The Old Kingdom

The old stories claim that humanity originated from the northeast of Belkora in what is now called the Cradle of Humanity. While most humans have since migrated south of the Elder Peaks, some remain, forming what is called the Old Kingdom, a people that cling tightly to the fact that they live where humans first came from, making them the original humans. These proud people walk a fine line between upholding tradition while adapting to survive their artic environment.

Structure

The Old Kingdom is led by the High King, a position that is passed down through the male line of the Skylgann family, whether the next in line be son, nephew, cousin, or even uncle in some cases. The High King has a retinue of loyal servants and advisors that are hired by the royal steward, usually a close female family member to the High King.
The Kingdom itself is divided into four prefects that each have a jarl in charge of it. The High King is one of these jarls, being in charge of Fiskur, the capital prefect. From there, the High King appoints the other three jarls from citizens of those prefects whenever a jarl dies or retires. While these positions are not necesarilly hereditary like the High King, the primary candidates for appointment are usually family members of the previous jarl, due to a jarl's famliy generally training their family members to take over using the resources that their position provides for them.
Each jarl also has a unique title and responsibilities outside of running their prefect. The Archmage is the jarl of Boga, the arcane prefect, and they are in charge of operating the magical unversity in Galdorborg, the captial of the prefect. The Archbishop is the jarl of Truin, the divine prefect, and they are the head of the church in the entire kingdom. Finally, the Archlibrarian is the jarl of Skjala, the archival prefect, and they operate and protect the vast archives of human knowledge.

Culture

The Oldean people take great pride in living within the Cradle of Humanity, the birthplace of the human race. They also are the originators of many important aspects of human culture across like esoterica and religion. This has led to much of their culture being centered on upholding the traditions of humanity. While innovation is welcome, it is always important that they revere and respect the way things were done, as opposed to trying to replace or disparage them. To emphasize this focus on tradition, there are three official "pillars of society" that Oldeans focus on and do their best to uphold the traditions of: Magic, Religion, and History. While they keep them in mind, traditions in unrelated fields, like hunting or agricutlure, are not as highly revered and are readily discarded if an innovation makes life sufficiently easier.

Magic

The pillar of magic focuses on how the city of Galdorborg invented esoterica and the ability to perform manipulations without the need for a compatible soul. From the old mage's tower where the discovery of simulacrum souls was made, a large university dedicated to the study of the arcane sprawled out from it, former the core of the modern prefect capital. The jarl in charge of magic, the Archmage, operates said university while also trying to determine how magic can both be regulated by the High King as well as be used in service of the kingdom.

Religion

The religion that most humans follow, which has become the most common religion in the realm since the migration of humans southward and their dominance over regional politics, originated in a small village that ended up becoming the Oldean city of Guvborg. The Grand Cathedral rests in this city and is where the Archbishop and most high priests reside, where they sit on high and make proclamations over the best way to practice the faith, along with any temporal duties they have.

History

Being the oldest human nation, as well as the origin of humanity, the Old Kingdom ensures to have detailed records of all of the major events in the kingdom, as well as some major accomplishments from humans down south. These records are all kept within the Grand Archives, which is overseen by the Archlibrarian, who does their best to keep these precious records safe and organized. While the Archives were designed to hold the records of human history, they have since expanded to be a repository of non-arcane knowledge in general, with scholars coming from across the realm to study there with the permission of the Archlibrarian, which many Oldeans take pride in.

Demography and Population

The population of the Old Kingdom is almost entirely human, especially Oldean humans. While some make the pilgrimage north to study at Galdorborg or Frowsigborg, or to make an offering in Guvborg, most foreigners either never make the trip or leave once they have arrived. With such little in-flow from outside of the kingdom, the population remains largely stable, as people are careful not to have so large a family as to strain their limited resources in the northern tundra.
The people that do live in the Old Kingdom will often bundle together in large towns and villages rather than spread out across the land, with the largest centers of population being the four prefect capitals, and the town surrounding them. This means that there are large swaths of unpopulated land throughout the kingdom, making travelling dangerous, as it is often a long travel in hostile conditions between civilization.

Territories

The Old Kingdom has resided in the territory to the northeast of the Elder Peaks since anyone can remember, and no one has ever contested that fact. On a map, the territory of the kingdom extends south beyond the eastern edge of the peaks, down to the edge of the Alraean desert. There are no settlements this far south, but rather the Old Road, which the Old Kingdom controls as part of their trade agreement with Silrioch. In fact, most territory that technically belongs to the Old Kingdom is unsettled tundra. There are no settlements southwest of the Ysfloe river, where there are several villages around the bridges that cross over the river. Even northeast of the river, most of the land is unclaimed, with towns and villages clustered around cities.

