Salvar

Salvar, known for its wastes and blizzard covered climate, is the Northern most region of Althanas. After a terrible civil war between the Church and the State, the lands of Salvar have been torn apart and sent into an unstable feudal system of government. The differences between the Northern and Southern portions of Salvar are diverse, extremely differing in climate, and allow for limitless possibilities.

Salvar
Capital	Knife’s Edge
Form of Government	Feudal
Ruler(s)	None
Legal System	Feudal Law
Official Language(s)	Tradespeak (Common)
Population	Approximately 800,000
Religious Type	No organized religion
Literacy	23%
Technology level	Early Medieval
Major Imports	Luxury goods, grain
Major Exports	Skins, furs, ore, lumber
Natural Resources	Forests, Minerals, whales and fish

Geography

While a foreigner’s stereotypical view of Salvar is that it is a frozen, snow-laden wasteland, this view does not hold true for much of the country. Southern Salvar, which runs along the Kachuck Mountains that mark the border with Alerar, has a mild climate and is dominated by rolling hills and agreeable farmlands. The Testhan River Valley which harbors the capital city of Knife’s Edge are particularly fertile.

It is when traveling further north that the weather becomes harsher, with the landscape dominated by chilly pine forests and jagged hills. Further north of even that are lands that the government only nominally lays claims to—snowy plains, towering mountains, and dense forests, all dominated by tribal bands, giants, and many dangerous creatures. Berevar, a mysterious and uncharted arctic area, lies beyond that, though few have ever seen it and returned to tell of it.

Places of Interest

Knife's Edge

Knife's Edge is both the oldest and the largest city in the Kingdom of Salvar, with a history dating back over three thousand years and a population just shy of two hundred thousand. It is located in the Testhan Valley area of the western Ahyark Mountains, a region noted for its relatively mild temperatures and plentiful resources, despite the harshness of most of Salvar. Its formidable defensive wall has three sides, with two gates on each side--a river gate and a gate opening onto land. Guard towers line the walls at regular intervals and soldiers can always been seen walking along the ramparts. Ever since the bloody Civil War, Salvar's once prestigious capital has deteriorated into chaotic urban wasteland.

Its defenses once underwent regular inspections and repairs and the land outside the city was kept barren for several miles, except for the mounds of bones that lie at the bottom of the city's walls--the corpses of criminals, traitors, and foreign invaders that broke themselves on the defenses of Knife's Edge. The wall is now a pile of ruble at some points. Beyond this barren land, on the river plains and in the mountains, there are countless ruins, level towns, and charred estates that once acted as a military buffer to the city. Also, a strange flickering can be seen above the skies of the city from time to time, what rumors say are part of a project of the aeromancers, though none know what it may be.

Religion

Church of The Etherial Sway

Once the state church and the official religion of Salvar, The Church of the Ethereal Sway held power over the country's people for decades. Its doctrine and tenants may hold some truth to its followers but to the outside observer it seemed to be just a way to hold people in check. Through influence and cold manipulation the Church ruled over Salvar and answered only to the monarch himself. However, the Church started this war with the Crown for control of the country and things changed.

The known leader of the Church was the Justice and was appointed by the monarch himself. The Justice had the power and authority to lead the Church in whatever way he chose. He or she answered only to the King or Queen and held the Clergy as advisors. This title only existed by name since the last Judge Lev Testhan was slain by Ashiakan and his cohorts. Saint Denebriel returned to take charge of the Church only to fall at the end of Salvar's bloody Civil War.

Government

Ever since the end of the Civil War, Salvar has fallen into anarchy, but before that time the country existed under a Theocratic Monarchy.

The most powerful figure in Salvar’s government was the monarch, who had near-autocratic control over the country, directing the military, foreign policy, and domestic policy with absolute power. Additionally, he had much influence over the powerful state religion, the Church of the Ethereal Sway. All the nobles who ruled the myriad fiefdoms that made up Salvar were sworn to carry out the monarch’s will.

The monarch of Salvar ruled from Knife’s Edge, one of the realm's few large cities. In addition to acting to as King or Queen of Salvar, the monarch also ruled as the Grand Duke/Duchess of Knife’s Edge, which put him or her in direct control of much of the populous, prosperous river-lands around the Ahyark Mountains.

Law and justice in the kingdom were overseen and carried out by the noble rulers of individual fiefdoms and by the officials of the Church of the Ethereal Sway. While the nobles tried to punish criminals for any petty crimes (theft, rape, murder) that occurred on their lands, it was the Church of the Ethereal Sway that dealt with crimes against the state (treason, assassination, conspiracy.) The noble rulers of the fiefdoms that made up Salvar may ruled as they pleased over their territory, as long as they obeyed the orders of the King and the Church of the Ethereal Sway.

History

Time Immemorial: Bands of nomadic hunter-gatherers migrate into Salvar from Berevar and its connections to other continents. They roam the northern expanses of the continent ceaselessly, and cross into the southern half of the continent, settling in small chiefdoms. Some move to the coast and create a nascent fishing and shipping community.

Between 12048 and 10048 years ago [c. CE 2060 - c. CE 4020]: Salvar remains a primitive and largely unpopulated continent, and therefore a choice battleground for the magical campaigns on all sides of the Wars of The Tap. Various magical enchantments and weaponry are scattered throughout the continent as part of the destruction, which scatters the natives and leaves an indelible print on their common mythology. Many deserters of the war join the remaining natives in Salvar

Between 7,500 and 2,000 years ago [CWD 2,548 – CL 3047]: Various lords and rich merchants from the other continents begin to land on Salvar's mountainous southern and eastern shores, founding small trading colonies and resupply ports. Some whaling and seal hunting establishes itself around the continent. The colonies are usually not much more than a few huts or a fortified cove, but one or two good harbors are built up into small settlements, largely populated by male mariners and without any autonomous governing bodies. Ships slowly begin to make it up the western side of Salvar, landing in the much more welcoming shores there and founding a major city at the mouth of the River Salvar (later "The Knife").

These colonies slowly grow in population and prosperity as people migrate into the vast plains, pushing far inland. The natives in the path of the colonizers are pushed ahead of them and into the northern wastes, which are largely ignored for settlement. The plains of Salvar are unforgivingly lonely but fertile, and using the river system around the Knife, a shipping industry is built up that keeps Salvar well off and well fed. No central government exists, however. Each colony has titular ties to the nations on other continents in Althanas but they exist in name only.

Approx. 2000 years ago [CL 3047] [1 DW]: The Demon War Begins. Initially the Demons do not attack in Salvar, but the war cuts off all remaining ties with other nations as trade basically dries up. About halfway through the conflict, a demon army attacked Salvar from the west. A flood of refugees fled to the far interior, huddling in the shadow of the furthest mountains. To combat the Demon Menace, the notables of the largest colonies group together and form government with which to raise an army. The government is an oligarchy under the direction of the important merchants and tradesmen of the Knife’s Edge. The demons are held at bay by this force for several years before shamans from the native population banish the demons by use of powerful, esoteric magic. The demons flee through the northern wood to Berevar and disappear entirely. The remaining government in the south encourages the resettlement of the rest of Salvar.

Approx. 1780 years ago [CP 21] [221 DW]: The oligarchy of Salvar is overthrown by a former solder in the anti-demon army. This general, Corin val Neestor, installs himself as dictator and sends military emissaries to the largest settlements to take control of the entire continent. Most of the cities are placed under the control of the military, but a few of the outlying colonies on the south and east coast remain free.

Approx. 1766 years ago [CP 35] [235 DW]: The first ship from the other continents of Althanas lands on Salvar since the Demon War. This resurrects Salvarian trade, but also alerts the rest of Althanas to the independent status of their former colonies.

Approx. 1761 years ago [CP 40] [240 DW]: Battleships from the rest of Althanas begin to escort their nations’ ships to and from Salvar, some of them seizing Salvarian ships and impressing their sailors into naval service.

Approx. 1745 years ago [CP 56] [256 DW]: A small army of mercenaries, bought by a consortium of rich merchants, lands on the west coast of Salvar and seizes control of several colonies, establishing a small kingdom ostensibly under the suzerainty of Corone. The next year, the Dictator of Salvar, the third since the Coup of Year 21, launches an attack on this Kingdom of New Corone, destroying its army and executing its titular king.

Approx. 1741 years ago [CP 60] [260 DW]: After hearing of the destruction of their client state, the consortium of Corone merchants raises the issue with the government of Corone, gaining enough leverage with the mildly concerned ruling classes to construct a far larger navy and army with official support, and launch an attack on Salvar. They land on the west coast and march inland, capturing and gaining the defections of others. The Kingdom of New Corone is rebuilt, this time controlled by an official Viceroy from Corone. The Dictator of Salvar fights the invaders to a standstill but is unable to push them to the sea. A peace is forged, with the Kingdom of New Corone essentially taking up the southwestern quarter of the continent and the Dictatorship of Salvar taking up the southeastern quarter. The signing of the peace fragments the Dictator’s control, and he soon only has sway over events in the Knife’s Edge, while the local governors take control of local affairs.

