Drecitou

 Drecitou

The largest and most populous of the Three Nations of Kerlonna, Drecitou lies in the far northeast, beyond which lies the Pale Sea and Taresani. It stands as the purest remnant of the Marnic culture of old, with the only human ethnic group other than Marnic to be found being that of the Telvyurt people who dwell deep in the southern Burtajao Hills. During the Great Orc-Wars, these lands were among the hardest-hit by the orcish invasion, and the orcs consequently departed and went elsewhere to wreak more havoc. In response to this lack of enemies, a great force of Marnic warriors and civilian settlers, led by Giyursiv Zenali, departed from the Tlankuram and came to the northeast so as to rebuild it. During the Reclamation at the end of the Great Orc-Wars, the remaining orcish armies were driven by the New Legions into Drecitou, where they were systematically exterminated. The last battle of the wars was fought at the city of Serlau, on Drecitou’s northeastern coast. Following the end of hostilities, this land became known as the kingdom of Drecitou, with the Lord Zenali as its reluctant monarch.

Founding Year
Free Year 18, with the official crowning of Giyursiv Zenali as “Protector of the Realm of Drecitou”

==Capital City ==

Olea

Geography
Drecitou covers the northeastern corner of Kerlonna, extending approximately 850 kilometres north to south and 770 kilometres west to east, giving it a total area of about 654,400 square kilometres (254,000 square miles). It is the northernmost of the Three Nations, giving it long winters, especially in the northeast, where storms roll in frequently from the Pale Sea, which lies between Drecitou and Taresani. The north and east of Drecitou are bounded by the sea, with the Pale Sea in the region of Serlau and the Last Seas beyond. Much of the western border of Drecitou is indeterminate, diminishing gradually into the Kruvates Plains. At the southwestern corner of the nation lies Lake Nursai and the marshes that surround it, and only a few dozen miles beyond that border lies the northeasternmost shores of the Tlankuram. The southern border is also fairly rough: it lies about three-quarters of the way from the Burtajao Hills towards the Àŋerwoi Forest. At the southeastern corner of the nation, there is a bare sliver of border against the Duchy of Askalris, at the village of Otrezä.

Internally, the nation is divided into six territories: the Five Provinces and the Spear-land. The Provinces are not based upon the traditional provincial divisions of the region during the Federal period, but are instead centred upon each of the principal cities of Drecitou asides from Olea: Lai-de-Tomne, Serlau, Alsiz, Jalyonne, and Vordoñat. Because of the regionalised nature of Drecitoun society and government, it is most useful to think of the nation in terms of these different territories, each of which is something of a nation unto itself, all of them united into a holistic realm. The cultural nuances and personalities of these differing areas will be discussed below: here, their climates, geographies, and cities will be discussed, instead.

Serlau is, despite its removal on the far northeastern coast of the kingdom, the eldest of the cities by far. This is because of the fortress that lies at the city’s centre, today known as the Horn of Stomguñ. It is a colossal mage-stone tower, one of the great outposts of Old Injil, and like other fastnesses of its kind, it has been untouched by the passage of more than two thousand years. As a result of the Horn’s presence, the Elutapi of pre-Marnic times saw this place as a great prize to be had: the nearly impregnable fortress and the sheltered harbour below it allow any man who is master of both to have a great advantage in the control of trade across the Pale Sea with Taresani. By the time of the Marnic Conquest, the city lay at the centre of a great Elutapi kingdom of the same name, covering almost a quarter of what today is Drecitou. This was the last of the Elutapi cities to fall, and the Marnic Legions had the Guild wizards to thank, for otherwise, the Horn might have held for years upon years in a siege. Serlau, both province and city, have a reputation throughout the rest of Drecitou for weather even more dour than the inhabitants, and fearsome granite cliffs that make for some of the most dangerous sailing in Kerlonna. Rain and snow come so frequently to the city that it is constructed almost entirely of the native grey stone, with slate roofs, and gray-paved streets: it is rich enough from trade to afford such constructions, and although they may be grim, they do not rot from the moisture as wood does. Most communities in Serlau Province are bound to the sea, for farther inland, the long winters narrow the growing season, but the seas surge with salmon, cod, and seals. Serlau Province consists of a long crescent of land along the northeastern coasts of Drecitou, the smallest of the provinces by area, but one of the most densely inhabited. It is also home to a small yet particularly imposing stretch of elven forest, about two days’ journey from the city of Serlau, known as the Fog-Wood.

