Nevaiallan

 The City of Nevaiallan

“I go now to war. Until that day when the Enemy is cast down forever, the Shining City will be closed from me, and only the howling wastes may greet me. If I should perish, my duty will not end, but my shade will watch the marches unceasing. I renounce my blood and my name: I shall henceforth be but a ghost and a memory upon the wind, with the sky for my roof and the Almighty Sun for my bride. The great must yet fall. The fallen may rise again.” – the vows of the Sun-Sworn, exile-guardians of Nevaiallan

“Nothing makes me smile like a Sutiji with a spear in his hand and a knife through his throat.” – Kroijav Övistreg, Nevaiallani nobleman and Captain of the Guard

For ages it has stood upon the edge of the civilized world, guarding against the desolation beyond. It has known almost as many names as Marnoz herself: the Shining City; the Watchful City; the Unchained; the Wall against the Wastes; and to the Sutiji who have been its foes for centuries, Durkhaij, “the Great Anvil” against which their armies have so many times been beaten down and broken. Most men call it Nevaiallan, named for the Nevai River that is its lifeblood. It is the last free city on the frontiers of Kerlonna, beyond which lies the mysterious and despotic Exarchate of Taur'Sutij. For centuries, the Serpent-Men and the people of Nevaiallan have clashed and struggled, the Sutiji never conquering but the Nevaiallani never truly driving off their foe. Through constantly living under the threat of war, the Nevaiallani have become a fiercely proud and militaristic people: since their fight has often been waged with little support from the outside world, they have a certain measure of patriotic fervour.

Nevaiallan has long known the shadow of darkness that lies in the south: in ancient days, this was cast by Aptakh, the accursed wizard-kingdom that lay on the coasts of the Sea of the Sun. After Aptakh was overthrown and destroyed by the Exarchate of Taur'Sutij, the Nevaiallani dared to hope that they had gained a new ally: but the Sutiji soon showed their true colours when they declared holy war against the people of Idroslekh. There were, in those days, other cities along the edge of the wastelands: Onjitar, Vãndersus, and Talziš. Onjitar was the first to fall, its king sacrificed to a serpent-god and its people enslaved or massacred by the snake-men. The Marnic Federation was swift to respond, marshalling an army and driving the Sutiji back deep into the White Thirst: but Onjitar was not rebuilt, for those of its people who had escaped would not dare return. [to be continued]

Ruled by Vũnarže Eksafa.

The temperament of most Nevaiallani is not a cheerful one. When northerners speak of war against the orcs, most men of the Shining City will note that they have warred against the Sutiji for five centuries, as opposed to two. The strain of war has deeply marked the psyche of Nevaiallan: their men are quick to violence and their women refuse to speak to outsiders, and their epics, legends and tales all reserve their highest praise for warriors who, through means both honourable and deceitful, brought ruin and catastrophe upon the Sutiji. Hatred of the Serpent-Men has burned itself so deeply into the collective soul of Nevaiallan that when a betrothed couple are married, the priest finishes his blessing by nailing a live snake to their door. While most enemies are careful to distinguish between the evils of a government and the relative innocence of its subjects, the Nevaiallani make no such careful judgments about the Sutiji: all Serpent-Men, unless they betray their people, are unworthy of understanding.

This helps to make evident the very different understanding of honour that the people of Nevaiallan possess. They see no honour in mercy, leniency, or exception. Once, long ago, they attempted such nobility in their dealings with the Sutiji, but it all came to naught. Now the Nevaiallani know that coexistence with Taur’Sutij is a delusion of the weak, and that the measure of honour is found in loyalty to their city, and in the ruin that they inflict upon their foes. Deeply pessimistic, most Nevaiallani care little for their own survival at all, believing that only the survival of the Shining City is worthwhile. This makes them valorous warriors, but it also means that they generally hold more self-preserving outsiders in profound contempt. Indeed, the Nevaiallani are famous for their condescension towards the rest of Kerlonna, regarding themselves as the only light still burning against the darkness of the Sutiji. To some degree, this is ridiculous, considering the fact that without the work of the northerners, the world would have been overrun by the orcs, but the Nevaiallani rarely pay attention to this.

However, it is not difficult to understand why the soul of Nevaiallan has become so embittered towards the world. No people can bear endless war, for it crushes down hope and raises up hatred, encouraging the warriors to demonise their foes to an ever greater extent. The character of the Nevaiallani is by no means solely grim and ominous: they are renowned for their loyalty, courage, and determination in the face of impossible odds. If it was not for these virtues, the city would surely have collapsed beneath the Sutiji onslaught long ago.