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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Shadow" data-source="post: 1491462" data-attributes="member: 16760">Nations of Novalis:Roughly from north to south:Kingdom of MelendorCapital:  Omentilmo (Elvish) or Waymeet (Melendrian)Head of State:  King Menellin Skysong of House FionbarrMedium of Exchange:  "Silverleaves", the Elvish "coin", are legal tender.  The Crown also mints more conventional gold "standers"Coat of Arms:  Vert, a Sword argent dexter and a Tree or sinister.Coat of Arms of the Order of the White Sword:  Gules, a Sword argent.Coat of Arms of the Order of the Golden Tree:  Azure, a Tree or.Coat of Arms of the Order of the Last Stand:  Vert, twenty Spears or.Melendor is not strictly part of Novalis, for it was never part of either Imperium, at any rate for long.  Nevertheless its history and culture are so deeply intertwined with the New Provinces that it may be treated as continuous with them.  Melendor is perhaps the most purely Kelhic nation anywhere this side of the Elfwoods, though they have long since had influxes of Thuler and Aurelian influence.  The Melendrian language can be regarded as a dialect of Kelhic with a great many loan words from the languages of its neighbors, as well as Elvish.  Elvish, in fact, is regarded as a language of learning and subtlety equal, if not superior, to Aurelian.  It is one of the official languages of the kingdom, though only the learned speak it.The noble houses of Melendor are all descended from the Twenty Who Stood.  However, they have a rather gauche custom of egalitarianism that would never be stood for in Hadron - for the Melendrians say, "Noble is as noble does," meaning that a noble who does not serve his people will be deposed by them and replaced with another more to their liking.  This right of revolt, as it might be called, in enshrined in all their customs and is freely recognized by the noble classes themselves;  even the King may be so deposed, though this has only been attempted twice, and only once successfully.  Furthermore, the noble houses do not pass on their titles by primogeniture, as is proper, but through the unique custom of tanistry - that is, the commons select for themselves who will rule them from among their dead lord's relatives.  (Perhaps it is as well, after all, since the nobility actually marry commoners with regrettable frequency!)  The King, it should be added, is selected by the great houses from among themselves - so the monarchy does not pass on by blood at all!  I say "King" and "lord" but in fact ruling queens and ladies are far from unknown.  (Note also that upon coronation, the new King or Queen is required to enter the Elfwoods to renew the Pact of Friendship at the Meeting Stone.  There they are given an Elvish name, which they usually translate into a second Melendrian name.  A few have never returned;  and none has ever returned unchanged.)It must be admitted, however, that these egalitarian customs do tend to straitly reinforce the pattern of noblesse oblige which the younger generation of Hadronese nobles too often lamentably neglect.  Melendrian lords have an unmatched "common touch", sometimes even vulgarly so, to the point of engaging in a trade.The famous School of Loresong (in the town of the same name, or Noldes-lin in Elvish) is one of the premier schools of magic in the north, the only real rival to the Academy of Vis.  Both sorcerers and wizards study there, and indeed, Melendrians are infamous in magical circles for blending both arts.  The School also does tolerably well in all other fields of study, though of course not so well as our own glorious University.A word must be said about the Melendrian orders of knighthood, stemming from a different cast of mind than our own glorious Hadronese chivalric tradition - more northern, more Kelhic, more earthy perhaps.  The three most famous Orders have their coats given above.  The White Sword knights are specially pledged to resist injustice and indeed, to seek it out.  (Several have even made names for themselves as monster-hunters in the Waste.)  Those of the Golden Tree are pledged, subtly differently, to protect the weak - which can include caring for the sick and other acts of charity, as well as the clash of arms.  (Those benefactors of the state who are not of a martial bent are often made Knights-Companion of the Golden Tree.)  The Knights of the Last Stand are the special agents of the Melendrian crown - there are only twenty of them at any one time, and none are less than fearfully competent.  They are pledged never to back down from battle joined, though they may refuse challenges if they would interfere with their crown mission.Patriarchal DesmesneCapital:  LuciaHead of State:  Theophilus III, Servant of the Light, Bishop of Lucia, and Patriarch of the North. (Or sometimes, "of New Aurelia".  Also, the title "Guide of the Desmesne" is proper, but rarely used.)Medium of Exchange:  Desmesne "guilders", Patriarchal "luxes"Coat of Arms of the Patriarchal See:  Sable, a Candle argent and enflamed or.Coat of Arms of the Desmesne:  Sable, a cross saltire argent.Coat of Arms of the City of Lucia:  Sable, a cross saltire or.Coat of Arms of the Holy Legion:  Vert, a cross saltire or.Old Coat of Arms of the City of Enmarina:  Party per chief wavy vert and azure, a Star argent chief.(Note:  The cross saltire, in Novalian heraldry, especially when used on a black or green field, represents the "glory" (a technical theological term) of the Light spreading to the four corners of the world.  Likewise, one never sees a black cross saltire on a white or gold field - the connotation is blasphemous.)Originally, Lucia, the City of Light, was called Enmarina, the City in the Sea, for it is built among a myriad of canals as the Trueflood river reaches the ocean.  The city's magnificent harbor made it a trade hub, and its setting was so reminiscent of the south that an Aurelian colony was planted there, over a common class of Thuler burghers.  It is probably this strong Classical Aurelian presence that moved the Grand Synod to move the Patriarchal residence there after New Aurelia was razed in the Darknight Devastation;  also, the Bishops of Enmarina had long had a reputation for learning and orthodoxy.The noble families of Enmarina did not sit entirely comfortably with the elevation of their Bishop.  Many of them had been decimated in the Demon War, and in the absence of an Emperor, the Patriarch of the North was the most potent symbol of authority around.  The people constantly turned to him for leadership and guidance, despite his protestations of unworldliness.  It is generally conceded by scholars that his protestations were quite sincere, and just as futile.Fortunately, Lucis IV turned out to be a gifted administrator despite himself.  He got rid of the most troublesome nobles by ceding them land belonging to extinct families of  Tullia province in exchange for their rights within the city proper.  The rest he won over with holiness, shrewdness, and charm, and by the liberal delegation of authority.  His work was consolidated by later Patriarchs (not all, it must be said, as scrupulous and holy as he);  by the time the dust settled, most of the old Province of Tullia, the northernmost of Nova Imperium, held allegiance to the Patriarchal See - from the Trueflood clear to Hadron's Wall.The Patriarchs have reigned over the Desmesne with a very light hand;  they really have more interesting things to do and there is no real threat to their authority.  In effect, the Desmesne is a very loose confederation of cities and estates that look to the Patriarch as unifying symbol.  Lucia rarely interferes in local affairs, save (most often) when a local ruler treats the commons too harshly, or if there is a question of heresy.The city of Lucia itself is another matter.  It is, as everyone knows, a veritable hive and maze of bureaucracy and confusion.  First there is the whole mechanism of the Patriarchal See itself - the motherhouses of the Orders, the Juris Ecclesia, the Theologate, the Courts of Inquiry, the Legations, and the Holy Legion.  Then there are the offices that oversee the Desmesne itself, which the Patriarchs have desired to keep separate from purely ecclesiastical concerns.  There are the elaborate web of noble and mercantile families that manage the city itself.  Finally there is the constant and bewildering stream of pilgrims and traders from all parts of Occida and beyond.  The frequent conflicts between city, Desmesne, and ecclesiastical law and authority means that many individuals can make a living on the fringes between - to be blunt, the place sports more coney-catchers, cutpurses, burglars, mercenaries, and other riffraff than the rest of Novalis put together.  Repeated attempts have been made to root out the undesirable elements, but they have never gotten far.  (Not least because the City Families collect some truly lucrative bribes...)The Guild of Thieves in Lucia is indeed a potent force behind the scenes, no matter how much the Patriarchs deplore it.  The Guild styles themselves and their actions in mocking and perhaps self-deprecating twisting of ecclesiastical phrases and titles.  They refer to themselves as practicing the mock-religion of "Lightening", for example, and their Guildmaster calls himself the Patriarch of the Stealth.  His lieutenants are Bishops, and so on.  Others of the less-than-savory guilds have taken on this manner of speaking;  thus one has the "Begging Brothers" on each corner, and the mercenaries call themselves the Goldy Legion.Most people in the Desmesne speak a language known as Tullian - it sounds much like Hadronese pronounced with a very thick Thulish accent.  Native speakers of Hadronese and Tullian can usually understand each other if they go slowly and often repeat themselves.  However, one is as likely to hear Aurelian on the streets of Lucia itself as anything else, given all the clerks present - the one place in Novalis where such a thing can be said.The inhabitants of Lucia see so much strangeness in a day that sorcerers and wizards do not cause them to turn a hair.  The misuse of such magics, however - especially if there is loss of life - is considered an ecclesiastical crime and punished harshly.Visian LeagueCapital:  VisHead of State:  Magister Oberlim of the Academy (unofficial)Medium of Exchange:  League "florins", Visian "grams" or "pentagrams"Coat of Arms of the Visian League:  Azure, a Pentacle or.Coat of Arms of the Academy of Vis: Azure, a Pentacle argent, surrounding an Eye or.Coat of Arms of the City of Vis:  Or,  a Pentacle gules.Old Coat of Arms of the City of Narbon:  Argent, a Tree vert.Originally Vis was simply an Imperial Free City between the provinces of Tullia and Hadron.  The Old Imperium, greatly desirous of expanding the knowledge of wizardry for the sake of the northern legions, established the Academy in the town of Narbon and directed the city's revenues toward supporting it.  While considered merely a minor frontier school during the Old Imperium, it became one of the jewels of the New, and resources were poured into it.  Over time, the Academy was given more and more rights over the city (much to some residents' dismay, but much to the enrichment of others), until it dominated life there.  The city was renamed Vis (that is, "Power"), and many wizards began to settle permanently there after being mustered out of the legions.After the Darknight Devastation, when the Dux of Hadron Province - our own beloved King Leo I the Great - proposed himself, quite logically, to his fellows as the new Emperor, it was the Visians who rejected him most soundly.  "You have not the virtus" - that is, power or manliness - "to rule over Vis," came the famous reply.  The brief and unsatisfying Magewar, while displaying great Hadronese valor, unfortunately proved them right.  The Visians were hurt enough by the attack that they signed a treaty agreeing not to make war on Hadron, so our countrymen went home as satisfied as could be managed under the circumstances.  Little did they suspect how many loopholes the Visians would read into the treaty...They did not make war.  Not directly.  But they formed the League - banding together with other cities of northern Hadron Province against the power of the Lion Throne.  They have also at times connived to cause certain Hadronese nobles to rebel and try to seize the Lions for themselves.  At times, it must be admitted, it did not take much of a push;  at others, the use of magical mind control is suspected.The League is nominally an association of equals... but the Visians, all agree, have always been more equal than the rest.  They freely depose any League ruler who displeases them;  more often, however, they use more subtle means.  Surprisingly, this rarely involves the direct use of magic.  More often the mere threat of such can bring recalcitrant cities to heel;  and more often yet economic levers are applied with great shrewdness.  By now the League Lords know who butters their bread, and the Magister of the Academy of Vis is the Duke of Central Novalis in all but name.Wizards registered with the Academy are quite simply above the law, in Vis itself and to a lesser extent in any League city.  They are limited only by the opinion of their fellows, who frown on violent crime and so on as bad for business.  They can be tried and punished only by the First Circle of the Academy.  