Etaria

a land filled with rolling fields of the luminescent crops of Serberus, chalk full of farms and agriculture villages. a place with immense fertility and productiveness, lived in by some of the nicer people of the northerlands. but Etaria holds darker passions lurking in its thick shadowed forests. the cults of flame that roam the countryside pillaging and burning farms. remnants of chaos gods and dark creatures that pull themselves from the sea itself. the illusory exterior hides the churning mass of violence and darkness that has consumed the once peaceful nation of Etaria. now it is one of the most dangerous places in the north, crammed with monsters and ghouls, and particular fanatical cults of fire and pain that covet death and the purity of ash. the nation that once fed the entire north now falters on the brink of collapse and the precipice of change in the north.

Structure

Etharia has no formal structure the controls its actions. it is made up of a bunch of massive farms and agriculture produce plants that cover the landscape. the farmers sell individually to different clients and buy from each other. they form a legion of farming villages and workers who all know each other and live for nothing but farming and business. in reality there is a separate entity that dictate the profits and the general rules of Etharia. the Gang like worshipers of flame that call themselves the flame cults. the most powerful of these is a cult called the Children of Ember who are lead by a gang leader they call the Horned Lord. they have since united the flame cults into one entity that scours the the land of Etharia pillaging farms and indoctrinating the farmers and burning their crops. there are 3 main cults with the Children of the Ember at the top and the subsidiary gangs controlling different areas of the land. the farmers do not serve them but the flame cults terrorize the farmers and burn the fields cutting their profits, the farmers have no choice but to join the cults to protect their crops and their profits. thus Etharia is slowly turning into a land of cults and fire.

• Children of the Ember: a cult that worships pure fire and the cleansing nature after a fire dies, they are the most brutal and martial of the cults being lead by a warlord called the Horned lord. they are mostly comprised of hobgoblins fire genasi and humans.
• Puritans of the Fire: a lesser cult mostly filled by human cultists and some hobgoblins. they have been known the be the most likely cult to put individuals to the flame in mass burning and the torching of houses. they believe that when a soul is consumed by fire it becomes pure and untarnished for its ascension to the gods.
• Ash Bringers: a more mobile and dower version of the flame cults, comprised of hardened warriors and raiders who believe in the sanctity of ash and the impurity of life as a whole, they wish for glorious death within the flames of battle against worthy opponents. and they seek to grant the same death to other great warriors as a mercy to leave the dying world behind.

Public Agenda

the perceived agenda of Etharia is to be a producer of grain and food to sell to the rest of the Northerlands and make profits and allies out of the other peoples and countries. many people still only see the farmers of Etharia and the land keepers who sell their produce to the Northerlands and all its people. there is; however, a darker agenda rising in Etharia, as the flame cults gain power and support from the citizenry of Etharia they seek to spread the flame of conquest across the entire North and beyond. few can see the threat but the flame cults have the numbers and they have the conviction to sweep across the North with their beliefs and their violence. the Horned lord has goals on Sunderland and even Iron Hold. when the time comes it will be unexpected and the north may be unprepared for the flame to descend upon them. while the world still sees farmers and agriculture workers, they are already the minority within Etharia and their will and desires have been replaced by the flame cults and their cruel leaders of the ash.

Assets

Etharia as a whole has very little in the way of assets. the land does not have any castles and very few abandoned fortresses that have lost most functionality. the land is instead covered in sprawling farmland and thick dark forests that cast deeper shadows on the world than the eternal night. they produce the most food and narcotics out of any country, enough to supply every other country in the Northerlands with food and drugs for extended periods of time. Etharia is also the only land that has good enough nutrients and star coverage that it can grow crops during Frostweiss which makes it an extremely valuable trading partner. the farmers have a small militia of low level druids and fighters called the harvest guard that try to protect farms but they have very little access to quality weapons and armor. they have a large overland carriage fleets to deliver grain and other produce and they are assisted by the navy of Nordica which ships their wares over sea for a small fee. the main force in Etharia is the Cults, they have a confirmed over 20,000 individual warriors of the flame that are well armed and experienced with combat. they are supplemented by cavalry forces and a single confirmed knight frame from the old world. they also have 20 confirmed sea worthy vessels used to transport items from over seas. no monetary spending amount can be determined. the cults do not have any known infrastructure or fortress it has been observed that they camp in massive camps in the dark forests of Etharia. or the Horned Lord has been seen around a ruined fortress on the black cliffs.

History

Etharia was founded in P.C 200 by Human migrants from Fjordland who were ostracized for their distain of the Fjordland warrior culture. the Blackstone families ejected them from the country and they migrated south along the western coast close to the edge of the Cleargrove lake. they found that the land was extremely fertile but they had to survive the harsh winters of cleargrove. in the first year they lost half their settlers to beings that came from the woods, shadows a humans and daemons that would steal settlers in the night. in the year P.C 202 they had to divert their attention from the building of farms and villages to build a fighting force, the force was called the harvest guard and they trained in the way of nature spirits that they found in the forests. with their druidic power and training in marshal weaponry they were able to wage battle against the forest shadows and in year P.C 230 they finally found the place that was spawning the shadows. the ancient tower of Tzenith on the black cliffs had been using souls to create ascended frames that were animated by free magic. the harvest guard destroyed the tower and found some interesting objects within, most notbly the book of change. through study and experimentation it was found that the book could grow and mutate plants into different species and strains of Lumoscrop. the book made the land very prosperous and bountiful in the harvest and the food that it produced. but as the book was the product of chaos it was not long until it drew the attention of the Grey Watch and their warriors. in the year P.C 280 a detachment from the Grey Watch came to the towns in search of a source of chaos magic. the farmer that had ownership of the book at the time thought it better to burn the book for fear of retribution, he spread the ashes over his farmland and gave the remaining ashes to the other farmers of Etharia. and thought the Grey Watch never found the book this did increase the suspicion cast on the people of Etharia and their descendants for conspiracy with chaos forces. though to book was destroyed it still seemed to provide a certain fertility to the land and the farms that it was scattered upon, soon people arose who worshiped the ashes of life that gave fertility to the landscape. by the time of the war the worshipers of the ash were very pronounced aming the harvest guard and some of the farmers. the Grey Watch called for aid and Etharia offered food and provisions for the war, but the ash worshipers from the harvest guard also volunteered their services and left the farms and villages to fight the forces of chaos. they were implemented mainly as town guards for frontier towns. this means that they were subjected to attacks with no walls or support to help them in the defense. they gained an immense appreciation for death and the sanctity of life as a flame that could be extinguished at any point. when the survivors returned to Etharia in the year P.C 376 they became increasingly distant, many farmers reported that they found comfort in each others company and no one else, they would mumble about things like the purity of battle and the call of the flame. the farmers began to call them the Ash Bringers and though they would continue to serve as harvest guards they created a secret society for the survivors of the war and the worship of death through the flame, they became a very dower and secretive peoples until they were no longer part of the harvest guard or Etharia in the minds of the other harvest guard and the farmers. in P.C 435 the Ash bringers were joined by another cult of the flame, lead by the lizard folk tribesman Kallek Troig they called themselves the children of the Ember, they had migrated from a distant land and claimed that the gods had burned their old home and offered holy revelation in the flames. but at first the cults did not get along and the lizard folk and the more militaristic Ash Bringers fight each other in the forests of Etharia. their conflict with each other caused them to be self controlled and contained. the harvest guard seldom had to deal with them as they policed themselves. by this point the farmers of Etharia were providing harvest to most of the other countries excluding skylos and were a valued asset of the Northelands. the farmers were able to gain considerable wealth and influence with many wealthy people of other countries with their trade. but others still suffered by monopolies and favoratism to other farms. many of the farmers fell into poverty and had to sell their farms to the more prosperous farmers and live in the woods. this is where they first heard the voice and the knowledge of the ash bringers, and these disenfranchised farmers started their own cult of fire the Puritans of Fire. who were more of a problem for the harvest guard. by P.C 430 the Harvest guard were being overwhelmed by the flame cults and their conflict, the puritans of flame especially due to their habit of burning field and the houses of wealthy farmers and village leaders. the Harvest guard doubled down on their pursuit of the cults, and by P.C 460 they had corned them into a small section of the forests. with dwindleing numbers and low moral the flame cults were on the brink of collapse.; this is when the Horned lord appeared before them, he claimed to be a traveller from across the hemlock, and that he could saev them from their predicament if they would unite under him. left with no real choice they agreed and followed the lord. with his tactics and knowledge of magic they were able to best their harvest guard pursuers and spread back into Etharia, and resume their spread of the cult driven by their new leader and lord the horned king. they have been advancing from the forests and gaining support ever since, in the year P.C 512 Etharia is on the brink of collapse from the violence and turmoil within its borders, there has been a noticeable drop in food production and the world starts to grow concerned with the progress of the cult that live within the dark forests of the once peaceful nation.

