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Westwynd

From MassiveCraft Wiki
(Redirected from Ashal Islands)

This page is a sub-page of the Geography page which records all major regions of the Alorian world, and explains roughly what each Nation or area is like. Westwynd in particular is in the western direction of Regalia, home to many Ailor, Asha, and Teledden realms, each with varied and often conflicting history. Some of these pages may be tied to more expansive lore, which is linked within their respective table rows. Below is a piece of the Geography map cut out to show the relation between all the nations geographically.

Name Description

Sovereign Ithania

Sovereign Ithania is one of the most important financial centers in the world, and commonly held to be the wealthiest country in the world. It is inhabited by a majority Ailor, with a sizeable minority of Maraya and Teledden, as well as Asha populations. Ithania is incredibly wealthy due to its mineral and gem mines, as well as its high culture exports such as luxury clothing and jewelry. Sovereign Ithania is the home of the Ithanian Ailor and ruled by King Florent I de Gosselin who has rapidly militarized the nation since his ascension to the throne. Ithania now sits at a crossroads, trying to preserve the balance between both the Regalian Empire which they are a federal part of, and the Allorn Empire, to which they have millennia worth of history. Ithania has many migrants traveling back and forth between Regalia and it, and as such, Ithania is a good backstory homeland for any new Character.

Elvenaam, Visois, and Andois

The three Principalities of Elvenaam, Visois and Andois are commonly grouped together and called l’Elvellen, as there is little granular difference between the three. They are ruled by the Princess Charlotte II de Varlaspan, Princess Marianna I ca-d’Or, and Prince Essenäam Elveïon respectively, with a split population between Ailor and Teledden, as well as minority Asha populations. The three principalities were the scene of the so called Elven War that Regalia waged in 302 AC against the local independent Teledden Principalities. Regalia won the war, and forcibly expelled a majority of the Teledden population, to be replaced with Ailor migrants. Presently, peace and tranquility have largely returned, and the region is moderately wealthy, styling its economy after its much larger neighbor Sovereign Ithania, which dominates local politics.

Kezzeret Sabu

Kezzeret Sabu is one of the Eronidas homeland, distinctly home of the Ahâzu Eronidas. Kezzeret Sabu is a Kingdom ruled by High King Makshimun, and is generally considered a very poor country with a small population. What it lacks in material wealth however, it more than makes up in warriors, as Kezzeret Sabu’s Eronidas warriors are some of the hardiest and war-experienced soldiers found in the world. Kezzeret Sabu does not formally recognize borders of any surrounding Empires, and even though they have positive relations with the Regalian Empire now, they still frequently invade both Regalian subjects and the Allorn Empire in attempts to expand their border and secure more land for their people to live in. Kezzeret Sabu itself is incredibly mountainous, lacking open sweeping plains for agriculture, and as such most of its economy is derived from war-loot.

No Man’s Land

No Man’s Land is exactly what the name implies, nobody owns it, and nobody wants to have it. No Man’s Land begins on the southern border of Sovereign Ithania with the sheer cliff wall that is taller than the tallest buildings known in Regalia, creating a massive plateau that houses a huge jungle. The jungle extends all the way south to Kezzeret Sabu and Lusits, where the boundary is defined by what is and isn’t inhabitable land. No Man’s Land is generally considered inhabitable, it is incredibly densely populated with tropical plant life, and between the canopies and branches are thousands of species of insects and other jungle monsters that impart a quick death on any would-be explorer. Even the hardiest of Allar explorers, immune to disease and toxin, have succumbed to the extreme heat, humidity, and danger from the local wildlife, making this probably one of the most unlivable regions on the planet.

Contested Land

Contested Land is exactly what the name implies, no-one lives there and no-one owns it. It is a region of land that is claimed by Regalia, the Allorn Empire, and Kezzeret Sabu, and a region that still frequently sees skirmishing between the Ailor, Teledden and Eronidas forces respectively. The land was once sparsely inhabited forest land, but because it is the only point at which the realms of three distinct Races meet, it has been hotly contested as their national frontiers. No Man’s Land was the scene of the Ranger Crisis in 295 AC, which resulted in an uneasy truce between the three sides that have continued to violate the treaty since. The Elven War in the l’Elvellen Principalities is often seen as a continuation from Regalia’s side attempting to create a more advantageous position in the region to invade Kezzeret Sabu from, but since Regalia’s more positive relations with the Eronidas under Emperor Alexander I’s rule, it is unlikely that open conflict between the Ailor and Eronidas will erupt again.

