Ordeau
The most eastern of the Demian kingdoms, Ordeau is a land of mysticism and magic. Archmage Lugh Morgan presides over the White Council, an elite body of magicians who are bureaucrats, aristocrats, public servants and religious leaders all in one. Its northern territory is cold and snow-covered for over half of the year, and the temperatures drop to temperate the further south in the kingdom one goes. The talent for magic is something to be respected in Ordeau; its power brings more power.
It is recovering from the event known as the Demon War, and its international relations are strained after the revelation of the previous archmage's role. Much of the land needs rebuilding, both architecturally and culturally, in the wake of war. The current Archmage's power is precariously balanced. He has complete support from neither the nobility or the Council, and anti-cambian elements of the population distrust him for his strong anti-prejudice laws. As the man who revealed Francois Delacor as the mastermind behind the demons' presence in Demia, and the man who defeated the Lord of Chaos in an arcane duel, few people outside the White Council openly speak out against him.
Government
The Archmage heads The Circle, a group of thirteen of the White Council's most prominent and important members. The Archmage is generally elected by a vote in which all members of the Council are invited to participate in and it is a lifelong position. The remaining twelve seats are elected every decade. The closed voting process is said to be notoriously corrupt. Each of the thirteen members of The Circle presides over a district and is responsible for and answerable to the people of their land. In practice, it works a little differently. The Circle are still human, and as susceptible to persuasion and corruption as any politician.Military
In the past, Ordeau's magicians built huge, magical machines of war that razed the land and slaughtered the enemy. Their creation methods were forever lost with the sack of Montenaille in 883 3.E., and all but the most militant of people agree that this was a net boon as far as civilisation is concerned. Ordeau's arcane and anti-magic corps train together and compliment each other, both under the ultimate command of the Lord General. Local protection and law enforcement generally falls to the responsibility of the shire councils and the district magister.Population
Races
Ordeau's population is approximately 70% human. The remaining 30% is predominantly half-elves and cambia, though some Mer brave the cold waters to make their home on Ordeau's coast.Culture
Religious Practices
As is expected of a magocracy, the deities associated with magic are revered. Bakkab, Illyrie and Annam are the nation's primary deities. Ordons know them as The Triad. To Bakkab is attributed the mysticism and power of magic, to Illyrie its potential for beauty, and to Annam the noble temperaments of its practitioners. Even the smallest villages often have a shrine dedicated to one of them with the first two being notably more popular the further one is from the urban centres of the nation. During the Demon war, renegades razed cambian homes and executed cambion and demon alike. Because of these zealots; the Band of the Flame; worshippers of Beha are treated with some caution by many Ordons, though opinion does vary. Some people remember the Band of the Flame and their deeds with gratitude and celebrate The Cleansing Flame's clergy.Ordeau
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