Kingdom of Darnia
The kingdom of Darnia is a large and powerful country located in southern Enaskia. The Darnian civilisation is widely considered by modern scholars to be one of, if not the oldest in the world. It has survived countless internal and external crisis in the past, but has always managed to come out stronger than before.
History
How old is Darnia, exactly?
The kingdom of Darnia's History starts at the same time as the First Age: 4034 bc. However, Darnian civilisation along the Nyos is definetly older. Some have suggested it might have started a thousand years before that, but records from that period are spotty at best, and it is wise to not rely on them for any concrete proof. Nevertheless, if true, this would make Darnia the oldest civilisation in Hysal, ahead of even Nan-Tao, in Osian.The Dawn Age
Darnia, like most young state at the time, spent the start of the First Age, commonly called the Dawn Age in Enaskia, consolidating their core territory along the Nyos and its delta, up to the river Amon, and then after many subsequent invasions by tribes and kingdoms from Syrkania, and Northern Samaria, who both instaled foreign dynasty and split the country a few times, the Kharthians came.The Khartian Period and Long Winter
With the arrival of the Khartian empire in Enaskia, Darnia entered what is typicaly called the High First Age, which while being a period that started and ended violently, offered a prolonged period of peace in Enaskia and Samaria, which induced a golden age in Darnia. As part of the Khartian Empire, the region grew very rich, its population boomed, and both he undrestanding of magic and science progressed. Many major temples, some of which are still standing today, like The Mh'ra of Hurys were built at this time. Unfortunatly, the Long Winter came next, which plunged Darnia is a dark age that would last 3 whole centuries, until the start of the Second Age.Recovering and Becoming an Empire
Slowly but surely, Darnia recovered its strenght. It expanded and reannexed the territories it had once held in the First Age and then beyond, and truly became an empire. However, this expansion put them at odds with another expanding Empire at the time: Valcoren. A singular war in the brough the Darnian Empire down, but after half a century under their rule, they regained independance as the valcoren plunged into civil war.The Bloody Marches
As they pulled themselves out of the Valcoren Empire, they were confronted with the Kingdom of Kinvalia to the north, who would become their most formidable foe to date. Two centuries of war between them, know as The Bloody Marches would severely cripple both of them, just in time for a third power, the The Essanian Empire. to take the stage.Essanian Rule
Their arch-rival, Kinvalia, was wiped out in a single war against the Essanians, much in the same way, as they had been against Valcoren. However, Darnia managed to recover enough fron the Bloody Marches to be able to repulse the and keep the Essanians at bay for nearly three centuries. However, around 600bc, their luck ran out, and they were overrun and vassalised. They would spend a good chunk of the following 5 centuries under their rule, either directly as a province, or indirectly through vassalage. They would never fully submit however, and lauched frequent revolts against their overlords, until they managed to liberate themselves a century before the Third Age.Age of Chaos
Unfortunatly, things took a very bad turn soon after. The continent was engulfed in wars, plague and social upheaval, in what would be later known as the Age of Chaos in Enaskia. Darnia's government, along with most others on the continent, collasped, leaving the region in chaos and anarchy.Modern Darnia
Darnia reformed itself in the first decade of the Third Age, a deeply traumatised country, who strictly focused inwards to rebuild itself. It took decades, but after the first century of the Third Age, they began looking outwards again, making alliances with some of their neighbours and reopened the trade routes that had made them so prosperous in the past. Today, the kingdom of Darnia is the most powerful country on the continent, and has mostly mostly healed the scars of the Age of Chaos.Territories
The kingdom of Darnia occupies most of the southern half of the continent of Continent of Enaskia, from the Darnian sea and the crimson strait in the south, to the foothills of the syrkan and Lasris hills and the Darnian marches to the north. It is centered along the Nyos river and its large delta in the south, which are the only truly densely habitable lands in the region. It also posseses Hoxania, a semi-aride region to the east of the ruby sea, and separated from the rest of Darnia by it as well as costal lands across the Crimson strait, in Mahador, allowing Darnia complete control over the strait. The kingdom also possesses numerous islands to the south-west, most notably the island of Sarsan, the second largest island of the continent after the island of Lassin.