Lusits

Lusits is a Kingdom very much styled after Ithania, but lacking one critical component, that being Teledden continuity and stability. While Ithania was born in the peaceful transfer of power from Teledden to now Ailor, Lusits was the center of a uprising and the subsequent massacre of the Teledden population by its Asha and Ailor minorities after the collapse of the Allorn Empire. Lusits is ruled by Queen Juliana I de Lobo, nicknamed the Mad Queen due to her bouts of insanity and arbitrary policies. Lusits itself is a hotbed of criminality with major criminal organizations controlling vast sectors of the society. It is however also home to one of the largest merchant fleets in the world, with the port of Portimão acting as a regional staple port and seeing even more merchant shipping than most of Ithania’s major export centers. Lusits is formally a federal part of the Regalian Empire, and its queen is married to the Emperor in Regalia, though stays in her homeland. There are frequent waves of work-motivated migrants traveling from Lusits to Regalia, so it is a good backstory homeland for any new Character.

La Frontierra

La Frontierra is not really a country or formal state, but more a collection of smaller autonomous fiefs and military districts that together make up what the Ailor refer to as the Expansion Buffer. Ailor in general are always on the lookout for more lands to settle, and the forest of La Frontierra are often considered prime real estate for new cities to be founded, if only the massive forests would be cut down. As such, many of the regional fiefs do exactly that, La Frontierra is the place where the majority of the Regalian Empire’s timber comes from, and also where the majority of its colonial efforts are focused, much to the chagrin of the Allorn Empire who considers it their backyard and still lays claim to the land.

Daen

Daen is not strictly a singular country, but more a collection of ultra-nationalist and independently minded governorates and viscounties, more commonly known as the Daendroque City States. Daen is considered part of the Regalian Empire as a federal subject, but it constantly flaunts this authority. Despite having been invaded and occupied to become part of the Empire, it never fully accepted domination, and any time the Empire seems weak, the Daen people refuse to pay their tributes and taxes, and largely expel Regalian bureaucrats in favor of their own local ones. Daen is also known as a major hot bed of illegal activities, with opiates largely banned in the Empire but not enforced in Daen, and contraband smuggling between the Allorn Empire and Regalia being very common, in both directions. Daen is also known to be incredibly bigoted to Teledden, a holdover from their repression past to the Allorn Empire, a state which is also constantly targeted by them with skirmishes in an attempt to provoke a conflict between Regalia and it.

Amontaar

Amontaar is perhaps one of the smallest important country in the world, with a very small population, but a global impact on politics. Amontaar is ruled by the aging Sol Emmensëi of the Fanhamsaal dynasty, who have ruled it uninterrupted since the founding of the allorn Empire nearly 15,000 years prior. Amontaar is so incredibly important, because its rulers have adeptly kept both Regalian and Allorn encroachment at bay by playing both against each other, preserving a delicate balance. At the same time, they courted both Empires with pleasantries and services, and as such established themselves as an international hub of diplomacy. Both the Allorn and Regalian Empires do not acknowledge each other as legitimate countries, and as such, Amontaar is the only place where diplomats of either country can formally converse. Other countries also get involved in this delicate play of diplomacy, and spy agencies from all countries are quick to follow, making Amontaar a very busy place indeed. Amontaar is a great country to use as homeland for a new Elven Character traveling to Regalia, especially if they have worked in the diplomatic or spy services, or are an Allorn nationalist trying to sabotage the Empire.

Basq

The Duchy of Basq is very similar to Daen, but unlike its northern neighbor, is in fact very loyal to the Regalian Empire and has mostly done away with local crime that is inherently a holdout from the fierce independence struggle that the people had to go through three centuries prior. The Duchy of Basq is remarkably stable, largely due to its excellent Duke Alonso II Javier Ocaña who has ruled the Duchy for nearly fifty years and turned a relatively poor agricultural realm into a prosperous industrial hub. Basq is home to one of Regalia’s largest garrisons, as it is considered the frontier with the Allorn Empire, the only area in which the Regalian Empire and Allorn Empire directly touch with a single border without some sort of buffer state in between. It also borders Amontaar to the south, which is important to its trade.

