Hestandi

It is a curlty what has happened to the once fine country filled with traders, strong and righteous men and some of the finest stonemasons according to what I have read. The fate that befell Hestandi and Karakand has left a impression on epics, novels and most definitavly on Nilaminra. The shame is that the Hestians lie forgotten in the larger landscpe of politics and culture...

— Everam, Teller of Nimenra

Three countries were the foundation which The Theocracy of Nilari and Minrans was founced upon. Hestandi was the northernmost and a populous country ruled fairly and with great values formed around a strong and helping spirit of the Hestians. Together with the two other countries in Minrans, Isvrik and Karakand they were in a tri-pact alliance of friendship and peace, facing the surroundings togheter. That was until Isvrik betrayed Karakand and started the chain of events known as The Treason of Isvrik and lead to the downfall of Hestandi with it. Hestandi faced several years of internal infighting, poor leadership and chaos until The First Nini rose up and eventualy formed Nilaminra.

Organisation Structure

As with many of the countries of the time, Hestandi was ruled by a king. The king held a firm grip on the power with the aid of his own chosen council. The king usually delegated smaller matters to these men while taking charge of the most important himself. This could range from disputes among the nobility or other powerful factions in Hestandi to smaller personal ones that the king deemed that he could resolve.

The council was the name of the king's closest advisors that he chose himself. The military title of marshal was the head of the council, instead of the chancellor in many other councils. The marshal had a veto over the other's decisions or during votes except when it was the marshal who was himself the focus of a decision. This could be in disputes and when held in question by the rest of the council. This preventive measure to hold back the marshal's status had varied effects over time with several marshals known to have challenged even the king himself on occasions. The other positions on the council were Chancellor of State, Chancellor of Services, Deacon of the Eight and a varied advisor position.

Righteous and strong - The mindset of a people

Hestandi followed a mostly feudal society where stronger and larger noble families held vast amounts of land. However, all the land was deemed to be the king's own first thus it could be revoked if he deemed it necessary. The king was also in charge of protecting the country first and foremost instead of following his own agenda. The mentality of "Righteous and strong" was the first and foremost idea that the king had to rule in a "good way" to not anger his own subjects. This framed the first and foremost method chosen by Hestians to deal with situations; talk. It was vital for a good man to be able to prevent bloodshed and talk his way into solving conflict. This followed the whole societal structure and somewhat was followed too many lengths. Hestandi was for its time a very stable country as long as the king was under any challenge that prevented him from performing his duties.

Assets

Trade and commerce

While considered a midsized country it had a plentiful and stable economy. One of the largest array of stone resources that could be found to its north along the border of Jorvemland and many small rivers allowed for easy transportation to further south. This also was seen in the methods of binding the country together, many of the refinement centres were in the south where food was the most abundant and traded for while production was in the north. While metal and ore resources were also a strong industry, most were traded away to Karakand in exchange for refined items rather than to make them on their own. Tools were still made by the local smith but a weapon could come from a smithy in Karakand. However, when the last king died and left the country leaderless, the threads of this large-scale commerce fell apart as civil war and other internal problems took first place in people's minds. Without this, the country suffered a decline and when the years of strife were finally over, many had died and the connections and skills were lost to time. Several noble and merchant families tried to reorganize the expensive network with no success.

Military and fortifications

Hestandi faced little warfare during its latter years before the collapse of trust and alliance with the Treason of Isvrik. Much of the dedicated and standing forces were the king's own, a small retinue of no more than a thousand men that were in charge of keeping raiders from the north and east away. The castles of nobility were more focused on show and display rather than fortifications of war. Most of the weapons were made and bought from Karakand or further away. When war and internal conflict arose there were little defenses to be used beyond very old ones.

The once large castle in Heren stands as a testament to this. The castle had been neglected as a defensive structure even when the latter king was alive. Walls were never rebuilt and the keep itself was more of a home with defences changed to accommodate comfort for its inhabitants and visitors. Windy arrowslits were removed, the castle gate became a barred door and balconies had the chest-high walls lowered while the armoury became a general storage area. Later on, when all was over, the castle fell into disrepair as the new leadership instead focused money on other efforts. The keep was abandoned and today is a ruin, a hunted relic of the past when Hestandi were a country.

722 V.D. - 956 V.D.

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital
Heren
Demonym
Hestian
Leader Title
King of the Hestians
Government System
Monarchy, absolut
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy

Explore Nimenra

Alliance

Hestandi

70

Karakand {English}

70

The two countries intermarried and had a stable, good relationship throughout most of the known history between them. There had been conflicts but many of who had been forgotten by the time of The Treason of Isvrik.

Alliance and non-aggression pact

Hestandi

0

Isvrik {English}

30

The two countries had a stable relationship for a long time. With the tri-pact alliance that joined the three countries together to defend against external threats the relations flourished with trade across the North Road.
With The Treason of Isvrik, the relations turned for the worst as it was a betrayal towards both Hestandi and Karakand. Also following their king's death, the ruling faction in Hestandi blamed Isvrik for the strife that started inside the country. This has still effect on both people's relationship with each other.