"Darokinians claim to be peaceful merchants, and to be against war, but the difference between them and us is that they pay others to fight their battles, and they use their speech to convince them they are right in their abuses."
Sempronius Gallo, Thyatian diplomat in Darokin.
Overview
The land of wealth and trade, Darokin is arguably the richest nation in the Known World. With limited access to the sea, Darokin has built an enormous economic empire mainly through ground trade. They are one of the few nations with diplomatic contacts in every other nation. Though ruled by the richest citizens, they are surprisingly upwardly mobile. With their economy as strong as it is, only the infirm and the lazy do not work. The infirm are helped through charity, the lazy are generally left to starve. The nation is dominated by its guilds, but the guilds are careful not to interfere with lawful trade and bring the wrath of the government down upon them. Darokin maintains a large corps of diplomatics to smooth
out trade issues with their fellow nations.
The land is rich: the centre of the nation is dominated by the Streel Plain, the heartland of Darokin, where half the nation's residents live. The farmers of the Streel Plain are able to grow enough grain to feed the whole nation twice over. Near the plain is the mighty Lake Amsorak, a freshwater lake that provides a bounty of fish.
The abundance of agriculture is just one of the two sources of Darokin's wealth; the other source is the nation's formidable merchant class, which hauls the excess food to most of the nations of the Known World and returns with trade goods from those distant places. Darokin has just one major port, Athenos, so merchants are usually involved in land travelling caravan ventures, and turn to adventurers and mercenaries for their protection.
There are several major cities in Darokin: most notable are the capital, Darokin, that acts as the nexus of the spider-web of Darokinian trade, Selenica, in the southeast, centre of the caravan activities toward Karameikos, Ylaruam, Rockhome and Thyatis, and Corunglain, a very warlike city on the border with the dangerous humanoids of the Broken Lands.
Dangerous areas include the Malpheggi Swamp in the south, where monsters thrive, and the Orclands, officially part of Darokin but actually in the hands of humanoid raiding bands.
A notable feature of Darokin is that the whole Kingdom of Alfheim is surrounded by Darokinian territory, like a ring around a hole. The elves and humans remain on good terms.
History
Darokin was a land of conflict between humans and humanoids for a long time, until elves migrating from the west reached the region and settled down in what would become the Kingdom of Alfheim. With the help of the elves, the balance in the region was tipped, and the Eastwind clan got the upper hand, and founded a Kingdom that would later take the name of one prominent member of the clan, Ansel Darokin.
Later, the Attleson clan took over, but decreased contact with the elves resulted in misunderstandings and eventually into the Elfwar (501 - 504 AC). Orcs took advantage from the situation, and Corunglain was sieged and sacked before elves and humans put an end to a fruitless war.
After the death of the last King of Darokin, Santhral II, in 723 AC, political unrest spread through the land, until, around 927 AC, the richest merchant houses and families agreed on a central government for the entire country.
The People
The Daro are a heterogeneous population, made up of people from several ethnic groups (Thyatians, Alasyians, Traladarians), and this has resulted in a population of light olive complexion, with hair and eyes that can be of almost any colour, with brown hair and eyes being the most common. They are a notoriously hard working lot, and most are driven by the desire of success. Each generation wants to live in better surroundings and clothe and educate their children better than the last generation did.
Darokinians as a people are notoriously opposed to war and other violent solutions, and prefer to settle things down by diplomacy. There is a national diplomatic service known as the Darokinian Diplomatic Corps, whose function is to try to peacefully solve problems in both domestic and foreign affairs.
Government & Religion
Although nominally a Republic, Darokin is a Plutocracy - ruled by the rich - but a very long sighted one. The plutocrats believe that keeping the standard of living high and keeping the laws fair throughout the social levels makes workers enthusiastic - so far, they have been successful.
The merchant houses are the true political powers within the nation: the Merchant's Guild has the monopoly over trade, and non-members are not allowed to trade with members, so not being a member means no trade, no business, no money. The ruler of the nation is the Chancellor, that acts as the President of the Merchant's Inner Council, and thus controls the Merchant's Guild, supported by the leaders of the most important Trading Houses.
Owing to the cultural diversity that makes up the Republic, the religions followed by the people are similarly heterogeneous. There is no official religion in Darokin and nearly all religions of the Known World are practiced here.
Cities
Akesoli is the westernmost city in Darokin, it is the smallest of the 'Six Cities' of Darokin. It dominates the trade coming in from the west. It does not produce much, but acts as a stockpile of items entering and leaving the nation.
Akoros is the sister city of Akesoli. It is located on the eastern edge of Lake Amsorak. It is one of the major crossroads, with goods coming in from all directions and routed to another port.
Athenos is the largest port, located at the cusp of Malpheggi Bay. Here goods from Darokin flow in and foreign goods come from across the sea. It is definitely the most diverse city in the nation.
Corunglain is the city closest to the Broken Lands. It is a well fortified city, as orc raids from the northwest aren't uncommon. Corunglain is heavily militarized, which helps get the caravans to Ethengar and Glantri through.
Darokin City is the heart of the nation. The largest merchant guilds operate here, and it is centrally located for all the caravans. It is the city of banks; no other city can claim the economic power that lies within its city walls.
Selenica calls itself the eastern capitol. The largest city east of Alfheim, Selenica is the second largest city in Darokin. Fiercely independent, Selenica deals with the most foreign market of any city in Darokin.
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