Lai-de-Tomne Province extends from the eastern shores of Lake Vunmai in the west to the plains of northeastern Drecitou in the east, and from just beyond the banks of the Kingswater in the south to the edge of Serlaun Provincial territory in the north. It is a rolling country, with fairer and drier weather than Serlau Province, but a much more dispersed population: the soil of the northeast is not as rich as that of the south, and the farming settlements are necessarily small and heavily defended due to the pervasive threat of orcish raiding bands wandering forth from the wilds north of Alsiz. Due to the frequent presence of orcs, as well as the clannish mentality of the Tomnen people, the Province is one of frequent combat and a famous duelling style. The city itself is a strange one, born during the Great Orc-Wars as a refuge for former legionaries, Elutapi tribesmen driven from their lands, and those nigh-suicidal bands of tomb robbers and orc hunters today known simply as “adventurer parties.” The city never lost its sense of diversity and rough-and-tumble frontier justice, even when it became one of the Provincial capitals of the nation. Today, it is a chaotic and good-humoured place, known for its street brawls, bizarrely mismatched styles of architecture, and artistic displays of orcish skulls.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Alsiz Province is the second-largest of the five, bounded in the east by Lake Vunmai, the west by the borders fading into the Kruvates Plains, the south by the Burtajao Hills, and the north slowly fading into the Harrow, that territory in the far north inhabited only by orcs and mad necromancers. The city of Alsiz itself sits on the shores of Lake Vunmai, and is a peculiarly bipolar sort of place. The side of the city facing the lake is quite similar to Olea, with broad avenues, fair gardens, and a liveried underclass of servants bustling about on the errands of their aristocratic masters. Its port on the lake is one of the cleanest to be found in any city of Kerlonna, and its market square is immaculate. However, the side of the city facing out towards the land beyond is heavily fortified, a broad defensive arc wrapping around to the shores of the lake and protecting the smaller lakeside district. This fortified area is regularly patrolled by military police and is home to the lower classes, who are expected to participate in the defence of the city as a militia force. The reason for this militarism is the harsh fact that Alsiz Province is the most vulnerable to orcish attack. Despite the defensive perimeter at the verge of the Harrow, so many orcish bands slip past into the greater province that their attacks are a fact of life. The serfs of Alsiz Province live in a feudal system based around the existence of castles. Though castles were largely unneeded in the Marnic period, Alsiz Province has a great density of the structures to allow the refuge of the helpless low people while the soldiery fight off orcish raiders. Beyond the estates surrounding the castles, Alsiz Province is a wild and dangerous place of woodlands and moors. In the northwestern region of the province, near the coastline and just south of the Harrow, lies an elven forest known as the Tangle, a dark and hilly labyrinth of coniferous trees. The elves there pride themselves on the fact that the orcs never dare to enter the Tangle anymore.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">To the north of Alsiz Province lies the Harrow, which is analogous to the Orcish Marches in Sraiyag Vacan: the most northerly region of the kingdom, one uninhabited by any of the speaking peoples except the orcs. A string of fortifications lie along the southern edge of the Harrow, but they are widely scattered and serve not so much to establish a wall of protection as to attract orcish bands like beacons and prevent them from ranging farther south into Alsiz Province, or east into Lai-de-Tomne Province. In the east, the Harrow begins at a line drawn straight between the centre of the Tangle and the shores of the Last Seas to the east. In the west, the Harrow lies between the western edge of the Tangle and the coast, meandering down along the shores until it reaches the Parumya territories, where the horsemen do their best to destroy any orcish bands they encounter. Though the Harrow may seem small compared to the Provinces, its orcish population is vigorous and typically aggressive. The Harrow is a land of ancient forests, peat bogs, and bitterly cold winters with heavy snowfall rolling in from the Last Seas. The most famous area within the Harrow is the Winter Wastes, and the ruins of the university at Teogene within them. As one approaches the Winter Wastes, even in summer the temperature drops precipitously, until it is as cold as a midwinter night. The Wastes begin when the snow can never melt, even in summer, and so has built up into a crust of snow and ice over ten feet thick. The two centuries of perpetual cold have stripped the Wastes of all life: even birds dare not fly over them. At the centre, the vanished glory of Teogene lies in its wreckage. Because of the cold that has never ended, the ruins are relatively undisturbed, for neither rain nor growing things have eroded them.