Military

Instead of having a rigidly structured army commanded by a General, the military is made up of a volunteer militia created and overseen by each jarl to protect people from monsters and bandits. Every prefect capital has a combat school to train the milita members, although the biggest and most well known is the Vigaskol in Hernevborg. In fact, most teachers in the other capitals were trained in Vigaskol and bring that training to the other prefects. From there, members of the militias will usually hunker down in another settlement in the prefect where they round up a posse to help keep the people safe.
Along with the basic training that the militia in each prefect gets, the jarls mandate additional training for their specific militia, giving each a unique flair. The Boga militia has several esoterics, often making their weapons into their simulacrum. While Boga has arcane recruits, Truin uses divine thaumaturgy, with many warriors trained as devotarees to act as field medics. Finally, the Skjala militia often has scholars who practice in more tradional sword forms, as opposed to the more easily teachable spear, as well as understanding the basics of non-magical medicine.

Foreign Relations

In general, the Old Kingdom does their best to try and keep to themselves, rarely getting involved in the issues of foreign nations. They often use the excuse of the imposing Elder Peaks that seperate them from the rest of the world, with one of the paths around the mountains leading to the inhospitable Frigid Wastes. However, on the eastern edge of the mountains, the kingdom does directly border Silrioch, and therefore have made diplomatic relations with the nation, going so far as to put a Silrion embassy in Hernevborg, making it their only embassy. The Old Road connects them to Silrioch's network of roads, although few actually make this trek outside of the most daring merchants, who make up the bulk of the Old Kingdom's trade. While they also border Alraea, they have gone out of their way to not make contact with any of the cultures there.

Agriculture & Industry

There is no large scale agriculture in the Old Kingdom due to the permafrost and the large regions of unclaimed land. Instead, settlements will usually have a communal garden that grows tubers, mushrooms, and berries that are native to the region. Larger settlements, like the prefect capitals build indoor gardens of glass with energy glyphs to turn more of the light from the sun into heat, which allows them to grow crops imported from the south.
Since most of the animals native to the tundra are difficult to domesticate, people mostly get animal products from hunting, especially in the more sourthernly prefects. Along the coastline of the kingdom, there is a large fishing industry, with many commercial fishing vessels, with fish being the main export of the kingdom.

Trade & Transport

To travel between the large centers at the heart of each prefect, High Kings of the past have commissioned roads between the different capitals. Along these roads are various waystations that have milita members to protect travellers from bandits and monsters while also maintaining the road. While the royal roads don't extend to the smaller settlements, people that travel between these settlements have created informal trails with a modicum of volunteer upkeep, although without militia members, they are more dangerous. Despite the existence of these roads, inter-prefect trade isn't common since resources are not too different between the prefects, with the main differences being between their ideological focuses.
Internationally, the Old Kingdom partakes in trade mostly with Silrioch as a middleman due to their connecting borders. While Oldeans tend to think of themselves as self-sufficient, in recent decades they have become accustomed to imports from the south, such as glass for window and metal for weapons and buckles. However, despite international trade allowing wood to flow into the country, they often reject it in favor of the stone they have traditionally built their buildings out of. The main avenue this trade happens is through the Old Road, an extension of the royal roads within the kingdom that goes past the Elder Peaks and connects to Silrioch's roads.

Education

While not explicitly one of the pillars, education is evidentally important to the Oldean people, as education is the primary way to carry tradition down through the generations. A long time ago, the High King decreed that all citizens should receive a proper education of basic proficiency, and the jarls do their best to provide. Almost every settlement has a schoolhouse that is available to the public and paid for by the jarl. However, some small villages, especially those at the far edge along the Ysfloe river, do not have such a schoolhouse, as they have been missed by their jarl.
In addition to basic education, every prefect capital has a major higher education institute reknowned at least throughout the kingdom, if not across the realm. In Galdorborg, the Hasgal attracts prospective students from across the realm to study the arcane, as well as how to create esoterica and manipulate essences. The Grand Archive of Frowsigborg contains such a vast array of knowledge that scholars from all over make the trek through the tundra to access the expansive records, studying them in the hopes of making a new breakthrough. The Vigaskol of Hernevborg is an elite martial school that produces skilled militiamen, although it is not known as much outside of the kingdom. Even the Grand Cathedral in Guvborg, which is primarilly a place of worship, has a large school for nascent devotarees to practice with and hone their thaumaturgy.

Blood Runs Deep

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Hernevborg

Demonym

Oldean

Government System

Oligarchy

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Major Exports

Saltwater Fish
Cutting Edge Medicine
Animal Furs

Major Imports

Metal
Salt
Glass
Temperate Crops
Tropical Fruit

Neighboring Nations

• Silrioch

Related Species

• Human