Hillend
Structure
Hillend is a monarchy, ruled by King Agares, and seconded by the Stentor (Stentorian), a man hand chosen by the King with great strength, skill, wisdom, intelligence, and strategic sense. While the King has the ultimate word, he does hold a somewhat large council at court, with his top generals making up a sizeable portion.
Hillend also relies on a feudal structure, with the king's vassals looking after the lands around the country. Unlike Sondur, these vassal's do not necessarily have to be nobility - rather high ranking officers and generals are often given lands. And while the royal line are monarchal, the ownership of these lands are not always treated the same. The vassal may name an heir, but the land will only be passed on if the heir has a high military rank. Hillend see the land and its people as needing its protection, and as such will only give land ownership to someone capable of defending it. It's as common to see land passed around different Houses as much as it's common to see land passed on to the military heir. One recent example is the lands passed on to Lancelot Bigknob, who has now climbed the rank to Legate.
Culture
The population is primarily human, but does have a large
Technological Level
Highland is somewhat technologically advanced relatively to the rest of the continent. Garriland is the only nation with higher technology, with The Mage Cities and Elephantos on par with Highland. The mines provide much better equipment for the military than opposing nations, boasting higher quality metals and stronger alloys. The military has a rifleman contingent, and is quite familiar with the use of airships, and other steam powered vehicles, such as steam tanks, trains, vehicles (though rather rare) and low fidelity robots.
Religion
Primarily worship St Ajora. While many differing stories of St Ajora are told throughout Carth, Hillend see Ajora as a messianic figure, the half-elf human who brought magic to the world of man. After Ajora was born in Bervenia, Garriland, the saint crossed the Rosen Bridge to the large continent with his 11 disciples - those he taught his magic to. The 12 went on to be known as the Zoidian Braves.
Eventually travelling from modern day Fovhram to Hillend where they found a snowy mountains inhabited by monsters and great demons, known as the Lucavi. They saw the monsters poisoning the land, and so the Braves fought the demons away and sent them back to Hell. Peace was restored, and the lands started growing healthy again.
Just like Garriland, Hillend worship both Ajora and his Braves, yet while Garriland worship them all as deities in a Pantheon, Hillend primarily worship Ajora, with the Braves working as supporting roles as angelic figures.
Agriculture & Industry
Relatively small amounts of flat fertile land exist in Hillend, with most the country being surrounded in metal rich mountains. The few fertile lands supply large amounts of food, mostly growing wheat and grapes. Lakes and slow moving rivers are common and are abundant with aquatic food, like fish and crabs, also sporting a long healthy coastline. Central highland is populated with large numbers of deer, goats, boars, cows and mammoths, while further north contains a fresh supply of goat, moose, seal, walrus, and mammoth meat.
The mining industry is huge, with most areas around the country boasting rich metal veins and a large population having been employed as miners.
Trade & Transport
A long, well-constructed highway runs throughout the continent of Carth, known as The Bravesroad (Braveroad). It follows the path St Ajora and his Braves took when venturing throughout. This highway is the most popular for travelling merchants and trade caravans, as it is well maintained and passes through the more important and larger cities in Carth - passing by in Highland's capital, Le-Rounelle.
Education
The general populace, particularly in the cities, have a relatively high level of education. School is compulsory until the age of 16, even for the homeless. After that, the next four years are compulsory, but are presented with 3 different choices - another 4 years of further academic study, 4 years in a trade, or 4 years in military training. Those that further their study become doctors, lawyers, engineers, alchemists, appraisers etc. The ones in the trades become builders, blacksmiths, farmers etc. Those who join the military have the option to leave after their 4 years of training to pursue something else, whereas those that stay go on to become soldiers, officers, generals etc.
Infrastructure
Most of the large cities contain aqueducts leading from the high mountains into the town, providing fresh water to all. These cities include a good plumbing system, being some of the first cities to implement functional sewers. All major roads connecting the major cities are paved and well maintained.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Alternative Names
Highland
Demonym
Hillender
Leader
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Silver Denars
Major Exports
Large export from the industry, including raw metals and finished goods, such as steel armor and weapons, clocks, eye-glasses, some war machines, compasses, and some forms of firearms.
Highland boasts the greatest and highest quality wool from the native sheep and goats, whom have evolved to grow large, gallant, and beautiful coats of wool to protect against the harsh environments of the area. Wool production is a huge export, along side other popular furs, such as beavers, wolves, cows and mammoth fur, and sometimes even boar hides.
Major Imports
While Highland does produce its own food, other products are regularly imported, such as different kinds of fruit and grain - particularly from the bountiful plains of Fovoham. Such imports from Fovoham include honey, apples, oranges, wheat, hemp, and sugar. Other popular imports include almonds, dates, and cocoa from Elswer, rice and spices from Torrelia, and bananas, grapefruit, mangoes, pineapples and herbs from Tortuga.
Neighboring Nations
Comments