Military
Infantry
Darnia has a profesionaly standing army, which, unlike in Arros, is standard for Enaskian countries. It has possessed one since the last century of the Second age, and it was made to be a detterent to the Essanian empire invading them again. After the Kingdom's collapse during the Age of Chaos, they reformed it, and it has remained ever since. Because of the kingdom's smaller sized population compared to the other powers on the continent, their numbers aren't huge, but they make up for it with their extensive and rigourous training, which allows them to be the best infantry force on the continent.Mage special forces
The Firemage of the Island of Fes N'haï are touted as the best of their kind in all of Hysal. These elite infantry troupes can be called upon to fight on the mainland when the situation for the regular army becomes critical. Despite being semi-independant from the autority of both the king or clergy of Darnia, they remain loyal to the kingdom. They have a reputation that is known way byond the kingdom of being unbeatable on land, and their spotless record backs it up.Navy
Despite the kingdom having prominent sea access in the west and south, it does not have a very large navy. The kingdom's main shipyard is located in City of Kalosanthar, but they also have smaller ones in Loxanthar, which mainly serves merchant ships, and Haxarys, which is reserved for the military.Air Force
Darnia has a large fleet of Winged ships, which are mostly stationed in the City of Goranthar, where they are also built. The factory and numerous workshops there were built by the Essanian Empire during their occupation in the Second Age, but were then expanded by the Darnians to have more capacity. Currently, their fleet numbers 16 millitary ships, and about as many civilian and cargo ships, which could be converted in case of war. It has the second largest Air force on the continent after the Kinvalian-Paxolian Commonwealth..Foreign Relations
Allied Nations
While Darnia is a fairly isolitionist country historicaly, and especialy now in the Third Age, it does have some foreign allies and foes. Their oldest ally is actualy the Kingdom of Nan-Tao, located across the Athelic sea, in eastern Osian and with whom they first developed trade in the First Age, and that continued to this day. The kingdom of Gysia is their main ally in the Continent of Arros, as the former is the largest Solian country in Arros. They are also a major trade partner and share a common enemy in the Kinvalian-Paxolian Commonwealth.. Thus, it is not rare to see and Gysian emissary in the Darnian court and vice-Versa.Enemy Nations
The Commonwealth of Kinvalia and Paxolia, in part for historical grievances, such as The Bloody Marches, and also because of recent rising tensions in the kingdom of Thenia, remains their main rival. The Kingdom of Thenia is opposed to both Darnia and the commonwealth, as is the Kingdom of Saramen to the east.Neutral Nations
The kingdom of Darnia maintains neutral relations with the Kingdom of Syrkania to its north-east. Despite border disputes in the south, both have no appetite for war, and disrupting the lucrative trade networks in the region. A similar thing exists for the Triarchy of the Free Cities. As they are located just to the east of the Crimson strait, they collaborate with Darnia to ensure the flow of trade, but also to keep out the Merchant Republic of Arba influence from the region. The kingdom of Kherokomia is even more isolationist than Darnia, so although the later would want them as allies, it maintains maintains its neutrality. Finaly, the Kingdom of Tomboraan, north-western Mahador has cordial relations with Darnia, but not much more than that.Agriculture & Industry
Agriculture
Almost all of the Kingdom's agriculture occurs along the Nyos river. There, wheat, barley, oats and rice is cultivated, as well as various veggies. They also have plantations of of dattes, pomegranates, mangos and peach trees in the delta region in the south.Wine/Alcohol
Grapes are grown in the delta region also, as well as in Hoxania, where most of the world famous darnian wine is produced. Also in Hoxania, and in the coastal region surrounding the ruby sea, Trexasi Plants are grown specificaly for their roots, with which Serasin, a popular Darnian alcohol, is made.Mining
Gold used to be mined extensively in numerous regions of the country, but most of those mines have long since depleted, except for the gold mines in the Sun Hills, between the cities of Lyras and Solthar. Copper is mined further north, in the Lasris hills and in Hoxania, while amethist can be found in abundance in the Obsidian hills and are the largest source of these crystals in all of Enaskia. Darnia possesses no known deposits of tin, and very few large deposits of iron, though Kherokomia to the north has an abundance of both, so they get it from them.Trade & Transport
Land Trade
The continent's main east-west road passes through northern Darnia. It goes from the Syrkanian cities of Neyaken and Aksa in the west, to the cities of Laenos and Khron in the east. The town of Sohar, in northern Darnia, is located at the end of the navigable portion of the Nyos river, and also along that east-west trade road, making it a very important centre of trade not just for the Kingdom of Darnia, but also for continent as a whole.Sea Trade