Between 1741 and 1601 years ago [CP 60 – CP 200] [260 DW – 400 DW]: The Kingdom of New Corone booms into a military and economic power as it lays large levies on transport down the Knife and carries out raids into the small governates on the outskirts of Salvar. The increase in wealth is felt in the capital, Coronia, at the mouth of the Knife, but is also pronounced in the other settlements, where important merchants and landowners establish themselves in pseudo-governmental positions as “interlocutors” between the Coronian government and the locals.

Between 1741 and 1253 years ago [CP 60 – CP 548] [260 DW – 748 DW]: The second invasion of Salvar is successful and the kingdom of New Corone is established. While the new realm thrives, the old Corone is being divided in layers. Rich merchants and royalty with land in the newly conquered lands becomes richer by the day, while the common folk are being tormented by the ever rising taxes that the greedy ministers set. Politicking becomes more important then industry, and the gap between the layers of the society grows larger. The army is kept at bay with large paychecks and the constant battle in Salvar. These years are also called the Ages of Decay in Corone.

Between 1601 and 1401 years ago [CP 200 – CP 400]: A period of restlessness builds in New Corone as a series of weak, young kings take the throne and are unable to deal with the local notables effectively. As a result, tariffs go without enforcement and Salvar slowly begins to regain some of its former glory.

Approx. 1403 years ago [CP 398] [598 DW]: King Willow IV comes to the Viceroy’s seat in New Corone, and by the end of his reign becomes known as Willow the Munificent. Willow regains control over local notables by constructing a hierarchy of nobility that the restless governors buy entrance into in exchange for various assured rights. The ultimate seat of power in New Corone, however, is solidified as the viceroy through a fealty oath taken by the nobles upon their purchase of their rights. The power of New Corone waxes as the viceroy uses this new central control to finance construction and technological projects throughout his domain.

Between 1401 and 1301 years ago [CP 400 – CP 500]: Seeing the success of New Corone, local governors in Salvar begin designating themselves dukes or princes of their governates and establishing their own fealty systems. As a result, the dictator in Knife’s Edge entirely loses control of his realm, and the capital city is integrated into a surrounding duchy. With this the history of the Dictatorship of Salvar ends.

Approx. 1253 years ago [CP 548] [748 DW]: A disagreement over trading rights with Corone, and over the power of the Coronian government to replace Viceroys that it sees unfit, leads to a split between Corone and its colony, which declares itself the Kingdom of Salvar. The Viceroy crowns himself king in an elaborate ceremony in Coronia, which is renamed Horaria, the native word for “splendor.” Although Corone and Salvar teeter on the verge of war, cooler heads prevail, assuring both kings that subterfuge, rather than outright war, will soon bring the enemy to heel.

Approx. 1222 years ago [CP 579] [779 DW]: One of the western dukes of east Salvar pledges fealty to the King of Salvar, and then claims a border dispute with another duchy as grounds for war, and the king responds by aiding him in a conquest of the duchy.

Between 1222 and 1101 years ago [CP 579 – CP 700]: Seeing the success of the aforementioned duke, the rest of the duchies and principalities in Salvar either swear fealty to the king or are consumed by those that do. By 700 CP, the entire southern half of Salvar is under the control of the king.

Between 1101 and 801 years ago [CP 700 – CP 1000]: A period of relative prosperity and quiescence in Salvar.

Approx. 780 years ago [CP 1021] [DW 1221]: In celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Coup of Year 21, the scholarly King Mustaga the Wise declares that the new capital of Salvar shall be the Knife’s Edge, its historic capital. Taking advantage of the death of the Duke of the Knife’s Edge and one of his father’s marriages, he claims issue to the city and gains its title. He moves his court there, but finds himself alienated from the king’s traditional power base, the western seamen and merchants, while mired in the relatively alien eastern duchies, who have little association with the king beyond the fealty oaths that are part of their coronations. Rather than admitting his folly, Mustaga remains in Knife’s Edge for the rest of his woefully long reign. When he dies, his infant great-grandson is placed on the throne and a series of weak Regents are unable to assert the power of the king in east Salvar or resurrect his authority in the west.

Between 701 and 301 years ago [CP 1100 – CP 1500]: A period of continuing disintegration of the king’s power, characterized by sporadic attempts by kings to regain authority, most of which fail miserably.

Between 301 and 1 year ago [1500 CP – 1800 CP] [1700 DW – 1900 DW]: A system of parliamentary government over Salvar slowly emerges, as the scores of fiefdoms and duchies in the kingdom construct a Council of State as a legislative basis for countering particularly uppity kings. The Council system does little in the way of governance, but cements the idea of the individual rights of local nobles in the minds of the Salvarian peerage.