Kingdom of Thaxnoria
The Kingdom of Thaxnoria is among the largest and most powerful of the Human majority kingdoms. The Kingdom itself is made up of seven countries held together by the force and diplomacy of the Thaxnorian monarchy.
Geography
The Kingdom of Thaxnoria is located on what is known as the Arm of Runedastil, a portion of the continent of Runedastil which reaches off of the majority of the continent. Thaxnoria is only connected through land to the East, where the Kilgarth Mountains led to the Free States. To the South across the Dragon Strait are the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy and Wild Isles, to the North across the Seuibe River is the Seldori Range, and to the East the Sea of Storms and the Outlaw Isles. Thaxnoria is a vast kingdom which ranges from the mountain peaks of Corth, to the lush lands of the Ardenals, to the barren hills of the Uvani Hilllands. Thaxnoria is made up of seven provinces that were all independent kingdoms prior to Thaxnorian Unification; they are the Ardenals, Cildarth Forest, Craglands, Crownlands, Corth, Guildlands, and Uvani Hilllands.Population
Thaxnoria is a humanmajority kingdom, with the Avmans and Barites being the most common Human ethnicities, although they are not oft identified within Thaxnoria, as people most commonly identify themselves by which province they come from, i.e. the Crownlands or Ardenals. There are significant minorities of dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, and dragonborn, with smaller minorities of the other races. There are smaller numbers of tiefling, aasimar, half-orcs, goliath, and firbolgs, as well as a number of monstrous races.Religion
The official state religion of the Kingdom of Thaxnoria is The Octurn, with its Church being the only faith that is legally permitted to worship. The Octurn is a synthesis of the faiths of deities Azuth, Chauntea, Kelemvor, Oghma, Selûne, Sune, Torm, Tyr, and Waukeen. The Octurn is highly centralised and hierarchical, the High Octon serves as the primary source of canon and dogma throughout the Cult. The Octurn and High Octon are firmly tied to the Thaxnorian state, being involved in important state ceremonies and the High Octurn ceremonially anointing the High King of Thaxnoria. Against Thaxnorian law there are a great many deities worshipped throughout Thaxnoria; the Seldarine is the most popular pantheon among forest gnomes and elves, the Morndinsamman are the largest faith within the Craglands and are even openly worshipped, also in defiance of the law Tempus and the Radiant Lady are worship as the Union of Flame in the Uvani Hilllands.Racial Relations
The Kingdom of Thaxnoiria has infamously poor racial relations, nonhumans are not permitted to work in certain professions, nor live in the better sections of larger cities and towns. Nonhumans are also not permitted to join most guilds. This legal discrimation has led to repeated flash points where violence erupts; this can come from two sources: nonhumans rioting against poor conditions, or humans seeing some perceived slight enact a pogrom against the nonhumans, the former of which oft leads to the latter. The most famous pogrom in recent history is the Massacre of Blackborough. Racial relations can vary based upon which region one finds themselves, for example within the Craglands it is humans who face discrimation from the majority dwarven and gnomish population, and within the Guildlands slavery of nonhumans while no legal is common place.Views on Magic
Thaxnoria is a strict adherent to the Toc’vastil Accords which defines its relationship towards magic. Thaxnoria believes that magic is dangerous, it is a sword without a hilt, as such all magic save the divine is illegal within the Kingdom, all mages are imprisoned within the Arcane Bastille and kept in check by the Brightswords. Those who resist imprisonment are hunted by the Brightswords, being captured or killed. Casting magic in public is likely to lead to violence and imprisonment.Politics
Since the Civil War of Redemption Thaxnoria has been a constitutional monarchy, a chamber known as the House of Peers which may propose laws, must approve the Monarch’s appointments to high positions, and has powers over the Royal Budget, all enshrined in the Magna Constus. The Monarch does however, have far reaching powers, they are able to refuse to ascend acts passed by the House of Peers to become laws, the monarch may also pass laws on their own, and possess the ability to command the army.International Relations
Thaxnoria, while not isolationist, has few kingdoms that are friendly towards it throughout Runetalras, this is the result of an expansionist past and a willingness to use its power and influence. Republic of Valantia is one of the few kingdoms with a positive relationship, the result of keen trading, the Coalition of Righteous Flame within the Free States also has a tentative alliance with Thaxnoria.Education
Much of the population is uneducated, few but the wealthy, nobles, or otherwise well-off are able to attend any formal education. The Faith of the Octurn does teach those to pledge their lives to the Church and are educated so they may better serve. The Donagogues and their White Bastion also provide an education to those willing to serve in their order, whose self-proclaimed goal is the embetterment of Runetalras through knowledge.Gender, Sexuality, and Inheritance
As a result of the Kingdom of Thaxnoria being made up of several countries there are differences in views on gender and sexulity, whilst most are generally homogeneous the Craglands differs significantly from many of the generally accepted view elsewhere within the Kingdom of Thaxnoria. Within the Kingdom of Thaxnoria the society generally accepts two genders, male and female. It is also not generally accepted that a person can identify as a gender which is different to their biological sex; whilst those that do face social stigma. This is not to say that people of other gender identities do not exist, indeed they are more common within the Craglands, There are also strict gender roles throughout much of the Kingdom of Thaxnoria. Men take on physical roles which range from physical labour to martial pursuits, however, the halls of economic, financial, and political power are almost wholly the domain of men. Women are generally relegated to the roles within the context of the household, raising children and taking on jobs which can be performed in the home such as weaving and looming. This differs within Corth and the Uvani Hillands where gender roles are less defined. There is little sexual freedom throughout much of the Kingdom of Thaxnoria, a direct result of the dominant religion, the Faith of the Octurn, which decrys homosexual acts as an abominantion and sin. These acts, and people whose sexual idenities differ to hetrosexaulity certainly exist but face discimination. The customs regarding inheritance and landownership are rather uniform throughout the Kingdom of Thaxnoria. Male-preference primogeniture is customary, although not binding, for most nobles. A man's eldest son is his heir, followed by his second son, then his third son, and so on. In theory, the youngest son is followed in the line of succession by the eldest daughter. A man's daughter generally inherits before her father’s brother. When a ruling lord dies and leaves no clear heir, his widow might lay claim upon his lands and rule until her own death, and in such a case, might name an heir by herself. This differs within the Craglands where the eldest child regardless of sex inherrits. Individuals like experienced adventurers and mages are often spared the worst of this system as a result of the power they oft possess.Infrastructure
The Kingdom of Thaxnoria has an outstanding system of roads, with the Griffin's Highway link the capital of each of Thaxnoria’s regions and leads to the Griffin Gates, and sewers are commonplace among towns and cities. Thaxnoria’s systems of aqueducts are limited, with only one major aqueduct serving Rhamear’s Grace. Thaxnoria as a whole does not lack for ports along its vast coast.Agriculture & Industry
The agricultural heartland of Thaxnoria is the Ardenals, which produces a large amount of foodstuff, feeding most of the Guildlands, Crownlands, and Craglands. Similarly the Craglands and Guildlands are industry centres, both are capable of producing goods cheaply and fast, while the Craglands are also renowned for their Adamantine goods. The Crownlands have also earned renown for their production of outstanding lowbows, produced from yew trees native to the region.History
Although the Kingdom of Thaxnoira was founded in 233:Contempt it has a rich tapestry of history that extends throughout the Arm of Runedastil, largely the geographic area the Kingdom encompasses. This history, however, deals with the key events that led to the formation of the Kingdom.Age of Contempt
