Stormwind

"I see a land of rolling hills, vibrant forests and fertile fields. I see farmers working tirelessly to feed our kingdom. I see our knights polishing their armour to fight the threats that would kill our families given the chance. I see my People, not scared but proud! I see a people united in the service of the gods, a people who cry out for orcish blood when their villages are raided. These are my people and I shall serve them until my final breath, for it is my duty to give them this land and all the fruit beholden to it."

— Darnath Anderhiem, the eve of his death

Structure

Stormwind follows a feudal structure, with the King at its head, following a Monarchy. As a Monarchy the line of succession is hereditary, however, while succession has always followed the rules of primogeniture technically the king names their successor by awarding the title Crowned Prince. Although the crowned prince signifies the heir to ascend the throne the king must be endorsed by the head of the Hepostrist church the Arch Lector who coronates the king signifying their divine right to rule as well as their mortal right.
The Kingdom is ruled over by 3 major powers, the Nobility and a subsection within the Nobility; The Council of Nobel's and the Church; Hepostrism.

Nobility

Stormwind is split up into Provinces and within them Territories and within each territory lie regions. The Nobility was structured by Darnath the Unifier to aid him in governing such a large kingdom, this means each Nobel rank/title is a title bound to govern over an area of land and its people. The Nobel Hierarchy is complex with each region having several titles for similar ranks within the hierarchy. The structure however, is simple to understand, the King is the head of the state, they appoint families to Provincial Lordship of one of the Provinces; just referred to as Lord or Province name.
The provincial Lords are allowed to appoint noble families territories within their province to watch over and govern for them, and are expected to receive tribute from the lesser nobles, this in turn is expected to go into the provincial budget which is taxed and sent to the king for redistribution. The territory ranked nobles have different titles based upon their geographic region; this is because these titles are tied to the ancient clans that Darnath conquered during his unification and eventual establishment of the kingdom. These territorial nobles can appoint and receive tribute from the region specific nobles. The region specific nobles are given titles based upon their geographic region, as some titles are ancient such as Teren, the Nobel appointed to look over an area of rich soil, or an Eyren a Noble appointed to look over a rich soil within the Gift of Eyia; both of these are tittles within the Harvest Land Nobility.

Nobel Hierarchy

King of Stormwind

The King of Stormwind is the sovereign leader of the kingdom. Unique to Stormwind this title is given absolute power of the Country, however, they appoint nobles to the offices below them, who appoint lesser nobles and so on. The King has power but must keep their nobles happy and the church happy in order to keep their crown. Their powers are limited only by the three pillar laws passed by King Anduin the 1st, the last King of the Anderhiem dynasty. The King's power is limited by the Church who holds a large sway over the people of the kingdom, their legal power is limitless only curbed by the realism of their choices. No King would tax the poor to breaking point for fear of their response and potential revolution.
The King is expected to govern the Nobles and listen to their suggestions, since there are so many nobles it is impossible for the King to listen to them all, so there is a council of Nobles who oversee the needs of each province and appoint lesser nobles to govern on increasingly local level. The King is also expected to lead in battle and conquer new territory; over the last few centuries there has been a focus on the last hold out of the orcs; Grommashar.
A smaller responsibility but no less important is the King's duty to pay and upkeep the The Order of the Crown, a police like order of Knights who keep the kingdom from falling into a lawless land. The King must pay these Knights and upkeep their own holdings which is done usually through part of the tribute they receive from their Lords, other uses for this tribute are loans to lords should they require it. This is done in the name of unity and co-operation; should the Harvest Lands receive and abundance of taxes one year, and the Hill Lands have a large expense they cannot cover the king shall redistribute the funds from their tribute/tax aiding all in the kingdom. In theory this system works but kings have been known to shirk this duty in favour of selfish desires; famously King Ivonious the 1st did this causing the first civil war within Stormwind.

Provincial Lords

The Provincial Lords are appointed to oversee the large Provinces that make up the Kingdom of Stormwind. There are 4 Provinces currently, Harvest, Forest, Hill and Marsh Lands. These Provincial Lords usually just referred to as Lords, appoint lesser nobles and expect tribute for their honoured duty, in turn the Lords pay tribute to the King of Stormwind. This tax system is integral to how these Lords operate their Provinces, as each province has a treasury which is used to fund Knights, Infrastructure project, pay of household staff etc.
The Council of Nobles have one spot for each province, however, in recent history Strahd, Gavatel of Barovich has been invited on the council, with a strange lack of opposition.

