Just a little something... [Archive] - Online Roleplaying Forum

Death of Korzan

04-10-2014, 02:08 PM

Calradia is a large landmass that was once a huge empire spanning the entire continent, now it is split into six different kingdoms: The Kingdom of the Nords; The Kingdom of the Vaegirs; The Kingdom of Swadia; The Kingdom of Rhodoks; The Khergit Khanate and The Sarranid Sultanate.

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NOTE: KHALESI IS CASTLE

Each Kingdom wages war upon each other as they believe that they should be the rightful kings of Calradia and the one who should inherit the Calrad empire from their now dead predecessors; some of these ideas are built on old marriages and some are built on promises to the people. Foreigners from other lands in the not so distant horizon often come to the warring land in order to gain fame and honour among its lords and people.

The Kingdom of the Nords is a faction made up of people from the freezing northern lands; only known as 'Nordland'. They follow King Ragnar and believe that they should rule over Calradia. The land of the Nords is mostly hospitable, with heavy snowfall in winter that tends to cause most of the wildlife to migrate South, into Swadian or Khergite lands. The land is mostly fair, though in the spring and summer it is teeming with Raiders from the sea who frequently raid small villages.

Primarily they are ethnically similar to Northern Europeans and their military focuses on heavy axe wielding shock troopers. As the land of the Nords is subject to heavy winter weather during the later stages and early stages of the year they don't tend to ride on horses as they are too difficult to keep - most of the Lords have Horses however, though most of them aren't native to their home territory.

They are ethnically similar to Viking people and are often disregarded on their right to rule by other nations as they are called 'foreigners'.

The Sarranid Sultanate are a nation that sit at the Southern reagions of Calradia - they are bordered by the Dustinbar Mountains, separating them from the rest of the country. Even so they manage to exude their influence on the Northern lands and march through the natural causeways between the mountains. The lands are always boiling hot in the daytime and freezing cold in the night time, though various oasis's sit across it's desert plains, the largest being near the eastern city of Bariyye. They are led by Sultan Hakim, one of the youngest leaders of all of the Kingdoms.

The Sarranid Sultanate thrives on slave trade, buying and selling prisoners from Bandits and Slave traders. The hub of this activity is in the city of Durquba where huge Desert lands to each side of it make sure that slaves usually die if they attempt to escape.

Their army consists of powerful Archers and great mounted infantry - their horsemen will often march forward and do most of the damage to an army before the archers rain down torrents of arrows upon invaders from afar. They get most of their horses from the plains of the Khergit Khanate, as the two nations are well tied together through the slave trade of Durquba and the marauding slavers of the Khergit.

Ethnically, the Sarranid Sultanate are very similar to the native people of the United Arab Emirates.

The Kingdom of Swadia is often considered to be the oldest of the Kingdoms and is led by King Harlaus. The Kingdom is steeped in Imperial history, with the area around their capital 'Praven' (Which was also the old capital of the Empire) being covered in the ruins of the Calrad Empire. They believe that they shoudl be the ones who rule the rest of Calradia as they are the ones who are most related to the old line of rulers.

They tend to fight with very powerful cavalry (Arguably the best in the country) and with crossbows that are also, arguably unreliable. Whilst being very large, the leaders of the country have often been subjected to ignorance of the common Swadian people and many times some towns have risen up against their lords, killing them before being executed themselves by King Harlaus.

They are ethnically similar to medieval French citizens and generally follow a stereotype of being very pompous and loathing of the other - in their eyes - lesser Kingdoms. They are also the richest nation of the 6.

The Kingdom of Vaegirs are a powerful kingdom secluded within the North-Eastern snowy regions of Calradia. Their people are very poor, whilst their nobles are very very rich. They are lead by King Yaroglek - though his right to rule is often questioned. The Nation has borders to The Kingdom of Nords, The Khergit Khanate and the unmapped lands of Thonf, where numerous tribes reside - according to old stories they ride upon wolves as big as horses and axes with blades larger than children. The Vaegir's have history entrenched in marriage between the Nords and the Swadians and believe that it is these marriages that make them have the most right to rule over the land.