The crimson strait, located between southern Enaskia and northern Mahador, is a chokepoint of trade going from the Darnian sea to the Sunrise sea. The City of Loxathar is located on the Enaskian side, on the southern most point of Hoxania. Because of its strategic position, it is able to tax the vast amount of trade passing through the strait, including the trade from Osian to Arros and vice-versa, bringing large amounts of tax revenue to the city and kingdom.The Nyos River
Most internal trade in the kingdom travels via the Nyos river, since nearly all of the kingdom's major cities are located along it, including its largest city and port, Kalosanthar, from which most foreign products come in from and most domestic products are shipped out from.Civilian Air travel
All civilians Winged ships are owned by the crown itself as a public service, which keeps the ticket prices low, allowing many residents, not just nobles like in most other countries with this service, to use them for longer trips. The most popular one is between Lyras, the Kingdom's capital and Kalosanthar, its largest city.Infrastructure
An Urban Country
Because of the harsh climate of their desert country, the vast majority of Darnian cities are located along the Nyos river, and linked together with well maintained stone roads that rarely deviate from the river's shores. This makes Darnia a highly urbanized country compared to its continental peers, as the vast majority of the Darnian population lives in either the large walled cities along the river, or in smaller farming communities between them. In Hoxania, the cities of Loxathar, Haxarys and Hoxan are linked by smaller, less travelled roads and mostly rely on sea travel around the peninsula instead for trade and communication.Small, Fortified and dense Cities
The cities themselves are relatively small in terms of space they occupy, yet are very densely populated, with narrow streets lined with stacked houses, which prevents the harsh sun from overheating the pavement below. Public gardens, offering shades in the shape of palm trees, are common in the larger cities like Lyras or Kalosanthar, as are bazaars, large indoor markets where all kinds of goods can be bargained for. All of these cities are surrounded by high and thick sandstone walls, some of which have been built and rebuilt dozens of times in the past. Even smaller villages have fortifications, though less impressive than the ones protecting the largests cities.Temples
Every Darnian city, town or village has a Solian temple, or Mh'ra, as its called here. Most towns and Cities have mutiple of them within their walls. For the smaller villages, these mh'ra are the center peice of the settlement, while in larger cities, each neighbourhood has one or two of these temples. The larger cities also get a Grand Mh'ra, from which the local Arcan, second in the Solian hiearchy to the High Rayn of Solthar himself, live and govern the region's lower clergy from. These are tall buildings, with high vaulted ceilings and bronze coloured domes and towers on each corner. The oldest one of them all, the Great Mh'ra of Hurys, is made of Khartstone, a material that humanity forgot how to make.Airports
Darnia possesses quite a few airport. The largest one in located just outside the city of Lyras. Three other large airports is located in Kalosanthar, Goranthar and Loxanthar, while the cities of Xanor, Hurys and Narha have smaller ones, mainly for local civilian travel. Finaly, the Island of Fes N'haï has its own airport, near the city of H'noxar, and they have a fleet of 3 Winged ships, allowing the firemages there to reach the Kalosanthar in less than a day.
From the Sands we rose, and to the Sun we will rise again
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Demonym
Darnian/Darnish
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Power Structure
Feudal state
Official State Religion
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Manufactured Items
Related Ethnicities
Related Myths
Demography
As Darnia is located in a largely inhospitable desert, the vast majority of the population is concentrated in the narrow Nyos river valley, the lush river delta, as well as the coast of Hoxania in the east. Most of the population is Darnian, but there's notable minorities of Syrkanians in the north-west, Hoxanians to the south-east and Nharish tribes in the south-west. The total population of the kingdom is estimated to be around 10 million, a small population compared to others on the continent.
Culture
Darnian culture is old and has gone through many changes in its 5000 years of history. Modern darnian culture is heavely influenced by Solianism and by the trauma that was the Age of Chaos. The people here tend to be wary of foreigners, even in large cities. On a more positive note, Darnians are very festive people. They even have a drink called Tsamet, the name of which translates to "Joyous drink" in darnian. They drink a ton of it during their many celebrations, such as during the Summer Solstice Festival.
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