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">South of Alsiz Province lies Jalyonne Province, bounded on the north by the Green Road, the west and the south by the borders of Drecitou, and the east by a line drawn due south from the head of the Vorda River that flows from the Burtajao Hills. The city of Jalyonne sits on the northern shores of Lake Nursai, which drains through marshland channels into the Tlankuram to the southwest. Jalyonne, being close to the western border, is a city heavily influenced by the Parumya, and by merchants travelling across the Kruvates Plains from Sraiyag Vacan, Cil Adasiga, and more distant locales. Accordingly, the city has a unique architectural style, with many of the buildings, despite being constructed of wood, designed to emulate the shape of a Parumya tent. The streets are unpaved and broad to allow the passage of horses and cattle, and at the centre of the city lies a tiered series of fortifications, noble estates, and roads that culminate at the Hall of the Sun, the governor’s mighty palace which looks out to the plains in the west. In the lowlands, most low people of Alsiz Province are farmers and cattle herders, a reflection of their mixed Marnic and Parumya blood. The lowlands are a fair country, with hot summers and cold winters both, and flat, easily tamed soil, particularly in the Crihur Plains about the Vorda River. In the Burtajao Hills, however, things are otherwise. They are a wild country, ruled not by Drecitoun law but by the customs of the Telvyurt, and haunted by the curse of the Gatescar, a wound in the land somewhere west of the headwaters of the Vorda River and the Kingswater. The Hills are a frightening and seldom-visited land, where feral tieflings roam in the forests and every village has a “cleansing pit” where tiefling newborns are killed and burnt.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The largest and richest of the provinces, Vordoñat Province lies in the southeast of Drecitou, east of Jalyonne Province and south of the Kingswater, with the Duchy of Askalris to its south beyond the Drecitoun borders and the Last Seas to the east. Vordoñat lies at the confluence of the Vorda River and the River Geñkaryo, and as such has unimpeded access to the sea. Even in winter, the river does not freeze over, although snow may fall on the surrounding land, due to relatively mild weather that blows in from the east. Because of this, Vordoñat is the largest city in Drecitou, the naval heart of Drecitou and the northern terminus of the great shipping routes of eastern Kerlonna. Beyond the city, the province is bountiful and sunny, with lush greenery from the rain and good, dark soil. The plain between Olea and Vordoñat is the most thickly settled and safest region of Drecitou, where orcish raids are unknown and the only conflict to be had is that between various human lords. A great portion of the eastern coast of Vordoñat Province is covered by Kertyus Forest, the largest elven forest within the borders of Drecitou.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Olea, the capital of Drecitou, lies on the Kingswater between Lai-de-Tomne Province and Vordoñat Province, and is a relatively young city, as it was only built after the end of the Great Orc-Wars. It lies between a granite cliff and the river below, and undoubtedly its most famous feature is the Giyurian, the colossal statue of Giyursiv Zenali carved out of the cliff that serves as the royal palace and the seat of the Court. Several hundred feet high, the Giyurian is crowned with green, the hidden gardens of House Zenali. The Giyurian depicts Giyursiv as a seated youth, crowned and youthful, gazing down upon his city in smiling benediction. Olea below him is a thing of beauty, less like a city and more like a greatly expanded version of a nobleman’s estate. It is not really a city for markets or for business, but only for governance, and so the only low people to be found there are servants and retainers to the nobility. Indeed, the city actually lacks any real police or military force in common, because each noble house to be found has its own lancers that serve as bodyguards and soldiers.

