Nations
These are the nations of the Regnal Era (RE), the current era of play. These nations are much changed from The nations of the first age, from whence come the Returned.
Overview of Nations
The Kingdom of Athral Isle - conquered twenty years ago by the Gauntish House of Voluspa, remains a place of constant unrest. The native Athrals seek to reestablish the deposed Couraine dynasty. In the northern and western reaches of the island nation, the Wasteland grows year by year, and the Gauntish king has been even less effective at slowing its spread than his predecessors.
The Caliphate of Dusk - a desert nation in the southeastern part of the Known World, bordering on Tarsikka, the sea, and the wastelands. It is the last of the nations of Akathia, as its neighbors to the south have fallen to invasion by external foes. The Caliphate is famed for its military excellence; the Tower of Glass is the world’s first military academy and the home of the famed Sandspire warrior order.
The Kingdom of Gaunt - a sparsely populated northern land of raiders and sailors. Its warriors have conquered Athral Isle and crowned one of their own there. They continually strive for glory in battle. They respect power more than legal authority, most of the time. Two lodges of warriors have earned exceptional fame even beyond Gaunt’s borders: the Dane’s Bulwark and the Shieldeaters of Gaunt. In addition to their recent conquest of Athral Isle, Gauntsmen occasionally venture across the border into the Principalities to seize whatever they can carry. They seldom worry with their neighbors to the north, the isolated nation of Oresund.
The Kingdom of Oresund - the northernmost land that humans have ever explored; all that exists beyond it are the frozen seas. Trolls and the frozen dead attack their villages and carry off anything, or anyone, left unguarded. Oresund is the home to the most ancient traditions of ritualism. Oresunders are a hard, bitter people, who do what they must in order to survive.
The Principalities of Verdien- the largest nation of the world, composed of eight domains united under one Emperor. He shares power, however, with the Patriarch of the Redwood Throne. Luzerne City is the seat of power for both the mightiest nation and the dominant religion of the known world. These politics are complicated further by the influence of the trade guilds. The Principalities suffer occasional border raids from Gaunt in the north, and have a long history of conflict with Tarsikka.
Tarsikka - the eldest of all modern nations. In its current, diminished borders, it stands in the high, dark mountains between the Principalities of Verdien and Akathia. The lords of Tarsikka are famed for their draconian laws and swift silver swords. The commoners dwell in fear of the monsters that stalk the night – wraiths, werewolves, and still darker horrors. Living under constant threat, they have become an extraordinarily xenophobic people. Their relations with the Caliphate have traditionally been calm, while they have clashed with the Principalities of Verdien within living memory.
The Tharici - a people without a nation. They claim to hail from Tarsikka, though the Tarsikkans hate them and deny this. There are a lot of conflicting stories on where they came from, why they are at odds with the Tarsikkans, and the entirety of their history. Legend and rumor accuse them of practicing dark magic, but the Tharici deny all wrongdoing.
What the "At a Glance" terms mean:- Rare: Secretive and Relatively unseen.
- Uncommon: Occasionally seen, only a few experts, most people have heard of it, but not seen it first hand.
- Common: Seen in large towns and cities.
- Wide Spread: One per village.