The Kingdom of Orthond

Introduction
The Kingdom of Orthond is a large nation on “The Tear” continent with vast lands. Its lands are so impressive in fact, that they are one of the few nations able to rival those of their only neighbour, the mighty Empire of Evadrin. As one can imagine, this has made both nations fierce rivals since the dawn of their existence, as both the Kingdom and the Empire constantly try to grow larger and better than the other.
Just like the citizens of Evadrin, the population of Orthond is incredibly patriotic. The people are proud of their nation and will give their life to defend it. This patriotism is however about the only quality both nations share. In the Kingdom of Orthond personal freedom, within the borders of the law of course, is an incredibly important value. This means that Orthond’s citizens are relatively free to choose what they want to do with their lives. Additionally, the Kingdom grants significant political power to regional rulers. While the King or Queen of Orthond is by far the most powerful figure of the nation, the regional rulers can work together to demand certain actions or explanations should they deem it necessary. A last notable trait of the Kingdom of Orthond is that it exists out of many small and medium sized towns and villages. While there are certainly cities, there are far fewer of them than in most other nations. The cities that do exist are often smaller and less impressive than those elsewhere on the continent.
The ruling house in Orthond are the Droversons, who have been in that position for more than three centuries. The current ruler is King Ealwin Droverson who rules from the capital and biggest city of Orthond, Cawold.

The Kingdom and The Empire
As the Empire of Evadrin is the Kingdom of Orthond’s only neighbour (the Protectorate of the Legacy Shield is not considered to be a nation) the Kingdom has always compared themselves to them. Of course, with the exception of the patriotism of their people, both nations differ immensely.
The Empire is an extremely orderly nation under the tight leadership of their supreme ruler, the Emperor or Empress of Evadrin. There the nation also plays a much bigger role in deciding what a person can or should become, as everyone is conscripted in the Imperial Army before they can do anything else. During this time of conscription, a person receives an education tailored to their (perceived) skills. Afterwards, officers in the army as well as officials serving the nation have great influence over future career possibilities of a person. Lastly, the Empire exists out of many immense cities, of which most are walled and contain military forts. Small towns and villages are virtually non-existent. Evadrin also considers itself far more advanced than Orthond, and while few from the Kingdom would publicly agree with this, many do realise that there is some truth to that statement.
While over the course of history the balance of power between the Kingdom of Orthond and the Empire of Evadrin has shifted many times, it is agreed by everyone for a few centuries now, even by the Kingdom of Orthond, that the Empire is the most powerful nation on “The Tear” continent. During these centuries Orthond has tried very hard to take over that position once more, although the Kingdom has given up on using military means to achieve dominance for almost a century now, unwilling to risk another war unless provoked. The efforts have been in vain however, as the Empire continued to grow exponentially more powerful than all other nations on the continent. A fact that has only grown stronger after the alliance between the Theocracy of Dorothel and the Empire of Evadrin a generation ago, where both nations agreed to work together as if they were one, making both the Empire and the Theocracy the undisputable military, religious, economic, technological, and cultural leaders on the continent.

