Araios-Afthonia

Araios-Afthonia, commonly referred to as simply Araios is a small country, or a large city state depending on who you ask. It is ruled by two monarchs from two closely related Royal families who rule until death or abdication. It is comprised of two Islands: Araios and Afthonia the former having conquered the latter some three thousand years ago. Officially the country is made up only of Elves as they are the only ones granted citizenship, however in practice they only make up a fifth of the total population as there is a large population of non-Elf slaves. It is a highly militaristic society and all Citizens are expected to serve in the Army for at least three hundred years. Diplomacy Diagram not available

Structure

Two monarchs from two closely related Royal Families, the Dimides and the Politellis. The monarchs have equal power in all things though the current King and Queen tend to manage different aspects of the Kingdom. There is a council of 30 Elders who are independent from the monarchs and insure that neither Royal Family becomes too influential.

Culture

Years of famine and war early on in their history taught the Araiosi temperance and discipline. Even though they now have plenty since their Afthonian slaves provide them with food, it is still taboo to eat more than your fill. Every Araiosi is expected to eat just enough to sustain their rigorous fitness regime that they perform daily. As such Araiosi food is often made purposely bland and they only go to any sort of extravagance when entertaining foreign guests. During the Dragon wars every Araiosi was required to fight. Dragons are amongst the most dangerous species in Everlight and so they took their training to an extreme in order to have any hope of defeating them. King Obsidian ordered that all children be taken from their parents at an early age and raised by the military. To this day Ariosi children are subjected to a training regime that, in other countries, would be considered too harsh even by a seasoned soldier. The intense training tends to create a sense of kinship between the young elves in a barracks and they often join the same military unit when they graduate at age of eighty. (elves from other cultures are considered adults from the age of one hundred) All Araiosi are expected to be warriors and must serve at least two hundred years in the military or lose citizenship and become an exile. After military service they are free to live as they please and choose a new path. Ariosi often choose a lifestyle far removed from military life though they are still expected to stay fighting fit until the age of seven hundred and fifty. Araiosi never work menial jobs as they have a massive slave population to do those for them. Instead they tend to become master artisans, specialising on one particular artform that they perfect over their long lives. As such Araios boasts some of the finest smiths, poets, musicians, singers, dancers and actors in all of Everlight. Slavery has been a part of Araiosi way of life since the first raids against the Afthonians. Since then they have taken thousands of slaves from the Dimokratikos league to the west and Caladria in the south. Araiosi don’t look upon slaves with disgust or think of them as below them as in other slaving nations, they simply see them as unfortunate. There are laws in place to prevent the mistreatment of slaves though the punishments for these crimes are usually just fines and are only really in place to prevent the slave population from declining too much or rising in revolt.

History

Araios-Afthonia is an ancient civilisation by human standards having formed not long after the Dawn of the Third Day. To a human the Dawn is a mythological time before records began but Elves can live many times that of a human. To an Elf it is history. Ancient History perhaps but history all the same. This slight difference in perspective goes a long way in explaining the differences between elven culture and those of the shorter lived races. Araios was built on the ruins of an ancient City that has lain in ruins before even the Second Night. Elven refugees sheltered there under the magical protections of the Inhibitor, a device that keeps shades at bay. It is said that a dozen sorcerers a day were sacrificed in order to keep it powered during those times. The winds of magic flowed in abundance during those times and sorcerers were far more common. Though Elves natural talent for magic surpasses all others there may not be enough natural magic users to fuel the inhibitor if it is ever required again. One side effect of the inhibitor was the devastation of the surrounding lands. Even now over ten thousand years later the earth is infertile and only hardy shrubs and Araiosi Blood Grass can thrive. Early Ariosi hunted Wyvern and to this day Wyvern meat is considered a delicacy. Eventually they learned how to tame the Wyverns and used them to fly to the nearby Landmass which they called Afthonia. Afthonia was and is a lush land of fertile farmlands and Wild Woodlands. Humans and Halflings lived peaceful lives working the land and didn’t know the meaning of hunger. The Wyvern Riders performed regular raids against the Afthonians, taking what food they could carry back and the occasional slave. This wasn’t enough to eliminate their hunger but invasion was logistically impossible as they would have to ferry a few hundred warriors over at a time on wyverns which would give the Afthonians plenty of warning and allow them to destroy the first invasion force before reinforcements could arrive. As if they did not have enough troubles already the hunting and taming had unforeseen consequences. Black Dragons made their home in the mountains and wyverns were their primary source of food. War broke out between elves and Dragon that lasted for one hundred years and devastated both sides. The War was finally ended when Obsidian, the Sorcerer King of Araios (there was only one monarch in those times) learnt the language of the dragons and sought out the leader of the Dragons, Abaddon. Abaddon was enraged to hear an inferior creature speak the language of dragons and fought Obsidian. They were evenly matched and the battle raged on for weeks without either party being injured. The battle ended in a stalemate and the two kings gained each other's respect. Abaddon agreed to end the war and settled on a compromise. The Araiosi would continue to hunt Wyverns and the Dragons would help them invade Afthonia. In return the Araiosi would allow the Dragons to eat the cattle of the conquered Afthonians (and the Afthonians themselves) as well as take all of their treasure.