The Exodus 0-50:Contempt The Exodus was a large-scale population migration, which truly began with the Age of Blood, but became truly noticeable in the Age of Contempt and changed the ethnic makeup of the Arm of Runedastil. The Avman Human ethnic group migrated from the Seldori Range to the surrounding regions, the largest proportion of which fled to the Arm of Runedastil. This caused a combination of conflict, cominging, and souplantation with and of the Barites ethnic group of humans, as well as other races. The effects of The Exodus are now largely historical within the Kingdom of Thaxnoria. Many Barites were displaced or destroyed by the Avman, and the geopolitical balance of the region was changed; however, the enmity between ethnicities has largely been supplanted by more contemporary conflicts. There more isolated rivalries between specific noble families who supplanted others during The Exodus but these are more interfamilial rather than ethnic rivalries. The impact of The Exodus can still be seen in Thaxnoria today in the names of noble families; Avman families have more complicated names like Gathral and Castrions, and Barites having simpler names like Forbrook and Strong. Of note, House Gathral, an Avman noble family, remained in the south of the Seldori Range. The Wild Cleansing 3-23:Contempt Wild Cleansing was the initial form that the Grand Cleansing took, it was disorganised, chaotic, and bloody. People sought to take vengeance upon those they blamed for the Age of Blood, which at first were mages, but then turned towards the elder races, they were hunted down, tortured, and burnt at the stake. The Wild Cleansing was particularly vicious within the Uvani Hilllands. The Controlled Cleansing 23-105:Contempt Witch Hunters and demagogues were gaining great power from capitalising on the Wild Cleaning, great economic harm was being done to the kingdoms paralysed by bloodshed. Throughout this period the Ardenals, Copperlands, Corth, Gilded Kingdom, and Uvani Hilllands took control of the Cleansings, legalising much of the discrimination and persecution of mages and elder races. Unification of Thaxnoria 226-233:Contempt After years of plot and preparation Charharis Gathral, head of House Gathral, launched an invasion of the Copperlands. Shortly after they crossed the Seiube River the Battle of Slag Hill resulted in the death of Fenrath Ordhert the Foolhardy King of the Copperlands. With the death of their King the Copperlands soon fell to House Gathral, Charharis put all members of House Ordhert to the sword, and the Copperlands were renamed Crownlands, the personal domain of the Royal House Gathral. In the immediate aftermath of the conquest, and before Gathral rule could be firmly established, Charharis immediately and recklessly declared war upon Ardenals, Corth, Uvani Hilllands, Craglands, and the Gilded Kingdom. It was only by the strategic, martial, political, and arcane skills of Charharis’ younger siblings Rhamear, Falrax, and Jehanna that their unification was not strangled in its crib. Together the Gathral siblings were able to defeat the King Theuderic Tybonn of the Ardenals in battle as Lord Lucaen Castrion betrayed him; this action brought the Ardenals into the fold with House Castrion as its Lord Paramount. As the Unification progressed news of Charharis making rash and cruel decrees and practising foul and blatant blood magic; this and as new fronts in the war opened forced the siblings to separate. Falrax rode to question Charharis, Rhamear defeated both the Uvani Hillands and Gilded Kingdoms in the Battle of the Red Hill bring them both under the rule of House Gathral, while Jehanna brought Corth into the fold through marriage to King Cailean Ardi of Corth. The success of Rhamear and Jehanna was tempered by the fate of Falrax who attempted to make Charharis see sense; Charharis saw this as betrayal and treason, imprisoned, tortured, and mained. When Rhamear and Jehanna learned of Charharis’ actions they branded him Charharis the Bloody, a name history has remembered him as, and declared they would bring about justice. After extensive debate amongst allies new and old, Rhamear and Jehanna marched on Charharis with the Gathral forces and the forces of their new won Kingdom. They arrived at an encampment transformed by magic ran amok and forced labour to a burgeoning town, the horrors of torture, abuses of power, and blood magic overly appearant. The forces of Rhamear and Jehanna took the encampment, Rhamear personal killed Charharis who had crowned himself King, and ultimately crown Rhamear