Their archers are arguably the best in the country, able to shoot at huge distances due to the bows - crafted from the thick wood that makes up the trees of the northernmost area of the Kingdom. However, they have poor defensive capabilities and often times they have been raided by bandits and the Nomads of Thonf. However, their offensive capabilities have often reclaimed these lands, though this is the reason why their people are so poor and undefended.

They are ethnically similar to Eastern Europeans and Russians and have a heavy dislike for the Khergit Khanate and The Kingdom of Nords.

The Kingdom of Rhodoks is ruled by King Graveth and was originally part of the Kingdom of Swadia, but the Rhodoks rebelled and founded their own kingdom. They border with the Kingdom of Swadia and they both have a heavy dislike of each other. The country has a Mediterranean-Alpine environment, being hot and lush whilst being composed of highlands. The region is described as very picturesque and very beautiful. The Kingdom itself is almost as rich as the Kingdom of Swadia and is also entrenched in Imperial history.

They grow rich on their wine industry, an industry which focuses mainly in Veluca and Yalen, whilst Jelkala focuses on its olive industry. The country is subject to hot and lovely summers and cool and wet winters and never experience snowfall. They have in the past been known to go to war with the Sarranid Sultanate and the country is known to dislike the slave trade - often buying slaves just to set them free.

They are ethnically similar to Northern Italians, Southern Germans and Swiss people. They dislike the Swadians and Sarranid Sultanate with a passion.

The Khergit Khanate is a faction of Calradia ruled by Sanjar Khan.

In contrast to the lush heartlands of Calradia, the great steppes to the south are a vast region of dry grassland. With harsh weather, and little resources of wood or ore, the one thing found in abundance are the flocks of horses that live both wild and domestically. It is in this arid waste that one can find the Khergits, a semi-nomadic race of hunters and horsemen, who much like their steppe horses, are lean, hardy, swift and temperamental.

The Khergits are a people steeped in complicated principles of family, friendship, and personal honor. To make a Khergit a friend is to receive a lifelong ally; to anger one is to create a mortal enemy.

Militarily, one cannot think of the Khergits without thinking of the thunder of hooves. Horses are a staple of life for the Khergit, and children learn to ride almost as soon as they learn to walk. They are also famous for their skill with the bow while mounted, with skilled warriors capable of delivering bow shots at a full gallop that many archers would find difficult while standing still. Tales are frequently told by would-be invaders of having their superior numbers whittled down by galloping Khergit archers, until they are weak enough to be destroyed by blade and axe when the horsemen close for the kill.

The Steppes border on the Cliffs of Balmatesh, where the land cuts away to the churning Angiac Bay, formed from the curvature of the ending steppes and the icy mountain region of Thonf.

They are ethnically similar to the people of Central and Eastern Asia.

Thonf is mostly an icy wasteland residing the Valley of Armenna. It is dominated by Nomadic tribes of god knows what number, who regularly go to war across the mountains for food, territory and honour. They occasionally raid the Kingdom of Vaegirs, though due to the lack of numbers the raiding parties have (they are mostly comprised of one singular tribe) they are easily routed and pushed back to the mountains. Most of their land is uncharted as it is believed that only the Thonfian tribes know the lay of the land and how to farm and use it to their advantage.

In legend, it is said that the great tribes of Thonf tame huge horse sized Timber Wolves and ride them into battle. From recorded history, it is written that the Thonfians usually ambush armies with large numbers - men and women running at troops either clad in furs and steel or completely nude and covered in bright ice blue paint. They scream as they run into battle and they have been described as terrifying.

The Nomadic tribes are described to be ethnically similar to the Picts and Angles.

The Kingdom of Aezal lies off of the Western Coast of Calradia, separated by the Bezan sea, and is itself not a part of the country, though it was once part of the Empire. It is led by King Eoric and is host to a variety of unique life - the King himself rides upon a huge lion as big as a Shire Horse. Their country prides itself in spice and gem trade, becoming richer than even Swadia. They have no quarrels with slave labour but don't tend to use it as they do not need to. The country is a lot smaller than Calradia but is almost very powerful. It shares a similar environment to that the Rhodoks have, yet it is a lot more forgiving in the winter, with small rain showers landing over a long period instead of almost instantly.

The country also prides itself on its military power, it's naval fleet unrivalled, even defeating invading Nord forces back in it's old history. Not only priding itself on its military, the country is also the home of the Arts, keeping out of the warring nature of the other Kingdoms, Aezal spends its time cultivating glory in the form of historical recordings, paintins, monuments and beautiful buildings designed to last for aeons.

