The Continent of Ashelande

Warrior-Kingdom of Langoholt

Short: Langoholt
Adj: Langoholtian
Government: Monarchy
Capital:
Major Locations:

Langoholt is cold, dry, rocky, and desolate, very much a Scandinavian geography. It is the second oldest nation on the continent, and it's people are hardy, stout, and fiercely proud of their heritage. Their stubborn pride causes them to look down on the people and affairs of the nations outside of their lands, and they aren't keen on taking in visitors (although they happily trade with Thrandian merchants). Langoholt is proud of it's warriors, and none are as mighty as their Warrior-Queen, Queen Zalgya. Most Langoholtians are hunters, fishermen, herdsmen, and miners, and Langoholt stonemasonry and blacksmithing rivals even the best guilds in Bachlumya.
Kingdom of Zaldos

Zaldos is also rocky and cold, although not to the same degree as Langoholt. The nation is built into the very stones of the mountains they rule over, with mighty fortresses sitting on top of the mountain peaks and tunneling into their roots. Zaldosian military has always been formidable, and in recent history (around 60 years ago) it completely conquered the neighboring states of Patenia and Ludendanum, that used to lie to the west of the Zaldosian mountains. Now, having captured their much more fertile lowlands, the Zaldosians have had better access to a more varied supply of food, and their population has been growing. With bigger population comes a bigger, more varied army, and Zaldos has been moving it's armies within it's borders of late...

Thrandian League

Short: Thrandia
Adj: Thrandian
Government: City-States
Capital: 
Major Locations: 

Thrandia is temperate and fertile, with the mountains blocking off a good deal of the cold that comes from the northwest. Thrandians have built many long-lasting roads, interconnecting the continent with them, and have built up a reputation as proficient merchants and traders. Thrandia, in the distant past, used to be a single nation, ruled over by a powerful and wise king, whom records indicate lived much, much longer than humans normally do. He was rumored to have cracked the secret to immortality. However, he did eventually pass, after many centuries, and his kingdom fractured into numerous city states, ruled over by the wealthy. Although through history the cities have bickered amongst themselves, they still uniformly identify as Thrandian, and have been known to band together and unite in times of peril. The recent conquerings of the states of Patenia and Ludendanum have solidified this unity, and the city states have begun to organize a single military entity to help defend their lands, in case Zaldos decides that it still needs more land. Many Thrandians that live in the crowded cities are artists in some form or another; most of the paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art are made in Thrandia and sold abroad, and the vast majority of city folk clothing is also made in Thrandia.

Holy Bachlumyan Order

Short: Bachlumya
Adj: Bachlumyan
Government: Theocracy
Capital:
Major Locations: 

Bachlumya is the oldest nation on the continent, with the first records in it's libraries dating back over 3000 years. It's climate is hot and humid, until one gets to the mountains, which rise up very quicky, and become drier and colder the higher the altitude. Bachlumya, unlike the other nations, is a Theocracy, ruled over by the oldest and the wisest monks, elected from the numerous mountaintop monasteries that sit on the mountaintops and plateaus. It is also the academic center of the continent, known for it's magnificent universities, where a diverse palette of subjects are studied and debated. One can find scholars pursuing studies in theology, astronomy, philosophy, alchemy, linguistics, mathematics, divination, medicine, and the magical arts. It's guilds, too, are diverse and legendary in their skill; carpenters, masons, textiles, pottery, and metallurgy, and and Bachlumyan craftsmanship is some of the finest in the land. As diverse as their industries may seem, Bachlumyans are an inherently peaceful people, and relatively few of them take up the path of warfare; as a result, a large proportion of Bachlumyan's military force consists of mercenary corps, hired from Mategaus, Thrandia, and Zaldos, with which they use to guard their borders.

