Craglands

The Craglands occupy a strange place within the Kingdom of Thaxnoria as they are a majority Dwarf and Gnome population kingdom within the majority Human Kingdom of Thaxnoria. The greatest difference between the Cragland and the rest of Thaxnoria is that within its borders the elder races, primarily the dwarves and gnomes, are the dominant classes; indeed a key source of contention between the Craglands and the rest of Thaxnoria is the serfdom of humans within its land.
The Craglands itself takes its name from its defining geological feature, the massive chasm known as the Crag which separates the kingdom from the Guildlands. Much of the Craglands exists in the subterranean world, with the vast majority of its cities residing underneath the surface, with smaller towns and cities existing ‘topside’.

Level of Autonomy

Even with the use of messenger birds and magical communication it is impossible for any absolute ruler or even council to effectively rule such a large kingdom. As a result, a large degree of autonomy is vested within local rulers, who must profess loyalty to the Monarchy, the House of Peers, and the Kingdom of Thaxnoria. The Craglands retain the highest degree of autonomy from Thaxnoria, both economically and politically.
The Craglands are ruled by the Princes of the Undermount, being able to retain their princely and sudo-royal titles as a result of their difficult absorption into the Kingdom of Thaxnoria. The Craglands enjoy broad authority to rule themselves as they see fit, with this most controversially including the enforced serfdom of a significant portion of its Human population. The only areas where the Craglands does not have primacy is in matters of war and the tax and tribute that must be paid to the Crown.

Race Relations

The Craglands’ high degree of autonomy from the Thaxnorian Crown, nowhere is this more visible than in the place of the elder races within the Craglands. The elder races are dominant within the Craglands holding the positions of political, social, and economic power. A significant portion of the Human population of the Craglands find themselves in a position of enforced serfdom, there are opportunities for humans to escape serfdom but they are rare. Not all humans are serfs, those free from its bounds are only taken into serfdom as a punishment for a crime, which can be levelled upon any race equally. This is a source of tension with the humans from the rest of Thaxnoria, and there is brewing discontent among the humans of the Craglands.

Views on Arcane Magic

The Craglands diverge with the rest of the Kingdom of Thaxnoria when it comes to the issue of magic. The Craglands only pay lip service to the Tocvastil Accords, with few Arcane Bastilles existing within its borders and only on its surface lands. The Craglands recognise the innate dangerous that magic can possess, however, they believe that education in the arcane arts avoids the worst of the dangers. Any who begin to manifest magic are given a choice to be imprisoned within the Arcane Bastilles or learn to control their magic within the subterranean arcane academies; few choose the imprisonment of the Bastilles. This policy has caused significant friction between the Craglands and the rest of Thaxnoria, particularly the neighbouring Uvani Hilllands.

History

The Craglands have a long history, they were once a part of the ancient Kingdom of Orzar’Nack. The Craglands gained their independence following the large-scale destruction of the Darkroads during the Darkquake. With the destruction of the Darkroad the authority of Orzar’Nack was obliterated, and the Craglands rose as a fully sovereign kingdom in its own right. The Subterrain kingdom endured through the violent Age of Conquest and the horrors Age of Blood, but its independence was finally brought to an end by Thaxnorian Unification.
Thaxnorian Unification is traditionally dated 226-233:Contempt, however, the Craglands were not brought into the fold until 299:Blood. This was not the result of lack of trying, House Gathral launched various unsuccessful invasions of the Craglands during Thaxnorian Unification, but after bloody war and great casualties on both sides war stalled and an uneasy peace set in. War was brought to the fore once again over sixty years later, on the precipice once more a marriage was arranged between the second-born Princess of Craglands Danna and the third born Prince of Thaxnoria Charles which created an uneasy unification of the kingdoms.

Religion

Officially the only religion permitted within the Kingdom of Thaxnoria is the Faith of the Octurn, however, within the Craglands the Octurn can only be described as a minority faith. The majority of the Gnome and Dwarf population pay worship to the Morndinsamman, while many of the other elder races worship the Seldarine and Draconic Pantheon.

Agriculture & Industry

The Craglands are a silent economic powerhouse, though most within Thaxnoria are blind to this as the country rarely spends much of its treasury. The Craglands produce time consuming high quality goods, and are one of the few countries capable of producing mithral goods and weapons. Agriculturally the Craglands are a net exporter of foodstuff, vast fungi farms, cragfarms, and surface farms more than feed the Craglands and have allowed it to prosper as an agriculture powerhouse.

Infrastructure

There are few roads on the surface of the Craglands, and likewise little investment in surface aqueducts. It is the subterranean country that possess impressive Infrastructure, vents exist throughout the countryside and within the Crag providing oxygen to the subterranean kingdom, lesser Darkroads exist throughout the undercountry linking the subterranean cities of the Craglands, and similarly, water is drawn from the Kilgarth Mountains which provides fresh water to the subterranean kingdom.

Precision and Strength

Founding Date

1300:Contact

Type

Geopolitical, Province

Capital

Kelmar

Demonym

Craglander

Power Structure

Autonomous area

Parent Organization

Kingdom of Thaxnoria

Official Languages

• Crowntongue

Runetalras

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