The Kingdom of Mordor
Demographics
The Kingdom of Mordor is home to various wealth classes, professions and a few different races.
Government
The Kingdom of Mordor is run by a king, a queen and their family who created the laws and taxes.
Defences
Mordor was chosen to be build at a volcanic plain because of the mountain ranges surrounding it on three sides, creating a natural fortress against his enemies preventing them from easily invading it.
Black Gate: The Black Gate is set in an impregnable black stone and iron wall that stretched from the Mountains in the north to the west. The wall has but a single gate set into its length and was patrolled unceasingly, with hundreds of soliders holes on either side in which lurked thousands of feral Orcs ready to attack.
Industry & Trade
Factories for commonly used goods
1. Produce pottery, tools, weapons and textiles
2. Leather for tunics, belts, etc.
3. Oil for red lamps - animal fat
4. Drums and horns
5. Meat would probably be dried or salted for preservation in Mordor’s arid climate
6. Cheesemaking is rare or nonexistent
7. Salt for preserving meat
Dyes
1. Black dye - charred wood and bone
2. Red dye - ochre and sometimes cinnabar
Textiles
1. Linen
2. Hemp
3. Wool
Writing media
1. Parchment of pigs and sheeps
2. Clay tablet
3. Fiber paper
Infrastructure
In most cases, roads in Mordor are simple paths of packed dirt. In mountainous areas, roads and stairs are carved into the rock; when needed, the cliff faces above these mountain trails are cut into sheer walls, often several meters high.
Across the broken land of Mordor, there are raised causeways about a meter above the plain. These causeways have a high curb along one side, for troop leaders to guide their companies in low-visibility conditions. They are likely paved with stones, using similar materials to the towers and houses. Exiting the fortress’s gates, it passes over a deep chasm, and channels flanking the road are often filled with lava when one of the nearby volcanos erupts.
At long intervals along the Main Road, and likely also along the other roads passing through the kingdom, there are cisterns built to provide water to troops sent through the volcanic plain.
Assets
Crops: The primary crops grown for consumption are wheat, barley, rice and setaria millet, likely using a 2-field rotation. In early days, barley (a more drought resistant crop) would have been the primary crop. However, the current system ignores regular risk-management strategies in favour of maximizing production, and farmers would have built extensive irrigation canals in order to sustain the other grains which are more desirable but also more susceptible to drought.
Livestock: Sheep, goats, cattle and pigs are raised in very large herds. Over time this would lead to overgrazing, contributing to large-scale soil erosion. Oxen are also needed for ploughing and transportation. Pigs are kept in indoor sties or in the basements of fortresses. Dung can be used as fertiliser or burned as fuel. Horses are fairly rare, used only by designated messengers and the elites. In addition, Mordor employs Trolls, using their incalculable strength for large-scale construction and transportation. If they are kept at all, they will need either natural or man-made shelters in order to protect them from sunlight’s deadly effects. In volcano eruption seasson, this is much less of a concern as the land get perpetually covered in clouds of ash and smoke.
Fell-Beasts: Finally, there must be housing and accommodations for the winged steeds. These creatures are large enough for a grown man to ride. The people in Mordor call them "hell-hawks", which implies that they are perhaps closer in appearance to birds than to bats or dragons.
Tribute: Mordor might export weapons and slaves. It imports lumber and related products (such as charcoal and pitch), and bring in an enormous amount of treasures, delicacies and manufactured goods. There are checkpoints at all the borders, to control what items are brought into the kingdom.
Guilds and Factions
Financial institutions: Mordor has no standard currency, relying instead on a barter system for all of its financial exchanges. Most slaves are only given what they need to survive; “middle-class” workers and soldiers are paid in goods, slaves, and status as a reward for productivity. Mordor citizens themselves are not taxed per se, because all of their output is the property of the government and is immediately seized by local officials for distribution. This system creates near-constant shortages on almost everything, which only helps to keep the populace under the control of the ruling elites. The elites themselves have amassed enormous wealth from the tribute paid, including jewellery and foreign coinage. There should be many private treasuries in fortresses throughout Mordor, though the main treasury is in the Palace of Mordor itself. Lastly, there should be small treasuries at trade checkpoints, in order to pay independent merchants.
Points of interest
Medical institutions: Most of Mordor is squalid and unsanitary, and with large numbers of people living in close proximity it is likely that disease is rampant among the lower class. A few people coming in from neighbouring lands might have some rudimentary knowledge of medicine, and thus would act as herbalists on a very small scale. However, these would be few and far between, and on a very unofficial basis. Any official medical institutions are reserved for the most wealthy among Mordor’s populace. There are houses of healing in major populated places, using the advanced medical knowledge from ages past. The folk of Mordor is said to have some sort of draught that acts as a painkiller. It fills the drinker with “a hot fierce glow” which is less wholesome than the lembas and miruvor of the Light Elves.
Recreational institutions: Gladiatorial arenas are a major source of entertainment for the people of Mordor. The fighters may be criminals or foreign slaves, though some might be willing volunteers seeking fame and fortune. Within these arenas, they may fight other gladiators, wild animals, orcs or trolls. Winners of the games would receive substantial prizes in the form of food, clothing and other material goods; despite their comparative affluence, however, they would still be treated as low-class citizens. However, some might be able to hold animal fights, particularly dogs and chickens. These fights would probably take place in the streets or in other open spaces, though a very few might have designated spaces: small rooms with a fenced-in ring in the centre. Some might have benches, though more likely, spectators would simply stand. Lastly, with the enormous amount of slaves being brought into Mordor, some may be forced into prostitution. Most would probably become courtesans for the ruling elites, but there could also be brothels for the middle class throughout Mordor.
Architecture
1. Very blocky and rectangular look, overlapped by and adhered to each other, often forming sprawling and cancer-like lumps
2. Styles are varying depending on the degree of what groups are related to construction
3. Spike ornaments on rooftops, on corners of parapets, and along railings
4. Basic corbel-stepped overhangs on underside of parapets
5. Decorative pillars flanking major doors and windows
6. Simple linear patterns of contrasting bricks
Geography
Mordor lays at a black, volcanic plain in the southt of Nomardia.
Climate
Since this area has been subjected to near-constant volcanic eruption for the last sixty years, it is blanketed with a thick layer of smoke, and filled with noxious fumes. As a result, it is totally devoid of any plant life, with only sparse coverage on the margins.
Founding Date
865
Alternative Name(s)
The Devil´s Kngdom, The real Hell, The black Kngdom, The false Kingdom, Mordor, The black Lands
Type
National Territory
Population
750.000
Inhabitant Demonym
Devil´s slaves, Mordorians
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
Characters in Location
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