Verinsten
Faith, Vigilance, and Glory
The Great Kingdom of Verinsten was the first nation founded after the Dark Age. When the Dark Age ended was when the disheveled people of the land sought answers for their unending struggles. The gods replied by bestowing great divine powers upon select individuals who showed particular integrity, resilience, and devotion in their lives. These powers showed promise; a promise that guaranteed an end to the people's suffering so long as they followed their shepherds.
People from all across the land migrated to the valley base of Mt. Fidein where the ruins of the gods sat undisturbed. Within these ruins, the people discovered unique tools, schematics, and artifacts which portrayed a grand city built in a utopian image. The shepherds swiftly became governors and lords as they organized the people of their respective settlements to construct the grand city which they called Fidein.
Fidein would one day become the jewel of Manus, a central hub where people of all species, races, and backgrounds will congregate and devote themselves to the grander image of unity, but many trials lie ahead for these ragged people. Some of these trials include the erasure of an old human civilization which slept beneath the city, the annihilation of the various monstrosities which stalked these people from the skies, and the acceptance of the gods within each and every individuals' lives.
Within this article is the detailed history of The Great Kingdom of Verinsten, beginning with its hopeful founding and ending in the current in-game time period when it is a flourishing city-state with frontier settlements.
Structure
As a Theocratic Monarchy, the kingdom is led by the royal family, but it is guided by the Pope. This sort of structure submits the true power of the kingdom to the Pope, solidifying his/her position at the top of the Verisian hierarchy. The Pope's duties are to advise the King, consult with the gods, enact the will of the gods, and lead the wealthy people to salvation through Their glory. The Pope will normally be stationed beside the King and his family day-to-day as a watchful sentinel of faith. The garb of the Pope involves long silken and ornate robes of yellow, gold, and white hues. A ceremoniously divine crown is also bestowed above the Pope's head by the gods, which can be described as a golden, fiery, translucent halo.
Below the Pope are the Pope's Cobaltzi, which are people who exhibit exceptional attunement to the gods through divine prowess and heritage. The Cobaltzi's duties are to speak to the gods the wills of the people, inspire hope among the commoners, and lead the commoners to salvation through Their glory. The Cobaltzi strive to achieve a designated amount of good deeds in their lives, and if their efforts are recognized, one of them will ascend to the papacy upon the Pope's passing. The rest are promised eternal paradise within their designated god's realm; which becomes effective immediately upon ascendancy. The garb of the Cobaltzi involves loose, comfortable, silken clothing and leather boots. The clothing are normally in deep blues with hints of orange, however, occasionally, the opposite is true. This is only the case when a Cobaltzi is returned from ascendancy.
Below the Cobaltzi is the royal family, which involves the King/Queen, their spouse and their respective titles, and any princes/princesses. The royal family are descendants of the last surviving Shepherds, Sif and Mula, who were devoted to the capture and defense of Fidein and in understanding the ancient blueprints which lied in the city's ruins respectively. The royal family all have their respective duties. The King and Queen are respected equally, but the King will see to military, industrial, and infrastructural matters while the Queen will see to faith, economic, and societal matters. These tasks are mostly supervisory; the only times when the King or Queen would get involved in a task would be during absolutely critical times, such as when morale needs to be boosted or the market is crashing. The King and Queen are never guaranteed to be experts or professionals in the fields they oversee, however, they are well-educated in those topics which they learned about as they were growing up as princes and princesses. Other duties of princes and princesses include networking and action in their fields of study. These duties allow prospective kings and queens to gain an understanding of who they are ruling and expand their knowledge and wisdom as rulers. The garb of the royal family is typically lavish and pompous in design, striving to appear as extravagant as possible.
Below the royal family are the royal advisors. The royal advisors' duties vary depending on their areas of expertise. However, all royal advisors must advise the king and/or queen, primarily supervise their designated areas of expertise, and report to the king and/or queen on the progress within their areas of expertise. There are royal advisors for each designated area of expertise as follows military, industrial, infrastructure, societal, and economic. Military advisers focus on the offensive and defensive strategy of the kingdom; which includes the construction of defensive structures and retaliation against enemies to the kingdom. Military advisors are known as generals. Industrial advisors focus on the production of goods within the kingdom and the logistics involved with them; which includes basic resources such as lumber to complex crafts such as weaponry or furniture. Industrial advisors are known as supervisors. Infrastructure advisors focus on the construction of domestic buildings, roads, sewers, and other basic structures for an average commoner. Infrastructure advisors are known as overseers. Societal advisors focus on the affairs of the people of the kingdom and the relations of neighboring kingdoms; which includes the health and wellness of Fidein, diplomatic duties within other kingdoms, and the formation of policies within Verinsten. Societal advisors are known as heads. Economic advisors focus on the balance of value in comparison to other kingdoms and the import/export of goods. Economic advisors are known as treasurers. The garb of advisors is dependent on their field, however, all advisors wear silken shirts, pants, and pauldrons. Generals wear medals and bear a flat cap. Their clothing is colored in brown and orange hues. Supervisors wear a dome cap and are colored in lighter orange hues. Overseers wear a squared cap and clothing colored in vibrant oranges and yellows. Heads wear tall conical caps and clothing colored in light blues. Treasurers wear an elegant headband and clothing colored in deep blue hues.
Below the royal advisors are the lords and ladies of Verinsten; powerfully wealthy families who are "royalty-lite". Lords and ladies own land which they borrow from the royal family and they manage any people who live on those lands and collect their taxes for the royal family. There are six noble families in Verinsten who own villages and towns. Lords and ladies may wear whatever luxurious garb they wish to wear, because their public image doesn't matter as much as the royalty above them.
Below the lords and ladies are a massive group simply known as commoners. Commoners can be guardsmen, craftsmen, merchants, etc. These people all must work to make a living and to pay taxes to their lords and ladies for the privilege of living on their lands away from the dangers of the wilderness. Commoners can wear any clothing they can afford, and the only uniforms they follow are dependent on their profession.
Public Agenda
To unite all people under a single banner for the glory of the gods.
Assets
As a kingdom, Verinsten would rank 4/7 in wealth and in comparison to other kingdoms. Verinsten produces below average lumber, above average food, and above average ores. Verinsten possesses seven communities, one of which is a city, three which are towns, and three which are villages. There are eight major forts which guard the borders of Verinsten from neighboring kingdoms, there are also four other forts within the kingdom which formed Verinsten's initial borders.
Some of Verinsten's strategic resources include horses, stone, iron, saltpeter, and feyerock. Some of Verinsten's luxury resources include gems, gold, marble, fruit, and ancient tech.
Verinsten supports a medium-sized military of well-trained units in varying roles. More details will be included in the "Royal Guard" article.
History
The Great Kingdom of Verinsten began with a universal calling between five different people at the end of the Dark Age. Upon the fall of Baphomet by the powerful arms of the Wayfarers, the gods finally managed to break through the dark miasma which hung over Serentheim and enlisted five individuals to act as shepherds for the lost, broken, and helpless survivors. The five shepherds were Litham Sif, Nivala Gegem, Renea Mula, Ignis Dussan, and Frea Xerzata. They collectively received a vision of a grand marble city at the foot of Mt. Fidein where people of many different backgrounds and races intermingled safely behind their walls and within the valley. It was through their revelations that led the hill people to become the grand theocratic monarchy as it is today.
History records that the four human tribes of Sif, Mula, Gegem, and Xerzata arrived sporadically within the first six months of the first year of Enlightenment. The very first to arrive was Sif who approached the future city site cautiously, yet decisively. There, he had discovered vile creatures of the Abyss performing damning rites to Baphomet within the ruins of an ancient city. With no hesitation, Sif and those capable of fighting charged the ritual site and cleansed it of evil. The battle was glorious and lasted for four days. By the end of the ordeal, Sif claimed the land for those seeking a home. Shortly after the battle, Mula arrived with her people.
Sif welcomed Mula with open arms as if he had known her from childhood. Together, with Sif's might and Mula's intellect, the survivors banded together to rout or annihilate the remaining dangers within the ancient city until they discovered the city's plans. Those plans were beyond complicated, detailing terms, equations, and concepts alien to Mula and her team. What Mula did understand was that the city was incomplete when the ancients left Serentheim behind. Using her own flair and understanding of the plans before her, she began instructing the survivors in constructing the city which would one day be called Fidein for its life-giving mountain.
Two months later, and utilizing the mysterious tools within the ancient city, much of the infrastructure was completed and a few true homes were also finished. During this time, many people lived in makeshift shelters such as tents and trenches, but they dared not venture into the caves while Sif and his people helped with the necessary heavy lifting. Water was plentiful, but food began to get scarcer as construction made greater progress. It was during this time when Xerzata and her tribe appeared. Although she was welcomed just as Mula was, she did not graciously receive that welcome. Xerzata preferred to remain aloof throughout her time in Fidein. However, she was a great huntress and a wonderful farmer. So Xerzata and her people remained outside the city and tended to the natural environment of the valley to support it and to harvest it.
Three months later, the city appeared to look less like a squatter's haven and more like a bonafide town. Farms dotted along the outskirts of the city site, a hunting lodge sat nestled within a narrow passage leading toward Direback Valley and its plentiful forests, military tents and training yards were built in the northeastern sector of the city, and at the site for the Ivory Palace were builders who had just finished installing its foundations. Although much progress had been made, life was far from peaceful. As if the gods themselves were testing the mettle of Fidein's future residents, monsters aplenty raided the makeshift town almost regularly. The primary offenders were orcs, but there were also surviving demons and various dangerous beasts of Mt. Fidein hunting for new and fresh food such as the griffon. If it were not for Sif and his brave and well-trained men, then Fidein would have surely fallen many times over. Thankfully, now nearing the end of the fifth month of work, the fourth shepherd, Gegem, arrived with their flock to help speed things up. Gegem was a mastermind in civil engineering for her time, and although many of her people died during their journey to Fidein, those who remained were of incredible help in organizing the workers and properly constructing the more large-scale buildings. Mula left those projects up to Gegem as she moved on to aid in studying the ancient site, trying to learn all she could from those ruins.
It was more than a year later when the final shepherd, Dussan, arrived with the largest following. At this point in time, Fidein had fully constructed walls, the Ivory Palace, a sewage system, a rough military base, and the Town District. Unfortunately, the Town District was not nearly large enough to accommodate all of the new arrivals. So work began on housing outside of the walls, which, while dangerous, was a necessary solution. However, now with nearly one thousand people ready to work, Fidein managed to become the jewel of Manus within the next four years.
Since Fidein's initial construction, there has been only one large scale project, and that was to create "The Treasured Gift", a massive monument built high above the Ivory Palace out of Mt. Fidein's rocky face. The sculpture depicts two cupped hands whose palms face the sky. Within those palms is a smooth glowing spherical rock of unknown origin, although legends say that it is the artifact which formed from the souls of the shepherds upon their passing. At night, the rock emits a brilliant white light which may be seen from miles away, acting as a beacon for those who may be lost and without hope. From the city streets, the light seeps through the fingers ever so slightly; just enough to not be a nuisance for those living in the city. Refinement and refurbishment have been the primary goals of Fidein and it was only recently that Verinsten began expanding outward and constructing towns and villages. This began roughly one hundred years ago.
The Great Kingdom of Verinsten has been involved in two different wars since the construction of Fidein; the Grand Orc Raids of 298 and the War of Roots of 366. In summary, the Grand Orc Raids had begun due to a sudden increase in orc activity within the countryside of future Verinsten. The orcs were raiding so many caravans that Fidein began to starve; nobody wanted to make the trek to Fidein if they would simply die anyway. So, in an act of desperation, the king of that time declared war on all orcs and criminals, locking Fidein into Martial Law. These were dark times in Verinsten, as innocent civilians would be corralled from their homes and executed for criminal suspicion. Orcs were also hunted to near extinction, although they had initially put up a bloody resistance. They even managed to lay Fidein under siege for three weeks before they were routed. But by the end of the war, the hill orcs were reduced from thousands to hundreds and had retreated to Direback Valley where, today, they continue to struggle for resources and dominance over all orc-kind. More recently, the War of Roots was a six year struggle for expansion into the territories of Jubixalia. In summary, what first began as a border dispute among local farmers swiftly escalated into total war between the two nations as Verinsten ignored Jubixalia's warnings about harvesting resources in their lands. Verinsten, although rich in various luxuries, must import nearly all of their lumber; which grows beyond plentifully in Jubixalia. It was this, combined with the Verinsten mantra of continual expansion which led to war with Jubixalia. Many battles were fought along the northern border of Verinsten, which changed and shifted in accordance to who won where. Ultimately, Jubixalia won the war, forcing Verinsten to give up whatever remaining lands they claimed from the war and taking taxes for reparations from the war.
Since then, Verinsten continues to grow. With the successful repelling of the orcs, the nation is finally able to colonize the hilly grasslands of the country. Many towns and villages are relatively new with plenty of problems a new colony experiences. However, with the unsuccessful War of Roots, Verinsten is searching for lumber elsewhere. To the southwest is an enchanted forest destined to be wiped out due to lumber lost. However, the forest has become more resistant and retaliates using magic, forest creatures, and fey. To the east of Verinsten, beyond the Mistral Sea lies a forest far from the influence of Jubixalia. Politically, they cannot harvest this lumber or else it would break the peace treaty. But, the local residents see the value in wood, and will attempt to harvest anyway. Verinsten seeks alternative building materials, such as stone and earth, but without magic these materials are difficult to handle.
Verinsten has a murky future as, in present time, a harbinger of darkness struggles with his destiny and an orc monk seeks unity with the warring orc tribes. These two events could flood Verinsten in war and darkness, triggering a second Dark Age. The fate of Verinsten lies in the hands of four adventurers and their little harbinger.
Demography and Population
Verinsten is primarily populated by humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and half-elves. Although these species live in harmony within the walls of Fidein, in the countryside, where humans reign even more supreme, xenophobia is rampant. Humans are especially averse to elves, because of the recent Root War between Verinsten and Jubixalia and in which Verinsten lost.
Some less common, but still plentiful species of Verinsten include half-orcs, goliaths, and gnomes. Half-orcs are primarily found in the countryside or with one of the many orc tribes that wander the hilly landscape. Goliaths primarily reside in the Rowcana Range among the giants. Gnomes can be found mostly everywhere, but remain aloof in crowded settlements.
There is also the rare Aasimar among the various communities in Verinsten, who normally wield positions of power due to their angelic ancestry. Tiefling, on the other hand, are hunted or executed almost always upon their births due to their fiendish ancestry. All other races either hold an exotic status or are completely unknown to the people of Verinsten.
Territories
Central Magnus around Mt. Fidein to the Huros Bay. The territory encompasses the Cradled Sea. Jubixalia borders the north and east with forest. The Huros Bay is to the south. The Spine of Magnus borders the west of Verinsten. The Golden Forest is what Verinsten is trying to annex, but the forest is showing resistance. The lands surrounding Fidein and within the claimed territory of Verinsten is being rapidly colonized.
Foreign Relations
Shimestire: Neutral, but will trade for exotic jungle goods.
Quugdrem: Ally for mutual protection versus the quarantine and Jubixalia.
Jubixalia: Guarded and bitter about the recent defeat in the War of Roots.
Derinsul: Neutral, but will trade for exotic desert goods.
Baehcodge: Unknown or have little relations.
Arvaise: Neutral, but will trade for ocean goods.
In Their Light, We Thrive
Founding Date
0 A.E.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Alternative Names
Great Kingdom of Verinsten
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Veteran
Demonym
Verisians
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
The official currency of Verinsten are minted coins which can be copper, silver, gold, or platinum. 1 silver piece (sp) = 100 copper pieces (cp), 1 gold piece (gp) = 100sp, and 1 platinum piece (pp) = 10gp.
Copper Piece
The copper piece has an image of Dussan, the late shepherd who led the largest band of people to Fidein's building site, on the head side of the coin. An inscription along its edges says "In Their Light, We Thrive". On the tail side is an image of a griffon.
Silver Piece
The silver piece has an image of Mula, the shepherd who taught her followers how to interpret the discoveries made within the ruins of the gods, on the head side of the coin. On the tail side of the coin is an image of Mt. Fidein with a halo around it. Along the edges of the tail side of the coin is an inscription which reads "Live In Glory".
Gold Piece
The gold piece has an image of Gegem, the shepherd who foresaw the construction of Fidein, especially the walls, on the head side of the coin. Along the edges reads an inscription which says, "Extend The Walls And Encompass All". On the tails side is an image of the Ivory Palace, the castle of Fidein.
Platinum Piece
The platinum piece bears an image of Sif, the shepherd who commanded the disheveled army of the suffering to overtake the valley and ruins for prosperity, on the head side of the coin. Sif is highly regarded as the first king of Verinsten. On the tails side is an image of the sun, the symbol of Verinsten. Along its edges reads an inscription which says, "Never Allow Darkness To Flourish".
Legislative Body
Parliament. Laws are passed through argument with a heavy religious and royal bias.
Judicial Body
Judge, Jury, Executioner. Laws are interpreted by the community, verdicts are given by the judge, and those who are guilty will either be thrown into a dungeon, made into a slave, or executed in public.
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments