Elmethid

The Anointed State of Elmethid is a major country located on the Bridge of Worlds, between the kingdoms of Bethe and Daphinia. Its capital is the Holy City of Bethasa. While originally settled and named by the Bethite moon elves, Elmethid has since become home to Daphinite humans, Maldrathian dragonborn, and the descendants of various pilgrims who choose to settle in the Holy City. Elmethid is governed by the Church of Ages as a temporal holding of the Clericarch. However, in practice, the administration of the Annointed State falls to the Camerlengo, an office currently held by Mother Ilenia Ventola.

History & Politics

For much of history, Elmethid was considered part of Verdia - the human-dominated Bridge country which would later become Daphinia. In 1311 PA, its myriad tribes were conquered by the Lucine Empire, and organized into the Province of Verdia. In 2332 PA, several the western provinces fell to the Bethinic Migration - an invasion of the high elves of northern Orwinlin. The Bethins, as they were known, had existed in the Empire's northwestern lands for many generations, but were scattered and reclusive. Their more organized cousins swept in on horseback, with blades and magic in hand, and took much of the West for themselves, forming the High Kingdom of Bethe. Roughly a century later, as the Empire dwindled further, they took western Verdia as well, and founded the city of Bethasa - meaning "the Right of the Bethins." The conquered land around it became known as Elmethid. In 2912 PA, after the final collapse of the Lucine Empire, Daphne the Great emerged from the tribes of eastern Verdia, and invaded Elmethid, her armies coming within 10 miles of Bethasa before being fought to a standstill back by King Thidrek I. For the remainder of the Penemuic Age, Elmethid remained split between west and east, minor territories along the border contested in occasional skirmishes between Bethe and Daphinia.

Rise of the Church

By year 348 MA, the Agesi faith had begun to propagate on both sides of Elemethid, and in Bethasa the first Clerical Congress was held between leading bishops and prophets of the faith. The Miracle of Unity is said to have occurred at this Congress, as with a unanimous agreement the Agesi leaders chose to organize themselves into one Church of Ages. This Church would become a major social and economic force within eastern Bethe over the next century, even becoming a major private landowner in the lands surrounding Bethasa. Under the Treaty of Bethasa, signed in 377 MA, the Clericarch and their Cardinals were granted a form of diplomatic immunity as the heads of the Church - the predecessor to recognizing Clericarchal sovereignty over Elmethid. In the year 392, while Bethe prepared to battle the growing threat of Carthenia, the Dagonic Horde invaded from the Erathspring Sea. Held off only by the garrison of Bethasa and various militias from surrounding townships, the kuo-toa and their aquatic warbeasts seemed poised to overrun the city. However, unannounced, a band of six Agesi paladins entered the city from the south, rallying a defense of the besieged Temple of Saint Axia. The Horde was driven back to the sea by the invigorated counterattack. In the aftermath of the battle, Clericarch Talida III named this band of six and the militia that now fought for them the Knights of St. Axia, with a clerical charter to defend the Holy City and surrounding lands.

Modern Elmethid Forms

In 422, Bethe's then-Queen Lorelei IV sought the financial aid of the Church to fund a war to push Carthenia out of the former lands of Orwinlin. In return, the Clerical Congress asked for sovereignty over Bethic Elemethid. Lorelei agreed, on the condition that they would only be granted independence upon the accession of her heir to the throne of Bethe. In 509, Queen Lorelei abdicated, and the Annointed State of Elemethid was officially formed. In 516, as token of gratitude for supporting his claim to the Daphinite throne, King Aurélien III donated the lands of eastern Elmethid to the Church, allowing the country to be truly reunited as a sovereign state under the Clericarch. When the Dagonic Horde attacked again in 589, the Axian Knights and levies of the Elmethidite princes beat them at the walls of Bethasa and purged the coast of their incursions over the course of the year. Presently, Elmethid is a neutral nation within the Agesian world, being unconcerned with wars or alliances that are not religious or defensive in nature. Outside this, its vassal princes have often espoused a view of defensive suspicion towards the Erathspring Sea. Many believe a crusade should be launched into the ocean to finish off the Dagonic Horde before an inevitable third invasion.

Notable Individuals & Groups

The Church

Mother Ilenia Ventola: The current Camerlengo of Elmethid, a special bishop of Cardinal rank entrusted with stewardship over the Anointed State. In accordance with the Clericarch's decree, she looks to maintain Elmethid's status as a politically neutral nation in the Agesian world. The Clericarch and his State should be above most temporal conflicts and grievances.

Knights of Saint Axia

The Order of the Knights of Saint Axia, better known as simply the Knights of St. Axia or Axian Knights, are an Agesian military order headquartered in Fort Dacheon, just outside Bethasa. Originally founded to defend the fledgling Church from the Dagonic Horde during the First Tidal War, the Knights remained as a general defensive and peacekeeping force in Elmethid. They commonly act as more "heavy-duty" support for law enforcement, and additional manpower when the Anointed State is militarily threatened. The Knights' banners and shields bear the emblem of a stylized golden compass on a black and silver background. Many of their weapons are forged to have gear-like details.

Grandmaster Gabriel Astorgon: The head of the Order, an unusually tall Anquetese halfling and one of the most experienced warriors on the Bridge. He is a veteran of the brief War of the Allas between Tharon and Esfellosia, nearly 50 years ago.

Trivia

Elmethid was conceptually inspired by the Papal States. Most of its inhabitants are culturally Daphinian or Bethish, and use the corresponding naming conventions.
Elmethidite fashion and aesthetics typically draw from those of steampunk.