Kingdom of Dergeria

The Kingdom of Dergeria is a puppeted nation in southern Galessia, bordered to the north by the River Kosewick and the Rowrim Mountains, to the west by the River Graithe, and to the south and east by the sea. The oldest human nation on the continent and home to the oldest human city, the eponymous City of Dergeria, it was long the largest kingdom in Galessia, renowned the world over for its arts and culture. Its long golden age came to a brisk end during a series of Grasynnian conquests collectively known as the Zenith War, during which Dergeria lost nearly half of its land, most of its wealth and people, and all of its dignity. Forced to surrender unconditionally, what remains of the once-great kingdom is now a puppeted vassal state in constant crisis. The current ruler is King Wilfred of Engham.

History

Millennia ago, humans first set foot on the Galessian continent from their homeland in Fennerland, landing at what is now the city of Nistcape. During this time, the continent was ruled by the Ancient Dwarven Empire, against whom the humans fought relentlessly. The wetlands of Dergeria proved to be a boon for the ocean-crossing humans, as opposed to the mountainous dwarves. After the uprisings, known later as the Darksky War, humans celebrated by founding a settlement on a hill in the middle of a plain, and crowning their warleader king of it. The Kingdom of Dergeria was born. As the centuries passed, the kingdom slowly grew, as more humans arrived from the southern continent. Gold was found in the hills: these riches led to more prosperity and growth, such as the founding of the cities of Nistcape, Kamway, and Stathmore. These four cities would long be regarded as the 'Core Four'. Alliances were struck, dynasties married and nations joined, and two wars were fought - one against the Barony of Whitt, one against the orcs of the Marrens - both won by the ever-growing kingdom. Thus found the Kingdom of Dergeria itself the new powerhouse of the Galessian continent. When the dynasty of the first king died out, the crown passed to a new house: the House of Alburg. The first monarch of this house, Queen Merwen, sought a new course for the nation: stability and internal growth. As such, much coin was diverted away from the kingdom's armies, and towards investment in the growth of cities, agriculture, arts, crafts, as well as new roads and bridges. Under the rule of the House of Alburg, this policy was maintained for over three-hundred years, and Dergeria entered a golden age. Its people were welfaring, its economy blossoming, and its paintings, musical compositions, literature, cuisine, and craftwork was traded around the world. The Core Four especially were bastions of civilization, trading hubs home to peoples from all over. However, such growth cannot be maintained forever, and such prosperity attracts attention. It was thus that in a time of creeping stagnation, shortly after the crowning of a new, inexperienced king, a foreign power saw the perfect opportunity to seize Dergeria's wealth for itself. Warned by Satrap Harakos of Senué of a possible Grasynnian military movement against Dergeria, the young King Alphonse VI of Dergeria quickly returned to his kingdom - only to find it already under siege. The city of Blackhollow was overwhelmed by the sudden, fierce attack from the red-clad Falchions, its guard and fortification no match for the incredible power of the Grasynnian military. The young king scrambled to assemble his forces and defend the Dergerian lands, but he was outwitted and outmatched at every moment, soon losing Whitt, followed by their entire coast on the Arenvall Bay. King Alphonse called for aid from all other factions he could, but one by one, those factions were either outclassed, thwarted, or straight-up conquered themselves. With an underpowered military and very little experience at his disposal, it was a minor miracle that Alphonse held out as long as he did, even after the northeast of the nation began to fall, too. However, after years of war, the Grasynnians grew impatient. One day, the air above the city of Kamway began to crackle with energy, which suddenly erupted into a magical explosion the world had never seen before. All evidence of Kamway, every stone, every person, vanished without a trace, likely disintegrated by the force. The Kamway Massacre forced Alphonse's hand: his people were dead or dying, his treasure lost, his allies throwing in the towel, his great nation in ruin. With no other option left, he ordered the immediate surrender of all troops and lands. The Zenith War ended with this command. What remained of Dergeria was puppeted by the Grasynnians. Its armies were dissolved and replaced with the Falchions keeping watch, its king deposed and exiled and replaced with a sycophant, and all its treasure was now in the hands of the conqueror. Over the decades that followed, Dergeria knew famine, poverty, disease, and despair, as the few Dergerians who remained all lamented the loss of their once-great nation and its people.

Geography

The Dergerian landscape knows two faces. The central and eastern coastal regions are largely dominated by the Cethelian Mangroves, large dense wetlands that make the eastern half of the coastline dangerous and unreliable. Home to many monsters, hag covens, and disease-carrying animals, as well as a host of folkloric tales of maddening lights and apparitions, most of the eastern half of the nation remains underpopulated, except for Fort Kosewick at the River Kosewick, where many of the refugees from the Marrens have fled to. The other face of the nation is the western half, known as Strawland. The beating heart of Dergerian agriculture, this region is far drier than the east, and perfectly suited for the growing of wheat and corn. Formerly, the city of Kamway lay at the heart of this region, but now, Strawland is a shadow of its former self. Many croplands were salted by the victorious Grasynnians during their victory march, and without the city and its economy to bolster the region, many farmers are left to starve. At the halfway point of the nation is a narrow north-to-south corridor where the remaining three major cities can be found. From coastal Nistcape to Stathmore and up towards the hill on which lay the City of Dergeria, the road remains well-paved and accessible. Beyond the capital, it leads further north to the forests at the base of the Rowrim Mountains, where the country's mineral wealth can be found.

Politics and society

The Kingdom of Dergeria is a puppeted kingdom, de facto a part of the Kingdom of Grasynnia, which rules indirectly through the puppet monarch King Wilfred of Engham and his court. He cares little for his people's welfare, and hoards what treasure remains for himself. There is a lot of disdain for the ruler and his overlords among the populace. One might expect a tremendous amount of riots and resentment, but this could not be further from the truth, as the Falchions maintain an iron grip, arrest with impunity, and sentence wrongdoers without trial to immense punishments. Due to this, most Dergerians have accepted their fate and trudge through their lives in pain and shame. Almost every Dergerian has a personal horror story connected to the atrocities committed by the Grasynnians. As Marcel Wisetree, a famed Dergerian philosopher, said weeks before vanishing forever: “The great spirit of the Dergerian people has been broken, and the pieces have been buried with their dead.” Hope is a rare commodity in the nation. Due to this, the Church of Ilmater is very active in Dergeria. There are many temples and shrines to the God of Endurance, as well as virtually all of the church's clerics, priests, and paladins, who roam the land, trying to provide strength and solace to the broken people. Dergeria is mostly inhabited by humans, but also half-orcs, a few types of half-dragons, and the sole elven community in Galessia, around Nistcape. This also brings other elements of Asmarean culture to the city, such as a temple to Mystra, Goddess of Magic. Half-elves are common here, too. The Dergerian culture, which had brought them such acclaim, has virtually died out - many of its vestiges forcefully removed by the new overlords, and remaining artisans fleeing across the sea to places such as Waversham, Kairsmouth, and Bloomsburgh. All that remains is the Dergerian cuisine - a favorite of lords and nobles everywhere - and the Mint, which still produces the gold, silver, and copper coins used all over Luquastra, albeit under new management.