Carador - The Laurel Kingdom
Located in the northeastern part of the continent, Carador is a kingdom of fields and lowlands, hills and dales. Along with fertile fields of green interspersed with small woodlands, Carador boasts the largest city on the continent, its capitol of Avencourt. A traveler may often find moss-covered standing stones in empty fields and near streams. Many scholars claim that these are signposts or gateways for the ancient Fairies that would flit into this world from their own lands beyond the veil. Others believe such claims are just stories fit for children.
Carador stretches upwards to the northern coast of the continent, and controls the coast down to the dinosaur domain of Odlarnas Rike. In the west, Carador ends at the Aven River. Carador’s wooded southern border is in dispute with its neighbor, Erynland; however, both kingdoms supply soldiers and equipment to the Saurian Guard, a series of watchtowers that keep vigilant eyes on the land of dinosaurs just beyond.
Structure
Carador is ruled by a hereditary monarch from the founding Indigo family. The present monarch is King Cyrion Indigo. King Cyrion is fairly young in years, having been recently crowned. That said, he appears to be highly intelligent and energetic. He keeps a court of advisors and administrators that help him rule his kingdom.
Under the king are a collection of barons, baronesses, and baronets, all of whom administer to their lands, keep households of knights, and pledge fealty to the king. While disagreements may break out between two nobles, outright warfare is rare; most disputes are settled by tournament of arms, or by petition to the king.
Culture
Caradorans believe in the high ideals of chivalry and knighthood. While they live in a feudal society, the division between common folk and nobility can get blurred as people can be ennobled by royal decree or marry into the ranks of lords and ladies. Similarly, a noble can be stripped of their title for crimes or malfeasance.
The standard clothing of the people of Carador is a tunic and hose; the quality of the cloth and adornments added to the garment is what separates the wealthy from the poor. Caradorans often choose bright colors, and wear cloaks of dyed wool during the colder seasons.
Caradorans enjoy music, especially love ballads or fast-tempo music they can dance to. Most Caradoran music is played on a lute, the staple instrument of the kingdom, or can be sung. There is a tradition of the queen of the country presiding over a "Court of Love" where the queen and her companions encourage, judge and decree the ideas of troubadours, chivalry, and courtly love into the nation. While a beloved tradition, the Court of Love is presently non-functioning due to the death of the last queen and King Cyrion's bachelorhood.
History
After the Cataclysm, several races migrated northward into the territory that is now known as Carador. Humans, Goblins, Karhu and Elves made settlements up and down the Aven River and into the woodlands and rolling lowlands. Treefolk migrated up from the south. During the Time of 1,000 Gods, many civilizations, kingdoms, potentates and even empires rose and fell in the region.
By the time known as the Lost Years, the region was loosely settled by Goblins and Salimar along the rivers, and a loose confederation of Humans and Elves. The Humans that settled in the region were called Skahds, based supposedly on a failed kingdom on the northern coast of the continent. During the Lost Years, Skahdish settlers moved into the highlands and created their own dialect, Skahdish. Meanwhile, Humans who remained in the lowlands and woods mingled with Elves and created a dialect known as Gallean.
At the beginning of the Third Age, armies from the Rose Kingdom marched across the Aven. The mixed-race town of Nayford, at the time controlled by Goblins, chose to bend the knee to Rosalind instead of fight. Most of the Gallean clans ultimately agreed to become citizens of Rosalind. The Skahdish clans fought the Rosalind invaders, but were ultimately overcome and bent the knee. It is said when King Brenton the Black reached the eastern coast, he rode into the sea foam and wept, as there was no one else to conquer. Most historians believe that tale to be apocryphal.
The region from the Aven River to the northern coast and south to the highlands was declared the Province of Avcarias, or "Of honor" in the ancient tongue. The highlands were named Avernin, or "Of eagles" for their heights and flights of eagles seen flashing through the skies. For nearly 300 years, the region remained relatively at peace. Downriver from Nayford, Rosalind established the provincial capital of Avencourt.
