing large bodies of mounted fighters with little difficulty.

Qun

To the north of Sudanta lies Qun, home to the proud warriors of the north. After splitting from Sudanta in protest of heavy taxation, Qun made a name for itself as a nation of mercenaries. The leader of the Qun state is determined every ten years by a massive tournament. As the fights are not intended to be to the death, some tournaments have seen thousands of prospective entrants. The current leader, Chief Regan, has ruled Qun for more than thirty years, though the last two tournaments have been won by his champions, rather than himself. Some mercenaries of Qun work independently, though a much greater number work for the Chief directly. Qun's army is one for hire, and has seen employment in part and in entirety in several conflicts, both interstate and internal. Qun also has strong relations with Kaite, who supply them with cattle in exchange for both precious gems and trinkets from far away lands. Qun is cold year round, and the northern half of the country sees snow upwards of six months a year. Being a mountainous, cold country, most of the food of Qun consists of dry grains that will last through the long winter, as well as fish and meat, in addition to food imported from neighboring nations.

The nature of Qun leadership varies from ruler to ruler, though Chief Regan has shown himself to put the interest of all those who call Qun home first, and the coffers of the nation at a close second, with other nations around the world at a very distant third. He technically has absolute authority, but is more than happy to take the counsel of those around him.

Viterine

A large, mountainous, sparsely populated country. Due to the difficulty inherent in traversing the country on foot, the Viterins have mastered the subtle art of wyvern taming. Their standing army, though small, is rightly feared for their reach and power in wartime, though occasional uneducated rumors that Wyvern riders can command their steeds to spit fire are entirely baseless. Viterine is a source of quality iron, which sees little export in its base state, but is rather smelted and forged en masse in the heart of a volcano in the southeast of Viterine in the capital city of Fang. Residents of the city like to tell travelers, or really anyone that will listen, that the first sword made by Vissar the Damned was forged in the very same volcano, but there is no evidence to substantiate this claim. Either way, Viterine exports hundreds of weapons and tools every year to neighboring states. Most such weapons are very basic, but all are fine examples of their craft.

Viterine has a King, and will likely have one for many more years, but the true power of the nation lies in the hand of Smithing Guilds, who control more than ten times the wealth that the king does. The situation is understood by all parties involved, and even by the common people, though the Royal Family is still treated as is due their station, and in times of war the royal family often serves on the field of battle.

Anecca

North of Izzarra lies the desert nation of Anecca. Were it not for aquifers that the Aneccans skillfully tapped ages ago, the country might have been an uninhabited wasteland. In recent years, Aneccans have made their fortune by establishing trade routes for many merchants wishing to move trade goods east to west, or vice versa, as the Viterine mountains make the task incredibly difficult, and the lawlessness of Chilcinne discourages trade caravans. So far from the ocean, Anecca's only source of water comes from deep underground. Towns are far between each other, but each is constructed of sun baked clay, and is a far cry from the surrounding deserts. Through clever architecture, the towns themselves are surprisingly cool even in the harsh mid day sun, and with many plants growing on ledges or from hanging baskets. Aneccans tend to be rather insular, and few who venture from its borders make the choice not to return, for one reason or another. Common complaints relate to the damp and cold of other locales, though most outsiders are quick to argue that Anecca is much too hot and dry. Perhaps the desert simply calls to Aneccan blood.

Anecca is ruled in pieces by wealthy lords who command their own sections of the desert, very few of which are larger than a handful of towns.

Ryine

Though not nearly as dry as their southern neighbor, Ryine is an arid country relative to the rest of the continent. Characterized by deep canyons separating plateaus, the populace is connected by a combination of plank bridges and pegasi transportation. Ryine is a predominately isolationist country. The majority of Ryes are subsistence farmers or carpenters, maintaining the upkeep of their own villages, but seldom leaving to travel far. Ryine is the only nation where Pegasi breed, and while scholars have endeavored to determine why this is, nothing has ever come of it. For this reason, Ryine is the nation with the largest contingent of pegasus knights in the world, and lays claim to the second largest airborne force behind Viterine. Ryine's only real trade goods are pegasus foals, which nonetheless fetch a high price.

Ryine has a rotating council made up of representatives of the various villages of the nation. Their concerns are primarily with trade negotiations with neighboring nations and construction of additional villages as their population slowly grows.

Izzarra

Surrounded by pirates, bandits, oppressors and a former enemy, Izzarra's place on the world stage is beneath a boot in recent years. The only neighbor not actively hostile to them is Anecca, though the desert nation seems to have no inclination to address the sufferance of the Izzarran people. The previous King, Isaac of Izzarra, attacked Kalart with no obvious provocation, and the Izarrans are still paying for this transgression. Once a nation of fair might and wealth thanks to a strong position and abundant natural resources, exploitation by the occupying forces of Mordo has reduced the citizens to near uniform poverty. Some of the nobility escaped the fate of the peasantry to a degree, but they are forced to play host and whipping boy to the occupation forces, taking both outrageous taxes and ire from the downtrodden people of the nation. Resistance forms in pockets, is crushed by soldiers of Mordo, and dissipates until resistance forms again. For three years this situation has gone forward, and conditions seem only to worsen. Starvation is a very real threat to the Izzarrans now, and only a few charitable souls remain to dispense healing magic to the sick or injured.

~The Northern Isle, Edongia~

A snow and ice covered island, Edongia nonetheless sports enormous evergreen trees after the sand of the beaches recede. Expeditions from the mainland have been made in the past, but ended during the second age after several expeditions left and none returned. What surviving records remain tell stories of an isolated people who dressed in thick robes, routinely bidding members of the expedition to return to their own lands. Nothing else is known of the isle of Edongia.