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Message: <blockquote data-quote="johndaw16" data-source="post: 2203979" data-attributes="member: 12033">Ok so the next country that I'm going to detail is the Empire of Nor.  Hopefully this will be one in a quick string of updates that will finish off the Western Crescent region. The Empire of Nor The once great Empire of Nor possesses a dubious claim to the station of the first nation of the Western Crescent.  History tells us that roughly 600 years ago Taur-Ren Nor rose to lead his fledging coastal nation on an epic campaign of conquest and domination that would swallow nearly all of the Western Crescent.  And so was the Empire of Nor, the child of Taur-Ren the Undying Emperor born.  At its apex the Noren Empire stretched across the Western Crescent encompassing the entire region except for the N. and S. extremes.  However, the ravages of time have taken their toll on the Empire.  Currently Nor consists of only the original heartland of the Empire.  Nor's borders to the N. are marked by the Calay Penisula, the Mist Wood, and the Tangle.  To the S. the Emperor's writ ends at the feet of the Red Hills at Civdell.  The coasts of the shallow Crater Bay form the W. border.  Nor extends only 50-75 miles inland to the E. up the rivers Teshen, Torbay, and Sweet Water.  Since the death of Taur-Ren the nation of Nor has been under the rule of a Tolenite theocracy.  The populous is entirely human and worship of Tolen is mandatory.  The current Emperor is Torleu Barhur and he has been in the seat of power for the past 68 years.  Under the dynamic leadership of the distant Torlea Nor had begun once more to flex its muscles, pursuing aggressive wars against her neighbors for the past two decades.  The most successful campaign to date has been the conquering of the Pylos region of the Duchy of Abelmane.  Current opinion and rumors still maintain that the Emperor plans to reclaim the Duchy as a wayward province in the future in spite of military distractions elsewhere across the Western Crescent.  The Noren heartland itself is a vibrant and wealthy region, abundant in natural resources and supporting a highly urbanized population.  Trade flows in and out of the country via the major ports of Nor, Pell, Luxor, and Newport.  Most of the coastal lands overlooking the bay have long been under cultivation producing wines, olives, spices, and fruits.  To the S. the Red Hills produce moderate amounts of fine ores, lumber is harvested from the forest on the northern marches.  Great plantations dot the rivers supporting huge cotton fields.  The cities support trading companies, banks, giant textile operations, and large numbers of sea-based enterprises.    Major Cities/Towns1. Nor: the capital and eternal throne of the Emperor, built along steep shores of the Teshen R. as it empties into Crater Bay, supports all areas of trade, industry and crafts, boasts a number of the regions finest Tolenite churches, monastaries, and universities, considered a center theology and learning, extremely wealthy city, decadant, beautiful, and exceptional architecture, approx. 85,000-95,000 residents2. Pell: the jewel of the S. Empire, center for wine and oil production, second oldest city of the Empire, the city is built upon the steep bluffs of Crater Bay in stacked terraces, vaults, passages and catacombs honeycomb the cliffs behind the city, renowned center of art and sculpture, approx. 65,000-70,000 residents3. Luxor: the naval capital of the Empire, completely centered upon nautical endeavors, third oldest Imperial city, built upon the orders of Taur-Ren, completely artificial harbor built along the shores of the Crater Bay, houses the Imperial naval academy along with 3/4 of the Imperial navy, known for its salted crestfin fish and endless abalone beds, approx. 50,000-55,000 residents4. Newport: smallest of Nor's port cities, mainly trades grains, beer, and breads with the rest of the Empire, the finest beers come from Brinden further up the Torbay R., other trade goods include lumber shipments from the N. Empire and salt harvested from the Orti Saltflats, influential theological university was recently founded in the city with Torleu as its patron, has just began trading with the newly annexed city of Pylos, approx. 27,000-35,000 residents5. Civdell: the most southern city still in Noren control, crucial to the Empire as the main source of iron and copper ores, constant mining operations in the Red Hills keep the city well supplied with ore, a sizable garrison is always present to protect the city, the city is expected to become even more strategically important as the conflict with Anglastraad draws on, approx. 23,000-25,000 residents6. Brinden & Halmay: these two towns are the two most notable frontier towns of the Empire, Halmay is a major lumber town on the outskirts of the Mist Wood, large herds of horses roam the nearby Calay Peninsula and are brought into Halmay to be broken in, Brinden is a river town that serves the many grain plantations that dot the upper Torbay R., Brinden is renowned for its breweries and slave markets, slavers make constant raids to the E. capturing the nomads that make their home on the Amon Lornoth plateau, approx. 1,300-1,700 residents each I'll detail the major NPCs next post or as soon as I am able to flesh them out.  John</blockquote>

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