FEF5 Lore

THE ARVADIAN EMPIRE:

The only nation (at least to its inhabitants limited knowledge) that have tamed the Wyverns and mastered their handling. Arvadian Empire was once a single nation and before that a cluster of wyvern-hunting tribes, before the apparently historial chieftain Garmal the Skin of Iron tamed the very first wyvern and rode that first wyvern into battle.
Since that, the Arvadian Empire have expanded in all directions, making contact with the eternal Pahravanit Empire, their to-be arch-nemesis. About two hundred years ago, the Empire came into contact with the theocracy of Kozanthikon as well as the mercantile, sea-going Lorentians, who since transited from monarchy to a representative republic.
Since establishment of the Empire, it was marred with civil wars of smaller or larger scale. That is because of the ancient succession system still in use; while the Father Emperor decides on his heir, any other of his children can challenge the choosen sibling to duel to the death. This often spurred numerous wars that saw only one child remaining.
However, thanks to the extremely long and prosperous rule of Gash III "The Eternal", there have been no major internal conflicts for over sixty years. However, Emperor Gash III is now past his nineties and his two great-grandsons are of age, so the citizenry is quite sure that any questions about civil wars should start not with 'if' but 'when'.
Arvadian Empire uses calendar of 12 months, each divided to 30 days, with Feast Day after each two months. During the Feast Day, there is much celebration, feasting and general camaderie amongst all the populace, and the nobility often marry during the Feast Days. There are four Eras of the Arvadian nation, with one being known only by name, and the next having only scarce written records, mostly pertaining to hero Garmal.
The first Era was the Era of Tribes, when Arvadians, much like Dorians in the far north, were a conglomeration of sparsely populated tribes. After that comes Era of Drakes, during which Arvadians begun to hunt wyverns for meat and durable leather. In the closing years of that Era, hero Garmal tamed the first wyvern ever, and his tribe begun to breed them.
Arvadian Era begun when the grandson of Garmal, Hotad, expanded his rule over other tribes with the help of the Wyverns. Also, thanks to the settlements near the Sweet Sea, hunting and foraging was replaced by agriculture and herding as major sources of food. This allowed Arvadians to settle down and form the beginnings of civiliation. Historical accounts are still scarce, as no libraries existed, lietracy levels were low, and warfare constant.
However, Arvadians did thrive and expand. Writing and language were made into modern forms and the judical system emerged, while the ancient traditions of spiritual worships slowly faded. In the year 482 of the Arvadian Era, Gash I "The Conqueror", have managed to expand the empire to the jungles of Kadesh, and south of the Lovely Spires, and far into Dorian territory, and proclaimed himself the Emperor, ordering a new Era to be started.
During Imperial era, much trade and cultural exchange with the western countries of Kozanthikon and Lorente brought numerous new concepts into the Empire, including Trinity of Magic (before, Arvadians knew only principles of Anima magic), as well as Lorentian Pegasi, and ship-building, and marvels of large-sized architecture. The Imperial Era also was escalation of the warfare, both in frequency and the number of soldiers involved.
The recent rule of Gash III, son of Talmach, grandson of Gash II, could be seen as something of a one-in-a-time occurence. Since his coronation in IE 231, Gash III have continuously occupied his throne, outliving all three of his children and all four of his grandchildren. The only viable successors remaining are his great-grandchildren, both sons of Asmal, Emperor's eldest grandson. The elder, Asmael, is clear choice of succession, albeit younger Titon has his qualities.
In the last decade, Gash III has been assisted (some say, influenced) by his financial advisor, Lafach, and there are rumors about his loyalties. It is now Year 303 of Imperial Era, and no one knows what future will bring for Arvadian Empire. Except bloodshed. Bloodshed is expected by everyone.