Demography and Population

the region is mostly populated by humans and hobgoblins or lizard folk that have settled down to indulge in a life of farming and peace. humans are the most common as they are the original settlers but the hobgoblins come in close second with the lizard folk coming in least percent of population.

1. Humans: 55%
2. Hobgoblins: 30%
3. Lizard Folk: 15%

Military

Etaria has no offensive military, they keep a guard force of druid trained warriors called the harvest guard who are efficient at their job but do not have the man power or equipment to measure up to the military of other nations. the bigger threat is the paraknightly organization of the flame cults that are well trained and experienced fighters that own good equipment and are under good leadership. they however do not serve the best interests of Etaria

Technological Level

early eleven hundreds, the era of vikings and the Saxons in England, they have basic metal working and basic knowledge of farming and some magic but not much else, they do not have very good forges or craftsmen compared to the other nations and their technology is not bolstered by massive amounts of magic like Ishlan or Skylos.

Foreign Relations

Etaria has good relations with every other country because it provides the bulk of food to every other nation from its immensely fertile soil. if Etaria did not exist it is likely that there would be a mass starvation event due to lack of food to go around and feed everyone in every nation. Etaria helps to make up for the gaps and shortcomings of other nations food production systems.

Agriculture & Industry

Etaria has no industy aside from agriculture and farming which is a huge undertaking in Etarias part. most of the clear land in Etaria is farmland, suited for growing massive amounts of lumoscrop and livestock that can be used as export and trade to other nations that do not have the resources to produce as much food as the people of Etaria.

Trade & Transport

Etaria relies on the transport of other civilizations to take their trade, this usually takes place as the caravans or fleets from other nations will come to receive their order of produce from a certain farm and bring it back to the nation in question. it is necessary for the buyer to provide their own transport to pick up orders from the farmers that they are buying from. of course the people of Etaria have small amounts of horses and wagons to travel from place to place but nothing as large or grand as trade caravans or fleets of trade vessels.

Education

there is no standardized education. many of the farmers and farm hands do not know how to read, and those who do were home schooled by intelligent parents or benefactors. there is no need for the average worker or farmer to know how to read or write, nor do they need to know history and etiquette. they are for all intents and purposes the most backwater civilization in the North. children either are put to work at a young age or pulled from home schooling as soon as they can write their name.

Infrastructure

there are no large cities or massive population centers. there are no sewers the people use outhouses, there are no massive walls or castles. the people of Etaria live in wooden houses on farms where all of the produce is hand collected and processed. the only thing that Etarians have that most others do not is standard and efficient protection from the harvest guard. most of their roads are dirt or little more than trodden snow in the forest. it is very backwater and poor in the grand scheme of nations.

the Fertility of the Fields

Founding Date

P.C 200

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital

Etora

Alternative Names

Cropsland, Greensfield, Farmerlslit

Demonym

Etharians

Leader

the Horned Lord

Head of State

the Horned Lord

Head of Government

the Horned Lord

Government System

Anarchy

Power Structure

Autonomous area

Economic System

Barter system

Currency

in Etaria one can trade any item of value, the farmers will also take gold and silver by weight.

Major Exports

Etaria exports food and grain and seeds to all other countries as it is the largest producer of agriculture and produce in the North and possibly beyond. all other nations need Etaria's food to supplement their own meager supply.

Major Imports

Etaria imports all of its iron and raw minerals for smithing and the building of tools. Etaria does not have any iron or copper of its own so it must import it from different places, usually from Iron Hold or Fjordland where the resource is common and easily accessible. in this manner they can also trade food for the iron and tools that they need.

Legislative Body

there is no legislative body as the civilization is made up by a bunch of farmers and their spread out farms. they do not make laws nor do they have much need for central government as each farm conducts its own individual business with individual or corporate clients. each farm acts as its own separate colony run by the farm owner.

Judicial Body

the harvest guard maintain the peace, they are a self employed law and protection force, every town or large farm will have a marshal that is in charge of a small group of harvest guard that protect and patrol the area for bandits and thieves. judgment is based on the feelings of the marshal of the town.

Parent Organization

Flame Cults

Location

Southern Coast

Official Languages

• Common

Neighboring Nations

• Fjordland
• Sunderland

Related Ethnicities

• Ash Born