Macaïaal

Macaïaal is a poor Teledden principality that suffered serious setbacks during the various Elven wars fought on the larger Teled Methen shore that this country sits on. Macaïaal was the target of some severe genocide inflicted on them by reactionary Regalian generals who tried to justify their purging with religious rhetoric. This country would have been absorbed into the Allorn Empire had it not been for Amontaar securing their independence through diplomacy, reasoning that it would be easier to control the Allorn Empire’s attempts to annex Amontaar by reducing the total border size shared with the Allorn Empire. The local Sol is, unsurprisingly, also of the Fanhamsaal dynasty, and is generally believed to be a complete puppet to the venerable Sol in Amontaar. Macaïaal brings nothing else interesting to the table, all of its plantations are ruined because of the military employment of the Mages who used to control them during the wars, and the population was severely damaged during the same conflict, with all major temples in the area being destroyed.

Khenu, Akhiza, Nakhoor, Gizkh, and Kharkoor

The five Asha nations commonly referred to as the Ashal States are a mysterious set of small nations that are all roughly independent of one another with their own Queens, but still unite together acting as a single unified force when dealing with external entities. The Ashal States are an oddity in a world of feudalism and far reaching mercantilism, in that it is one of the few fully communist states that lack formal currency and economic throughput, instead living a life of luxury and ignorance to the rest of the world brought about by the incredibly complex technology that remains operational on these islands tens of thousands of years since the collapse of the Dewamenet Empire. The Ashal States do not permit non-Asha foreigners on their shores, and tightly regulate the arrival of Magic, meaning the islands are also sometimes called the Un-Magical Lands. However, foreign merchants and artisans are allowed to live and work at a special Fair-Port called Hesepah which is exempt from this otherwise extreme exclusion.

Èriu-Innis

Èriu-Innis is the original homeland of the Gallovian Ailor. Even though there is now a region called Gallovia in the Regalian Archipelago, this region was called such by settlers from Èriu-Innis, an ancient Ailor Kingdom that followed a different trajectory of development from the conventional Velheim Fornoss realms surrounding it. Èriu-Innis is an island wealthy in emerald mines, that inevitably end up turning the country into a dependable to greater Empires. For much of its history, the Regalian Empire all but occupied the country, forcing the King Lorcan III MacKenna to accept Regalia simply taking the emerald mines for itself. In more recent years, Èriu-Innis was invaded by the Allorn Empire who took over the mines instead and took the King hostage in their homeland, before it was invaded once more by the Asha Corsair Fleets, who have essentially turned the country into a strip mine for resources, while ignoring the plight and poverty of the locals.

Mirtasil, Arvosil, Maartasil and Solacil

These four countries along with Etosil are generally referred to as the Silerian Chain, though Etosil is covered separately due to its importance. The Silerian Chain was the eastern furthest boundary of the Allorn Empire in the old days, with Maartasil in particular acting as the gateway to the inner Allorn Sea beyond it. These nations are poor and rocky in geography, with a mostly Ailor population, but they are a unique oddity as even though they are part of the Regalian Empire, they are all republics, which is rare for federal subjects of the Empire. Solacil is the only Silerian country with a sizable Teledden population, as it is home to some of the best wine plantations in the Regalian Empire. Maartasil is home to the Kilarallis port, a place where all Oblation raid spoils were brought during the days of the Allorn Empire to formally pass into the boundaries of the Allorn Empire, from where they were shipped to the other regions. While the city is now free, it still has remnants of its past in the huge mountain-sized statues of chained conquered gods entering the port, and the deep soul pits where unsuitable Oblation Pearls were discarded. The Silerian Chain nations are poor in resources and often barren in vegetation.

Etosil

Etosil is part of the Silerian Chain, though it is often classified separately due to its historical and religious importance. Etosil was once a sparcely populated mountainous land formally claimed by the Regalian Empire but never invaded or occupied. During the first Schism in the Unionist Religious Community, the Evintarian faithful were expelled from the Empire and chose to settle on Etosil, where they had a rough beginning. Eventually, their community would thrive, and the Supreme Patriarch of the Evintarian Religious Communinity would become its ruler. The state eventually reconciled with the Regalian Empire at the threat of an invasion, though has fared quite well since rejoining, having been given local autonomy, and even being the only formal theocracy inside the Regalian Empire. Etosil has a serious Undead problem for unclear reasons, with Undead revolts and attacks being commonplace in history until more recent events where the Undead Bone King and the Supreme Patriarch signed a formal agreement of reconciliation that ended the bloodshed. The Undead are now part of Etosian society formally and have been fully integrated, making Etosil the only Undead-friendly nation in the Regalian Empire, and a good starting point for any Ordial-themed Character as backstory homeland.