Spellcasting by anyone but registered Academy wizards, however, is illegal and punished harshly.  Anyone who studied there is registered automatically if they continue to pay a small annual fee;  others can register for a rather larger one.  Sorcerers who manifest ability while growing up within the League are offered scholarships to the Academy.  Those who show no aptitude nor inclination toward wizardry have their powers "quenched" in a ceremony perfected by the First Circle.  The wizards desire no competition.Bowing to political reality, Vis grants priests of the Light the same immunities as wizards, and they are tried by the usual ecclesiastical courts if necessary, not by the Academy.  Priests, shamans, and/or druids of other religions have no such immunity.The common folk of Vis are widely known for their hard-nosed attention to profit.  While the mages - most of them - may be most interested in knowledge and esoteric power, they are, by and large, out to make a gram.  (The "gram" or "pentagram" is the main coin of Vis.)  They display a sneering contempt for the very idea of nobility, though this view is not shared elsewhere in the League - they value power as embodied in magic or in mercantile success.  Since the Magister of the Academy often has better things to do than to oversee the minutiae of government, the day-to-day affairs of the city are seen to by a Lord Mayor.  The office is often simply sold to the highest bidder - though there is usually more politicking than that would seem to imply, as some who can afford to bid are often "encouraged" not to.The people of the League speak Hadronese, though in Vis proper there are many borrowings and slang words from Parmese, and even Old Parmedian, since these are traditional languages of magic.  Since wizards are inevitably literate, there is also considerable Aurelian influence.Kingdom of HadronCapital:  LeonisHead of State:  King Leo XVII of House HadronMedium of Exchange:  Hadronese "crowns"Coat of Arms:  Gules, a Lion rampant or.Coat of Arms of the Hadronese Crown:  Gules, a crowned Lion rampant or, with the Motto "Eagles to Lions Yield" enscrolled or.Coat of Arms of the Order of the Lion:  Or, a Lion rampant gules.Coat of Arms of the Order of the Tower:  Gules, an embattled Tower or.Coat of Arms of the Order of the Crown: Vert, a Crown or.Coat of Arms of the Order of the Flame:  Sable, a Flame or.The province of Hadron was originally named after the glorious Old Emperor who had conquered it as a general before accepting the Eagles.  His family was granted certain rights there as a perpetual memorial, and these were confirmed by the Nova Imperium.  Thus it was that a distant descendant of his was Dux of the Province when the Demon War broke out.  This was Leo I the Great, who distinguished himself in the Demon War.  In the aftermath of that terrible conflict, the entire southern half of the Imperium was laid Waste.  The Provinces of Borea, New Aurelia, and Cellia were gone forever, and only a rump of Alaron Province remained.  Only Hadron and Tullia Provinces survived in their entirety, and the major families of the latter had been hard-hit and their Dux slain.  Therefore, it was quite logical for Leo to propose himself as the new Emperor of a Third Imperium.  Unfortunately not everyone saw the logic;  too many saw an opportunity in the new order of things.The reply of the Visians has already been mentioned.  The Dux of Alaron submitted to Leo only out of urgent necessity, since the remainder of his Province could not survive alone.  Patriarch Lucis considered Leo's claim, but was persuaded that the Visians in between would make the exercise of Imperium insurmountably difficult.  Even many Hadronese cities - to mention nothing of the Visian League - resisted Leo's word and had to be forcibly brought to heel.  It is not for nothing that the legend states that Leo ironically named his sword "Logic".  ("Ratio" in Aurelian.)While the Hadronese Crown has never formally abandoned the claim to Imperium, it also acknowledges that it was never formally installed in the purple.  Therefore it does not claim to be an Empire but only a Kingdom.  But while our nation may have had its just territorial claims thwarted, we have compensated by becoming the center of culture and elegance of the north, and indeed our reputation extends far beyond.  The customs of our court are aped, with varying degrees of success, throughout Novalis - and of course our language is renowned for its delicacy and expressive power.  