Kolthis
History
Like the other Elven nations, Kalliathissa has been around for thousands of years. However, the city state broke off from the rest of Elven society some 2,000 years PE and began trading with and accepting visitors from the "lesser races". To hear Kolthians tell it, the elves of Kalliathissa were tired of the fighting amongst Elfkind and wanted to study magic free from restriction and distraction. They put aside the traditional Elven xenophobia as keeping out curious Humans and Gnomes was more trouble than it was worth.
Indifference turned to openness as a result of the Fourth Thalassan Crusade from 1255 - 1221 PE. Thalassans came dangerously close to reconquering Kalliathissa, besieging the city from 1241-1239. Saved by the intervention of Fennein, the Elves of Kalliathissa realized that their small size, magical wealth, philosophical differences, and historical grievances would eternally make them a target for Thalassa. It was a testament to the ingenuity of their mages that Kalliathissa had managed to withstand a siege for nearly three years. However the mages knew that they needed an agricultural base and had to start functioning more like a country than a city-state. So for a period after the war, they set up a program where immigrant farmers would be given luxurious mansions in exchange for a promise to farm for two centuries or more. The rural population increased, Humans and Halflings became a permanent minority, and word spread about this hitherto mostly unknown city.
Kalliathissa became known as a training ground for magic users and a farmer's paradise. As such attracted many humans who wished to study the arcane or simply have a better life. Trade was brisk with the Centralian kingdoms and the Northern empire, indeed an increased interest in Elven society was responsible for the North's golden age about 700 years ago. This interaction gave Kalliathissa the ignominious distinction of being the only Elven civilization to enter the common human lexicon, truncated and gutturalize into "Kolthis".
Kolthis may have become a huge empire had its focus turned outward and had Thalassa not been such an aggressive enemy. The First (~1700-~1720), Second(1575-1569), Fourth(1255-1221), and Sixth(1167-1153) Crusades all inflicted heavy devastation on Kolthis and prevented it from expanding its own borders or becoming too powerful. The Seventh Crusade (981-933), was a turning point for Kolthis. While the war was at its peak and Thalassans were engaged with the Dwarves in a brutal conflict of magical mass destruction across the northern Central Mountains, Kolthis launched an invasion straight into the heartland of Thalassa, occupying their capitol city of Yssenneia. This effectively ended the crusade just as the Dwarven civilization was about to collapse and may actually have saved the Dwarves from extinction. From this point on, Kolthis turned outward and began to maintain an espionage presence in Thalassa, learning of attacks whenever possible and pre-empting or countering them in force before significant damage could be done. Thalassa turned its focus completely to the Wood and Dark elves, then, and from the fourth century PE onward, Kolthis finally knew an extended peace and settled back into obscurity.
The war between the North and the Centralian union (17-5 PE) again drove refugees into the Elven lands, where legend had it that a paradise of milk and honey lay in a valley just beyond the Reach. This migration put great pressure on Kolthis' progressive outlook. However, nothing prepared them for the northward expansion of Verdon. As the North fell apart, refugees surged out into the Great Valley hoping to find a better life among the Elves. Kolthis drew the line and turned the humans away. Many died in the mountains the winter after the North fell (EY 6) because they were not allowed into Kolthis.
Nonetheless, Kolthis is a beacon of diversity and "liberal" thought. The humans and other refugees have integrated well into Kolthian society, which has molded to fit them and even accepted their mispronounced name as its own in dealings with foreigners. Most recently, a huge wave of Wood Elves from Xethess has supplemented that group's considerable population
Indifference turned to openness as a result of the Fourth Thalassan Crusade from 1255 - 1221 PE. Thalassans came dangerously close to reconquering Kalliathissa, besieging the city from 1241-1239. Saved by the intervention of Fennein, the Elves of Kalliathissa realized that their small size, magical wealth, philosophical differences, and historical grievances would eternally make them a target for Thalassa. It was a testament to the ingenuity of their mages that Kalliathissa had managed to withstand a siege for nearly three years. However the mages knew that they needed an agricultural base and had to start functioning more like a country than a city-state. So for a period after the war, they set up a program where immigrant farmers would be given luxurious mansions in exchange for a promise to farm for two centuries or more. The rural population increased, Humans and Halflings became a permanent minority, and word spread about this hitherto mostly unknown city.
Kalliathissa became known as a training ground for magic users and a farmer's paradise. As such attracted many humans who wished to study the arcane or simply have a better life. Trade was brisk with the Centralian kingdoms and the Northern empire, indeed an increased interest in Elven society was responsible for the North's golden age about 700 years ago. This interaction gave Kalliathissa the ignominious distinction of being the only Elven civilization to enter the common human lexicon, truncated and gutturalize into "Kolthis".
Kolthis may have become a huge empire had its focus turned outward and had Thalassa not been such an aggressive enemy. The First (~1700-~1720), Second(1575-1569), Fourth(1255-1221), and Sixth(1167-1153) Crusades all inflicted heavy devastation on Kolthis and prevented it from expanding its own borders or becoming too powerful. The Seventh Crusade (981-933), was a turning point for Kolthis. While the war was at its peak and Thalassans were engaged with the Dwarves in a brutal conflict of magical mass destruction across the northern Central Mountains, Kolthis launched an invasion straight into the heartland of Thalassa, occupying their capitol city of Yssenneia. This effectively ended the crusade just as the Dwarven civilization was about to collapse and may actually have saved the Dwarves from extinction. From this point on, Kolthis turned outward and began to maintain an espionage presence in Thalassa, learning of attacks whenever possible and pre-empting or countering them in force before significant damage could be done. Thalassa turned its focus completely to the Wood and Dark elves, then, and from the fourth century PE onward, Kolthis finally knew an extended peace and settled back into obscurity.
The war between the North and the Centralian union (17-5 PE) again drove refugees into the Elven lands, where legend had it that a paradise of milk and honey lay in a valley just beyond the Reach. This migration put great pressure on Kolthis' progressive outlook. However, nothing prepared them for the northward expansion of Verdon. As the North fell apart, refugees surged out into the Great Valley hoping to find a better life among the Elves. Kolthis drew the line and turned the humans away. Many died in the mountains the winter after the North fell (EY 6) because they were not allowed into Kolthis.
Nonetheless, Kolthis is a beacon of diversity and "liberal" thought. The humans and other refugees have integrated well into Kolthian society, which has molded to fit them and even accepted their mispronounced name as its own in dealings with foreigners. Most recently, a huge wave of Wood Elves from Xethess has supplemented that group's considerable population
Demography and Population
55% High Elf
30% Human (20% Northern, 9% Centralian, 1% Verdonese)
10% Wood Elf
5% Halfling
5% Other (including 1% extradimensional beings) Approximately 56,000 inhabitants total, 80% urban and 20% rural. While still majority Elven, Kolthis is quite diverse, boasting a huge Human minority. In fact outside Kalliathissa proper, Elves are in the minority. Even in the city itself, walking down the street you might be forgiven for forgetting you were in an Elven land. The standard of living is so high here, and the magical wealth so great, that a notable amount of extradimensional beings have chosen to make their homes in Kalliathissa. The region is also staggeringly urbanized and has been so for some millennia, bucking the trend of elven society having relatively evenly distributed clusters of habitations.
30% Human (20% Northern, 9% Centralian, 1% Verdonese)
10% Wood Elf
5% Halfling
5% Other (including 1% extradimensional beings) Approximately 56,000 inhabitants total, 80% urban and 20% rural. While still majority Elven, Kolthis is quite diverse, boasting a huge Human minority. In fact outside Kalliathissa proper, Elves are in the minority. Even in the city itself, walking down the street you might be forgiven for forgetting you were in an Elven land. The standard of living is so high here, and the magical wealth so great, that a notable amount of extradimensional beings have chosen to make their homes in Kalliathissa. The region is also staggeringly urbanized and has been so for some millennia, bucking the trend of elven society having relatively evenly distributed clusters of habitations.
Territories
Kolthis controls the Great Valley between the Backbone Mountains in the east and the Reach Mountains in the west. Thalassa borders Kolthis to the East, The Empire to the North and West, and the Mountainhomes claim the stretch of mountains to the South however no Dwarves have lived here for nearly a millennia and this is de facto Thalassan territory.
Military
Kolthis is an enlightened center of magic and has no standing military. Unfortunately for its citizens this also means everyone has a social responsibility to defend Kolthis when it is attacked. Anyone invading Kolthis with hostile intent will immediately be met by the sheer chaos that is a battle against literally thousands of mages. Summoned beings appear in the midst of the foe and swoop down from the sky where once there were only clouds. The Sun is outshone by gouts of magical fire as illusions and shields obscure the enemy lines. Large sections of the enemy front suddenly find themselves transported into open water, drowning under the weight of their own armor. Buildings spontaneously reassemble into golems and crush invaders underfoot.
While Kolthis has no standing army, it becomes painfully obvious to any would-be attackers that the city-state can and will defend itself.