High Queen of of the newly united Kingdom of Thaxnoria. The family drama was complete but the Unification was not, Rhamear led a failed war against the Kingdom of the Craglands; the war with the Craglands was said by some to have been a failure because Rhamear had made herself an accursed kinslayer, forsaken by deities and mortals. The failed war with the Craglands was brought to an end in 233:Contempt through a fragile peace. Thaxnoria Adopts the Toc’vastil Accords 241:Contempt After years of debate and pressure from nobles Thaxnoria formally adopted the Toc’vastil Accords. Thaxnoria became a strict adherent of the Accords and the Arcane Bastille System, however, there was one deviation in the adherence of the Accords, Gathral Exceptionalism, the concept that members of House Gathral were above the Accords and not subjected to it. Birth of the Faith of the Octurn 262:Contempt Octavius Gathral, third son of High Queen Rhamear, became a prophet of the Faith of the Octurn; the Faith of the Octurn, more commonly simply referred to as the Octurn, was a holistic religion based upon popular deities worshipped throughout the Arm of Runedastil. The faith’s dogma contends that the deities Azuth, Chauntea, Kelemvor, Oghma, Selûne, Sune, Tempus, Tyr, and Waukeen are all aspects of the same deity, the nine who are one. This faith was quickly adopted by the peoples of Thaxnoria as it continued to allow the faith to worship their ancestral deities, and was highly encouraged by the Thaxnorian Crown. The Uvani Hilllands proved particularly resistant to the Octurn. First High Octurn 271:Contempt Octavius Gathral became the first High Octurn, chosen by the Council of Clergy. ranked of the high clergy - who typically choose a member of their own rank to take the office. The High Octon serves as the foremost source of canon and dogma throughout the church. Incorporation of the Craglands into Thaxnoria 299:Contempt The fragile peace that existed between Thaxnoria and the Craglands, was ended not by war but instead the incorporation of the Craglands into Thaxnoria in 299:Contempt. This was achieved through the marriage of the second-born Princess of Craglands Danna married to the third-born Prince of Thaxnoria Charles. The Craglands retained a semi-autonomous status and the title of Princes. The Octurn Becomes the State Religion of Thaxnoria 307:Contempt In 307:Contempt High King Felix decrees the Octurn to be the official state religion of Thaxnnoria. The Octurn is incorporated into important state ceremonies and the High Octurn ceremonially anointing the High King of Thaxnoria. Over time it became a requirement to follow the Octurn, with all other religions outlawed; the implementation of this was spotty, the Craglands were exempted and the Uvani Hilllands never truly conformed to the decree. Crisis of the Crown 374-377:Conquest The death of High King Ulthred gave birth to a succession crisis known as the Crisis of the Crown, where the first and second child, age 6 and 4 respectively, vied for the Crown of Thaxnoria; the Crisis was caused as the firstborn Emillena was female, whilst the secondborn was male Eddrith, both claimed the right of succession. This resulted in the Failed Council of 374:Contempt, the Council found in favour of Eddrith but a strong minority favoured Emillena; this set the precedent that the male heir was favoured in Thaxnorian succession. Emillena supporters failed to recognise the decision of the Council; thus two monarchs simultaneously claimed the throne. Small scale battle and raids haunted the countryside. First Thaxnorian Civil War - the War of Deposition 377-384:Contempt The Crisis of Crowns, the Thaxnorian succession crisis, turned to civil war in 377:Contempt. The Civil War was initially a two sided war, but in its latter phase a third contender rose. The two factions of House Gathral divided the realm, a greater number sided with Eddrith over his elder sister Emillena. The conflict washed Thaxnoria with blood and flame, and in this context Thendrin Redflame, a noble from the Uvani Hilllands, rose and sought to destroy House Gathral and usurp the the throne; Thendrin Redflame quickly gained support as House Gathral’s in fighting and links to magic had turned many against them. With his new found support Thendrin Redflame deposed both Gathral monarchs, Eddrith was killed, and the first signs of darkness in the Redflames appear when Thendrin forcibly married Emillena and imprisoned her. Mysterious death of Thendrin Redflame 