Meanwhile the grand University of Leonis - the first of its kind - attracts scholars from throughout the civilized world, even though it does not sport an extensive magical curriculum.Perhaps the finest of Hadronese inventions has been that of chivalry, of which our knights are the very flower.  It is said throughout Novalis that the word of a Hadronese knight is an antidote to doubt.  (We will gladly admit that Melendor also sports a worthy tradition of knighthood, even if the Melendrian knights are somewhat lacking in the proper hauteur.)  The Order of the Lion is devoted to righting wrongs wherever they may be found.  The Order of the Tower pledges to defend the realm - usually Hadron itself, but at times they have gone into the Waste in the name of defending the entire civilized world.  The Order of the Crown are the special agents of King Leo, and are renowned for their gallantry;  and the Order of the Flame is dedicated to advancing the cause of the Light.  Great scholars, sages, and holy men are often made Knights-Companion of the Flame.Our Hadronese language is an almost equal mingling of Kelhic and Thulish, liberally salted with Aurelian.  This gives it a wide vocabulary with many synonyms, which our poets put to good use.  Of course, as is well known, there are little pockets of purer Kelhic or Thuler culture and language here and there in the kingdom, and we are the richer for it.The Hadronese crown is eager to draw users of magic to its service, and offers generous scholarships to schools of magic in Novalis and even elsewhere.  (Yes, even to the Visian Academy, on the principle of knowing thy enemy.)  The University has long tried to cultivate its magical faculty, but the fact of the matter is that Loresong and the Academy draw most of the available talent.   Casting of spells in public without a license from the Crown is a misdemeanor, and a felony if it does any harm or suborns anyone's will.  However, mages are permitted to defend themselves magically freely, using much the same rules as those who defend themselves with physical weapons.Grand Duchy of AlaronCapital:  Alaron CityHead of State:  Grand Duke Vendric of House AquilaeMedium of Exchange:  Alaronese "coronets"Coat of Arms: Azure, a pair of Wings argent with a Coronet or per chief.Old Coat of Arms:  Azure, a pair of Wings argent.The Province of Alaron was devastated in the Darknight, with only its capital and immediate environs left untouched.  Its Dux was therefore forced to yield to Leo I the Great - however, he demanded, and got, Palatinate status for his duchy in perpetuity.  That is, he was to have the same authority and power of the King within his own duchy, while bearing him allegiance and obeying him in all external matters; and his successors were to have the same rights.  And so matters stood, with the Duchy of Alaron proving a vibrant and integral part of our Kingdom for generations.It was Leo VI the Shrewd who, in one of his few miscalculations, began to encroach on the rights of the Duke Palatine shortly before his untimely death.  When Duke Alonso presented himself before the newly-crowned Leo VII to swear allegiance, he humbly asked that his ancestral rights be restored in their fullness.  King Leo responded by striking him on the cheek and telling him there could only be one King in Hadron.  (He was later surnamed "the Mad".)  When Duke Alonso, mortally insulted, threw down his gage at the feet of the King's Champion, King Leo had his guard cut the noble Duke down like a cur and made mock of his corpse.Nobody could reasonably blame his son Andric, the new Duke, for immediately severing ties with the Hadronese crown - at any rate, not on grounds of fairness or ethics or noblesse, but it was a terrible move politically.  Leo's troops poured over the Loudrush River into Alaron.  By any sane expectation, they should have met no significant resistance.  But Duke Andric and his small guard fought like fiends, and the people of the city with him.  Defeated at great cost, they melted into the Waste and harried the invading force, which could not gain the cooperation of the locals even with the harshest measures.  Eventually, and much to their great relief, Mad King Leo recalled them for others of his projects, and the Alaronese rebuilt their lives.However, most Hadronese feel that the extreme gestures of conciliation by Leo IX the Pious (his older brother Leo VIII the Brief - sometimes called the Regicide - had been killed by the Lion Guard moments after stabbing Mad King Leo) should have won even hearts made of stone and ice.  After sending stupendously magnificent gifts in reparation and offering to pay all costs of rebuilding and weregild, he walked barefoot to Alaron in rags, buffeting himself the while, and prostrating himself before the ducal throne, begged forgiveness for his father's madness and evil.  Duke Barto gazed upon him and replied, "We forgive - but we do not forget."  (He later made that a motto of his house - the older one being "Borne Up On The Wings Of Eagles" - and altered the realm's style to "Grand Duchy" to emphasize its independence.)  King Leo remained prostrate there for hours, until finally the Duke offered him his hand in friendship and raised him up - but he would do no more than that.Since then the Grand Duchy has led a hardscrabble life, eking out an existence proudly but minimally from the Waste and even more from trade.  The Alaronese are renowned for driving hard bargains.  They invented the idea of the "joint stock corporation", a concept that still gives the theologians fits in regard to the sin of usury.  Alaronese merchants sail far in pursuit of new markets and new opportunities, and are the loudest voices in Novalis for scouring out the Stepstone pirates.  Yet for all of that, the Alaronese maintain a strong sense of community - and no doubt this has much to do with the threatening presence of the Wastelanders.Lacking the armies of Hadron and the swift waters of the Loudrush to protect them, the Alaronese exercise constant vigilance against threats from the Waste.  All citizens, no matter how highborn, are required to labor at fixed times on the city's defenses and to man the walls.  Thus even desperate rivals in business can find themselves sharing a watch or blistering their hands together on sandbags - and no doubt this is often deliberately arranged.  These laws have also given the Grand Dukes - who are not exempt from them - an almost Melendrian touch with the commons, and though we Hadronese may wince at the gaucherie of it all, certainly there is something a bit splendid about it.Not all the Grand Dukes have been good or wise, of course:  The disastrous Loudrush War has also been called Duke Daric's Folly on both sides of the river.  Likewise, the Alaronese practice of providing safe haven for runaway Hadronese serfs is a constant source of tension.  There seems to be a small war between Alaron and Hadron every few generations;  none have ever been conclusive, as the Hadronese crown is wary of exposing its flank to the Visian League.  Yet despite it all, the two peoples share a sense of kinship and marriages "across the river" occur constantly.Adventurers in the Waste should note that the Grand Duchy lays absolute claim to all the land of the original Province of Alaron and all wealth within it.  They are willing to pay a moderate "finder's fee" for those who bring wealth out of the Waste, but confiscate the rest without apology.  On the other hand, the Grand Dukes will richly reward those who make finds in the Waste that can better enable the Alaronese to support themselves - knowledge that can be used or sold, veins of ore that can be mined, land fertile enough to be farmed.  Also note that Alaron is famous for its corps of Wasteland Rangers, or "Wastrels" as many jokingly call them.  The Rangers have pulled many an adventurer's fat from the fire... and also confiscated many a treasure.  (Part of the Wastrels' mystique and pride is that they consider themselves "Duke Andric's Men", part of the original band that braved the Waste to harry the much larger Hadronese army, almost without hope.)There are rumors that the current Grand Duke Vendric intends to formally declare his realm a Principality and himself thus a Prince.  This declaration of outright sovereignty would doubtless incense the Hadronese crown, and might bring on another war.  (Even Duke Barto was politic enough - and sensible enough, given the size of Alaron - to limit himself to "Grand Duchy".)  Why he would be willing to run such a risk for an essentially empty phrase is unknown.The Alaronese speak a distinctive dialect of southern Hadronese.  Originally Alaron Province was somewhat more Kelhic than Hadron, but interbreeding and travel have long since erased any distinction.Alaronese laws regarding magic are very similar to those of Hadron.  The nearness of the Waste means that the Flux sometimes affects mages within its boundaries, however.</blockquote>

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