Crowned Prince & Prince/Princess

The Crowned Prince is a unique rank within the Hierarchy, they are below the provincial lords and above the territorial nobles. The Crowned prince is expected to act as an observer, learning from the Council and the King/Queen preparing to ascend the throne and perform their duty as sovereign ruler of the kingdom. The Crowned Prince is given this unique rank to denote how important they are to the future of the kingdom of Stormwind.
The Prince or Princesses of the Kingdom are treated much as the territorial rulers within the hierarchy, usually they are expected to take a military role; Knight Commander of a respected order of Knights, were their offspring forfeit the right to the throne, only reinstated should the immediate line end and the council cannot decide on a successor family.

Gavatel/Count/Countess/Anzahl

These Noble titles are bequeathed to nobles by the provincial lords, they are to govern large territories; Eyias Gift, The Fallow Coast, Barovich Forest etc. The titles are specific to the province they are instated in, the title coming from the ancient humans who were united by Darnath the Unifier.
Gavatel is specific to the Marsh and Harvest Lands. The name originating from the old common dialect of the region, translating to Land Guardian in modern common, although the word has become a title rather than its original meaning. There are 7 Gavatels within the entire kingdom of Stormwind. There are Gavatels for:

• Barovich
• Eyias Gift
• The Golden Fields
• Agris Plain
• The Northern Marshes
• The Southern Marshes
• The Sliver (contains Anderhiem)

Counts and Countess are more numerous than the Gavatels and Anzhals. These are used within the Hill Lands, however, due to the size of the province there is a necessity for more. The Name is a modern common name created when the Hill Land expansion was finally over, with the province being so vast there were too many dialects to give a region specific title and thus the modern common was used to hail its noble rank.
Anzahls are specific to the Forest Land. The name originating from the old Human tribes united by Darnath later in his Unification and creation of the kingdom. The Anzahls are the origin for the word Count given later form through the Forestland warrior who made up a majority of the settlers of the Hill Lands throughout the expansion campaigns led by the kings of Stormwind.

Viscount/Viscountess/Baron/Baroness/Provincial Specific Titles

These nobles are plentiful and each title is given to a noble appointed to watch over and govern a specific regional landmark. Viscounts/Viscountess is appointed to watch over and govern a City. Baron/Baroness is appointed to watch over and govern a Town, with the exception of the Town of Anderhiem, which is the ancestral home of the Unifier Darnath Anderhiem, the noble who watches over this town is given the Title Viscount or Viscountess representing the importance of this town, even though it is located in the Sliver.
Below are the Provincial Specific Titles:

• Baronwald; given to nobles within the Forest lands, the name originates from the older common dialect meaning chief of the forest or woods. The title is given to those nobles who oversee the forests of the land and one plain which resides within the forest lands. For example; Karl Remington Baronwald of Okten.
• Earl; given to nobles within the Hill Lands, the regions these earls govern is primarily metal and precious stone mines. For example; Earl of the Iron Valley Gilbert Ivernus.
• Teren; given to nobles within the Harvest Lands specifically to those within the Golden Fields or the Agris Plain. The name originates from the old common of the province meaning field but is used as a title referring to owner of the field. For example; Darven Teren of the Barley Plain.
• Eyren; given to nobles within the Harvest Lands Specifically to those within Eyias Gift. The name originates from the old common of the province meaning Field of Eyia sometimes the word is used to reference a blessed field. The title refers to an owner of the blessed field. For example; William Eyren of Timberberry.

Knights

There are thousands of Knights within Stormwind created out of necessity as the knights are the bulk of Stormwinds military might. The Knights have a strange role within the Kingdom they are both nobles with a civic duty to the people and the king as well as warriors who swear oaths unique to their order. Knights can only be knighted by Strom'kar, however, the ceremony has not been enforced for centuries, instead knights are knighted after swearing their oaths to the Kingdom. They are then eligible to swear themselves to a knightly order, this is commonly performed immediately after their initial vows, although some knightly orders only keep these fresh knights as initiates until they prove themselves worthy of taking the orders vows.

Council of Nobel's

The Council of Nobles has one purpose; to serve the king in ruling over the large provinces that make up the Kingdom. The Council has a responsibilty to collect tribute from the lower nobles who collect tax from the people. The Council also offers advice in the Ruling of the Kingdom, with one member in particular being appointed to the office of Chancellor. This office is not only accessible to the Provincial Lords, any noble may be appointed by the King to act as his Chancellor. The Chancellor leads the council when the king wishes, such as when the king is away touring the kingdom or away at war. The chancellor also acts as regent in the event of the King passing and his Crowned prince is too young to rule. 

Church & Crown

The church and the crown have a history as long as each other. Being a creation of the Kingdoms foudner as a way of controlling the people the relgion is a state sanctioned creation, used to bring the people of a hundred differnt tribes and hundreds of miles of land together. In modern times the church has amaassed power that rivals the King, and in recent hiustory did so in a civil war. To avoid further conflict King Anduin the 1st created and passed the three pillar laws, which ensure that firstly the King cannot be crowned legitamtely by anyone other than the head of the church; The Arch Lector. Secoundly the Church and The crown must fund other projects other than their military orginizations, which ensures escalation is kept in check. And thirdly the church will place its military wing, the Hepo-Militarum under the contorl of the king during times of war, ensuring they work together to protect the people of Strtomwind and expand its boarders when necessary.

Culture

Stormwind has been forged in the fires of war and bound in its religious beliefs. As a result, its people are stubborn and self-righteous, any given citizen will tell you their right as humans is to conquer and unite the ancient tribes. Their self-righteous belief in their right to rule has led them to be known as warmongers, and their endless wars with the orcs is only a delay in their inevitable wars with the humans beyond the mountains.
Stormwind peasants are taught to respect the noble hierarchy and the church above all they all have a place and are all free to aspire for better, but not if their aspirations would damage the fabric of civilization that their founder and paragon Darnath Anderhiem built. All children are taught to respect the "crownies" for they are the king's influence made manifest in their towns, villages and cities. In practice however, citizens are human, these beliefs are instilled in the truly patriotic citizens, most will see a knight and be respectful but not in complete awe.

Architecture 

Stormwind buildings have a strange uniformity to them until you look close. As the kingdom was birthed more as an empire than anything else, the Structures have a distinctly uniform appearance as conquest naturally facilitated the architectural ecosystem; destruction, construction, and repurpose. It should be noted that Darnaths origin is a tribalistic, with his homes being tee-pee like structures with furs and leathers tanned from frog hides (Grungs). However, this did not translate to Darnaths early empires' architecture, with his focus on pure power, his buildings reflected that and while grim a lot of his structures invoked imagery of death; primarily skulls.
You can see a lot of Stormwind structures hone in on this style particularly in the forest and hill lands with Large gothic structures primarily for intimidating defensive purposes dotted with reliefs of Darnath and his kin, usually coated with skulls, angelic wings and similar iconography. Though in later years the knightly orders rise to fame brought with them equestrian and avian imagery. The buildings in the modern era can be described as impressive gothic structures with skulls and horses sometimes Griffins and always some form of statue with Darnath Anderhiem or his descendants on it.

Public Agenda

Stormwind outwardly preaches its expansion, in order to bring safety to the humans of Kelkanor, and purge any monsters that would do them harm. This agenda was written in blood by Darnath and his descendants and only the Orc Stronghold of Grommashar has proven capable of halting their rapid expansion, but all outsiders are aware should Grommashar fall then Stormwind will begin its expansion a new slaying all who would reject their proposal of unification.

Founding Date

05/06/40

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital

Stormwind

Alternative Names

Kingdom of Lions

Demonym

Stormites, Stormwindians, Stormers

Leader

Varian Wrynn

Leader Title

King of Stormwind

Head of State

Varian Wrynn

Head of Government

Varian Wrynn

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Official State Religion

Hepostrism

Location

Stormwind

Controlled Territories

• Griffin Heights
• Stormwind