Ember Hollow
The name is something of a misnomer, as there are not many embers nor is this county hollow. It is also much larger than the name would suggest. Actually, it is the country with the coldest temperature average by a good ten degrees. The name came as a protest against southern neighbor Prazigal, for an incident during the 1100s, which involved their version of toxic waste dumping.
As Prazigal consists primarily of volcanoes, the traditional form of radioactive toxic waste is replaced by large amounts of lava. The overlord of Prazigal grew tired of living in a home that might some day spontaneously combust and kill him and all his minions, and so decided it would be a good idea to construct a pipeline to drain some of that dangerous material into an area where it wouldn’t be quite so warm. Namely, Ember Hollow.
They objected. Emphatically. There is now an exceedingly thick wall of igneous rock standing on the border of the two countries that only has one gate. There are tunnels underneath, naturally, and aerial forms of transport, but only the one gate for those who are claustrophobic or afraid of heights.
They rely on air travel more than most other countries because of their position as the northernmost country with a formal border, the rest being little more than settlements and communes for the more-than-usually insane.
They have a few notable citizens. Kinneret Giguere is one of the best harpists in the world. She also happens to be one of Roble O’Grady’s daughters. She works very hard to stay away from her family, and she managed to do so when she defected to Ember Hollow. Her half-brother Fudail made a cursory effort to rescue her, but gave it up quite quickly and since then they have developed a working relationship that serves both well.
History
Ember Hollow has not been a member of the Council of Evil for several generations. It is not until their current leader that they officially changed moral stances and switched. This was actually a source of some relief, because after Varios’ most recent switch to the Unified Benevolent Nations it was eleven nations to nine, which made those who follow the idea of The Balance very uneasy. All leaders, both good and evil, use the term President as their title.
The current leader is Laeturna. She got her start as a minion in Prazigal and rose quickly through the ranks, to the extent that she was asked to succeed the overlord. She abstained, already having decided that she preferred an icy wasteland to a volcanic one. She applied to the Council of Evil for funding and gained the backing of three of the overlords, which is quite a significant number compared to usual.
She invaded via the north, with the use of troops she called the Yetis. The term stuck, by the way, and they aren’t offended by anyone using it. The president of Ember Hollow was well forewarned and put up an appropriately desperate-appearing final struggle before being captured. A few heroes promptly rescued him and his staff, and they lived out their lives in comfortable retirement. The people occasionally put up a bit of a struggle, just for the fun of it, but most of them were quite willing to adapt to life as a minion. Those that weren’t were happy to move to warmer climes.
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