Duchy of Carbone
The Duchy of Carbone is a centralized monarchy born not of inheritance or conquest, but of intellectual ambition. Granted to the moon elf Alfonso di Montecarlo by Archbishop Lucius V in the wake of centuries of conflict in the region and fragmented rule, Carbone represents a rare experiment in enlightened absolutism. Alfonso, a former condottieri of unmatched reputation and an avid scholar of classical philosophy, accepted his title with a vision: to build a realm governed not by ancient bloodlines or shifting alliances, but by order, wisdom, and humanist virtue.
The duchy is ruled entirely by Alfonso himself, whose authority is unquestioned and unshared. Yet his governance is anything but insular. From the beginning, Alfonso filled his court not with nobles or flatterers, but with scribes, architects, jurists, and scholars. Matters of state are discussed daily among a handpicked cohort of learned advisors, though all final decisions rest with the duke alone. It is said that no law is passed, no tax raised, and no judgment rendered without first being weighed against the writings of ancient philosophers and the principles of reasoned discourse.
Public access to power remains one of the duchy’s most striking features. Most afternoons, Alfonso receives common citizens in his terraced garden within the Palazzo Lucente, seated beneath olive trees and flanked by marble busts of great Etesian thinkers. Here, he listens to grievances, arbitrates disputes, and occasionally asks more questions than he answers. His court is equally open—artists, rhetoricians, and mathematicians mingle with diplomats and engineers, bound together not by station but by shared pursuit of excellence.
As a government, Carbone functions through a tightly organized administration overseen by the Curia Ducale, a civic body appointed directly by the duke. These officials carry out taxation, legal enforcement, and public works with striking efficiency. But unlike many states, their legitimacy is not derived from lineage or wealth, but from demonstrated merit, often proven through rigorous training at the Università di Carbone or years of service in the capital’s growing bureaucratic apparatus. What began as a ducal appointment has since become one of the most admired governments in the Sea of Riches—not because it is ancient, but because it is new, and it works.
Goals
Duke Alfonso has charged his government with a singular mission: to build a society that embodies the moral clarity and intellectual greatness of the classical past. Central to this vision is the Carbone Codex Project, a sweeping initiative to create a legal code grounded in philosophy, justice, and historical precedent. With the aid of magistrates and jurists drawn from across the Sea of Riches, this code forms the backbone of civic life—administered with consistency and written in language even common citizens can understand. Alongside the codex, Alfonso has overseen the creation of the Grand Library of Carbone, the largest scriptorum and scholarly repository in the Tyrennian Peninsula. Within its columned halls, state-sponsored scribes labor tirelessly to copy, restore, and annotate texts from across Avalor. Special attention is paid to the works of the Ithean Empire and the philosophers of Edessa, whose ideas have become foundational to the duchy’s approach to governance. These texts feed directly into the curriculum of the Università di Carbone, a civic academy dedicated to training a new class of magistrates, architects, historians, and civic engineers. The university is overseen by a ducal rector and is supported with generous funding drawn from the public treasury, not noble purses. All of this forms part of Alfonso’s greater design: to raise Carbone not through conquest, but through culture—to create a city and a state whose example might guide an entire age.Relationships
Carbone is a vassal state of the Church of the Dawnfather and remains under the nominal spiritual authority of Archbishop Caius V and the Cathedra of the Sacred Dawn. In practice, however, the duchy operates with full political autonomy. Father Leandro della Croce, the High Canon in Carbone, acts more as a civic-minded philosopher-priest than a religious enforcer, mirroring the state’s humanist ideals and its respectful yet secular approach to faith. Though officially neutral in foreign affairs, Carbone has cultivated strong relationships across the Sea of Riches, aided by the quiet prestige of its institutions. Many young nobles, magistrates, and courtiers in Tyrennian city-states were educated at the Università di Carbone, fostering a generation of foreign elites with personal ties to the duchy’s ideals. While not formally allied with any major power, Carbone’s graduates and intellectual exports have built a web of informal influence from Port Cristo to Hyères. Its relationship with the Republic of Caspia is defined by mutual caution: respected for its clarity of law and public order, but eyed warily by those who fear its cultural influence may challenge Caspia’s dominance in trade and academia. The Marquisate of Savona, particularly the Morello family, maintains warmer ties. Patronage of the arts and architectural exchange has fostered an air of friendly rivalry, though Duke Alfonso remains careful to insulate his government from external interests.Figures of Interest
Duke Alfonso di Montecarlo
Male moon elf Alfonso is Carbone’s first and only duke—a former mercenary commander turned philosopher-statesman whose rule blends absolute authority with a deep commitment to humanist ideals. Once the most sought-after condottieri in the Sea of Riches, city-states across the Tyrennian Peninsula would pay him simply to do nothing at the height of his career, hoping to prevent him from taking contracts against them. He ultimately walked away from war to found a principality rooted in justice, merit, and civic virtue. He governs with the quiet fervor of a man determined that his city will never endure the horrors he once witnessed on countless battlefields. Though his authority is absolute, he surrounds himself with scholars, artists, and jurists, seeking counsel as often as he offers command. Known for walking the streets unguarded and hearing grievances in his garden, he is as much a public servant as he is a sovereign. Now centuries into his reign, he seeks no empire—only a legacy of order, reason, and peace.i
Founding Date
1038 PD
Type
Geopolitical, Duchy
Capital
Alternative Names
Carbone
Leader
Leader Title
Founders
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Client state / puppet state
Economic System
Market economy
Neighboring Nations
Related Species
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