Politics
The High Kingdom of Aloria is a large kingdom in north-western Taria, surrounding the West Tarian Sea. The dominant people of the kingdom are the Iron Elves, but the realm has many denizens of other peoples. Several ethnic groups of Dwarves, Halflings, and Men live in Aloria and pledge fealty to its high king. The Alorian realm is divided into eight high fiefdoms as follows: The Royal Lands of Torannon, the Kingdom of Arsalon, the Principality of Sorane, and the Archduchies of Sobar, Desteria, Loxarna, Cordona, and Rendalore.
Each of Aloria's highest lords are Iron Elves with the exception of the King of Arsalon. Arsalon is inhabited primarily by the Arsals, a race of men loyal to the high king. The Arsals and the Iron Elves allied together long ago, and share a close bond of friendship and aid. The King of Arsalon is the highest ranking noble in the land save for the members of the Alorian royal family. After him is the Prince of Sorane, followed by the archdukes in the east.
The five archdukes rule over the lands in the eastern part of the realm. Among them is the Grand Archduke, who is selected by the high king. The high king usually delegates the decision to the archdukes themselves. In this case, the grand archduke is elected from among the archdukes to be their spokesperson and chief, though the others do not pledge fealty to him. Usually, the Grand Archduke is either the archduke of Desteria or of Sobar, but occasionally Loxarna gets the title. Rarely is it Cordona or Rendalore.
Each of these high lords has a seat at the Council of High Lords, which is made up of the high lords and the inner royal court. It is here that the momentous decisions and matters of the realm are discussed. The council is called every three years, though it can also be called in an emergency if the High King so decrees.
Geography and Economy
The lands of Aloria have diverse climates, from the temperate forests in the north, to rugged mountains, to the more arid Sorane and the southern Meditarian coast. Aloria therefore has many exports, chief of which are their elven textiles, made of cotton, common wool,
elfhair, linen, and silk. The wines from Sorane are renowned in the kingdom and abroad, as well as the olives that come from the southern regions and southern Torannon.
Military Tradition
Alorian Iron Elf knights are the finest on the continent, and few can withstand their charges. Clad in plate armor and astride mighty Alorian destriers, the finest of which come from the archduchy of Desteria, the Alorian knights are unparalleled heavy cavalry that outclass all their neighbors' equivalents. Alorian culture is fairly martial, with an emphasis on personal honor, especially among their knightly class. The Iron Elves are also skilled archers after the manner of their race, and their heavy infantry is solid.
Alorian knights are made in two ways: they are born into the position, or they are recognized for valor and service, and brought up into knighthood. A born knight starts his training to be a knight at the age of seven, where he becomes a page, engaging in physical training and learning courtly manners, humility, literacy in the Beldaic language, archery, horseback riding, and how to care for horses. From the age of 14 onwards, the boy becomes a squire, and begins to learn the arts of combat, both mounted and on foot, with lance and swordcraft as the main focus. Physical training intensifies, and the squire is also expected to learn heraldry, history, and cartography. After seven years of this training, at the age of 21, the squire is knighted. In the earlier days of Aloria, the squires were trained by individual knights, but as the kingdom grew, battleschools were established to train whole classes of knights at a time.
Alorian military doctrine incorporates the battle styles of more than just the Iron Elves; halflings are frequently deployed as scouts and ambushers, using short bows to harass enemies at a distance. Irikai light cavalry and mage cavalry are deployed to raid enemy encampments and harry the flanks of enemy infantry formations. Arsals have a powerful heavy infantry tradition while also adopting Iron Elven knighthood tradition; they deploy both mounted and foot knights. Daler kerns are deployed as skirmishers and Daler skanes and gallowglass are deployed as core heavy infantry for some armies, as well as dwarf heavy infantry. The variety of fighting styles is not wasted in mixed armies; they serve to make Alorian military action well-rounded and strong, with few direct counters.
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