KOZANTHIKON, The Holy Land of the Skyfather:

Kozanthikon have appeared on the Arvadian horizons shortly after the end of the rule of Gash I "The Conqueror". These holy people had advanced understanding of magic, architecture, writing and other civilized arts. They also had a strong belief in the might and omnipotence of Skyfather, an eternal being dwelling in the skies. When a new Kozanthikon child is born, it is said that a tiny piece of Skyfather enters the body, giving the newborn its soul; and upon death, that tiny piece returns to Skyfather.
While the religion itself isn't complicated, the political system of Kozanthikon sometimes baffles Arvadians used to simple authoritation rule. For starters, the nation is governed by two Kings, 'The Sword King' and 'The Holy King'. First one is hereditary male of the most prominent noble house in Kozanthikon (of said houses there is about sixty), and the second is elected by conclave of Skyfather's High Priests. Then, the territory of the Kozanthikon into eleven Domains, each controlled by one noble house.
Once the Sword King dies, his son takes his place, but any House with Domain can challenge the newly installed King. While common practice in the past, it's been somewhat rare in the last century. Currenty Sword King is Ascalon of the House Seleucia, whose domain lies far on the western side of Kozanthikon's territory. Current Holy King is Curius VIII, elected by the conclave in 294 IE (Arvadian calendar).
Since their initial contact, Kozanthikon and Arvadia enjoyed a warm relationship, with travelers easily and frequently exchanging goods and ideas between the two nations. Other significant result of the cultural exchange is slow expansion of the Cult of Skyfather into Arvadian Empire; the scribes of Kozanthikon Temple Lands, loaned from Arvadian Empire to form the enclave of the Faith in the Empire, claim that about one sixth of Arvadian citizens believe in the Skyfather, with two-thirds of that number actively worshipping him.
Kozanthikonian Church is divided into three stratas: The Seeking, which include every worshipper plus initiates, Knight Templar, the military arm of the Holy King, and the Ordinates, ranking from priests through bishops to High Priests. Priests oversee a city/village, bishops a small region and High Priests govern over Domain-sized regions. Knights Templar mostly consist of cavalry and heavily armored knights.
There is also system of Saints of the Skyfather; men and women who, by divine aid, performed miracles and feats unattainable to a normal mortal. These are commemorated by prayer, and currently living Saints are allowed to participate in Holy King's conclave, provided they can arrive in time, as Saints are (amongst other things) forbidden to use vehicles and have a permament dwelling, or family, hold political positions, et cetera.

PAHRAVANIT:

This ancient empire of forest-dwellers have been fighting with Arvadians for centuries. While most of the fighting takes place between the fortresses of Carn and Kadesh, there were few instances in which Pahravanite soldiers passed through the treacherous Bloodpeaks, although all such attempts were easily routed by Arvadian armies.
The belief of the Pahravanit is closely tied to their royal house; it is said that in the beginning, there was Pahra, whole created the world, and then there was Avanit, son of Pahra, who created the Pahravanites, and then there was Pahur I, son of Avanit, who became the first king of Pahravanit nation; therefore, previous Kings are worshipped as gods, with Pahur I as the greatest of God-Kings.
According to Pahravanite historians, their nation have lasted for more than 300 Kali, where Kali is equivalent of about 6 Arvadian years. Pahravanit controls all the lands east of Bloodpeaks and Sun Mountains, and Arvadian travellers are rarely let into the country. There are stories of few more kingdoms south and east of Pahravanit, but no Arvadian has intimate knowledge of these lands.
Military of the Pahravanit is well-known to Arvadians today; their armies mostly consist of foot archers, spearmen, with the backing of mounted archers and camel riders. In the previous centuries, the mighty War Elephants were often used as shock cavalry, although in recent times they have been spotted less frequently.

REPUBLIC (formerly Kingdom) OF LORENTE:

A mercantile republic stemming from an old Kingdom of magicians and pegasi riders. According to their own historical accounts, they were the first peoples to set sail onto The Great Sea and also the first peoples to write down magical inscriptions. Their Kingdom lasted for six hundred fifty years, before the corrupt and disasterous rule of their last king, Laurentio XII, spurred military and civilian officials into action.
In 245 IE, Laurentio XII was assasinated, his family exiled to Kozanthikon, while the new political system, the Republic, slowly emerged in Lorente; it is a council of fifty one various military officers and civilian officials (with civilians holding majority). Each law, reform and important national affair is debated by the Council until they settle on approval or rejection of the issue.
Just like with Kozanthikon, Arvadians enjoy good relations with Lorentian peoples. Trade goods of Lorentian craftsmen, especially glass and metal crafts, as well as Pegasi foals and magical scriptures are exchange for the Arvadian raw materials, processed ores and Wyvern eggs and hatchlings. Hostility between the two nations has been rare, except infrequent and unfortunate incidents stemming from the fact that Lorentians, much like the hated Pahravanites, have a darker shade of skin than Arvadians.
And, after a short conflict called War of the Coins, they have shared the city of Tessamor, a border city, which since have developed into bustling trade hub, almost rivaling Vaden in terms of households. The city garrison takes orders from Imperial Army, while most of the city tax goes into Lorentian state coffers.

THE TRIBES OF DORIA:

A nation, or rather loose coalition of tribes that could be best described as something resembling ancient Arvadian culture, but with horses instead of wyverns. Dorian Tribes love a good fight, a feisty woman and a fast horse, and their horse archers are known for their skill in battle. They often launch raids into Arvadian territory, either to loot some hapless citizens or to take a bribe from local lord and return to their land to fight other tribes for prestige and honour.
They view the Wyverns with equal amount of fear and respect, some say they respect the reptiles more than their owners, the Arvadians. Sometimes, northern Arvadian aristocrats hire bodyguards from Dorian tribes. These are often brave, young Dorian warriors, and as bards could tell, there are many a story where particularily bold young Dorians would get caught 'in heat' with a nobleman's daughter.
However, there is little official contact with the Dorians; merchants and emissaries rarely travel to the lands of Dorians, who are content to roam their grassy flatlands on their own and without interference from their southern neighbours. During the times of Gash I "The Conqueror", Dorians were pushed far north, but since then they've reclaimed much of their lands, all the way to the Dorian Peaks.
Currently, Arvadians are aware of the Ironthunder, White Sun, Wildgrass, Blackgrain, Lakemen, Red Peak and Silvermane as well as distant Boarhide, Copperheart and Firehead tribes, with the total amount of Dorian tribes (according to various Dorians) being between twice to five times that number.

SCORDATI:

Scordati is the name of the nation that dwells on the northern shores of the Sweet Sea. Little contact has been established and maintained between them and the Empire. Scordati pirates however are well known and despised by Arvadian fishermen and the few merchants who sail on the Sweet Sea.
Their political system seems to be an elective monarchy, where important noblemen choose their King (or Queen, as the Scordati have equality laws of some sort) once the previous have died. They worship Svetlid, a solar deity and creator of all things, or so they say.

"UKNOWN SOUTH-EASTERN KINGDOM":

Little is known about this land, besides the fact that Pahravanites have much respect for this land's swordsmen and herbalists, whom are frequently hired as bodyguards and servants by Pahravanite nobles. Suprisingly, they have freedom of travel in Pahravanit and thusly few have visited Arvadia, speaking in strange, complex language (yet are able to learn Arvadian with suprising ease), and sometimes roam eastern borderlands of Arvadia as mercenaries for hire.

"UKNOWN PAHRAVANITE-LIKE KINGDOM":

Little is known about this land, but it seems to be a smaller kingdom with roots in Pahravanit culture. It might actually be an autonomous province or prince's holdings or something of the sort.

OTHER:

Kozanthikeans claim that behind the sea to the west of their vast country lies an island populated by xenophobic tribal peoples. Furthermore, by following Kozanthikon's western coastline to the north, there is apparently a country called Skarag, where powerful horsemen and axe fighters dwell. No Arvadian made a journey there, however, and no contact with these peoples was ever made.
Dorians claim that north of their lands there is a land of black and grey mountains and that one mountain spews ash and flame. And behind that mountains lie fertile flatlands inhabited by strong and proud warrior tribes who live in big settlements. No other details are known to Arvadians, though.
According to some Sweet Sea-bound merchants, behind the coasts of Scordati there is another nation calling themselves 'Koni', and that they live in cities, grow wheat and follow a pantheon of numerous deities. Sadly, rarely do Arvadian ships reach past Scordati pirate flottillas, so not much is really known about that faraway nation.