396:Contempt Thendrin Redflame died of suspected poison on the Witching Night 396:Contempt, and Emillena, who had been imprisoned by Thendrin and forced to bear his children, escaped imprisonment and disappeared. Thendrin was succeeded by his son Thendol. War of Thaxnorian Expansion 409-430:Contempt The War of Thaxnorian Expansion, was launched by Thendol Redflame High King of Thaxnoria. The war was initially successful as Thaxnoria’s army poured through the Kilgarth Mountains and began to occupy territories within the Free States. The Free State League was created and was able to drive Thaxnoria back behind the Kilgarth Mountains, the War ended when Thaxnoria collapsed into rebellion against House Redflame, and the Free League fell into deep conflict. Second Thaxnorian Civil War - War of Rebellion 462-466:Contempt The Second Thaxnorian Civil War, also known as the War of Rebellion, was the result of the failure of the War of Thaxnorian Expansion, Thendol Redflame status as a maleficarum and sadists, his abuses of power and people of Thaxnoria. Virtually all noble houses of Thaxnoria rose against Redflame and restored House Gathral to the throne; as a result Emillena became the second High Queen of Thaxnoria as she reemerged from hiding. House Gathral’s return to throne brought about change to the political elite, the establishment of the House of Peers and the Manga Constus, and led to the downfall of several prominent noble houses. Bavaldi Bank Heist 532:Contempt The largest bank in Ashmound, a city within the Guildlands of Thaxnoria, had the majority of its vault stolen. The heist was covered up as the bank and authorities hoped they could recover their gold, when they were unable to discover the public began to find out. This led to a run on the banks throughout Thaxnoria, and a collapse of Bavaldi Banks in Thaxnoria, further it has led to an economic and financial crisis within Thaxnoria. Second War of Thaxnorian Expansion 532:Contempt The Second War of Thaxnorian Expansion was a short but bloody war fought between November 532:Contempt and February 533:Contempt. The War was fought between Thaxnoria and the Alliance made up of the Free State Alliance known as the Kilgarth Barrier, Elnurian Alliance, and Legvaran with Selu'Qidar entering the war on the side of the Alliance after its beginning. The Second War of Thaxnorian Expansion came to an unexpected and dramatic end, when the Avatar of Orcus obliterated Kelmar, the capital of the Craglands, and the Wars of Undeath began. In this cataclysmic crisis a peace was quickly negotiated. Wars of Undeath 532-533:Contempt The Wars of Undeath were a series of conflicts involving various kingdoms, including Thaxnoria, and factions against the Avatar of Orcus and the Crystal Catalyst. The wars began when the Avatar of Orcus unleashed undead and Demon forces, leading to devastating attacks on cities like Kelmar and Aranthaig. Despite initial setbacks, the Heroes of the Free States managed to defeat the Avatar of Orcus in a climactic battle. However, another threat emerged as Terraxia, leader of Crystal Catalyst, seized power and brought Garthedd into the material plane. This sparked chaos, with terrorist attacks and rebellions erupting across Runetalras. The Heroes, along with allied forces, launched a second siege on Garthedd, ultimately defeating Terraxia and restoring order. Following the conflicts, a conference was held in Velfauna to establish peace and determine the future of the affected regions. Gathedd fell under the protection of Aarelan, and several states merged to form the Union of Crowns. Further in the peace Thaxnoria retained a small amount of territory gained from the Free States in the Second War of Thaxnorian Expansion.
In unity strength
Population: 26,400,000
Founding Date
233:Contempt 269:Contempt Craglands incorporated
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Demonym
Thaxnorian
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
In order from high to low value, respectively, these are Platinum Crowns, Golden Griffins, Silver Knights, and Copper Stars
Major Exports
animal furs, animal hide, Timber, Cattle, Cereal Grains, Yew Wood, Adamantine, Copper, Flax, Marble, and Wine.
Major Imports
Cocoa, Coffee, Incense, Ivory, Jade, Spices, Suger, Tea, Tin, Mithral, Arcanium, Dimeritium, Ironwood, Sulfur, as well as extra-regional foodstuffs
Legislative Body
The House of Peers
Subsidiary Organizations
Official Languages
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