The Kingdom of Wind

Written by Valiant Requiem

I didn't ask to be king, but I did ask for others to follow me. I didn't realize at the time what that meant and what our success itself would mean for those we'd left higher up the coast. When your boats make landfall for the first time on an entirely new continent, you don't expect shards of glass to come down on you. I thought we were being attacked at first, some sort of indigenous people, honestly... but then, later in the caves along the cliff, we realized what it really was. The wind was strong and stepping outside meant bearing the full force of it, on top of the glass falling around you. It was the storms, they came from the mountains and told us this land was a danger, that settling there was foolhardy.
We didn't travel across an ocean just to turn around when the weather got bad. I took some people with me and went down south, following the cliffs on our left for shelter from the storm, but even that was barely enough. I wasn't sure what I'd find, but the land provided as best it could and we took full advantage.
As the cliffs slowly led into flat land, I saw it. Fertile green land, beaches the color of silver and gold, a hill worthy of a castle. It was what we'd all been looking for... Shame about the rain though.
| King Glenn Windborne recounting the first days of Landfall

Structure

Though the Kingdom of Wind is indeed a kingdom in terms of hierarchy, it has unfortunately not had the presence of a monarch or a royal family in many centuries. Instead, the Nobility run the country via a council based within the Capital City of Glass. Though this council occasionally discusses the prospect of placing a new royal family on the throne, the action is never voted through, as the nobles wish to keep the modicum of power their individual seats bring them.
However, with a royal family in place, all political power comes from the Windborne Monarch themselves. Generally, the monarch will keep three advisors, each advising on all matters, but individually specializing in warfare and protecting the lands, arcane matters, or all manner of spycraft as needed.

Public Agenda

As the Kingdom's motto states: Hope on the horizon. The Windborne people do not falter in the face of hardship. Instead, they thrive on it. The kingdom, in moments of power and influence, seeks to better the lands around it. Sacrifice matters deeply to the Windborne people, but hope is what sustains them.

Assets

Chiefly, the Kingdom of Wind benefits greatly from the presence of the Burrow, a forest within the region that is incredibly fertile, almost unnaturally so, and which provides access to many different herbs, fruit, naturally occurring crops, and the most important, Glassleaf, the extremely potent main ingredient in healing potions.
The lands outside of the forest are also capable of growing nearly any crops with harvest time being extremely profitable for the kingdom. Though special care must be taken to farm the crops safely, through the use of wind walls of trees and fortified farming structures, most farms are capable of running even against strong Glass Storms.
Beyond crops and herbs, the coastline is an incredible source of pearls and sea creatures. The coastal wetlands also prevent major flooding in the area.

History

Founded in 1 Landfall by the half-elf King Glenn Windborne, The Kingdom of Wind (also known as the Windborne Kingdom) was the first established country on the continent of Euphoria. The first settlers from the continent of Epiphany made landfall, changing history forever by settling a seemingly dangerous and empty landmass. Despite the threats of the Glass Storms, it was always remarked upon uneasily that no one apparently lived on the continent at all before them. Ruins were never discovered, leading many to believe that the region and the continent itself was newly created via arcane means, though the rumors were never substantiated.
350 years after the founding of the Kingdom of Wind, the Beastfolk War occurred. Under the mountains north of Glass, the Beastfolk city of Eld'Zolon became enemies of the Kingdom of Wind. After a confused and poorly recorded encounter between the Windborne and the Beastfolk, war was declared in earnest. During this time, the Windborne Royal Family mysteriously vanished, their disappearance never solved, but believed to be a successful assassination attempt on the part of the Beastfolk. After years of fighting, a tenuous peace was formed between the two societies with the Kingdom of Wind controlling all trade that goes in and out of the mountain paths that lead into Eld'Zolon.
By 729 Landfall, with the political efforts of the Windborne Royal Council weakening the kingdom and the growing threat of the Glass Storms, many people of the kingdom sought to move on and find better lives in less dangerous parts of the continent. As a last ditch effort to save the kingdom, a researcher-noble and owner of the Windborne Observatory, Jameson Marhorn, discovered that the Glass Storms were indeed unnatural. With the naked eye, one could not see where the glass shards within the clouds came from, but using a special telescope that utilized the glass itself, Jameson proved that it came from a magical source, a portal that opens inside of the clouds at the top of the mountain peaks. He also discovered through constant observation that when the portals open, the shard of glass which is ejected is very similar if not identical to the same shard that came through the most recent portal. Jameson conjectured it had to do with some arcane manipulation of time, but knew he personally would not be able to find the answers. Now Jameson sends adventurers out into the region to gather materials for him, hoping he might solve the problem of the storms on his own and save the kingdom from ruin.

Hope on the horizon

Founding Date

1 Landfall

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Alternative Names

Windborne Kingdom

Demonym

Windborne