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Population & Demographics
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The human population of Drecitou numbers at about seven and a half million, about a third of the continent’s population. Of these seven and a half, about seven million are Drecitoun Marnic or Elutapi, and the remaining five hundred thousand are Telvyurt living in or about the Burtajao Hills. As time has passed, it has become increasingly difficult for demographers to distinguish between the Elutapi and the Marnics of Drecitou, since the two cultures have gradually merged into one. The Parumya clans frequently wander over the border into the western regions of the kingdom as they guide the migrations of their herds, much as they do in Sraiyag Vacan, but since the clans are considered independent nations, they are not counted as actual inhabitants of Drecitou. The elves within the kingdom are more numerous than they are in Sraiyag Vacan, even though Drecitoun policy is not as friendly (or pandering) to them as that of the Vacani. The main reason for this is that there is simply more land for the elves in Drecitou. The Fog-Wood in Serlau Province and the Tangle between Alsiz Province and the Harrow are fairly harsh and dangerous places, preventing even the interloping of human serfs fleeing their masters, and so the elves within them are less numerous due to a lack of resources. However, Kertyus Forest in Vordoñat Province is one of the richest and most bountiful of all forests in Kerlonna, owing to the heavy rain that falls throughout most of the year. Correspondingly, the elven inhabitation of that region is particularly dense, for the game and the forage are both plentiful. Altogether, there are believed to be about thirty-three thousand elves in Drecitou, of whom twenty thousand dwell in the Kertyus Forest, making it one of the most densely inhabited of the elven forests. The saighes are found in isolated areas of the kingdom: the Drecitoun low people and the dwarves often see one another as competitors for the same resources in mining, and so there often can be bad blood between them. Nonetheless, Drecitou is large enough that there is plenty of space for the saighes and human communities to exist in peace with little interaction. There are thirty saighes within the kingdom, home to about a million dwarves and nine hundred and ten thousand gnomes. Under Drecitoun law, the saighes are considered independent city-states, foreign nations contained within the borders of Drecitou. As such, there is no legal protection for anyone foolish enough to commit a crime within a saighe, and relations are always somewhat tense: the saighes are so numerous that the Drecitouns often like to darkly mutter about how one day the dwarves will rise up and overthrow humanity. This attitude can be traced more to Drecitoun racial prejudices than to the existence of any real dwarven conspiracy. The halflings of Drecitou are mostly ignored by the government, neither protected nor harassed, yet Vordoñat Province has become an attractive region for them, especially since the takeover of the Duchy of Askalris by Lokirna Maknid has led to the persecution of halflings in the Blue Coast.

