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Most of the action will revolve around, at most, three kingdoms. The three of them will be detailed below:
Gilraevan: This cosmopolitan nation is a borderlands of such. The ancient Morraent humans lived here in tribal units. Because of their closeness to the Fae Courts, they are a bit more mystical than they otherwise would be, and had relatively frequent contacts with the Fae, and Changeling and Fae members of their society were common. During the expansion of the Ecclesium, holy warriors from the southeast poured into Gilraevan, and missionaries forced conversion. However, the social structure was left largely intact, and Gilraevan today has its own king, though he must acknowledge the authority of the Patriarch in Lehonti. Today the Ecclesium is accepted throughout the kingdom, and the Templars dispense both secular and ecclesiastic justice throughout the land.
Ties with the Fae Courts are still frequent, and ambassadorial delegates are common in Gilraevan. In addition, many citizens of the land today are still Fae, especially sidhe, dweorgan and the like, while the king himself has a special branch of orc troops in the Militarus. However, the Templars (and the generally devout people themselves) practice no religion unsanctioned by the Ecclesium. Priests and friars constantly preach the joys and necessity of righteous adherence to the Ecclesium's dictates, while the Templars take a harder line in enforcing the laws. Only in the most backwater villages is any hint of the Old Religion, the Fae religion, still practiced. Even there, however, there are no human druids, as humans are apparently fundamentally out of touch with the raw and visceral form of worship that the Fae take towards the gods.
The King, King Taeran, rules from the large metropolis of Gilraevan, the city that gives the current kingdom its name. The growth of this city started after the Conversion, though. Before that time, there were a myriad of petty kingdoms and smaller towns. After the Conversion much of that existing structure was ported over to the new system. The little kings (or their successors) became the Barons who ruled the same areas, although now their loyalty was tied to the King. In time more of the government gradually moved to Gilraevan itself, and agents of the king spread throughout the land. One such agency was the Judicary. Formed to deal with high level internal security threats, the Judicary is somewhat like the FBI in the US today.
Besides Gilraevan, most of the settlements in the kingdom are small villages up to medium-sized towns. The Barons rule their baronies with the help of their shire reeves, local law enforcement workers. The Ecclesium is also a common thread throughout all of these communities, with a member of the baronial household (occasionally even the baron himself) serving as the Cardinal for the community.
The Morraent people, who still make up the largest element of the population, are relatively tall and fair of color. Blue or green eyes are common, as is red, brown and blond hair. Many of them are heavily freckled.
- Lehonti: Lehonti, in many ways, is less cosmopolitan than Gilraevan. It is the home of the Lehontites, who are fiercely, proudly and pure human. In general, the Lehontites have no interest in the Fae Courts, and they have numerous strictures on the travel of Fae in their country. The Lehontites conquered the many kingdoms of Gilraevan many years ago, and imposed on them the Ecclesium. However, the culture of the region of Gilraevan ended up lasting the conquest in many ways, and the Lehontite culture remained concentrated in the southeastern, more arid region.
The Lehontites are darker of complexion than their northern subjects, with dark hair and eyes and olive skin. They aren't as inclined to be tall or broad, although some of them are indeed large and mighty warriors. Their society is strictly ordered and governed. It is a fundamentalist theocracy, with the Patriarch ruling both secular and religious aspects of their society. Under the Patriarch are a number of regional religious governers called Bishops.
In spite of their religious bent, the Lehontites are, in general, a very hard and cruel people, and their laws allow for little to no mercy. Their government is very centralized, and individuals are given little worth in their society. The most treasured value in their society is loyalty and faithfulness, to family, to nation and to religion. While individual Lehontites may very well not be too excited to give up their life for their society, their society would expect it from them.
The Lehontites have a fairly impressive military machine. They, at least, are very impressed with it and feel like it is the mightiest army in the world. In truth, though, they have never really tested it in full force with the Fae Courts, and the Fae Courts have never really shown their entire strength to them. In reality, their position is much more fragile and precarious than they suspect, and it wouldn't take much for them to fall to many forces throughout the world. They also have a variety of para-military religious orders, many of whom strictly enforce the law and peace throughout the land. This is a hold-over from the Great Conversion, when the poor, indigent and completely unprofessional armies of the early Ecclesium spread like wildfire, destroying all of the civilizations and city-states in their path, and even taking over the lands northwards and westwards, leaving only the Moerrant peoples in the far northwest as a pseudo-independent (albeit converted) people.
In spite of this apparently bleak culture, the history of the Lehontites includes a fairly recent civilized, tolerant and enlightened culture. After a series of devastating military defeats at the hands of some migrant robber orc clans that had moved southward, the Patriarch came into power after the death of the Priest-king and the culture turned sharply fundamentalist, partly in an attempt to revive the primitive and simple life that the original Converters had (in actuality, they were boors and barbarians.)
The land of Lehonti is much more arid and hot than the environs near Gilraevan, although the fact that it lies in the midst of the Madmenah Mountains brings some relief from the blistering desert heat.
- The Fae Courts: The Fae live in the wild and untameable lands north of Gilraevan. For the most part, the Seelie Fae live to the Northwest, while the Unseelie are more likely to live east and northeast. However, the Fae Courts are so loosely structured and governed that Fae may live anywhere within the Fae-lands really, and not cause a problem. Even the Seelie and Unseelie rivalry is not particularly strong at times, and the central government rotates between them. From April through September, the Seelie Court has the rule of Fae-land, and from October through March the government switches to the Unseelie Court. Although the Seelie and Unseelie fae are so very different from each other, all of the Fae recognize that it is the differences that make them powerful, and one viewpoint cannot rule successfully forever.
During the Unseelie Court's rule, the Fae are more likely to make war and to conquer. During the Seelie Court's rule, the Fae are more likely to seek peace and healing. However, this general "rule" has often been taxed because of the somewhat expansionist policies of the humans. When the Morraent people lived as small city-states, tribes and clans, they were not seen as a real threat to the Fae, but with the coming of the Lehontites, the humans suddenly were very organized, very centralized, and very expansionist-minded. Because spring and summer were typically the campaign seasons for the humans, the Fae were forced to rely more and more on their Unseelie tendencies for more of the year, which has strained relationships within the Fae themselves.
Now the influence of the Lehontites is much reduced in Gilraevan, and although it is nominally a part of the Lehontite Empire, the people of Gilraeven do not think of themselves as Lehontites at all. They also have reverted to some of their ancestral cultural mores, at least, so the threat of the humans is much less than it used to be. However, the challenge now is that the Fae have had enough upheaval in their system that they are having trouble reverting back to their own traditions. For the first time in many millenia, the Unseelie Courts are reluctant to relinquish control of the Fae-lands. They feel that they need to maintain control long enough to take punitive journeys into Gilraevan itself, or if not punitive, then certainly preemptive.
All of this upheaval and strife has actually prompted many Fae individuals to flee from the Fae-lands, as life amongst the humans is preferable to many than excessive shedding of Fae blood. The Seelie and Unseelie Courts are not yet at war, and with any luck never will be, but there are numerous conflicts, and the traditional passing of the government becomes more bitter and difficult every year.
The Seelie Queen, Alaeniver-Readda is a beautiful Sidhe with flowing silver hair and the majestic violet eyes of royalty. She is known for her gentleness and patience, but she is no fool, and secretly she has been mounting forces, sending spies and gathering allies for the coming conflict, if it cannot be averted. Lacking the militaristic orcs of the Unseelie court, she still has a potent force of Seelie Sidhe, centaurs and others if it comes to war.
Her counterpart amongst the Unseelie is actually her brother, an Unseelie Sidhe named Addreonyc. His hair is dark quick-silver in color, and his eyes are like his sister's. The Sidhe themselves are less numerous amongst the Unseelie, so he has had to share some of his rule with the Grand Druid of the Dweorg, and the Warlord of the Orcs. Still, he is crafty and wily, and despite his outward sign of political weakness, he rarely finds himself unable to do what he wishes.
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