In the Year 271, King Barnard the Pious called all regions of the kingdom to rally for a Great Crusade, a holy war between the Raya worshiping Rosalind and Auruland, who followed the moon goddess Clea. Even before the Crusade was called, the people of Avcarias had grumbled about losses to their freedoms, particularly the freedom to worship. Several Antistes, or religious leaders of the Matriarchy, were particularly severe in upholding religious laws, which turned many people against them.
The provincial governor at the time, Prince Baldwin, who was nephew to King Barnard the Pious, collected levies and marched them to Avencourt for a general muster of the province. He rode ahead with a picked bodyguard to the capital city of Brentonopolis to meet with the king and his generals. According to several sources, he was shocked and disgusted with what he saw: incompetent commanders that were selected for their close ties to the king or the Matriarchy, rather than by merit. When Baldwin objected, he was ordered to return to his province and simply send the soldiers he was raising to the main army under captains picked by the king.
Fuming, Prince Baldwin returned to Avencourt in the company of one of King Barnard's cronies, a vile Elf known as Festus the Lasher. After seeing seeing Festus' cruelty firsthand, Baldwin began to slow down the conscriptions, insisting on proper armor, gear and supplies for every company of soldiers. He insisted that farmers should be permitted to bring in their harvests before mustering, to ensure the army had sufficient supplies. Festus scowled at the delay, but did not overrule the young prince. At the same time, reports from the war front were dire; Rosalind troops were dying in droves, as Baldwin had feared they would.
Whether Baldwin was planning revolution or not, on the 6th of Ebbinheet of the Year 274, Festus and his goons were parading down one of the main streets of Avencourt when a Salimar child darted out in front of his horse. The horse reared in surprise; Festus kept his seat, but barely. Enraged, he struck at the child, killing them. Horrified, Baldwin, who had been riding not four lengths behind Festus, drew his blade and decapitated the evil Elf lord. Baldwin's retinue fell on Festus' remaining cronies, slaughtering them to a man. Kneeling at the body of the child, Baldwin declared that he would no longer allow his people to suffer under the yoke of Rosalind's oppression. The Child Martyr Declaration, as it became known, was the first declaration of independence for the province, and was the recorded start of the Independence Wars.
Swiftly, the people of Avernin, who had also suffered, joined Baldwin in declaring their independence. Seasoned Karhu warrior Brann Mac Muffyn was named as their war leader and he marched to the Aven River with an army of Karhu, Dwarves, and highland Humans ready to fight.
Rosalind was slow to react. Their main forces were engaged in Aurulant, and reserves had dwindled. The rose kingdom also did not learn of the declarations of independence (or betrayal, as they termed it) until an official proclamation was drawn up and signed by Baldwin, Bran, and several of the major lords of the region.
That changed upon the death of King Barnard and the elevation of his son, King Breeswald. Markedly indifferent to the Crusade in comparison to his father, Bresswald immediately ordered a retreat from Aurulant lands and redeployment to the east to counter this revolution. Hearing the news, many Avcarias and Avernin soldiers walked into the desert and surrendered to the desert kingdom, who paid their passage back to the eastern half of the continent and into the independent armies. In one famous story, a entire company of crossbowmen and pikes under the command of Dame Rochelle of Seafort marched up the the gates of one of Aurulant's fortresses and laid down their arms en masse. According to the legend, Dame Rochelle and her soldiers were treated as honored guests and set sail on the Empress' own royal yacht to the east coast, where they disembarked and rejoined Prince Baldwin's armies.
Baldwin and Brann Mac Muffyn reinforced the settlements along the Aven River and prepared to repel Rosalind's armies. A bitter war was waged, with neither side giving much ground. By Year 279, it became clear that Rosalind was not going to break through the independence forces and cross the river. A truce was called on Kindlemas of Year 279, and peace talks began. On the 19th of Buddin, Year 280, all sides signed and ratified the Treaty of Aven, which recognized the new independent nations of Erynland and Carador.