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Government & Foreign Relations
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">When Giyursiv Zenali first migrated to the Elutapi provinces alongside five of the High Houses and countless lower Houses of Marnoz, it was his cherished vision to establish a sort of Marnic government-in-exile, which would follow a similar structure, complete with High and Main Senates. However, soon three of those High Houses—Olituros, Vrutsän, and Zaiyon—collapsed, either from orcish attack, plague, or internal strife, and their bloodlines were lost. Left with only the Houses Dahav and Kiryo, the Lord Zenali then realised that there would be no way to bring a High Senate to fruition. Two Houses were just too few for an entirely distinct body of government. When he began working to instead establish a general Senate, he found that the Houses generally only cooperated fully when he was present, for he was the only man that they all respected in common. These gatherings soon took on a new name. They were no longer ‘the Senate’, but ‘the Court,’ in part a response to the Court that Yenatar Malkerian had established around himself. In one of the most fateful moments of modern history, in FY 13, the Court, almost unanimously, voted that Giyursiv Zenali be considered their King, giving him an equal political, although not military, rank to that of the Lord Malkerian. The Lord Zenali, disappointed that such a step had been required, spent the rest of his life as King trying to precisely avoid what Yenatar had done, which was the total centralisation of all authority. In the laws that Giyursiv drafted, the Court became an authority with more collective power than even the monarch possessed, but whereas in old Marnoz the rank of Houses within the Senate had depended on their ancestral proximity to the Founders, in Drecitou rank was much more concretely based on territorial possessions. That is, a feudal system of vassalage had been established. The only real requisite for nobility, then, was possession of a significant enough amount of land that there were serfs bound to work it. This would later prove critical in suppressing the Elutapi uprisings, for it allowed their noblemen a way to peacefully integrate into Drecitoun Marnic society by joining the ranks of Court.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Because of the way in which Giyursiv arranged the power structure of his kingdom, the role of the monarchy became radically different from that of the Malkerians in Sraiyag Vacan. Instead of the king being seen as the supreme autocrat of the nation and a semi-divine figure without whom the nation had no meaning, the Drecitoun monarch sits in the role of an exemplar of the nation’s virtues and aspirations, not as its supreme commander. The collective power of his vassals exceeds the total power of the monarch, yet each individually is his inferior. Both Drecitou and Sraiyag Vacan, however, rely on the ideal of vassalage, with the fealty of the lords being rewarded with the love and protection of the king. To defy the orders of the king is unquestionably treason, but whereas among the Vacani such defiance would be seen as something akin to blasphemy as well, in Drecitou it would be a purely secular matter.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The most powerful Houses in Drecitou became not the High Houses for their ancestry, but the Governing Houses, those Houses that controlled one of the major cities of Drecitou as their territory. The provincial system of the Marnic Federation was kept technically intact and reorganised, establishing six major territories: the Five Provinces of Alsiz, Jalyonne, Vordoñat, Lai-de-Tomne, and Serlau, and Spear-land, being territory ruled directly by the King. This last category consists of the city of Olea, the Kingswater that flows through it, the Harrow, the Winter Wastes, and the ruins of Teogene within them. The autonomy of each province is extensive: the Governor sets his own tax rates and maintains an independent legal system. Although there is an established royal law in common as well as a “king’s tax” throughout the realm, the variations between provinces can sometimes be quite profound. For example, in Jalyonne Province, due to the prevalence of herding, tax may be paid in heads of livestock, which is allowed in no other province.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">It is one of the curious features of Kerlonnic civilisation that two societies, the Vacani and the Drecitoun, could be so dissimilar despite springing from a common Marnic taproot. To some extent, this is attributable to the different indigenous societies with which the Marnic exiles mingled as they settled their new lands (the Janhlira in Sraiyag Vacan, the Elutapi in Drecitou). However, it is more profound than that. Their differences can ultimately be attributed to the personalities of their founding kings. Yenatar Malkerian made no effort, asides from discouraging an actual religious cult, to dissuade his people from revering him with the totality of their devotion. Giyursiv Zenali, on the other hand, consistently attempted to avoid such adulation, and instead emphasised that honour be paid to the Gods and to the Realm as a whole. As a result, while Vacani society developed into an authoritarian and almost theocratic society, Drecitou remained far more loose, bound down not by hero-worship but by the ancient laws and customs of Marnic society. Their differences can sometimes be thrown in sharp relief: the initial reaction to the Interregnum by most Vacani was one of disbelief mingled with horror, for such a chaotic disruption of the normal power structure is something that is simply unthinkable in Vacani society. In turn, Drecitoun travellers to Oksyrs are often discomforted by the endless number of invocations in the name of Yenatar that are employed there. While it may seem hypocritical that a people whose royal palace is located inside a giant statue of Giyursiv to be critical of the Malkerian cult, to Drecitouns it is a real concern, and a reason why even those who may be exiles or fugitives from their own land will choose not to settle among the Vacani. Nevertheless, the ties between the two kingdoms are unbreakably strong, forged in war from the iron of a common heritage and history. It is impossible to imagine the two ever going to war against one another, even in their most vociferous disputes. Such a war would be an insult to Giyursiv and Yenatar both.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The Twelve Isles and the Duchy of Askalris were traditionally strong allies to Drecitou, especially to its southern lords. House Elthorian often spent summers visiting Vordoñat, especially to purchase warships that had been constructed there. The border with the Duchy served as a major pressure valve, allowing dissidents to escape Drecitou into a foreign land without remaining within their home country to stir up trouble for the government. Intermarriage between the noble families of southern Drecitou and House Tsorvad of Askalris and Houses Elthorian and Maknid of the Twelve Isles had made their ties official. The Maknid Uprising and the subsequent assassination of Duke Daruna Tsorvad the Elder have radically changed this situation. The Drecitoun reaction to Lokirna Maknid’s rise to power has been split on geographic lines. The nobility of Vordoñat Province hate the man, regarding him as a usurper, unscrupulous, and deranged by ambition. His “regency” in Askalris has turned the city into a military district, where smugglers, who were tolerated before his rise to power, are brutally executed. However, the northern Drecitouns pay little heed to the Maknids, seeing their ascendancy as foreign politics, which it would be ill advised to meddle in. Some have even aligned themselves with Lokirna, seeing support for him as a means of politicking against southern neighbours whom they have quarrels with. Lokirna, aware of the polarised reaction that he receives in Drecitou, has chosen not to officially visit Court at Olea, for fear of the controversy that such a state visit could spark. However, he pays frequent visits to Lai-de-Tomne, Serlau, and Alsiz, and distant cousins of his have been sent as diplomats to these cities.