The Kingdom and Other Nations
The Empire of Evadrin is the only neighbour of the Kingdom of Orthond. As the 2 nations have a tumultuous relationship at best, there is very little interaction between the two of them. This has resulted in the Kingdom of Orthond becoming a very self-sustainable nation. Food and resources are all gathered and processed within the Kingdom itself, and for the majority of the Orthond’s existence there was only minimal import or export of any kind. Consequently the Kingdom has had only minimal diplomatic relationships with most other Nations on the continent, although it has always considered it important to be able to keep good track of everything that happens on “The Tear”. This changed however once the Droverson’s came to power something over three centuries ago, who wanted closer ties with the other nations further away. The alliance between the Empire of Evadrin and the Theocracy of Dorothel a generation ago was also an important reason for other nations on the continent to start working closer together, as all of them fear the juggernaut of a nation that the Empire is becoming.
The relationship between Orthond and Dorothel is currently at an all time low. While both nations differ gravely on many things, both of them have worked together on multiple occasions during the past millennia against their common enemy, The Empire of Evadrin. However, as the last centuries Dorothel grew closer together with Evadrin, the relationship between the Kingdom and the Theocracy soured. The alliance was considered to be a great insult as well as a threat by the Orthond, and despite the Droverson’s initial attempts to keep a diplomatic relationship, they were forced to cut all ties with Dorothel after outrage from commoners and nobles alike.
As Lothlorin was initially a part of the empire, Orthond looked at the young region with much suspicion. The great island lay before the Kingdom’s shore too after all, and while they never had much interest in it, it was a strategic danger. When it become clear however that the inhabitants of Lothlorin island desired independence from the Empire, Orthond quickly grew warmer towards the young nation. After partial independence was gained by the Principality, Orthond and Lothlorin quickly became trading partners. While the relationship between both nations is currently great, the Kingdom is careful with openly supporting the Principality’s continuing claims for complete independence, and some suspicion still remains towards the former colony of the Empire.
As the Kingdom of Orthond values personal freedom, they bear much hatred towards the slave nation that Ellorwis represents. It is perhaps the one nation that most citizens hate even more than the empire, even though there have been very few problems between the both of them. The hatred towards the slave nation is almost entirely idealistic, as the distance between Orthond and Ellorwis, as well as the 2 nations between them, make it difficult for either of them to take action upon the other. That has not prevented a few small skirmishes however, although there was never any outright war. That being said, when Ellorwis launched its massive assault against the Empire of Evadrin and the Theocracy of Dorothel a generation ago the Kingdom did actually sent armies over the sea to fight the slaver nation. Their significant contribution in the war against the Realm of Chains is often forgotten by the other nations on the continent, much to the proud nation’s chagrin.
The Dominion of Thone is by far the most mysterious nation on the entire continent. It has isolated itself completely, and not a single outsider has ever been able to enter one of their cities and return to report what they look like. Not even the great leaders on the continent know much about the Dominion. The only fact the Kingdom of Orthond knows about the Dominion, is that they have never lost a fight to the Empire, which is something the Orthondians can certainly appreciate. The mist of mysteriousness surrounding the nation as well as its heavy use of magic however means Orthond is very happy that the Dominion lies so far away from them.
Orthond has little to no relationships with the many nations in the independent regions, the United Kingdoms of Edhellon or the elves from Gelasea. They are all too distant from the Kingdom to be able to maintain any serious contact with.
Lastly, there is the Protectorate of the Legacy Shield, with which the Kingdom has a very complicated relationship. The Protectorate is not an official nation, but rather a force that serves to protect the entire continent from evils threatening it. During the Dismal March the Legacy Shield has helped liberate Orthond, and without their help the Kingdom may even have fallen. However, even after pushing back the Dismal March the Legacy Shield remains, and keeps both a diplomatic and military presence in Orthond (as well as the Empire and the Theocracy). This has made ties between the Kingdom and the Protectorate very tense, as the former considers the armies within their borders very dangerous and threatening. Nevertheless the northern villages and regional rulers prefer the Legacy Shield remains, as they have not forgotten the atrocities that happened a mere decade ago.

Culture and Society
The Kingdom of Orthond values personal freedom, and believes that people should have the freedom to do what they desire as long as they do not harm others in any way. Because of this most citizens of Orthond are distrustful towards most kinds of interreference of the nation within their daily lives. This has also resulted in the power of the King or Queen of Orthond being much smaller than that of leaders of other nations. Power is decentralised and much of it is in hands of the regional and local lords, the so called “Rehans” and “Lohans”, and even these lords do not interfere more than necessary. Another consequence of this is that inhabitants of a region can easily appeal to their local lords to demand certain actions to be taken. If a great enough amount of Orthondians do this the lords will almost be forced to do as they’re asked. The Rehals and Lohans, along with the Provincial Lords (the Derhans), can do similar appeals to the King or Queen.
Orthondians also value and respect skill. The better one is at a skill they practice, the higher they are considered in social standing. Of course it is often advised that one takes up a craft or line of work that suits one’s skills, as this will be an important factor for success. While in the Kingdom there is in theory only a difference between commoners and nobles, in practice skilled craftsmen, merchants, and servants of the faith are considered to be higher up the social ladder than other commoners. Criminals, beggars, and Orthondians with an occupation that is considered to have a low reputation are considered to be the lowest tier on the social ladder. As the people of Orthond value freedom so highly, slavery is completely forbidden and everyone within the Kingdom is considered to be a free person, except when they are arrested by the authorities. While it is possible to move on the social ladder within the tiers of a commoner, it is highly unlikely to rise as a commoner to a noble standing. Only a Rehan or Derhan with permission of the crown itself can raise a person to nobility, which is a privilege reserved for a few very successful people.
Orthond exists out of many small villages and towns rather than big cities. This is a consequence of the dislike of intervention of the Nation into the Orthondians’ lives, as even something like big city planning is considered intrusive. The citizens of Orthond much rather do their own thing, and build their home where they want to. Most regions do have a city though, although even these cities are small and archaic compared to cities from other nations.

Magic in the Kingdom
Despite the fact that personal freedom is valued so greatly within the Kingdom of Orthond, magic is something that most Orthondians are very distrustful of, and are even scared of. There are believed to be two reasons for this. The first is that magic is simply much rarer within the Kingdom of Orthond than any other nation, so its inhabitants are far less used to magic than those of other nations. It is unknown why exactly magic is so rare within Orthond, although some believe that the millennia old stigma around magic within the nation has caused many people that do possess the gifts to leave, as well as greatly diminish the amount of people that want to research it. A second reason for the distrust of magic is simply that magic is capable of so much that it is an easy way to assert dominance over others and intrude on the freedom that Orthondians value so highly.
Even though there is a great distrust and fear of magic, it is certainly not illegal within the Kingdom of Orthond. However, it is often practiced in contained towers and academies far away from civilization or just outside major cities. As long as mages keep to themselves most Orhondians don’t have a problem with them.

Religion in the Kingdom
Religion plays an important part of the Orthondians their lives. Even most small villages have a temple or chapel of some kind dedicated to the Gods. Most citizens pray on an almost daily basis, although they are not as extreme in their faith as the Theocracy of Dorothel. The Kingdom of Orthond worships, like most nations, most good and some neutral aligned Deities of Ehldaron’s pantheon. The most important Deity in the Kingdom is Ahdah, Goddess of Wisdom and Creation and often dubbed “The Mother”. She is along with Celios the leader of the so called “Caretakers” circle of Gods that includes most good aligned Gods. As the official main Goddess of Orthond she is by far the most worshipped Deity by the Orthondians.
Other important Gods within Orthond are Aana, Goddes of Craft, Ryher, God of Protection, Uuna and Aurus, twin Gods of the moons, night, sleeping and healing, and Ysyn, goddess of spring, nature and rebirth. Most other Good and neutral aligned Deities are also openly worshipped within the Kingdom, albeit to a much lesser degree. There are 2 exceptions however: Celios and Lox. Both Gods represent the strong order valued by The Kingdom’s main enemies, The Empire of Evadrin and the Theocracy of Dorothel. Most Orthondians are of the opinion that these 2 Deities go against their own highly valued personal freedom. While their worship is not illegal, it is looked down upon by the vast majority of people within the Kingdom.
Priests, Clerics, and other religious servants of the faith are thought of highly by most Orthondians. Unlike Arcane Magic, Divine magic is trusted far more and does not suffer from any negative perception or fear.

Demographics

The Kingdom of Orthond mostly exists out of Humans, Gnomes, and Halflings. Dwarves are not uncommon, but rarer than in the northern nations that range closer to the mountains. Other races are present and welcomed as well, however, Dragonborn and Elves are often mistrusted more because of their link to magic, although the latter of these 2 are very rare within the Kingdom. Tieflings and (Half-)Orcs are generally regarded with suspicion, and unfortunately often have to suffer the prejudge that they are criminals.

Government

Orthond is a kingdom, which means that most of the power lies with its King or Queen. While this is the case today, the King or Queen’s individual power has diminished quite a bit since the birth of Orthond, and it is less than that of all other leaders on “The Tear”. This is because much power shifted towards the regional and local lords as they are considered to be more capable to deal with local issues than the King or Queen itself. This is especially important to keep in mind with a people such as the Orthondians, that dislike the nation intervening in their personal lives. Another important aspect of the lords their power is that, just like citizens are able to appeal to them, they can appeal to the king or queen. As long as a majority of the lords agrees on something, they can force the nation’s leader to take, or undo, certain actions. This is however something that rarely happens, as this is a gathering of enormous proportion that requires the King or Queen and all lords (or a representative) to be present, discuss, and vote. It only happens in exceptional circumstances. However, the fact that both commoners and lords alike can demand this of their ruler in and of itself is enough to limit the power of the King or Queen immensely. Every decision the Nation’s ruler makes needs to be carefully considered, and both the nobles and commoners need to be kept in mind.
A recent occurrence of this was during the reign of the previous Queen, Devondra Droverson. After the war where Ellorwis assaulted Evadrin and Dorothel, the latter 2 entered an alliance making them the undisputable most powerful rulers on the continent. Queen Devondra, while not liking the situation, decided to continue a warm diplomatic relationship with Dorothel. This outraged commoners and lords alike, who both felt that Dorothel offended them immensely by entering in this alliance. A special Lordsappeal was organised where the lords forced Queen Devondra to cut all diplomatic ties with Dorothel entirely.
The current king is the eldest child of Devondra Droverson, Ealwin Droverson. Ealwin only recently came to power after Devondra died from a lingering disease not even the best healers were able to cure her from. The new king spends most of his time rebuilding the northern region of the Kingdom after it was nearly completely destroyed during the Dismal March.
Orthond’s system of Lords differs slightly from that of other nations:

1. King or Queen: Despite the diminished power of Orthond’s ruler, it remains by far the most powerful person within the Kingdom. The King or Queen follows the line of succession of the current rulers.
2. Derhan/Derhanness: These are the rulers of the different large regions (Dennens) of Orthond. They serve as overseers of the many local lords within their region, and are responsible for interaction between the different settlements within their territory. The Derhan often report to and work closely together with the King or Queen. A Derhan is not elected by the King or Queen, but instead it is the house that earns the fealty of the other houses within its region. In practice this means that the most powerful House within one Dennen becomes its Derhan, although that is a position that often changes throughout the years. Derhans sometime live in a city or large town that they control, others live somewhat separate from society, uninterested in local rule.
3. Rehan/Rehaness: Rehans are the lords and ladies of the different houses of Orthond. A Rehan(ess) is usually the leader of one of the Kingdom’s cities or a of a small region of multiple towns and villages. As Rehans are the main local rulers, they wield significant power in their own region, and are responsible for its welfare. Rehans are also the leaders of local law enforcement, and city guards answer directly to them. They are the judges within their territory and hand out the sentences to arrested criminals, although they occasionally delegate this responsibility to one or more of their Lohans.
4. Lohan/Lohaness: A Lohan or Lohaness is a noble rank that can only be granted by the Rehan(ess) of a certain region, and also requires permission from the crown. Lohans are usually responsible for a specific part or department within a city, or they can be in charge of a specific town or village under a Rehan(ess)’s rule.
5. Karh: A Karh is the lowest rank of nobility within Orthond. Unlike the higher noble ranks, Karhs are rarely concerned with ruling a city, town, or village. Similar to knights, a Karh is usually a kind of elite Fighter that serves as a vassal to a noble of the Rehan rank or higher. The Karh rank is often also given as a noble title to Orthondians that have achieved great things. Once a person receives this title, they and their children officially belong to the nobility of Orthond and are able to rise through its ranks.

History

The Kingdom of Orthond is one of the oldest nations on “The Tear”, although it is not as old as its neighbour Evadrin, which some claim originates from all the way back in the Third Era. Orthond as a Kingdom was founded early on in the Fourth Era, and during the entirety of that period it has expanded and taken over the smaller nations that also resided in that area. Its expansion was halted once it encountered the Empire of Evadrin, and ever since the two nations first met wars for dominance have been fought between the two. While Evadrin has always had a vastly bigger population and superior military than Orthond, it also has always had to fight multiple nations at the same time and often waged war with Orthond, Dorothel, and Ellorwis simultaneously. While the balance of power between both the Kingdom and the Empire has shifted many times, the Empire has had the upper hand for the majority of the Fifth Age. Its dominance was set in stone after the alliance with Dorothel in the year 454 of the Fifth Age. The wars between Orthond and Evadrin were amongst the bloodiest in the continent, although since the Droversons came to power these wars have been far less common. The last serious war ended half a century ago, although border disputes are still a frequent occurrence and often end in violence. Ever since the alliance with Dorothel tension between the Kingdom of Orthond on one hand and the Empire of Evadrin and the Theocracy of Dorothel on the other hand are at an all time high.
During the entirety of its existence Orthond has always had many internal struggles as well. Different Rehans of one region have always fought for the position of Derhan, and even the crown has been fought over many times. Nobody remembers who the original House was that founded Orthond, but some ancient ruling houses are remembered to this day. The Dartagans were amongst the oldest and ruled early on during the Fourth Era, but lost the throne after a brutal civil war, although their house exists to this day and their lord is one of the most influential Derhans in the Kingdom. The Ambersofts replaced them, but barely ruled for two years before they too were replaced. The Bromleys are a notorious House that held the throne near the end of the Fourth Age. Their wars against Evadrin were brutal but effective, although they were equally brutal towards their own citizens. The Rivermill House provided some stability to Orthond between three and five centuries ago. However, their last queen died without being able to birth a child. Another civil war for the crown erupted that lasted more than 20 years, until three centuries ago the Droversons came out victoriously and have been ruling ever since. They proclaimed that they would end all internal struggles, and to their credit their rule has been a calm one so far with little internal conflict, and also less wars than ever before in the Kingdom’s history. Some are happy with this situation, others not so much as they fear it has allowed the Empire of Evadrin to become too powerful.
In recent history Orthond has participated in the war against Ellorwis. 30 years ago the Realm of chains launched a massive assault against Evadrin and Dorothel. Despite the formidable imperial army and the considerable force of the Theocracy, Ellorwis had a massive advantage because of their dragons and destructive magical armies and initially devastated their forces. Both nations realised they would have to work together to repel the invasion. Orthond too decided to join the fight, putting aside their differences with the Empire to fight the slavers nation they despised even more. Ellorwis was eventually beaten and forced to retreat, in no small part due to the help of Orthond, although the Kingdom’s contribution has been all but forgotten by the other nations. This event also resulted into the alliance between Dorothel and Evadrin.
In the year 469 of the Fifth Age thousands of massive legions of terrible monsters travelled from the Peninsula of Rifts over the Wailing Wastes to invade the mainland of “The Tear”. It was the start of the event called the Dismal March. For 6 years a bloody and destructive war of survival took place, as the Kingdom of Orthond, the Empire of Evadrin and the Theocracy of Dorothel all were invaded. Within a year all nations lost their northern regions, and entire cities were lost in a day to the invading forces. Orthond put up a brave fight, despite being vastly outnumbered. Everyone took up arms to defend their home, and while the nation was never able to stop the invading forces, it was able to stall them. While the alliance of the Empire and the Theocracy had by far the biggest army, the then emperor Rohan Lancaster was so overwhelmed by the events he was unable to act, leaving Orthond to largely fend for its own as its closest ally, the Principality of Lothlorin, barerly had any army at all after the Empire forced it to demilitarize. It’s only because of the organisation called The Protectorate of the Legacy Shield that the invading forces were driven out of Orthond and the northern regions liberated. After the Legacy Shield liberated Orthond, what remained of the army worked closely together with the Protectorate to fight off the Dismal March once and for all. With armies from all regions of the continent except the Empire of Evadrin the invading forces were destroyed, although it was never discovered what caused the invasion in the first place.
To this day the Legacy Shield remains present in Orthond, as the nation is still rebuilding from the destructive invasion.

Architecture

Orthond’s towns, villages, and cities have rather archaic architecture compared to many of the other nations. They lack the impressive buildings from the Empire or the beautiful wonders from Dorothel. Most buildings are simple wooden or stone structures. In addition, as the Kingdom does not even want to do too much city planning with how much the population hates their intervention, the towns, villages, and even cities have a strange layout with buildings all over the place and are lacking of districts in the traditional sense. The Orthondians build their house or shop pretty much wherever they want it to be, resulting is very strange looking settlements.

Geography

Orthond controls vast amounts of land, especially compared to its population. Most of its land are flat lands filled with forests, although there are some hilly areas and even small mountains, although there are no major mountains in the entire region. Cities can usually be found close these hills and mountains, as they often serve as important resource mines.
To the east lies the only neighbouring nation of the Kingdom, the Empire of Evadrin. While the border between the 2 nations has shifted many times over the years, the river between the 2 nations called the “Dorn”, is often seen as the official border.
To the South lies the Ocean as well as the big Island called “Lothlorin Island”. Orthond has never shown much interest in the Island, although its settlement by the empire did cause some nervousness. Over the years however the Lothloriners have broken away from the Empire, and so most worries concerning them have disappeared.
To the west of the Kingdom lies the enormous wilderness called “The Rotten Swamp”. The entire place is, as the name suggests, one big dark swamp, filled with disease and dangerous creatures. There have been many attempts to tame and settle the place, although all of them failed. The swamp is considered to be extremely deadly and everyone is advised to stay out. The mysterious castle of Ravenloff is also located here, although so far all contact with both the castle and surrounding village has failed. Many adventurers have travelled to this region to unravel its mysteries, although none so far have succeeded. The journey alone is extremely deadly, and Orthond has little interest in the castle for now.
Lastly there is the region north of the Kingdom called the Wailing Wastes. The Wastes are a massive, barren stretch of land leading towards the Peninsula of Rifts. The region is also growing progressively colder, unnaturally so even, with little life residing in it. No nation would ever want to settle in the Wastes, so they are used as a buffer between the civilizations on the continent the dangerous Peninsula area. Crossing it proves difficult for even seasoned adventurers, as the land is enormous and takes weeks if not months to cross. With little vegetation and few animals food is an incredible problem. To make matters worse, a large variety of dangerous beings reside there, praying on any poor soul they can find.

Type

National Territory

Population

Around 1 million

Inhabitant Demonym

Orthondians

Location under

The Tear

Included Locations

• The City of Highgrove

Owner/Ruler

King Ealwin Droverson