By near universal acclamation, Prince Baldwin was declared king over the newly formed nation of Carador. A clause in the Treaty of Aven required him to divest himself of the royal surname of Pollux, as well as relinquish any claims of inheritance from that royal family, especially his place in the line of succession; at the time of the signing, Baldwain was fifth in line to the Rose Throne. He chose as a new family name Indigo, which had been the color for mourning clothes in ancient times, but was also a color identified with Astoria, the godling of strategy, war and tactics. Since Year 280, the Kingdom of Carador has been a direct monarchy ruled by the Indigo family.
Sadly, the alliance between Carador and Erynland was not to last; soon after their independence, Carador and Erynland began arguing about their borders. Words came to blows, which turned into battles. Several of the most notable battles were the "Battle of the Thousand Banners" where the massed knights of Carador clashed against the shield wall of Erynland, and more recently, the "Squall of Swords" when a company of Tempest Knights of Erynland crossed into the disputed areas of Carador; that conflict claimed the life of the famous Red Prince Edduard, younger brother to the king.
In Year 1418 of the Third Age, The Lizardfolk Archmage known as Slann, the Mad Lizard Wizard, cast the Saurian Hex, which transformed the eastern seacoast of the continent into a chaotic prehistoric land teeming with dinosaurs. Worse yet, the Hex slowly transformed those who remain too long in the land into a dinosaur. Carador lost several rich baronies and territories, including a main port city. King Gervais Indigo hastily signed the Saurian Pact with Erynland, setting watchtowers along the dinosaur domains and manning and equipping them with soldiers from Carador and Erynland. Known as the Saurian Guard, they protect both nations against rogue dinosaurs that would cross into the civilized lands.
Demography and Population
Carador has perhaps the most diverse population of the realms in the Lands of Legend, based in no small part on their capital city of Avencourt. However, among its nobles, Humans tend to dominate. On the southern border with Erynland, the common folk have a wariness about Dwarves and Karhu, while nearer to the Wild Coast, Lizardfolk are treated with some suspicion.
Military
While Carador’s standing army is fairly small, their heavy cavalry is the best in the world. Combined with levies of militia and the household armies of the various barons and baronesses, Carador can field a sizeable force against its enemies. The Knights of the Laurel, the King’s own honored order of knighthood, devote much of their time to stomping out threats to the realm, acting a knights-errant and ultimately answerable to the king.
Religion
The main religion in Carador is Raya, who is revered by common and noble alike. The church of Raya in the Laurel Kingdom is not as rigid or overbearing as it is in Rosalind, consisting of a loosely organized clergy that tends to their congregations of the faithful. Raya in Carador is seen not just as the goddess of the sun but also the creator of all things, and perhaps most importantly for Caradorans, peace, hope, life, and honor. Raya is worshiped as the ultimate judge on what is good in this world. Eoa, while acknowledged as her mortal son, is not worshiped separately.
Among the rural communities, Maia is probably next in importance as the goddess of agriculture and the harvest. Skeinor the Storm Lord is also respected by rural folk and travelers, usually in conjunction with Maia. While rare, it is not unheard of for a knight to pledge themselves to Skeinor and become one of his Tempest Knights.
Among soldiers, knights and the nobility, Astoria, the Lady of Blades is worshiped for her prowess in battle and particularly superiority in tactics. Astoria is the patron goddess of a number of castles and knights and the game of chess is thought to be a form of homage to the goddess.
As one might expect from a kingdom that prizes chivalry, Korax is reviled as the father of monsters. Surprisingly, Clea, while respected, is not worshiped by most Caradorans. The evil Cult of Morgiana, who often perform their vile ceremonies by the light of the moon, causes many in the Laurel Kingdom to look upon Clea, who is goddess of the moon, with suspicion. However, wizards and other spell casters continue to pay homage to the Keeper of Secrets, as Clea is also hailed as the goddess of magic.
Maps
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Avencourt - the City of Banners
Founding Date
Third Age
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Caradorans
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Currency
Kopin
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments