Human Nations

Corlia (Scepteria)
Nation Type : Kingdom/City-State Capital : Scepteria Largest City : Scepteria Ruler : High King Leonidas, Council of Nine Allegiance : Founding Member of the Alliance of Free Nations The city-state of Scepteria was originally founded as a way to protect the College of the Arcane from roving raiders and trogs. Eventually the combined power of Scepteria’s militia and the college’s mages caused the people of the surrounding countryside to seek a deal. In return for protection the people offered Scepteria money and supplies, and eventually this agreement formed the nation of Corlia. The actual ruling body of Corlia is the Council of Nine, three mages from the college, three people from the city, and three members of the militia. The members are chosen by a vote from their respective bodies every three years. The Council came together with King Draco of Azren and the Trade Lords of Xerin to form the Alliance of Free Nations. Because of its location far enough away from the steadily growing borders of the Kolvost Empire, Scepteria itself was chosen as the seat of the Court of Free Nations. The Council of Nine did not seek to rule over the Alliance, so a ruler who was strong in the ways of both war and diplomacy was chosen from the assembled rulers of the three nations. High King Leonidas, formerly of Achea and then Xerin was chosen to lead the Alliance, and he chose his court from the noble houses of Xerin and Scepteria, since the houses and king of Azren wanted nothing to do with the politics of the Alliance.

=== Xerin === Nation Type : City-State Capital : Xerin Largest City : Xerin Ruler : Isaac, Lord of House Lyca Allegiance : Founding Member of the Alliance of Free Nations The four main overland trade routes that connect the nations converge at one point which was once known as The Crossroads. As trade developed across the nations a small town sprung up around The Crossroads, and eventually it grew to a prosperous city with armed guards forming a militia. Soon different families began to fight one another for everything from supplies to land, even going so far as to hire the guards as their own private armies. Two of the more powerful houses, Lios and Lyca, joined in an alliance sealed with marriage. After this event no one could dispute their combined power, and so combined they formed the ruling body of the city-state. Once the Alliance was founded the head of House Lios, Leonidas, was unanimously elected by the founding nations’ leaders as High King, leaving Isaac, the head of House Lyca, the head of the city with many people seeing the alliance of Lios and Lyca weakened.

Azren
Nation Type : City-State Capital : Azren Largest City : Azren Ruler : King Draco IX Allegiance : Founding Member of the Alliance of Free Nations Azren was once a member-state of the nation of Achea, but left due to the incompetence of the ruling bodies. Azren itself was formed by refugees from Byzantia and as such shares many cultural similarities. Built into a mountainside with massive walls the city itself is nearly impenetrable and its kings have used this to their advantage in many wars. Because they never have to fear for the defense of their city the army of Azren is well-versed in offensive tactics and as such is one of the most respected armies in the world. The ruling body of Azren is the Drake dynasty, and King Draco IX, the current king, acts as his family has for generations, with little interest in political intrigue and debates and a total dedication to his people.

=== Neloni === Nation Type : Kingdom/Theocracy Capital : The White Tower Largest City : Autumn’s Bay  Ruler : King Richard and High Priestess Ines Allegiance : Member of the Alliance of Free Nations Neloni is a feudal kingdom ruled over by a monarch who ultimately answers to the head of the church of Maia. Just as Scepteria was formed to protect the academy of Uren, Neloni was formed to protect the clergy of Maia. But while the Arch-Magos of Uren acts as an advisor to and member of the ruling body of Scepteria the High Priest of Maia in effect rules over the king of Neloni. Richard, the current king, fell in love with and married the High Priestess, making the church and state one entity and turning Neloni into a theocracy. The sweeping changes made by this couple have set well with most of the people, but there are concerns over just how much power the church has over the people now. The knights of Neloni universally pledged support to the Alliance long before the king and queen agreed to the terms of joining, and at this point the bond between Neloni and the other member nations, especially the pirate nation of Eire, are tenuous at best.

=== Eire === Nation Type : Nomadic/Democracy Capital : Carham Largest City : Kildare Ruler : Admiral Aiden Allegiance : Member of the Alliance of Free Nations Pirates, as a rule, are lawless individuals who focus more on personal freedom than societal advances, but even they live by codes. The captains of the various ships serve a commodore, also known as a Pirate Lord. The various lords of all the ships in the pirate world met in the free city of Kildare and set down the rules and laws of all pirates, electing one of their number to be the king of pirates, the admiral of all the fleet. Some captains didn’t agree with the terms and went rogue, becoming brigands. The captain of a ship is elected by his crew every year, and captains, in turn elect the commodores every three years who elect the admiral every five years. After election a captain will assign all other officer positions on his ship, with all choices subject to the approval of the commodore. The current admiral, Aiden, has ruled the pirate world for two decades, and his ship The Morning Lady, is well respected in all the waters of creation. Aiden brought the idea of joining the Alliance before the commodores and would not agree to the terms without universal approval. He received the approval he was waiting for when raiders from Ostmark sacked the pirate capital of Carham.

Tiberia
Nation Type : Republic Capital : Tiberia Largest City : Venetus Ruler : Magistrate Augustus, General Licinius, and Trademaster Marcus Allegiance : Member of the Alliance of Free Nations The merchant cities along the western rim of the Sapphire Sea relied heavily on the support of a mercenary army for protection from bandits and brigands. After a few decades of this arrangement the general of the mercenary forces approached the head of the traders and the magistrate of the cities and suggested they form a unified body. The other two rulers agreed and so the three independent bodies became fully and equally a part of the decision making for the cities. This act formed the nation of Tiberia. All three bodies have different ways of electing their leader. The various trade houses elect a master to oversee them all every four years, the army selects its general from the best officer who rules until retirement or death, and the people of the cities elect their ruling magistrate every two years. After seeing the nation of Achea, which lay on the eastern shore of the Sapphire Sea, fall to the Kolvost Empire, the three members of the triumvirate unanimously agreed to the terms of the Alliance.

=== Sanzhou === Nation Type : Empire Capital : Tianxia Largest City : Sihai Ruler : Emperor Liu Yan Allegiance : Supporter of the Alliance of Free Nations Sanzhou, the empire of three kingdoms, lies east of the Alliance behind high mountains and high walls. Within their borders the three kingdoms, Hei, Zhu, and Sun war with one another for control of the empire. The current emperor, Liu Yan, led the nation of Sun to near total victory over the other two kingdoms by forcing the other two lords, Zhang Ren of Hei and Jiang Xi of Zhu to submit to his rule after nearly wiping out both nations. He rules with an iron fist from the capital of Tianxia and is worshiped as a god by the common folk of the empire. Unless united by a particularly strong emperor the nations of Sanzhou have only ever banded together as one against a common foe, usually their rival, the empire of Kasei. Knowing that they could hold off either the Kolvost Empire or Kasei on their own, the people of Sanzhou did not seek to join the Alliance. Once Kasei pledged their support to Vladimir, however, Liu Yan faced a war on two fronts. After negotiating with Leonidas the two rulers reached the agreement that the Alliance would keep Kolvost from warring with Sanzhou if Sanzhou could do the same against Kasei.

=== Xultun === Nation Type : Kingdom Capital : Tazumal Largest City : Uxmal Ruler : King Quetzal Allegiance : Neutral The mysterious nation of Xultun was largely unknown until recently, and even after its discovery the common people are still unaware of its existence. Located on an island to the west of Scepteria deep in a near impenetrable jungle the people of Xultun see neither the Alliance nor the Kolvost Empire as a threat. They worship their king, Quetzal, as a dragon god, and claim he has existed for all time. North of the jungles of Xultun is a large desert filled with the bones of thousands of dragons, and at the northern end of the island lies a mountain range whose largest peak, Pyrstaad, is said to be the domain of the last members of the draconian race.

== Kolvost Empire [Subjugated] ==

Kolvograd
Nation Type : Empire ''' Capital''' : Kolvograd (The Obsidian Tower) Largest City : The Necropolis (Thousands of undead) Ruler : Emperor Vladimir III Allegiance : Conqueror Nation of the Kolvost Empire Originally the city of Kolvograd was founded as a refuge from the world for the self-exiled general Vladimir of Corlia and his loyal troops and their families. Slowly a city formed around the fortress, and eventually this city was powerful enough to be considered a nation. Eventually the descendents of Vladimir sought to prove the power of their nation in wars of conquest, but it wasn’t until his great-grandson, Vladimir III, that the city knew true power. King Alfred of Ostmark, after a mysterious meeting, submitted himself and his nation to Vladimir III, and his people followed without much fight. Soon the combined might of the newly dubbed Kolvost Empire had crushed the nations to the south and east, repelled only by the empire of Sanzhou. Turning their attention to the west, the war machine marched on, leveling all resistance in their path. The necromancer Khallos bolstered the ranks of Kolvost with undead warriors after being granted lordship of the Necropolis, and the unholy army grew even more when the troglodyte king Nero pledged support to Vladimir III. The fallen Velios of Gallia have so far deigned even the mighty Kolvost Empire beneath them, but if they were to join the empire then all mankind’s enemies would be allied as one.

=== Ostmark === Nation Type : Confederacy Capital : Lurin Largest City : Myrkhollow ''' Ruler''' : King Alfred the Final Allegiance : Client Nation of Kolvograd Ostmark was once a squabbling band of city-states along the Glass Sea whose main mode of income was raiding and pillaging ships and settlements along the coasts of the world. Eventually the strongest of the warlords banded the other lords together under his rule and formed a functional nation from barbarian raiders. Though the people of Ostmark still raided they also traded and produced goods, forming a real economy from the lifeless ice of the northlands. King Alfred the Final is the last in the line of kings born from the line of the first warlord, and he is wifeless and without a male heir. In order to preserve the power of his family he promised his kingdom to his distant relative, Vladimir III, forming the Kolvost Empire. Ostmark raiders, lawless as any thief or brigand, have always been at odds with the pirates of Eire, so once they had the backing of Kolvograd and The Necropolis they sacked Eire’s capital, prompting the pirate nation to join the strengthening Alliance and putting King Alfred firmly on Vladimir III’s bad side.

=== Achea === Nation Type : Republic Capital : Nessia Largest City : Nessia Ruler : Speaker Aketos, Strategos Thellios Allegiance : Conquered by Kolvograd Achea was once a strong and proud nation with a history of democracy and martial prowess that was known throughout the world. It took the combined might of Kolvograd, Ostmark, Malakut, and the troglodyte armies to finally crush the regimented and disciplined armies of Achea. Before its fall, Achea was a nation of allied city-states along the eastern shore of the Sapphire Sea. Much like their kin in Tiberia, Achea was ruled by a group rather than an individual. They had a senate who were elected by the people, and from within the senate a speaker was elected to head the decision-making process. In times of war a strategos, a supreme military leader, was elected from the generals of the army, and he would be above the speaker and senate in power, but only as long as war was waged. The two main cities, Nhari and Nessia were the last to fall to the armies of the Kolvost Empire, and the old speaker and strategos were killed and replaced by leaders firmly controlled by Vladimir whose only purpose was to placate the people and legitimize the rule of Kolvograd.

Deshret
Nation Type : Kingdom Capital : Carashe Largest City : Terish Ruler : Pharaoh Ranaset Allegiance : Conquered by Kolvograd Once there was a powerful empire known as Byrthizan which controlled almost all of the southern lands. The back of the empire was eventually broken and rivals split the lands in to three mighty kingdoms. The ancient bloodline of the desert kings, rulers long before Byrthizan even rose as a power, took control of the fertile lands around the mighty Razorscale River, forming the nation of Deshret. Deshret’s holy men are powerful necromancers, worshiping Uren as some kind of death god, and it was from their number that the dark wizard Ongal came to power. When the armies of Kolvost marched on the sands of Carashe, Pharaoh Ranaset saw an army of the dead in their midst and capitulated, and after his surrender he was allowed to continue ruling, but not as a man. Pharaoh Ranaset has the honor of being the only member of the undead to lead a nation.

=== Malakut === Nation Type : Kingdom Capital : Byzantia ''' Largest''' City: Korda Ruler : King Balnazzer X Allegiance : Conquered by Kolvograd Malakut was once the cultural center of the world, a land of lush and fertile farmlands that never had to trade for food, they were able to instead trade for writings and treasures, becoming a wealthy and well-learned nation. After generations of simply buying away their enemies the armies of Malakut became weak, and once Vladimir III’s forces pushed into their boarders they were crushed within weeks. King Isaiah handed his scepter over to Vladimir personally, before being run through by the very man he surrendered to. After his death Vladimir placed the vizier of Malakut on the throne, and he took the name Balnazzer, a name with lineage back to the Byrthizan Empire. Malakut’s scrolls were burned, its laws banned, and its treasures stolen, leaving it a withered husk of its former glory. The gold pillaged from the temples and vaults of the once mighty nation paid for the renovation of its army under the hand of King Balnazzer X, all for the glory of his new master.

=== Bharat === Nation Type : Kingdom Capital : Nelhi Largest City : Les Ruler : King Mahandi Allegiance : Conquered by Kolvograd The peace-loving and spiritual nation of Bharat was the last of the former Byzantia nations to fall. Once the people of this quiet jungle land saw their trees hewn and their families killed they rose as one and began a bitter and grueling guerilla war that lasts even as the new king declares the rebels traitors. Skilled and cunning jungle fighters with a penchant for war elephants, the army of Bharat continues its fight long after their old king has been deposed. Situated as it is on the southern border of Sanzhou, the guerillas have no shortage of aid and supplies being brought through the jungles and mountains. However, with their old enemies, the trogs, having joined forces with Kolvograd, the mountains are quickly becoming unsafe, and soon the guerillas may have two wars to fight.

=== Kasei === Nation Type : Empire Capital : Kynto Largest City : Niji Ruler : Empress Keiko Allegiance : Allied with Kolvograd Kasei was once a part of the same empire as Sanzhou, but after so many generations the two mighty powers split and have never again sought reconciliation. Kasei is an empire made of nine provinces spread out over an island chain, with the most powerful warlord and his province being emperor. Each province acts and an independent nation with its own court, nobles, and armies, and they are at near constant war with one another. Empress Keiko was born to a mage of Uren and a princess of Kasei, and using her powerful stone magic she quickly established herself as not only a ruler, but a divine one. She sees Vladimir not only as an ally, but a potential husband, as the two of them are among the most powerful people in creation, and as Kasei is too far and too powerful to conquer, Kolvost must let it be. Keiko has promised aid to Kolvost against the Alliance if Vladimir first destroys Sanzhou, and if Vladimir were to wed her she would happily give him command of one of the most powerful warrior nations on the planet.