Led by the Council of Grandmasters of the Holy Bachlumyan Order, the kingdom prospers in it's tidy spot, sitting proudly atop its mountain peaks and plateaus. Being the font of knowledge comes with it's downsides, however; Bachlumyan folk are a peaceful lot, more likely to take up the mantle of academia than that of war. As a result, the nation has a comparatively small standing army. It's western neighbor, Mategaus, has always been on good terms with Bachlumya, but it's southern front borders the desolate Nagaivien Badlands, a reeking cesspool of bandits, thieves, evil wizards, and other people you generally wouldn't invite inside if they came knocking on your door. The Bachlumyan's solution is to hire sellswords, quite a lot of them, and station them at the border under the command of the official Bachlumyan officers. This strategy, along with being in a relatively difficult position to assail geographically, has ensured the Theocracy a position of stable peace and prosperity for many many years.

Bachlumya's climate is very similar to Tibet. There's plenty of very tall mountains, with flat plateaus, and it's quite dry and cold. The tallest mountains house monasteries and temples, where monks of the Bachlumyan faith reside. The biggest cities rest lower down the mountains, where the climate is much less harsh. At the feet of the mountains it's quite temperate, with lush, thick foliage, tall trees as old as the mountains, and rolling hills. As there are many roads leading to and from Bachlumya, and it's concentration of universities, it's a rather cosmopolitan nation, with people of many backgrounds making it their home.

Kingdom of Mategaus

Short: Mategaus
Adj: Mategaun
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Capital: Aeliaborg
Major Locations: Baldwole Fort, Larksberg

Finally, there is Mategaus, the youngest of all the nations. Mategaus has a temperate climate, with most of it's land covered in sprawling forests. For a large part of the continent's history, what is today Mategaus was actually entirely uninhabited and unclaimed. As a result, Mategaun lands have less infrastructure and settling compared to the other nations, and most of it's lands still run wild and free. Brigands find it easy to hide in the Mategaun forests, and the kingdom has developed a keen military force, prized for it's disciplined knights, who follow the code of chivalry, in order to protect it's people from the bandit threats. In it's lifetime, the Mategaus royal line has never once changed, with the same family having ruled over it by direct succession since it's conception. This is unlike the thrones of Zaldos and Langoholt, which have been forced to be passed to cousins or to other families entirely on occasion. Currently, popular support for it's monarchy has started to dwindle, as the king makes more and more questionable decisions. There is also a narrow strip of no-mans land, separating most of Bachlumya and Mategaus's border. The Naveigian badlands are inhospitable, dry, and dangerous. Many brigands and bands of thieves make the badlands their home, and the place has long been a land of exile, where criminals and dangerously insane people are sent off to. In particular, wizards of less savory pursuits tend to make their homes there, erecting tall stone towers and giving themselves impressive titles. Very few people from their old countries bother them there, and many of the brigands are more than happy to serve as lackeys and henchmen for a handful of gold. The place has long been a thorn in both Bachlumya and Mategaus's sides, and much of their military strength is spent guarding the edges of the badlands, and booting the groups of brigands back when they get too jumpy and excited and try to cross the border en masse.

Mategaus is a country long ruled by a monarchy. The common people know nothing better and are told at a young age that the monarchs are directly chosen by the great Goddess. They blindly believe everything their current ruler sets as “laws” and pay large taxes every month for “the benefit of the people.” While some complain, nobody makes any attempt to resist as their glorious leaders protect them from brigands and neighboring countries. The last hundred years have been a “golden age.” Even after taxes the common folk always had enough to eat, paved roads, and well equipped places of worship. That is until seeds of doubt were sown by a rebel force. A group called “The New Republic” started sending spokesmen to every village in the kingdom. Some villages welcomed the spokesmen with open arms, their tranquility turning to outrage as they realized the truth behind their beloved monarchs, but some rejected the spokesmen outright, disgusted with the sinister lies that reached their ears. While these two extremes did occur, they were a rare case and most villages fell in between the two. While not accepted by the general public, The New Republic had achieved their goal, civil unrest had settled into its new home.