Aundair
Aundairians are a spirited, intelligent people known for their commonplace magic, proud nobles, and flamboyant fashion. Their nation is a monarchy ruled by the ambitious Queen Aurala ir'Wynarn. Every self-respecting Aundairian knows their fine wines and enjoys a rousing duel.
Culture
The gap between urban and rural life in Aundair is bigger than anywhere else in the five nations, even as both share a deep national pride and fascination with magic. Aundair's pastoral countryside benefits from the nation's abundance of magewrights, but shuns the fast living and fashion-obsessed cities. By contrast, the people of Aundair's cities consider the rural folks as backwards, always a generation behind on the latest magical advancements.
Rural Aundair
The farmers of Aundair live a life similar to their ancestors from before the Kingdom of Galifar, tilling the rich soil in a comfortable climate to grow luxury goods desired across the continent. Most lords maintain a vineyard of some sort, with the quality of the wine believed to reflect the quality of their leadership and piety to the Sovereign Host. For a land steeped in arcane magic, rural Aundair is much more religious than outsiders might suspect. Aureon is revered throughout the nation as the deity of knowledge and magic, but Arawai has many devotional temples intended to bring about good harvests. Merchants in the towns of Aundair give tithes to local temples of Kol Korran, and villagers who live in the wilder patches give praise to Balinor. Rural Aundair is also a hotbed of Pure Flame activity, a holdover from the end of the Lycanthropic threat early in the last century. Archbishop Dariznu, who currently rules over Thaliost with an iron fist, originally presided over an Aundairian town of Wyr in Western Aundair.Urban Aundair
The cities of Aundair are full of wondrous inventions, courtesy of the Arcane Congress. While all of Galifar benefitted from the Twelve's offerings in the centuries of peace, Aundair has uniquely seen the wonders of a steady supply of local magewrights. Even the towns of Aundair are fully outfitted with modern magical marvels, with animated brooms that clean the streets lit by everburning lanterns. The cities offer the latest and greatest innovations, such as permanent illusions that loop and give tours of historic sites. While Aundair's rural centers are owned directly by the presiding lord and usually managed informally by a council of village elders, its urban centers are much more complex. Royal governors manage cities, while royal mayors manage towns. These are more oligarchal than pure feudal positions, as the various wealthy members of society negotiate with lords and ladies over who is qualified to lead.Military
Aundairian Royal Army
Aundair's army pioneered many of the advances in the arcane arts over the war, with the Arcane Congress working on an endless stream of classified projects for the Aundairian crown. While Karrnath certainly has the lead in necromancy and even manages to match Aundair in abjuration and evocation, Aundairian war wizards provide a much broader and more diverse skill set. Conjuration, enchantment, and transmutation are three key schools of magic where Aundair simply has no peer. Fog of War enshrouded formations of Thranish archers, Gallant Charge enabled formations of Aundairian soldiers to charge through enemy fire, and Mass Darkvision allowed elite Aundairian forces to strike even during the darkest nights. More formally, Aundair's ordinary armies were supplemented by the Knights Arcane, a large order that included almost every noble who served in the war. The Knights Arcane embodied the mixing of arcane and martial traditions. Many of the Knights Arcane conventionally raised their own mounts to serve as traditional cavalry, mixing spell and blade from horseback. The Knights Phantom was an elite unit of light cavalry that preferred to leverage the spell Phantom Steed over flesh and blood mounts, using a special dragonshard focus item that extended the duration of the steed beyond the conventional one hour. Perhaps the most famous of the Knights Arcane were the dragonhawk riders, whose mastery of magic solidified Aundair's aerial superiority. While Brelish hippogriffs, Cyran griffons, Thranish wyverns, and Karrnathi undead monstrosities all challenged Aundair's dragonhawk riders throughout the war, more often than not the dragonhawks came out on top. Still, this wasn't enough to prevent the major losses Aundair faced throughout the war. While a Lyrandar airship can be constructed in a matter of month, it takes years for a Dragonhawk to grow to a rideable size and war-ready state. Furthermore, the reliance on the noble class for both mounts and riders limited the overall size and scope of aerial warfare, something that may change if the next war were to break out.Aundairian Royal Navy
While the conventional war wizards of Aundair explored many more branches of magic than their counterparts in other nations, the Aundairian Navy pushed those studies even further, deeply incorporating illusion magic into their tactics. The inherent uncertainties of war are only amplified on the water, where information is everything. In terms of warfronts, Aundair's First Fleet was the smallest, patrolling the Eldeen Bay and maintaining shipping routes in the waters north of Khorvaire. The Second Fleet was the largest, vying for control of Scion's Sound and the waters around Thronehold. The Third Fleet protected Aundair's western flank, conducting operations in Lake Galifar against Thrane and Breland.The Royal Eyes
Aundair's intelligence agency, the Royal Eyes lack the sheer number of sources and boots on the ground that the Dark Lanterns cultivated prior to the outbreak of the Last War. Still, they are one of the premier intelligence agencies in Khorvaire, leaning on magical might from both spells and items to cover ground where they lack personnel. While the Royal Eyes ultimately report to Aurala, the day-to-day operations are handled by her spymaster Thuel Racannoch. Thuel has only held the position for the past two years - he replaced Nara ir’Galanatyr, who retired under mysterious circumstances to Wyr shortly after Aurala signed the Treaty of Thronehold. Thuel is completely loyal to Aurala, having worked his way up the ranks the hard way over many years, without the usual benefit of an easy start granted to those of noble birth.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
| Copper | Crown | cp |
| Silver | Sovereign | sp |
| Gold | Galifar | gp |
| Platinum | Dragon | pp |
Location
Neighboring Nations
