Salvar
Salvar, known for its blizzards, frozen wastes, and jagged mountains, is the northernmost region of Althanas. Stretching across the harsh and frigid northlands, this vast, mighty kingdom still reels from years of civil war between its Church and State. The clash of steel has quieted and the two sides have finally reconciled, though both reduced to shadows of their former power. Anarchy and chaos now grips this once proud nation as its people struggle to survive.
| Salvar | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | Knife’s Edge | ||||
| Form of Government | Feudal | ||||
| Ruler(s) | None | ||||
| Legal System | Feudal and Religious Law | ||||
| Official Language(s) | Tradespeak (Common) | ||||
| Population | Approximately 7,000,000 | ||||
| Religious Type | Church of the Ethereal Sway | ||||
| Literacy | 23% | ||||
| Technology level | Mid-late Medieval | ||||
| Major Imports | Luxury goods, grain | ||||
| Major Exports | Skins, furs, ore, lumber | ||||
| Natural Resources | Forests, Minerals, whales and fish | ||||
Geography
Most foreigners stereotype Salvar as a frozen, snow-laden wasteland, and this holds true for considerable portions of the kingdom. However, southern Salvar, which runs along the Kachuck Mountains that mark the border with Alerar, enjoys a more mild climate, rolling hills of golden grass, and agreeable farmlands. The Testhan River Valley, cradle of the capital city of Knife’s Edge, is particularly fertile.
To the north, the weather turns much harsher. River-lands and hills give way to ancient pine forests and rugged steps. Further north, the land turns harsher and wilder still. Few humans inhabit this endless, untamed expanse of icy tundra and towering, jagged mountains. Trolls, giants, and tribes of feral humans and Orcs prowl this wilderness, as well as other dangerous creatures. Even further still, beyond the Frozen Sea, lies Berevar. This mysterious and uncharted wasteland is inhabited by only those as harsh and unyielding as the land itself. Few have ventured there 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 and Magic
Church of The Etherial Sway As the official state religion of Salvar, The Church of the Ethereal Sway once held nearly unchallenged authority over the country's people. It was once perhaps the largest and most powerful religion in the known world. However, when the Church and Salvar's king, Iorlan Rahaxea, began to squabble, civil war between the factions broke out. This conflict resulted the death of the monarch and the weakening of both the aristocracy and the church. The two sides have since reconciled and the Ethereal Sway works to steadily recover and rebuild. It remains the official and most widely practiced faith in Salvar.
The religion itself centers on worshiping a pantheon of mysterious spirit-beings, the Ethereal Sway. Religious texts states that they traveled to Salvar from another world and guided its early rulers along the path of greatness for their fledgling country. After leading Salvar to a golden age of peace and prosperity, the Sway vanished. No one has had direct contact with then for a thousand years. The Church itself formed to continue guiding the kingdom according to the tenets of their divine benefactors. They claim that by upholding the proper laws and moral values and living righteously, they will prove themselves worthy and the Ethereal Sway will return to guide them once more.
The official head of the Church is known as the Justice. Historically appointed by the king, the Justice is now elected by the League of Nobles as part of the peace agreement between church and state. The position currently remains empty, with the elder clergy leading the Church for the time. The last Justice, Lev Testhan, was slain by Ashiakin and his cohorts during the civil war. Saint Denebriel herself returned to lead the faithful. She herself was allegedly killed near the war's end; many now view her as the holiest of martyrs and others believe that she will return again in a future century.
The Church was a law unto itself during the height of its power, trying and executing traitors, witches, and heretics for a wide variety of crimes, perceived or otherwise. These included witchcraft, corruption, demonology, and heresy. Some of the more radical agents even spoke out and acted against non-humans (though Dark Elves and Dwarves seemed largely exempt due to a long-standing Salvic alliance with Alerar.) The fearful image of a black-robed witch hunter brandishing a torch and the emblem of the All-Seeing Eye remains a common nightmare to this day -- a story often told to misbehaving children by their mothers. Large-scale witch-hunts rarely happen anymore, due to the terrible losses that the Church suffered during the civil war. Still, they were once commonplace enough to perpetuate fear, just as the Church leaders wanted.
Despite their dark stigma, the Ethereal Sway performs many good works across the region. Their witch hunters root out infernal forces, necromancers, and other very real threats to civilization. The power of faith maintains order and internal peace in the kingdom where there had once been chaos and bloodshed. Their holiest saints perform great and mysterious miracles. Their missionaries feed and clothe the poor, and help rebuild villages after natural disasters, and their churches always welcome weary travelers and the homeless.
The Ethereal Sway's core doctrines and tenets include nationalism, selflessness, devotion to duty, and submission before authority. They encourage daily prayer so that individuals may attempt to communicate with their missing gods and seek guidance and visions. Its most revered saint was Denebriel, a nationalistic and seemingly immortal woman who would vanish for centuries and reappear during times of need.
The faith also preaches purity of body and thought, which has always included alarmingly anti-magic rhetoric. Most scholars point to the War of the Tap as the reason for this condemnation. The Ethereal Texts, the Church's holy documents, contain pages upon pages of historical tales supposedly told by the spirits of the Ethereal Sway themselves. Many of these records described the ancient war and the catastrophic destruction wrought by magic run wild. Other accounts tell of demonic influences and claim that magic can corrupt the mind and scar the soul. The Sway prophecies even say that the world will end in sorcerous fire, and as such pyromancy is especially hated and feared.
While magic itself is not fully illegal, it remains sanctioned, supervised, and controlled by the Church. The most notable arcane agents of the Sway are the Empowered Priests, robed men and women armed with unique iron spears who command wind, lightning, and ice, and the Aeromancers, high in their towers using magic to tame the region's harsh weather. Even after the civil war, witch-hunters still venture across the countryside and through city streets to hunt warlocks, rogue sorcerers, and those believed to consort with demons. Meanwhile, other agents hide within secret dungeons, studying and experimenting on sorcerers, shamans, and other arcane practitioners.
Even in its diminished state, the Church remains vigilant, doing its best to stamp out any magical influence not under its control before it spreads like an infection. The age is changing, however. The resources of the Church have been stretched thin as it struggles to recoup its losses and reassert its authority. Will magic surge back to prominence or will the Church eventually regain its hegemony in the kingdom?
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.