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

The War of the Tap

At first the small band of rogue sorcerers were like any other, a minor inconvenience that was dealt with by the only world super-power, Raiaera. Stopping the challenge to their authority, the usurpers to civilized life, was merely a trivial dispute handled by the bards and bladesingers. As the small group grew, extended their claims and undermined cultures, the threat stopped being an underground movement and grew into an expansive dispute, which would later become a full-blown war. This war, between The Forgotten and the rest of the world, continued for what most assume was close to a century.

Denebriel was the Forgotten that pulled the winter cold out of Berevar and swept it across Salvar, but also created the “Cult of the Ethereal Sway”. She was remembered throughout the years to follow by the native population through religion. The Sway became a religion passed from native to future populations that came to Salvar, and the Forgotten was remembered as a savior, becoming St. Denebriel. Xem'Zund attempted to overtake Raiaera, the only super-power of the time, by creating hordes of undead to walk the world.

The Era of Building Nations

Salvar, having been devastated by the warring civilized lands of Raiaera and The Forgotten, was even sparser in population than ever before. Merchants, would-be kings, social deviants, and expeditions by the budding nations slowly expanded into the territory. Rich sources of ore lured the dwarves, arable land to the south provided incentive for the humans of Corone to spread into the territory, and the previous encounters with Salvar gave little reason for the elven people to have interest.

The Demon Wars

Nearly a century ago, the second greatest war of Althanas tore across the world. It was an age of darkness, where infighting amidst races was pushed aside in favor of survival. The Demon Wars raged, and humanity was powerless to stop it. Where the demons suddenly arrived from is a mystery. The only guess as to their appearance is by way of the portals to Haidia created by the Forgotten, nearly completely forgotten after millenium.

The heaviest fighting was done in Corone, the initial assault of the demons taking Teria by storm. Overrun in a single day, the dwarves and humans of the plains retreated to the defensible fortresses built into the Comb and Jagged mountains. Unlike the humans and dwarves, the elves of Concordia had nowhere to run and hide, instead seeking solace within the forests and surviving in the depths of their domain. Two years after the initial surge of the demonic horde, Aroen the Lightforger the leader of the elves and the leader of the human tribe Gerth of the Crying Wolves united in a stand against the invasion. The single army met the power of the Haidian spawn on the fields of Gisela. A massive battle ensued. Though the power of the elves and the strength of the humans were great, they were gravely outnumbered. Gisela became soaked in the blood of both sides; two massive armies waged war for days on end till finally the remnants of the united force was forced to retreat. As had happened in the initial assault on Corone, the dwarves opened their gates and allowed all manner of refugees and defeated soldier into their underground habitat. The demons roamed the lands of the island freely for nearly 200 years, leaving the former denizens of the resource rich island to starvation and meager aide from other nations.

Salvar, likewise, was struck by the demonic forces. The barely settled and unorganized lands were unable to combat the initial assault due to lack of organized forces. Knifes Edge, the largest of the merchant created cities, became a fortress for the territory. Merchants, settlers, soldiers, and all manner of people banded together to continue to keep the invasion at bay. It was not until almost a century later that the native tribes of Salvar were able to use their powerful and esoteric magic to drive back and eliminate the organized demonic forces. Though, organized government was not established even after the demons were eliminated.

The Era of Salvar’s Foundation C.P. 1 – C.P. 1709

Corone (rebuilt by the hands of man, elf, and dwarves) turned the destroyed town of Teria into a massive town that could be viewed by all as a true capital of a unified Corone. Formerly a city of the dwarves, the indestructible building (later renamed The Citadel) became the center of the town and a symbol of strength. This city was renamed Radasanth, after the great hero that had liberated the island nation. After 50 years of service as the first Steward, Radasanth stepped down and disappeared into history. It was a century later that Corone turned its eyes on the bitter lands of Salvar, and the true story of the Northern lands began. The history of Salvar has always been a record of strife and struggle. Native people keep their own records, most of which are passed by word of mouth instead of written down. However, the non-native population after the Demon wars, kept meticulous records according to the Raiaeran calendar that was adopted by the rest of the world for time keeping per year. The records have shown that the Forgotten known as Denebriel, as well as internal strife have long slowed the expansion of the region and eventually what became the country itself.

After the Demon Wars, with Salvar relatively unexplored and controlled by a conglomerate of merchants, an oligarchy almost by way of government. The first form of government came from a form of dictatorship, lead by Corin val Neestor; the leader of the coup was a former soldier that served in the defense of the territory against the demons. Within years, the majority of the territory had been brought under a single leader. The simplistic government created allowed for an expansion of trade with other nations. In response, Corone’s government saw the weakness of the nation and began to trade with the territory, though also began to impress members of the meager navy of the new king into service. It was a means by the government of Corone to “establish firmer trading routes”. Within twenty years, C.P. 55, Corone sent a small “exploration” expedition to the west coast of the territories and quickly overran multiple cities and areas along the western side of Salvar. From the seat of power, the third dictator since C.P. 7, launched war immediately and defeated the titular king appointed by Corone which was not won. The colony of New Corone was officially established after only a year of struggle and a forced treaty with the dictator.

For the next 550 years the feudal system of Salvar was officially established. Dictators slowly lost control of Knifes Edge, whereas the power of the appointed Viceroy (officially called the “king” of the Corone colony) slowly grew in power. By the end of the colonial age of Corone, the Viceroy of the colonies is seen as the most fit to rule. He is crowned “King of Corone” in an elaborate and grand celebration in Horaria, the former capital of Salvar. Eventually the seat of power was moved away from the colonial area to Knife’s Edge, uniting both halves of Salvar but reducing the power base of the King after hundreds of years of rule from the same capital. Corone’s disgust and anger over the power-hungry appointed Viceroy is contested, however, the united power of Salvar is enough to expel the “foreign” power and the territory becomes a country of its own by C.P. 700.

Before the country was established completely, under one rule and became a nation to itself, the Church of the Ethereal Sway was established by the Viceroy’s of the colonies as the only religion accepted in the territories. This established religion was put in place as the official religion of the nation until the modern age of Althanas.

Over the following millennia, Salvar continued their monarchy. The rulers, always kings, became weaker and weaker until the feudal system of government could no longer be relied upon to offer protection or assistance. Self appointed dukes, counts, barons, and even a few princes demanded the construction of the Council of States. This council removed the absolute power of the King, placing him as a mere head of the Council, and began to use their new legislative establishment. Territorial pacts, conflicts, disputes over trade rights and lands were all discussed through the Council. Declarations of war between the feudal lords were settled through warfare as they always had been up until the end of the era.

Rise of the Forgotten C.P. 1705 – C.P. 1709

Salvar has fought through a civil war between the state and the Church. The former noble leaders, including King Iorlan, have all either been killed, gone into hiding, or self-exiled to other lands. At the end of the war, the valiant efforts of those who seemingly were little more than foreigners to Salvar destroyed the Church of the Ethereal Sway and the Forgotten Denebrial herself.