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Economy:

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Culture
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">In the customs of the Marnic-era Elutapi peoples who once ruled what is now Drecitou, when a boy reached manhood he was given permission to grow out his hair and tie it into a braid. Despite the disappearance of the Elutapi as an independent people during the Marnic Exodus into Drecitou, this particular tradition survived them, and has since become an inalienable aspect of Drecitoun culture. Typically, the braid is tied at the back of the skull, falling down along the neck and slightly past the shoulders. A man’s braid is seen as a symbol of his masculinity: to forcibly cut it off is a humiliating punishment. Drecitouns and their nobility in particular grow their hair long: the men to the jaw line, and women to the shoulder blades.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Among the Drecitoun nobility, the essential article of clothing is the sowirz, or “mantle” in Drecitoun Marnic. The sowirz is worn by both men and women over the shoulder of the non-dominant hand, falling to the wrist. It only covers the one side, having a symbolic rather than utilitarian purpose. Every House in Drecitou has a different pattern of colours and designs upon its sowirz, and it is by looking upon the sowirz worn by an unfamiliar peer that a noble can determine their respective bloodline. At any formal function of any sort, the sowirz is worn, even if the noble wearing it is sure not to meet members of any other House. The quality of the cloth depends on the House’s prestige and wealth: all major and wealthy houses wear sowirzä of pure silk, while the lower ranks use a refined form of linen. The term “wool cloak” is highly offensive among the Drecitoun nobility, as it implies that the individual is of extremely meagre means. On the most formal occasions (such as receptions with the King, high holy days, and the like), the sowirz is drawn across the chest to the shoulder of the dominant hand, very clearly displaying the mantle’s design to all. Members of House Zenali, as members of the royal line, have the most luxurious sowirzä: black silk flawlessly interwoven with cloth of gold that forms the rearing bull of Giyursiv.

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Religion:

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Language:

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">History:

<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Military
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The Drecitoun army reflects the nation at large: although it has a common history and is technically united by law and by the authority of the Zenali monarchy, in practice it consists of several separate armies, each with a distinct specialty. When Drecitou as a whole is under threat from invasion, the military is united into what is known as the Sixfold Army, placed under direct control of the King.

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The Wave-Wolves of Vordoñat; the Salt-Swords of Serlau; the Mane of Atvur of Jalyonne;

<p style="text-indent:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The Black Hundreds are those soldiers stationed along the verge of the Harrow, in a few decrepit fortresses. So named because of how flesh turns black when suffering from severe frostbite, as well as for their few numbers, the Black Hundreds are a largely self-sufficient group, totally isolated from the affairs of the rest of Drecitou. Although being a member of the Hundreds is not necessarily a lifelong commitment, many die before their terms of duty are complete, usually from orcish attacks. The ferocious winters also kill many of the Hundreds, or else cause them to lose ears, noses, fingers, or toes to frostbite. Unsurprisingly, duty as a member of the Hundreds is usually used as a punishment for dereliction of duty, rape, murder, and the like. As a result, the Black Hundreds receive very little respect from the rest of Drecitou, despite the fact that they are responsible for protecting the realm against the great majority of orcish attacks that would otherwise strike against it. The Hundreds are a lonely lot in their northern fortresses, and most people barely remember that they even exist.

<h2 style="text-align:center"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Notes for Drecitou

<p style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua""> -  <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The Interregnum was a civil war lasting between FY 174 and 177, when the Court of Drecitou was unable to decide who would be the next king from House Zenali. There were two candidates: Yuhara the Red, who was of High House Kiryo on his mother’s side; and Veisyän, who was father to the present king, Faduyar. Neither was willing to back down from his claim to the throne, leading to an eventual declaration by Court that there was no king. Serlau and Alsiz declared for Veisyän, Lai-de-Tomne and Vordoñat for Yuhara the Red, while the city of Jalyonne remained officially neutral. In 175, in the plains between the northern lakes, the supporters of Veisyän suffered a catastrophic loss: not only did their claimant to the throne die, but also did two of his brothers and his baseborn son. However, the forces supporting Veisyän then rallied behind a new leader, the Lord of Serlau, Geunda Hudremai, who called for the destruction of Yuhara the Red as a ‘traitor to the realm.’ In 176, the city of Jalyonne was burned to the ground by a faction known as the Embers, who were eventually linked to Yuhara, leading to a sudden volte-face on the part of many who had previously supported High House Kiryo and its claimant to the throne. In 177, Yuhara the Red attempted to seize the White-Spear and the crown by force by attacking Olea directly. In retaliation, many of Yuhara’s erstwhile allies abandoned him to his fate and sued for peace. Yuhara the Red was killed on the field of battle, torn in two by a half-orc lancer. After the Battle of Olea, the startling news surfaced that Faduyar, next in line to the throne, had been discovered in the ruins of Jalyonne, healing the low people with divine magic. He was crowned shortly thereafter. Since the end of the war, bad blood has persisted between some families that believe the proper sort of punishment was not employed to end the war, and that certain different measures should have been taken. However, King Faduyar has done his best to try to break down these tensions and to promote a spirit of amity and concord among all of his noblemen.

<p style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-fareast-font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family: "Book Antiqua""> -  <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Governing Houses of Drecitou: Alsiz: House Dalperon, ruled by Sivdaria. Sivdaria Dalperon is a sincere man with no faculties for deceit or trickery. He is deeply religious, but of a heterodox bent: he is a devotee of the Prophet of Alsiz, the mysterious Guild deserter who has founded a new religious movement in that city. Sivdaria often finds himself in opposition to Geunda Hudremai and the ideals of the king due to his reformist sympathies: for example, he has been known to express the radical sentiment of allowing some half-orcs to be freed from the ranks of the lancers. Alignment: Neutral Good.

<p style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:.5in"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Book Antiqua";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Lai-de-Tomne: House Vintarak (antebellum, House Säriltan), ruled by Räiñka. Räiñka Vintarak is noted best for his hyperactive industry. If he is not at Court debating politics, he is out hawking, or he is practicing his musical skills, or he is horse riding, or perhaps he is practicing how to fight. Young and handsome, Räiñka hardly ever takes the time to relax, mostly because he finds it too frustrating. He is pious and moral in his own rambunctious way, and of all the Governors, has probably the closest relationship with his king, whom he regards as a holy man. Alignment: Chaotic Good. Jalyonne: House Yehrälo, ruled by Jiraad. Jiraad Yehrälo is a man of few words, conscientious and austere. Originally the Steward of the City, he assumed the lordship in the aftermath of the great fire of 176, which killed his predecessor. He rarely appears at Court, since he finds the duties of Jalyonne and its province to be more than enough to sate his appetite for politics. When he is summoned to Olea for official functions, he always behaves with perfect etiquette and a bare minimum of words. He is unmarried and intensely private, making him largely immune to political manoeuvrings. Most people at Court regard Jiraad as a perfect mystery, and he is content to be mysterious if it means that people will leave him to do his duty. Alignment: Lawful Good. Serlau: House Hudremai, ruled by Geunda. Geunda Hudremai is a conservative through and through, deeply loyal to his king, distrustful of foreigners, and the eldest of the Governors, at sixty-six years of age. He can be something of a blowhard, but that is more because he feels that as an elder, his opinions should take precedence. He’s not entirely mistaken, either: he has little in the way of personal magnetism or in the ability to read people, but he is highly intelligent and knows the legal and political systems of Marnoz and Drecitou backwards and forwards. Alignment: Lawful Neutral. Vordoñat: House Eveznat (antebellum, House Tabravem), ruled by Veseima. Veseima Eveznat is a sharp-tongued man with no patience for fools and a broadly sceptical attitude towards most things in life. He enjoys wordplay, mockery, and creating statements so complex that nobody but he understands what is going on. His cynical distaste for most of the official functions at Court have made him unpopular there, which is just as well, because otherwise, he’d be the most powerful man there, and he finds toadies coming and begging him for favours to be stomach-turning. Alignment: True Neutral.