The country also is home to some of the greatest Brothels within the known world, with a common phrase across Calradia and the surrounding lands being 'Ain't nothing like an Aezaline whore, a flask full of Velucan wine and some Roasted Wercheg Beef in your belly.'

Aezaline soldiers are very similar to Roman when regarding organisation, tactics and Armaments, preferring large square shields and tactics that involve moving as a group in order to get closer to the enemy in order to cause damage.

The Aezalines are ethnically similar to Greek people and their architecture mirrors Greek and Roman design, though they do not utilize bronze as the Greeks did.

Balion sits across a small sea named 'The Valarn Gates', separating itself from the much bigger country of Aezal. It shares an almost identical environment to the larger country, though the bottom half of Balion is comprised of a desert and its Southern and South-Eastern coast is dominated by 'The Furan Mountains', a huge range of Active Volcanoes. It is due to this volcanic influence that the country suffers from half a year of complete darkness, as Ash tends to build up until the southern winds from the Sarranid Desert blows the ash upwards and through the Norhter winds (which stop the ash from reaching Aezal.

The country is sparsely populated though it is extremely lush and good for farming - this is due to the fact that the land that is actually usable is very finite. The country itself has an average wealth, though it's small military might is huge as their men have high protein diets due to the large amount of Craskovan hogs in the country. (The hogs are around twice the size of a normal pig and as big as an adolescent Cow.)

The Balionites mainly wear leather clothes made from the hide of Craskovan hogs as they are easy to access, though the nobles of the island often wear silk from Aezal and furs from mainland Calradia.

They are ruled over by Tu'i'Ailani, the Warrior Chief. They are ethnically similar to Maori or Polynesian people and have a custom of tattooing intricate designs on themselves to intimidate and impress. Many other countries look upon them as savages, though they are on the same technological level as the Khergit Khanate.

Not much is known about Nordland other than the fact that the Nords left it long ago. it is located far in the Northern regions of the planet, across the Alai sea and beyond the known and documented world. It is unknown as to whether or not there are any more Nords that continue to live there, though it is considered unlikely as the continent was described as so inhospitable that the discovery of Calradia ushered the Nords towards the new country.

To the East of the Sarranid Sultanate lies of river-covered land of Geroia. Whilst it should be a desert, it is gifted by multiple rivers all over its land which stops the intense heat drying out the land. It is subject to monsoon like rains every year and floods massively once a year. The country itself is considered poor, though noblemen pay accomplished engineers vast sums of money if they can engineer a steadfast defence the flood waters around their fiefs.

The nation unlike the other was never part of the Calrad empire and only comes into Calradian politics due to it's trade with the Kingdoms, trading Rice, Flax and Ivory for more substantial products like meats and wine. The area itself as largely lawless, though the country seems to practise a governing system that is almost reflective of a successful anarchic state - requiring no laws or law enforcers. Whilst this does not take away from the fact that there are often bandit parties across its wetlands, they are quickly dispatched by local militia, as all citizens are taught how to wield weapons from the moment they learn to walk.

The country lacks of a governor and is instead mostly ruled in an odd unified tribe system, with the countries settlements acting as one nation, but each of them being governed by individual chiefs. Matters of war are discussed together in a council, though the country is usually very reluctant to go to war with anyone. The most powerful leader is usually declared as the 'Count' of Geroia and he calls the chieftains together to meet on matters that regard them all. Though this does not give him any power beyond this, most of the Geroians are respectful of the Count, whoever he is.

Geroians seem to resemble a mixture of Southern Europeans and Zulu people, most of the country having been colonised by Calrad's back in the days of the empire, though never managing to subjugate the powerful tribes.

This is just a summary of the actual Nations of Calradia and those that are outside of its plains. Some of the countries listed don't actually show up in the map but I mean if anyone would like to revise the map for me and possible add the new countries in (I know that some people on this website actually have the know how to do so) then I would be really thankful. Hopefully this just gives an outline for the world that I'm looking into and I hope that some of my modifications and ideas of the realms improves and adds some realism to Calradia! :)

P.S. I might have the first chapter tonight or tomorrow, this took me a long time to get together.