Kingdom of Grasynnia

The Kingdom of Grasynnia is a nation in Galessia, bordered on the north by the Dwarven Kingdom of Starn, the City of Garlond, and the Myre River; to the west by the Great Forest of Baxbury, Senué, and the Enridge; to the south by the Graithe and Kosewick Rivers, the Rowrim Mountains, and the Dragonbane Bay; and to the east by Marfall and the Gray Lake. Its current territory comprises much of central and southern Galessia. Originally confined to the central plains between the bay and the Starn Mountains, a brutal expansionist campaign known as the Zenith War led to its annexation of the Verdant Hills, Gobnor, the Free City of Yearwood, the Marrens, and large parts of the former lands of Senué and the Kingdom of Dergeria. The kingdom is ruled by Supreme General Althea Dragonbane, and is famed and feared for its military might.

History

Grasynnia was founded centuries ago by the humans of the region, establishing itself as a trading kingdom along the northern and eastern shores of the Arenvall Bay. Initially built around the city of Neesehurst, the Grasynnians eventually constructed the Red City of Hartmere as a stone fortress on a strategically defensible cliff, which soon became the kingdom's capital. Thanks to the lucrative trading with the dwarves in the north and the Satrapy of Senué in the southwest, the Grasynnian monarchs of this era were among the wealthiest people in the world, and were known to flaunt this wealth for all to see, parading their luxuries around and hosting grand fêtes. The course of history changed greatly, however, when Eridus Dragonbane, a warlord from the region known as the Granite Scar, invaded the wealthy kingdom with his men-at-arms, the Falchions. Most of the nation's lands, including the ancient city of Neesehurst, soon fell to the invaders; yet King Crusos and his court feared not, relying on the safety the Red City's fortress provided them to win the war by playing the long game. Dragonbane, however, had a power on his side that won him the war and the throne: the aid of the Red Knight, Goddess of Strategy, of whom he was the chosen champion. Thus, the fortress was pierced, the kingdom fell, and King Crusos the Coward was executed and replaced by the first of the Dragonbane dynasty. Under the rule of the militant Dragonbanes, Grasynnia began investing its incomparable funds into amassing the greatest army the world had ever seen. Over the next three generations of rulers, the kingdom expanded into neighboring lands, only finding noteworthy resistance in the dwarves, with whom a peace accord was eventually made after a long period of stalemate. Cities such as Chafton, Whitt, and Prinstead were conquered, and neighboring lands grew increasingly anxious. The Satrap of Senué learned of Grasynnian troops moving southeast, and opted to meet with the young King of Dergeria to warn him and discuss a possible alliance - but unbeknownst to them, a Grasynnian spy was present, and reported this plot to King Merxellis Dragonbane, the Strategist King. In response, the king, who had indeed been preparing for an invasion, decided that if the word was already spreading anyway, he might as well commit to a war the continent hadn't seen since the time of the Ancient Dwarven Empire. With the all-out invasion of the Dergerian city of Blackhollow, the conflict that would later be known as the Zenith War had begun. The Zenith War tore through all of southern Galessia, with the Grasynnians gaining more and more ground. More factions joined the war, such as the newly-created northern Alliance of Overmyre, the goblin clans of Gobnor, and the orc tribes of Marfall. Faced with worsening odds, King Merxellis called upon their only allies: the dwarves of Starn. The Starnish fighters soon joined the fray and held off the Overmyrian advance at Balkholme. This greatly benefitted the strategic Grasynnians, who could press their advantage elsewhere and topple faction after faction, even converting the city of Warsenfeld to their side by its own volition. After many years of war, with the Kamway Massacre, Grasynnia ended the war, by forcing a Dergerian surrender and Senuan retreat. The Galessian landscape had changed drastically: Grasynnia had more than doubled in size, erased multiple factions off the map, and consolidated its hold on its new lands. King Merxellis the Great, and by extension the Dragonbane dynasty, was elevated to legendary status, and his red-coated Falchions now patrolled all the roads and held permanent stations at Camp Sonthill and Fort Althea - the latter named after Merxellis's daughter. Since the passing of Merxellis, Althea took the crown. Balking at the title of queen, she styled herself Supreme General and proclaimed that it is Grasynnia's destiny to conquer all of Galessia and create the Galessian Empire. With most neighboring nations unable to resist the Grasynnian might, most consider it only a matter of time until the fighting starts once more.

Geography

The Grasynnian heartlands, or Old Grasynnia, are mostly grassy plains and meadows, with deciduous forests dotting the landscape. The western lands get more and more wooded, until the Grasynnian domain ends at the Great Forest of Baxbury. The southwestern lands, formerly Senuan, are more rocky and arid, with badlands and desert-like steppes. Towards the east, the Granite Scar presents itself as a great expanse of stone with many rifts, caves, and jagged cliffs. Beyond it lie the swamps of Gobnor on the southwestern shores of the Gray Lake, where the defeated goblin tribes still live. Further south, beyond the Marrens, lie the Verdant Hills, erstwhile homeland of the halflings: elevated woodlands with many a beast lurking in its foggy depths. The south end of the kingdom - the formerly Dergerian lands between Blackhollow and the coast - are largely farmlands, rich in crop and game. Through the heart of the nation flows the River Rothe, with its source at the holy dwarven peak Rotheraine. The Rothe bisects the nation and serves as an important source of water, including for the Red City of Hartmere, which is situated at its mouth. The river empties into Dragonbane Bay, formerly the Arenvall Bay, which further opens to the ocean beyond Witchnail. At the final narrow at the bay's mouth, the Grasynnians have constructed a massive seagate, the Great Gates of Merxellis, which prevent access to any passing ship before the Falchions have inspected its cargo and crew.

Politics and Society

Grasynnia is an authoritarian kingdom under the rule of the sovereign monarch, currently Althea Dragonbane. The crown has granted itself the absolute might to recruit any citizen it pleases into the service of the nation, be it in the Falchions, its support structures, or any different governmental position. The streets of the Grasynnian cities are heavily patrolled and monitored, and the nation maintains a zero-tolerance policy on crime and dissent. People arrested by the Falchions are often never heard from again, vanishing into prison camps, dungeons, or forced service. Outsiders are often mistrusted. Beyond the aegis of the Falchions and the Dragonbanes, however, several local rulers engage in looser governance. It is not uncommon for the more outlying cities and regions to be more lenient. The Dragonbanes have also assimilated several organizations to further its own political agendas, such as the Chafton Guild of Adventuring and the Prinstead University. Outwardly, the kingdom projects strength and authority. They are formally allied with the Dwarven Kingdom of Starn, and have established a puppet ruler in Dergeria after its surrender. Every other nation and faction on the continent is considered an enemy of Grasynnia, and will be treated as such. The Grasynnian people are mostly humans, though half-dragons and halflings are not uncommon sights in the nation, either. The latter are however almost all displaced from their homeland, following their removal during the war. In the east, the goblins are plentiful, and in the Marrens, orcs and half-orcs are surprisingly common. Kobolds are known to live in these lands too, but they are often treated as second-class, and therefore often leave the region if they can. Faith in the Thirty Divines is strong in these lands, especially Helm, Tempus, Ilmater, and the Red Knight; the latter has Her grand temple in the Red City of Hartmere, the royal seat of Her divine champions. Praying to the Five Scorned is not criminalized here, as many Grasynnians consider the dark divines to be just as important as the others, and that ignoring them could invoke their wrath.