Technological Level
Kolthian magic has advanced beyond an arcane field of research and bled into everyday life. In this way, Kolthis might to an earthling resemble late twentieth century first-world society in a number of ways. Instant communication, powered travel, resource abundance, and quality of life conveniences are facts of life for many Kolthians.
Religion
Organized religion is banned in Kolthis. Divine worship is otherwise free and is expected to be kept private except by users of divine magic, who are free to render assistance to others in the name of their Deity provided they do not impinge upon the beliefs or pursuits of their beneficiaries.
For this reason all deities are worshipped here with Radix and Joron being the most popular, followed by Archios, Wodin, and then Channa. Kolthis has the largest population of Mordo worshippers outside of Bol'Tein.
Foreign Relations
Kolthis had a cordial (if secretive) relationship with The North and the Centralian states, but the same cannot be said for their Thalassan neighbors. Fennein was more amenable, even coming to Kolthis' aid during the Fourth Thalassan Crusade, but this was the exception and often Fennein was too jealous of Kothian secrets to be anything more than a capricious, fairweather friend. The Empire has made peaceful overtures, even offering Kolthis to become the seat of the Magocracy and some even were tempted to say yes. However, freedom from restriction has become ingrained in the Kolthian identity and the overtures were declined.
Dwarven paranoia over what might be so worth protecting high in the Kolthian ateliers have always hampered relations but despite this the Dwarves never forgot the Kolthian assistance and trade as well as coordination did occur before Imperial times. When the Union formed and Kolthis refused to join, the Dwarves unilaterally severed relations even as they argued favor of postponing war with Kolthis. The indignance that the Kolthians felt at this slight was tempered only by resignment to their long history of going it alone.
The Republic of Xethess was rather warm to the Kolthians, both sharing a relatively progressive memeplex. However Xethess was too concerned by Kolthis' non-elven minority population to make the first move and conflict-averse Kolthis felt it better to avoid openly making moves to anger the Empire. Now that Xethess is under occupation, Kolthis is believed to have been shocked into action, accepting Thalassa's peace overtures and clandestinely hampering the Empire's agenda by aiding the Remnant and the Free Cities.
Agriculture & Industry
Agriculture is mainly performed by the non-elven settlers, mostly humans and halflings. The contributions of these beings are greatly valued by the Kaliathassans because of the memory of the devastating sieges of the Fourth Thalassan Crusade. For this reason, the farmers enjoy an incredibly high standard of living. In the aftermath of the Crusade, immigrant families were awarded luxurious châteaus in return for a promise to farm large tracts of land for hundreds or thousands of years. This practice ended after about a century but the wide availability of magical conveniences has made feudal rural poverty a distant nightmare in Kolthis. The Great Valley has fertile soil to last for thousands of years and a variety of crops are grown there. Sheep, goats, and cattle are herded in the mountains to the West.
Industry is focused on magical resources and items.
Trade & Transport
Kolthis has recently established trade relations with Thalassa, broadening the truce between the two countries into an uneasy peace. They mainly trade in magical goods and weapons, although rumor has it some Thalassan merchants are making a great deal of money exporting seafood to the landlocked nation.
Judging from the recent surge in contraband magical artifiacts, it is believed that Kolthis is somehow trading with the Free Cities. Since a fairly large stretch of the Empire lies between the two areas, there is assumed to be an underground or airborne route in use.
Kolthis is rumored be providing aid to the Xethess Remnant.
Education
Of course, Kolthian education is centered around magic. Mathematics is also heavily emphasized. Kolthians are unique with respect to education in that they teach Philosophy and emphasize a personal quest for ethical, aesthetic, and metaphysical answers. Their approach to education is self-guided, in which cohorts of students with complimentary approaches, interests, and points of view are gathered into groups and told to design their own course of study and learning objectives. This process allows the highly academics-focused Magocracy to select promising future leaders, geniuses, and overachievers to be fast-tracked into government positions where they can access more resources, solve more difficult problems, and be given a proportional amount of responsibility.
Understanding Above All
Founding Date
~2,000 years ago
Alternative Names
Kalliathissa
Demonym
Kolthian
Government System
Magocracy
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Gift economy
Currency
Essa: Magicite coins
Major Exports
Magical Items, Magical Weapons, Magical Training, Magical Vehicles
Major Imports
White Gold, Magical items, Mithril, Labor, Seafood
Legislative Body
The Council and the Senate can both float and pass one another's laws.
Judicial Body
The Council functions as a Judiciary with the Senate and the Archmage responsible for oversight.
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
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