Kingdoms of Everfrost

Structure

The Kingdoms of Everfrost are comprised of three kingdoms, each with a different king whole rules over a collection of fiefs governed by a council of the clans who call them home. Two of these three kings swear fealty to the High King who rules from the Winter Palace in the Kingdom's capital city, Everfrost. Within the social order of most of the kingdoms, humanity reigns supreme, with half-elves and wood elves serving as thralls beneath them. Though half-elves have been known to occasionally be granted freeman status, either at birth by the grace of their human parent or later in life after working to afford their freedom, full-blooded wood elves rarely escape from thralldom before turning 60. The dwarves of Everfrost are famously reclusive, rarely leaving their titanic mountain strongholds which have repelled all but the most clever and brutal of the raiders of old. Those few villages who do contain a dwarf tend to leave them alone and are often better off for it.
Clan heritage for both men and dwarves is patrilineal, with half-elves joining only when legitimized by their human parent with the blessing of the clan patriarch. When a woman from one clan marries into another, she is then considered part of her husband's clan, unless said clan is dissolved or her husband is clanless.

Public Agenda

Most of Everfrost's actions as a nation are rooted in their intrinsic desire to maintain Athandros as a free and independent city-state. The High King knows full well that the Kingdoms could never annex the city by force, and it remains a required stop on any voyage across the Great Deep. As such, an Athandros controlled by the Empire or Theocracy would likely bar them from raiding, and allow the two larger empires the ability to muster and launch an invasion of their homeland. As such, while most raids by Everfrost target poorly defended civilian targets in the past, raiding parties of more recent years try to balance plunder with disrupting the infrastructure of their enemies.

History

Koralain is the homeland of the humans of Everfrost and is located in the center of the continent. Koralain contains the most natural harbors on the landmass, and as such maintains a long tradition of shipbuilding, fishing, and raiding. By decree of the High King, all plunder brought from overseas must first come ashore at Koralain so he may take his due, which typically consists of 2% of the total haul.
Prior to the discovery of Navigators, the kingdom of Koralain raided the long-forgotten elven kingdom to the west, plundering its verdant fields for food and despoiling many of the forests set aside to appease the primeval powers worshipped by the wood elves in service of building more ships with which to raid. For close to a century the elves of this forgotten kingdom fought against these raids, but as the years wore on and they were forced to cede more ground to the encroaching tide of raiders, causing their civilization to crumble. Now, the kingdom of Rodella produces most of the grain and produce consumed in Everfrost, as well as containing the highest number of elven thralls.
Lastly, there is the case of the Graystone Freeholds. Located directly to the north of Koralain and consisting of the mountainous regions of the Graystone Spires, the Freeholds are ruled over in name by a human king who reports to the High King in Everfrost. This is an illusion, however, as the real power in the Freeholds is the dwarven holds that dot the mountainous peaks of the region. The leaders of the eight great dwarven clans who call the area home make a feeble attempt at appearing subservient to the High King, sending their emissaries once every ten years bearing tribute and brief news of each holds internal affairs, but both parties know that should a war break out, mankind would once again struggle and perish in the trap-laden halls of the dwarves. However, since war would also permit the Theocracy or Empire to attack, the High King allows the clans their isolation and autonomy in exchange for them allowing his people to mine some of the ore-rich mountains of the area and access the region's still plentiful timber.

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Demonym

Frostlander